Low cost cell phone use (best, old, money)

[CptnRn]

I have had a cell phone for years, but now that I'm retired I don't need it much other then occasional convenience or when traveling. So I started looking for ways to cut my costs. AT&T Wireless has a GoPhone plan that allows you to buy cell phone time as you need it. If you only need it for emergencies or travel or use it very little each month this can be an excellent plan.

You can prepay $100 for 400 minutes that you can use anytime for the next year. This beats the heck out of the monthly plan my wife and I had where we were paying around $79/month for 2 phones and used them very little.

$79/month for 2 phones = $948 per year
2 GoPhones with $100 prepaid, 400 minutes = $200

Savings $748 per year.

And we were able to keep using the AT&T phones we already owned so did no have to buy something new.

In over 2 months of using the plan I have only used $10 of time and my wife has used much less.

[DanielChang]

Did you go with the $1 a day plus 10 cents a minute plan or did you go with the 25 cents a minute plan?

[CptnRn]

I went with the 25 cents per minute plan, since I rarely use it more then 1 or 2 times in a day. You can always change the plan when its time to buy a new card if you find it might be cheaper the other way.

[Mary_Moon]

I had a pre-paid, low cost Go-Pphone for the past 8 years and it was great! I only had it for emergencies and added minutes once a year. My elderly Mother has a Tracfone with something like 1500 minutes on it since she never uses it either, just adding the annual card when required.

[jlawrence01]

I just purchased a Virgin Mobile phone for $20 and 200 minutes at $0.10 per minute. The employee needed a phone while in the US but will not make more than an occasional call.

[CTbrooktrout]

My plan is not as low cost as yours but I was fortunate to get on the Sprint SERO plan when it was available.

Here's what I get:
500 anytime minutes/month
Unlimited night and weekends; nights start at 7pm
Unlimited texting and data

Was advertised at $30/mo; after tax/fees it's $33.49.

The plan is no longer offered but I'm grandfathered into it so it should keep going until I cancel, although I never plan to

[deerislesmile]

I use the Tracfone, and kicked in for the double minutes forever (I get double whatever the amount the card says when I buy it, plus every time I add minutes, it extends the deadline for buying more minutes). I think my current deadline for adding more airtime is sometime in 2013- lol. I originally got it because, after trying 3 different regular carriers, tracfone was the only one that would get service on my island (though I still don't get service when I am actually at home..). I use it VERY infrequently.

[sterlinggirl]

T-Mobile gives 1000 minutes good for a year for $100

Boost uses the old Sprint network, and they're $0.10/minute too. They don't give you a year to use the minutes, but they also don't charge more per minute if you only buy $20 or so at a time. Another bonus is they'll transfer your phone from another network for a small charge so you don't have to buy a new phone.

[Cecilia_Rose]

I like mine. I have Virgin Mobile. You have to put $5 a month on it but the $5 goes into your talk minutes. Theres no monthly fees. It costs .25 a minute to talk so you can talk 20 minutes a month before you have to add money. If you dont talk it up your money carries over to the next month but you still have to add another $5. Most of the time I carry a balance. At one time I had $200. Im not paying to chit chat. I keep my calls short and to the point. Not sure if its still available. I got mine at Best Buy.

FYI. I use mine like a pager. I see who's calling then I call them back from a land line later. I also check my voice mail from a land line. Keeps my mins WAY down.

[Boompa]

I have a Virgin Mobil I hardly ever use. $6.99 a month and 10 cents a minute