Joined Sep 2007
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Forum Thread
How do large families afford to give every kid a smart phone?
November 29, 2011 at
06:58 AM
in
Discussion Type
(3)
I am pricing plans and I can't believe how expensive it is to have multiple smart phones. We have 5 lines on our plan and pay $185/mo with AT&T - if we upgrade to all smart phones the plan will be almost $300/mo and that is not even unlimited data! I even get a corporate discount. We are almost out of contract on all lines so we can migrate to another carrier but it still looks like $250/month. I just cannot justify that kind of cell phone bill. Is it just me? Am I just cheap?
I have three teenagers nagging me about upgrading to smart phones and it is getting old.
My 17 yr old is working so I told her she can come off our family plan and get her own phone. She thinks that is unreasonable.
Ok, guess I just had to vent and whine.
I have three teenagers nagging me about upgrading to smart phones and it is getting old.
My 17 yr old is working so I told her she can come off our family plan and get her own phone. She thinks that is unreasonable.
Ok, guess I just had to vent and whine.
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For the OP, maybe some of those families have prepaid like Page Plus or something. You can buy nice, used smart phones for under $50 all day. 1200 minutes/text for $30 x 5 = $150 a month, just lay off the data. If kids can limit their cell phone time, that can be down to like $10 x 5 = $50 a month for like 200 minutes each.
Let's remember: you don't need a data plan and expensive phone to make a call or send a text message.
I can't see not having either one cheap "family phone" to lend to whatever child that will be off doing whatever that day and needs communication, or giving each child a permanent cheap one. If your 16-year-old daughter is driving home from her part-time job at night and her car breaks down on a dimly-lit road, you're probably going to wish you had bought her a cell phone.
I'd lean towards paying for all basic phones and plans, and if the kids want something more expensive, it's on them. It might be a good life lesson for them if their out-of-warranty $200+ phone breaks or gets lost.
When shhaggy does it it is lecturing.
When shhaggy does it it is lecturing.
When my daughter wanted a cell phone I told her to get a job and pay for it. After a couple of years she finally realized that she would have to pay for a cell phone if she wanted one.
She recently "upgraded" to an iPhone. I doubt she can afford it long term, but she tends to learn things the hard way.