Help Me Find a Cell Phone Deal for My Family!

Hi everyone,

My family's contract with Verizon ended and we'd like to get new cell phones. Any advice on what we should do?

Some points to consider are:

-My dad is adamant about having good reception, especially on the road (he drives a lot in SoCal). It's basically the only reason why we use Verizon. Would like to keep his number.
-My brother and I would like to have nicer phones with Internets and whatnot, but this is not necessary (usually we succumb to getting whatever cheap free phones are offered with family plan).

Average usage (includes peak, off-peak, M2M, and weekend minutes)
Dad: ~925 min
Mom: ~1100 min
Bro: ~350 min, ~70 texts
Me: ~450 min, ~300 texts

We have the Verizon AC family Shareplan 1400 min/month. Total phone bill is typically $140/month.

I'd greatly appreciate any advice.
Thank you so much!!

I would check out Straighttalk.com or Walmart FamilyPlan. Both are fairly cheap and even though you have to buy your own phone you save a lot in the long run.

^ I agree - go pre-paid and just buy whatever phones you want..

I notice you didn't provide any numbers for data usage?

If nothing else, everyone can be on the Page Plus 1200 minutes, 3000 texts, 100mb data, use almost any Verizon phone you want plan for $29.99 tax included.

If your bro could keep his minutes under 250, he could be on the $12 plan.

No contracts, change plans, or provider, whenever you want.

There's a recent thread around here with someone talking about either an AT&T or Tmobile family plan that sounded good.

Only option prepaid-wise for your Dad is the Page Plus $30 plan. With that in mind, it is probably best to put your Mom on the same plan as well. That leaves you and your brother. H2o wireless who uses At&t has a $25 plan that might be okay for you both. However, for the $5 difference, you are probably better off just going with Page Plus instead. Less hassle if everybody is using one service.

There is a company called Ting with shared plans. They are Sprint though. Downside is that you have to buy their pricey phones, and data is expensive. Republic Wireless who also uses Sprint is unlimited for $20, but they are still in beta. Sign up on their website if you are interested. They do however require you to buy their phones.

Anyway, Page Plus would allow you to reuse your existing Verizon phone. Maybe you alone could switch to Page Plus for a month and see how it goes. If you are happy, then maybe the other members could switch as well. Page Plus does allow you to bring most Verizon-brand phones that are not 4g or prepaids sold at retail stores. Note that there are no free phones on prepaid. People typically buy them off Ebay, Craigslist, Cowboom, or other 3rd-party seller.