Since we live in a basement apartment (in the boonies) I don’t use my cell phone much at home. I really rely on it when I’m away from home though.
Losing My Phone
Last fall I lost my cell phone. Twice. Each time it was missing for over a week! I was pretty sure that it was somewhere at home, but I scoured the house and car many times without success.
For something like 8 years we have both had dumb phones on my parent’s family plan that cost us each $10 per month. We’ve replaced each phone maybe twice.
Looking For A New Phone
After two weeks without my phone, we started looking seriously at other options. We knew eventually we would need to upgrade our phones. Each of our phones has some quirks that come with age and use. If we just got another phone on my parent’s plan, it would renew the whole plan for a new two-year contract, which they are not interested in. We also knew we would eventually make the dumb phone to smartphone switch.
I know enough about what other people pay for their cell phone plans to know we would not be able to find anything comparable to what we were paying, especially if we decided to go the smartphone route.
I was so happy to be wrong! I was really excited about some of the options we discovered.
Option 1: Republic Wireless
Republic Wireless is different than other wireless providers. They use a hybrid calling system. When you’re around WiFi, your phone will use WiFi for talk, texting, and data. When you aren’t it uses cell coverage. It transfers seamlessly between WiFi and cell service.
Republic Wireless is also different in that there is no contract, no activation fees, no roaming charges. You can even call over WiFi when you’re traveling abroad. They have a 30 day money back guarantee.
UPDATE: I have since written a full review of Republic Wireless.
Republic Wireless Plans
I had heard many great things about the flexible, economical Republic Wireless plans, so I looked there first. The monthly plans are for $5, $10, $25, and $40. Also, they let you change your plan twice during the billing cycle.
For $10 a month per phone, I could have unlimited talk and text on their cell network plus unlimited data on WiFi. Right now I have just talk, so the texting would be a bonus, as well as the data on WiFi. I love that all the categories are “unlimited,” so I don’t have to be constantly worried about going over.
Republic Wireless Phones
If I wanted to move to Republic, I would have to get a new phone. That would be okay though, since my dumb phone has stopped ringing (it just vibrates) and the speakerphone doesn’t work anymore.
They have two great options: Moto X ($299) and Moto G ($149). Both have excellent reviews. You can compare the specs here.
UPDATE: As of October 2014, they have a new phone, the Moto E which is only $99!
Option 2: Ting Mobile
Ting is another affordable cell phone option. Ting claims that 98% of people will save money by switching to Ting.
Ting Plan
The Ting plan is different than any other that I’ve seen. It uses “buckets” for talk, text, and data. The pricing is tiered, so you pay for the size bucket that your usage falls into each month. If you don’t use texting, you don’t pay for texting.
What I think is great is that the whole family (who is on the same plan), has all their talk, text, and data going into family buckets. In addition to your talk, text, and data buckets, you will pay $6 per phone.
On Ting, we could get two phones for $21, but would have to watch our usage closely. To keep our phones at about $10 each, our combined usage could not exceed 100 minutes of talk time, 100 texts, or 100 MB.
Another cool thing about Ting is that they will pay for 25% of your cancellation fee for your old cell phone plan (up to $75). To sweeten the deal even more, you can get $25 off by signing up through this link.
Ting Phones
With Ting, you need a Sprint device. If you already have a Sprint device, you can use it! Otherwise, you can buy one through Ting or on Ebay or Craigslist or anywhere else. Ting even works with iPhones.
The Drawback for Me
It’s comforting to know that when we are done using dumb phones on my parents’ family plan, there are inexpensive options in the world of smartphones. Between these two choices, I think Republic would be a better fit for us because of the unlimited aspect of their talk, text, and data. Since my husband has an hour commute each way, we talk on the phone often, especially on his way home. We would easily reach one of the larger Ting plans with our talk usage, making it not as cheap.
So what’s the problem? Remember how we live in the boonies? We are in an area that has no Sprint coverage. Both Ting and Republic Wireless use the Sprint network, though they both have free roaming for talk and text on Verizon’s network. We also didn’t pull the trigger because…
I Found My Phone
After praying about my phone situation, I received inspiration as to where I would find my phone. I had the thought to look in my balloon apron. I occasionally twist balloons for parties and events. I had done a gig a few weekends before, but was certain that I had used my phone since then, so looking in my balloon apron never crossed my mind. Sure enough, that’s exactly where my phone was!
UPDATE: We have since switched to Republic Wireless . Here’s my review!
What About You?
- What does your cell phone bill look like? Is it this cheap?
- If you’re paying more for your cell phone, what’s keeping you there?
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Ever since my first cell phone in high school I used Tracfone, but I honestly despised their service. I can’t tell you how long I sat on hold with them the million times I ended up calling. One time they messed up adding more minutes to my phone and I wasn’t able to use it for like a week, we just kept getting the runaround whenever we’d call, saying they had fixed it but nothing ever happening. It was a miserable experience, and their phones were not great. I switched to Ting over a year ago now, and though I do have to watch my talk usage to keep it in the S plan, I love the service. I usually pay about $20 or so per month, and I lovelovelove my Galaxy S III. The only downside to Ting is their coverage. When I first got my phone I was just about to graduate, and our school was in the upper peninsula of Michigan, no service at all. I now live in Los Angeles so service is no problem, but yeah, if you’re in the boonies it might not cover your area.
It seems like the limits on wifi data / speed with both of those options are very limiting. I think the Metro PCS plans are the most affordable way to go and if one want’s wifi on the phone bad enough then you’d probably have to go with the Metro PCS $60 unlimited data plan. If you don’t want to use the phone, then don’t but it will be come with the plan anyway.
If one only wants the internet and does not use it much then yeah, those 2 options would be the way to go. But who wants wifi and does not use it much?
We pay $140/month with sprint for our 2 smart phones. Worth every penny!
We switched to Republic last year. Up until then, we didn’t have smartphones, so I was excited. We hadn’t switched, because the only provider that works at my husbands office was Verizon. He is able to use Republic out there because it roams on Verizon. Since we pay the same price every month, it doesn’t change the amount we pay, no matter how much we roam. They also recently began allowing refurbished phones, so now you can get a phone for a lot less money. We didn’t have that option when we started, but it is still saving us so much money, for better phones!
Yes Katie! We are loving having smartphones now too! Since we have WiFi at home (and work for my husband), the $10/month Republic plan is perfect for us.
I bought a used Verizon Droid Razr. I don’t know how to activate it and was looking at Page Plus or mypuppy.com (which evidently has NO customer service). Would Republic work with the phone I bought?
Thanks.
Hi Sue! You would have to buy a Republic phone because you need the hybrid technology that other phones don’t have. The least expensive is the moto e at $99.
I’ve never even heard of these plans, so this is some great information. Republic definitely seems like the way to go, unless you’re pretty sure you’re not going to be using the phone for much other than the occasional call.
Admittedly, we have a huge bill with Verizon. BUT, the Husband expenses the majority of the bill, including the wireless jetpack (it’s like taking your own wi-fi with you for your computer or tablet). We only pay out of pocket for my line, which is a $20 add-on. If that situation ever changes, you can bet I’ll be looking into these plans.
That’s really nice that you only pay for your line and not your husband’s fancy line! 🙂
Those are really good rates, especially the Republic. Will your coverage be updated where you live anytime soon? We just got cell phone service at my Dad’s cottage this year but it only works for one provider and it’s not the one my husband or BIL use. It is the one my SIS and her husband use and I have for work, though having my work cell phone working at the cottage is not so inspiring. But no internet so I couldn’t work there anyways!
I don’t imagine coverage will improve here since there aren’t many people out here. It’s also tough because it’s the foothills, so the geography is not helpful!
Ha! Prayer works. 🙂 We still have our dumb phones too, and pay about $100 total per year for them for talk and text. With these prices though, I would seriously think about switching to a smart phone. Thanks for the great info, Stephanie!
$100 per year is great! Having the freedom of “unlimited” and the benefits of a smartphone would be nice too!
Thanks for writing this- I need to bookmark it so I remember our options in October when our two-year contract with Verizon will be done. We need a more affordable option. $10 sounds like a pretty good price to me : )
That’s what I thought too!
We too have dumb phones and recently got off my parents plan. We just went with Verizon’s monthly plan which includes 800 talk minutes and unlimited text for $35.00. I’d love to pay LESS on this plan, but that is the minimum you can do. We live in a basement apartment in the boonies and it’s almost impossible to get a signal except for that one spot. Every other carrier offers the same coverage so maybe we’ll look into Republic Wireless. Thanks for sharing your finds. (Stopping by from the SITS Girls Sharefest)
If you have WiFi at home, Republic Wireless might be the best option for being able to use your phone in your basement apartment. The default is WiFi, then if WiFi isn’t available it moves to cell and does so seamlessly. That would save $25 per month on Republic’s $10 unlimited talk and text on WiFi and cell plan!
I’m looking to get my first smart phone this month, but I think we’ll stick with AT&T. We haven’t made the switch yet because I’m a SAHM and my hubs couldn’t fathom why I would need the internet in my pocket when I’m home most of the time. We’re children of the 80’s and sometimes he just doesn’t get that things change! However, his younger clients don’t know how to use email and are always trying to send him texts…so the business is making him move to the 21st century!
I’m curious…if you’re getting your phone for $10 because you’re on someone else’s plan–don’t they have to pay the full rate? Technically, my phone is $10, but the hub’s is $50.
My husband has lots of people who text him, even though we don’t have a texting plan. It will be nice to upgrade sometime. The funny thing for us is that my husband is into technology (and he would love to have all the latest gadgets), but for the sake of our budget and goals he makes do with what we’ve got.
My parents’ family plan had the option years ago to add on other phones for $10 each. I think they got 3 extras for my 3 siblings who were living at home at the time. When they each left home or got married, they got different plans with their spouses, so we took over their phones. So my parents paid the bulk of the bill because it’s what they would be paying anyway. Even if it didn’t have the extra $10 lines, they would still have their part of the bill. Several years ago, they upgraded to smartphones. When we decide to get off their plan, maybe they’ll switch to something cheaper. I’ll have to show them the options.
I was so going to tell you about Ting. We switched last September. Even with buying (used) smart phones for each of us and paying the fee to cancel the rest of my husband’s Verizon contact, it only took us six months to break even. Now we are saving a ton each month, and I get to have a smart phone (I didn’t before).
Now that you mention that, I vaguely remember you saying something about it in December. That’s awesome that you recouped your cost after six months and the future is just savings!
I currently pay too much for our two iPhones. I’ve been looking at PagePlus (https://pageplus.billing.ms/home.html). They use VZW’s network, but are so much cheaper! The only thing holding me back is the cancellation cost (I was reading your dh’s sunk costs post and it reminded me I needed to revisit just how much it would cost to break my contract). Glad you found your phone though!
I’m planning on talking about that here soon! 🙂 I think the cancellation cost is what holds most people back, but these other providers are so much cheaper that you make up the cost pretty quickly in most cases. We’ll do the math for a couple scenarios.
So glad you found your “dinosaur” phone! What a relief.
We switched to Republic Wireless in December. I also had a dumb phone and “upgraded” to a smart phone. We are on the $25 a month per person plan and it has worked very well. I’ve had one dropped call while driving on the highway and there is one dead spot in town – so I would be careful about service in the boonies.
I suppose that when we’re home in the boonies, Republic Wireless would use our WiFi at home, so even being in a basement it might work.
The phone should work well at home…..I was thinking about your husband driving to get to you in the boonies….his reception might not be great.
We live in the foothills, so reception when driving is often spotty in some places, no matter what phone service you have, so we’re used to it! 🙂
We went from AT&T to Tracphone a few weeks ago. We bought our android Valet ZTE for $50 each and buy a card to add service. For the life of our phones, we get 3x the amount on the card. 60 minute cards with 60 texts and data for $20/card. We expect to get new cards every 8-12 weeks. At AT &T we paid $60/month for talk but we never used our minutes and paid $0.30 /text. We are thrilled with our Tracphones so far.
That sounds great Tammy! I’m glad you found a cheaper option!
I’ve loved reading your blog!! Your story sounds SO similar to mine (husband went back to school to become an RN and even with being SO frugal, we needed to take out quite a few student loans to achieve our goal while raising our 2 kids and now we’re throwing every cent towards those pesky student loans!)
2 months ago, we heard about Republic Wireless and decided to give it a shot. We LOVE our phones and love the company! We had dumb phones with Verizon and were paying SO much! Having unlimited everything for only $20 a month for both phones has been just amazing!! I would highly recommend them!! 🙂 Keep writing! You’ve motivated and been an encouragement to me!
Thanks Erika! It sound like we have a lot in common as far as debt and family go! It’s always nice to know you aren’t alone in your journey.
I’m glad that you are saving money on your cell phones with Republic Wireless! We are paying $20 for both of our phones, but we’ve never even had texting on our plan, let alone data. Republic sounds pretty awesome!
I teach the teenagers Sunday School class at church and one time I pulled out my phone to check the time and the kids said “Is that a phone?” Obviously our phones are dinosaurs!
HAHA! Another thing we have in common! I am a youth leader for a group of jr. high girls at my church and they couldn’t believe I didn’t even know how to use a smartphone until 2 months ago 🙂
Fun! 🙂 I still feel young, but apparently I’m “old!”
I made the switch to Republic Wireless in January and haven’t looked back! I was paying around $92/month with Verizon which was ridiculous. RW has been great so far; I had one hiccup and they solved the problem within a reasonable timeframe. I have the $25/month plan for 3G, and even when traveling through rural areas the GPS doesn’t drop. Hopefully their coverage will expand – that was one thing I was worried about upon switching. I’m glad you found your phone though!
That’s great E.M.! $25 for unlimited everything is pretty awesome!
We stay with AT&T for our iPhones for several reasons – the biggest being my international travel. I can travel overseas and keep my phone number – and even get a reasonable amount of international data for an extra $30. My phone is unlocked, so I can easily get another SIM card while traveling – but I can’t easily tell my mom or my contact the number ahead of time.
We’re on AT&T’s mobile share plan: two iPhones, unlimited talk, unlimited text and 2GB of data (shared) for $93/mth.
We have never paid more than $20/month for two phones, so I can’t imagine paying that much, but it sounds like you have good reasons and it works for you! 🙂