News, Do your parents still pay your cellphone bill? You're not alone. (teens, allowance)
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I can see piggy backing your kids AAA membership with yours. Especially for a young woman on her own. But a cell phone, really?
You realize that your adult kids aren't putting the saved money away for a rainy day? They are spending it on lattes, pedicures, alcohol, etc.
You would be better of paying for their home phone - seriously. What 21 year old really needs a cell phone. Believe me, if you weren't paying for theirs, I'm sure they would find a way to get their own.
I just don't understand why people need these fancy smart phones and droids. Everything you can do on them you can do online, I just don't understand it unless one has one or the other, not both. People are wired to the internet day and night!
Home/LandLine $40/50 a month Cell/Only added to your plan $10/20.
Saw a CDC Study that said something like 90% of post college Adults are Cell only. They have no landline.
Why pay for landline & Cell?
Mine is included with my internet package. Also, the reception is always better on a landline. If I am home, I'd rather use a regular phone... radiation from cells, and all that, I just prefer to make longer calls on a landline.
I can see piggy backing your kids AAA membership with yours. Especially for a young woman on her own. But a cell phone, really?
You realize that your adult kids aren't putting the saved money away for a rainy day? They are spending it on lattes, pedicures, alcohol, etc.
You would be better of paying for their home phone - seriously. What 21 year old really needs a cell phone. Believe me, if you weren't paying for theirs, I'm sure they would find a way to get their own.
Most young adults I know are doing well just to keep a roof over their head and food in their bellies. There are very few with lots of disposable income. And, I think a cell phone offers as much security as AAA, probably more. How often does a car break down?
The fact is, in today's day and age, a cell phone IS a necessity. Have you tried to find a pay phone lately? Outside the airport, I can't remember the last time I saw one.
Once the plan is set up, the cost to add lines to a cell phone plan is very minimal. Since my husband and I use our cells almost exclusively, we will keep signing that contract, and allowing whichever kids want to stay on it to do so.
Most young adults I know are doing well just to keep a roof over their head and food in their bellies. There are very few with lots of disposable income. And, I think a cell phone offers as much security as AAA, probably more. How often does a car break down?
The fact is, in today's day and age, a cell phone IS a necessity. Have you tried to find a pay phone lately? Outside the airport, I can't remember the last time I saw one.
Once the plan is set up, the cost to add lines to a cell phone plan is very minimal. Since my husband and I use our cells almost exclusively, we will keep signing that contract, and allowing whichever kids what to stay on it to do so.
Isn't that what prepaid phones are for? A fully stocked plan really isn't a necessity, though I agree that having a cell in case of an emergency is a smart move. It doesn't need a plan, and prepaids are becoming increasingly popular.
It might just be due to how we were raised (I grew up poor, DH more wealthy but his parents made him earn his keep) but we feel that if you are scraping by on your bills, you probably shouldn't have a cell phone, unless it is a low cost one - it's a bill that can't be afforded. When you do finally make more money, you can debate in your mind if it is a worthwhile expenditure, since scraping by usually seems to teach the value of a dollar.
I suppose this is the new trend, though. I have a cousin - married, in his 50s, three kids who he can't afford, who has his stepmother manage his finances and debts because he can't be responsible to do it himself. Obviously this is an extreme example, but he is the only person I know whose parents pay for a cell phone.
Isn't that what prepaid phones are for? A fully stocked plan really isn't a necessity, though I agree that having a cell in case of an emergency is a smart move. It doesn't need a plan, and prepaids are becoming increasingly popular.
It might just be due to how we were raised (I grew up poor, DH more wealthy but his parents made him earn his keep) but we feel that if you are scraping by on your bills, you probably shouldn't have a cell phone, unless it is a low cost one - it's a bill that can't be afforded. When you do finally make more money, you can debate in your mind if it is a worthwhile expenditure, since scraping by usually seems to teach the value of a dollar.
I suppose this is the new trend, though. I have a cousin - married, in his 50s, three kids who he can't afford, who has his stepmother manage his finances and debts because he can't be responsible to do it himself. Obviously this is an extreme example, but he is the only person I know whose parents pay for a cell phone.
Personally, I agree with you. I don't even turn on the data plan access for my phone. But, in my house, I'd be fighting a losing battle. My husband uses his email capabilities often for business purposes, so he saw nothing wrong with providing it for the boys. I pick my battles.
I still pay my daughters cell phone (she is in college) and I pay for my mothers as well.
It isn't about my daughter (or mother) not being personally responsible or paying their way its about simple money sense.
My daughter has had her iphone for years now. She gets unlimited data, text, etc for $25/month. If she went to get her own contract now it would be nearly 4x that amount. That would be silly.
I also have my mother on my car insurance. Again it costs me an additional $12/month for me to have my mother on my insurance, and another $25 for her phone. If she had her own accounts it would be well over $125/month for the two. Its just good money sense to bundle things like phone contracts.
I can't believe my idea about splitting the cell phone bill with adult children from page 2 was met with such incredulity!
Of course it makes sense to bundle things. But someone has to pay the "base cost" of something like a cell phone plan. That cost should be split among all benefactors of the bundle.
And for those that don't understand this concept, especially in regards to paying the bills of the "younger generation": That is the reason why people of the "younger generation" feel entitled.
I think for a lot of families, they put the kids on and then just never take them off. We "sprung" our older DD when she graduated from grad school and got a job. Her company had some pretty good cell phone package deals, which helped. We are about to spring the younger one as well, now almost 26. DH wants to get a different plan when our current contract ends, and she'll have to get her own.
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