I am looking for a phone plan for myself and my husband but all we really need is to be able to call each other; we'd have long distance service at home. What are our options without getting into contracts, etc?
2007-11-01 06:46:43 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Consumer Electronics ➔ Cell Phones & Plans
Try a pre-paid plan. You can pick up a pre-paid phone at any wal-mart and then just buy minutes as you need them.
2007-11-01 07:01:53 · answer #1 · answered by Help Me Help You 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You can get a pre-paid cell phone plan without contract. I would recommend Virgin Mobile. The rates are cheap and you can switch plans without incurring penalties.
Additionally, if you don't travel often. You can get service from local carriers such as Leap Wireless or MetroPCS for $30/month for unlimited calling and no contract. Check the sites below for more details.
2007-11-01 06:54:10 · answer #2 · answered by amorde 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would suggest you go to Cingular (unfortunately Cingular is now AT&T--and subject to their lousy service) or another pay as you go plan. The calls are 10 cents each or less and the only fee you will pay is for the phone and taxes on the phone. If you get a contract plan, even though the calls to your favorite 5 or calls to other cell phones are free, every month you will pay all the municipal, state, federal and other taxes which amount to from $5.00 to $10.00 on each monthly bill. Also, the minimum bill is usually $29 to $39 dollars and you get from 250 to 500 minutes included. Think about it. If you pay $29 per month plus all the other fees that amount to $5 or $10 dollars, you are paying $34 per month. If you go over the minutes allotted, the cost are phenomenal and that adds to the taxes and other fees you have to pay. If you go and buy a phone for anywhere from $29 to $69 depending upon which model you want and then simply charge it up with minutes (say $100 worth of minutes that are good for 1 full year), you'll pay the tax on the minutes but none of the $5.00 to $10 per month fees and additional charges you would have to pay for the contract. You pay 10 cents per minute and often you get an extra number of minutes for buying $100 worth so you actually make out better. By doing this, you use only the minutes you pay for and if you run out, you can recharge the minutes by simply going to the store and adding more or it can even be done on your phone.
Think about it. If you pay $34 per month for a contract phone, you would have to sign a contract obligating you to at least a year of service. That means that $12 X $34 your minimum expense, not counting the phones for one year is $408. If you used the pay as you go phone and didn't use up your 1,000 minutes over a 3 month period, you would have already made $2.00. Try the pay as you go for three months and then compare the bills from a friend who has a contract type phone. Add up the minutes they used and the total costs for the fees and minutes and see who comes out ahead.
Verizon has a very good plan with "in calling" meaning that you don't pay anything extra when you call other verizon customers and it doesn't count toward your monthly minutes. The drawback is that when you go over, the costs are very high and the added "fees" for taxes and quasi taxes jack it up by $10 to $20 per month. You can get the family plan which will allow you to get up to four phones, usually $29 or more. The additional lines are $9.99 per month plus all those other "hidden or undisclosed and unpredictable costs" (taxes, municipal fees, line fees, etc.) That means that you will pay a minimum of $38.99 per month for two phones plus all the municipal and other hidden fees. Again, if you aren't going to talk so much and you're only going to talk between you, you might get off cheaper by buying two phones without a contract, and splitting $100 worth of minutes. Your breakeven would be two months at most.
2007-11-01 07:11:49 · answer #3 · answered by Mindbender 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'd say get a prepaid phone. There are tons out there. Boost mobile kinda sucks sometimes, but if you just need to talk to one another, than you could use to the walkie talkie feature. Or we personally use Virgin mobile. Theer are tons of prepaid plans out there. Just research which is right for you.
2007-11-01 06:50:27 · answer #4 · answered by DutchessRain 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Pretty much all cell phone services offer pay-as-you-go. Also, I know Sprint/Nextell has walkie-talkie type phone, so if you pay for the pay-as-you-go, you wouldn't even have to CALL him, just hit the button and send him an alert.
2007-11-01 06:50:03 · answer #5 · answered by Jennalove311 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
prepaid cell phones
only way to avoid contracts and still have a "phone"
using a 2-way radio would be inviting anyone to listen in on your conversations
2007-11-01 06:49:58 · answer #6 · answered by cmcg83 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
if you are with aliant you can do pay as you go because it is free calling with in the network or family if you pay just a little extra this way your phone bill will be low because you are just calling each other.
2007-11-01 06:49:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Have you looked into MetroPCS? it only really works in metro areas so if you don't do a lot of travelling out in the country you'd be fine.
2007-11-01 06:49:12 · answer #8 · answered by Sarah H 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Verizon Wireless call as you go and leave whenever you want ^^
2007-11-01 06:49:21 · answer #9 · answered by Kumori9003 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
no contract is called pre pay and it stinks
2007-11-01 06:59:20 · answer #10 · answered by Michael M 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋