need to buy a new phone. suggestions needed. (get credit, how much)

[fagarnau]

hey

im new to toronto. i have no cell phone with me.
first thing first, i dont call/text a lot, AT ALL. I basically just want a cell phone in my hand for emergency purposes and small calls to people in toronto like " hey im on my way and coming in 5 mins" and stuff like that. dont need one for lengthyyyy conversations.

yeah i know i hardly have a social life


im not looking for a contract/agreement deals as i go out of toronto during holidays(summer and winter) and for most phone companies, it still means u r paying the monthly fees.

i want a student plan(i am a university student) thats like the most cheapest and very minimum(but with called id!)like i said, i hardly call/text on daily basis.
so i dont want to pay like $45 dollars a month and stuff.

i want something thats like on the go, if cheap, or if u guys think a plan is cheaper, then that would do too. whatever, that is the cheapest option.

but i need to buy a phone first too and im not sure where i can buy one.

thanks for your help!!

(P.S dont suggest rogers please. ive heard really bad stuff about that company).

[rgpg_99]

Originally Posted by fagarnau

hey

im new to toronto. i have no cell phone with me.
first thing first, i dont call/text a lot, AT ALL. I basically just want a cell phone in my hand for emergency purposes and small calls to people in toronto like " hey im on my way and coming in 5 mins" and stuff like that. dont need one for lengthyyyy conversations.

...

(P.S dont suggest rogers please. ive heard really bad stuff about that company).

Ok, so I won't suggest Rogers then, but this is what I did: I bought an older phone on eBay (Craigslist would have been an option too) for $25 that had only minimal functions: make/receive phone calls, send/receive text messages, and a basic calendar/phonebook. Since the phone is an old model, there are no apps, or updates, or bells and whistles for it. The phone was unlocked, so I could use it with any company.

Then I bought a compatible SIM card from a major local wireless carrier, and I activated it as a pre-paid card.

I put $100 on the card, so that the minutes would only expire after 365 days (1 year). Basically that gives you a rollover of any unused minutes from month to month. In the event you don't use all that money after a year, and you put more money, any unused balance would rollover too.

In the past 6 months I've used some $80, which comes down to roughly $14 a month. Obviously, that will depend on how much you use it, and when (some pre-paid plans give you free weekend calls, others give you free calls at night, etc.)

In summary, a pre-paid plan has no contract or set monthly fees, but you have to monitor your balance regularly and maybe experiment with different pre-paid options until you understand your use patterns to get the most bang for your buck.

[fagarnau]

thanks.

anyways, i got a new phone from fido for $70. however, when i went to shop to get credit, i found out that it also has an expiry date. im like,whaaat?? do i have option to fill credit that dont have 1 month expiry date or good, no expiry date at all?

[rgpg_99]

Originally Posted by fagarnau

... do i have option to fill credit that dont have 1 month expiry date or good, no expiry date at all?

All prepaid refills expire. With Fido, the $10, $20, and $30 refills expire after 30 days, the $50 refill expires after 60 days, and the $100 refill expires after 365 days (1 year). This last one is the one I mentioned in my post.