As the title states, this setup requires a Dual SIM cell phone.
I don't make that many phone calls or texts on my phone. If you are in a similar situation, this might work for you.
I use one sim for data and another for voice and texts.
Here's the basics:
1 Dual SIM Phone (I'm using Honor 5x and Leeco S3 for my wife)
1 Freedompop sim for data
1 Lycamobile sim using pay as you $10 refills
Freedompop (ATT MVNO) - These guys suck. I don't deal with them directly. For a flat $8 SIM from an ebay seller I got:
200mb free plan +500mb from using their "friend" network
Unlimited Whatsapp data (I had to choose this from the seller) - Voice sucks in my rural area, YMMV
Never deal with Freedompop's BS gotcha charges
The cons:
- an ebay seller is managing an account in my Name. I am fine with this.
- Possibly a ToS breach
Lycamobile (T-Mobile MVNO) - Buy the SIM from Amazon for $0.01
Activate on their website or via the phone. (phone dial directions on their site and all over google)
Buy their $10 "international" recharge cards for their paygo plan (I don't buy directly)
Here's the rates: Voice - .05 per min
SMS - .12 per text
Expiration: After 90 days on non-usage (basically, your balance won't expire if you're using it)
My costs are quite minimal. I can generally stretch a $10 card to about 5-6 months. Sometimes I find deals on the cards. For example, I recently got a $10 card for $8. Freedompop was a 1 time cost per sim.
*An important note*
this dual sim setup can only work because T-Mobile still supports 2G.
For example - Airvoice + Freedompop no longer works because ATT has dropped 2G
Just thought I'd share my current setup on this. I can't believe how low I've got this expense. Let me know if you got something better!
I wish I could manage my other expenses this well. I'll get there on day lol.