{"id":3642,"date":"2020-05-05T17:34:22","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T17:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/money\/?p=3642"},"modified":"2020-05-05T17:34:22","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T17:34:22","slug":"time-to-ditch-that-super-expensive-cell-phone-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/money\/smmo-blog\/time-to-ditch-that-super-expensive-cell-phone-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Time To Ditch That Super Expensive Cell Phone Plan!"},"content":{"rendered":"

What’s up SMMO Money Tribe! Going through this current pandemic should have us all looking for ways to cut down on expenses. Cell phone plans should be one of the first places to start. I could never wrap my head around the normalization of paying exorbitant prices for something we mainly use to text, tweet, and snap selfies. Now, don\u2019t get me wrong, I know some of use our phones for work, but still. I\u2019ve seen it over and over where people are paying way more than they should for a single cell phone plan; $80, $90, and even $120.\u00a0 For some of us, that\u2019s groceries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our recommendation is to keep your plan below $50 per month. Yup, I said it, 50 bucks! Anything above that is just way too much. There are several ways that you can save money on your cell phone plan. So let\u2019s discuss a few of them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the easiest is to switch from a big brand carrier to one of the discount brands. There are a lot of inexpensive plans out there like <\/span>Mint Mobile<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>T-Mobile Connect<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Ting<\/span><\/a> to name a few. These carriers have rates as low as $15 per month. Isn\u2019t that much better than say… $80! The key is, you need to have your own phone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An unexpected way you can save money is switching plans within your existing carrier. You can go from an unlimited plan to a fixed plan and even switch to a prepaid plan. You don’t have anything to lose by asking. Moreover, go through your data plan and get rid of some of those extras that you don’t need like that unlimited plan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other ways you can save money on your cell phone bill is by getting into a family plan. They\u2019re not bad, you\u2019ll be somewhat trapped, but your monthly payment will be so much lower. I tell students all the time, if you\u2019re in a family plan, stay there and don\u2019t feel guilty about being on your parent\u2019s plan. You can also auto-pay your way into savings. Some carriers will give you a discount if you set it up. A bit of caution here\u2026 Don\u2019t link the payment to your checking account or your debit card. Link it to a credit card. That way, you\u2019ll be able to protect your rights under <\/span>federal law<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, you can look for additonal discounts with your provider. Yes, I did that on purpose. For instance, if you served in the military, if you’re an educator, or part of a specific organization, you can ask for a discount. Even some auto insurers have connections with cell phone carriers. The point is, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Just keep looking to find those deals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, I feel that I must say this after that whole iPhone 11 craze. Please, please, please, keep your phone longer than the typical 18 months. At this point, and I\u2019ve been here for years\u2026. As long as my phone is functional, I don\u2019t care about the bells and whistles of a brand new cell phone. What I do care about is holding on to as much of my hard-earned cash as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gosh, I remember having a phone that was so old, I had to keep it plugged into a wall socket as if it was a landline. Sure, it was inconvenient, but it didn’t bother me to the point of going out and purchasing a brand new phone before I was ready.\u00a0 My cell phone carrier appreciates the fact that I\u2019ve been with them for more than 15 years. So all I had to do was wait until it was time to renew my contract and ask for a new phone. They hemmed and hawed about how they don’t do that. I was patient and received a new phone in the mail.\u00a0 Granted, they\u2019ll send me an older model, but it was new to me and it was free. You see how that works?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To wrap it up, with some effort, a decent carrier, a phone that\u2019s paid for, and mindful consumption, we can save a lot of money on our cell phone plans. And as long as I can text, tweet, and, check my inbox, I’m just fine with my good ole<\/em> Samsung Galaxy 8.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What’s up SMMO Money Tribe! Going through this current pandemic should have us all looking for ways to cut down on expenses. Cell phone plans should be one of the first places to start. I … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":3643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[22,32,71],"class_list":["post-3642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-smmo-blog","tag-cell-phone-plans","tag-cut-expenses","tag-save-money"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/money\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/money\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/money\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/money\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/money\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/money\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/money\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/money\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/money\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.austincc.edu\/money\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}