Joined Aug 2006
L8: Grand Teacher
Forum Thread
Prepaid vs cell contract — which is better?
September 22, 2021 at
08:32 PM
Thread Details
I see many people I know that have $250+ cell phone bills for their family that include the service, taxes and installments for their phones. Sometimes I think the deals posted here for phones look tempting but how good are they really?
For the last 5 years I've bought yearly prepaid plans and settled for phones that are a few years old and cost $200-300.
My current phone is a Xr that was $225 and I plan to use it for the next 2-3 years. My cell plan is the ATT yearly prepaid that is $300….I actually paid about $240 after some gift card deals. Before that I used Red Pocket or Mint Sim that was around $200/year.
If I average $250/year for cell service that's $20.83/month. My phone would break down to $225/24 months = $9.83/month for a grand total of about $30/month per line.
I know some folks probably get some killer deals on contract service/phone plans….so how do they compare?
For the last 5 years I've bought yearly prepaid plans and settled for phones that are a few years old and cost $200-300.
My current phone is a Xr that was $225 and I plan to use it for the next 2-3 years. My cell plan is the ATT yearly prepaid that is $300….I actually paid about $240 after some gift card deals. Before that I used Red Pocket or Mint Sim that was around $200/year.
If I average $250/year for cell service that's $20.83/month. My phone would break down to $225/24 months = $9.83/month for a grand total of about $30/month per line.
I know some folks probably get some killer deals on contract service/phone plans….so how do they compare?
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i use google fi because i like the service/perks. for my phone needs/preference, i buy from their store when they have a deal*. i got an x4 for 100 and a power g for 50. that said my 2 year cost for one line is about 650 including phone cost.
*only really get a new phone when my current battery is starting to die or EOL/no updates
For the last 5 years I've bought yearly prepaid plans and settled for phones that are a few years old and cost $200-300.
My current phone is a Xr that was $225 and I plan to use it for the next 2-3 years. My cell plan is the ATT yearly prepaid that is $300….I actually paid about $240 after some gift card deals. Before that I used Red Pocket or Mint Sim that was around $200/year.
If I average $250/year for cell service that's $20.83/month. My phone would break down to $225/24 months = $9.83/month for a grand total of about $30/month per line.
I know some folks probably get some killer deals on contract service/phone plans….so how do they compare?
I have two phones (and two lines).
Moto G5 Plus I got refurbished from ebay unlocked with 4GB/64GB for $105 at the end of 2017 that looked like new.
In Nov. 2020 I got a Ulefone Armor X7 Pro (4GB/32GB) from amazon, a rugged phone that is water proof for free. I use it only as a spare.
For the Moto I used to have Tello prepaid and being a low usage user I only needed to refill it for $10 once every 18 months since the minutes did not expire. I left Tello when the good thing ended for Hello Mobile which is $5 a month unlimited voice/text and 500MB LTE data. The company I work for allows me to reimburse the bill.
For the Ulefone I have a T-mobile gold membership that I grandfathered in since 2009. It's $10 / yr prepaid plan and the minutes roll over from year to year (I have ~4 total hours talk time on it from all the years of refills). I do have to pay for it though.
The actual total amount of money I spent (excluding accessories like phone cases, screen protectors, etc) for my two phones + the bills for the past 4 years was ~$150 on two lines ( $1.6/mo/line ) and I have no intention of upgrading or switching carriers in the near future.
The moto's battery is holding exceptionally well being 4 years old, The Ulefone phone's battery is a monster too - it stands by for 14 days at minimum.
$30/mo/line is a lot more than what I would consider a good value but I understand not everyone is cheapskate like me.
https://tracfonereviewe
I bought the same for my inlaws so they have the same phone in case they need tech support. I have no idea why people who have needs that can be met by the pay as you go method don't use it. I don't have a killer iPhone, but I have more $$$ to spend on other things.
Moto G5 Plus I got refurbished from ebay unlocked with 4GB/64GB for $105 at the end of 2017 that looked like new.
In Nov. 2020 I got a Ulefone Armor X7 Pro (4GB/32GB) from amazon, a rugged phone that is water proof for free. I use it only as a spare.
For the Moto I used to have Tello prepaid and being a low usage user I only needed to refill it for $10 once every 18 months since the minutes did not expire. I left Tello when the good thing ended for Hello Mobile which is $5 a month unlimited voice/text and 500MB LTE data. The company I work for allows me to reimburse the bill.
For the Ulefone I have a T-mobile gold membership that I grandfathered in since 2009. It's $10 / yr prepaid plan and the minutes roll over from year to year (I have ~4 total hours talk time on it from all the years of refills). I do have to pay for it though.
The actual total amount of money I spent (excluding accessories like phone cases, screen protectors, etc) for my two phones + the bills for the past 4 years was ~$150 on two lines ( $1.6/mo/line ) and I have no intention of upgrading or switching carriers in the near future.
The moto's battery is holding exceptionally well being 4 years old, The Ulefone phone's battery is a monster too - it stands by for 14 days at minimum.
$30/mo/line is a lot more than what I would consider a good value but I understand not everyone is cheapskate like me.
Just curious how did you get the Phone for FREE ?
Just curious how did you get the Phone for FREE ?
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