How much has Daley's Communications Guide saved you?

[skunkfunk]

Does it count if I read it and then ignored it and got Ting anyway?

It's cool, Swick.

Skunkfunk, does this mean you didn't actually read the guide since Ting has been listed in it since August 13, 2012?

For the record, Ting was added three months before MMM even mentioned the company in his Airvoice review, and nearly a year before he publicly reviewed Ting and posted a referral link.

No, it's been 18 months or so but IF I recall correctly the "ignoring" comes down to ignoring the math. I switched to Ting when I already had a perfectly  good GSM phone, which cost me an extra $250 when I regrettably sprang for the Galaxy S3.

[Daley]

No, it's been 18 months or so but IF I recall correctly the "ignoring" comes down to ignoring the math. I switched to Ting when I already had a perfectly  good GSM phone, which cost me an extra $250 when I regrettably sprang for the Galaxy S3.

Not entirely the path I'd have recommended given the electronic waste, but I know you're not the only one who's ignored that particular bit of advice in these numbers. If you've saved money because of a carrier switch and the advice in the guide though, I'd appreciate you adding the numbers in.

[skunkfunk]

No, it's been 18 months or so but IF I recall correctly the "ignoring" comes down to ignoring the math. I switched to Ting when I already had a perfectly  good GSM phone, which cost me an extra $250 when I regrettably sprang for the Galaxy S3.

Not entirely the path I'd have recommended given the electronic waste, but I know you're not the only one who's ignored that particular bit of advice in these numbers. If you've saved money because of a carrier switch and the advice in the guide though, I'd appreciate you adding the numbers in.

That's $226.28 over 18 months, after subtracting out the cost of the phone from the monthly savings.

[Rheagar]

I just switched to Consumer Cellular and we'll be saving $40/month (Was 100 now 60). We were with ATT paying 100.37/month for 2 lines - 3GB/unlimited talk and text, and I was getting reimbursed 100/month from my employer. I kept putting of changing plans because I couldn't find one that really fit our needs that was significantly cheaper, and with my employer reimbursement it was basically a wash.

I went through the guide and stumbled on Consumer Cellular and they had exactly what I needed. The ability to bring over your phones, a cafeteria style plan with multiple lines, and cheaper rates for unlimited text and comparable data. I ended up buying a new phone for the wife for Mother's Day since her old iPhone 4 has started to crap out on her and she's been mentioning needing a new one. That ran us 150+taxes. So we should 'break even' in 4 months, but in reality I think we would have ended up getting a new phone anyway and still have been left paying the 100/month instead of our new 60/month plan.

[Daley]

That's $226.28 over 18 months, after subtracting out the cost of the phone from the monthly savings.

Nobody else did ROI with new equipment, so I'm guessing monthly bill to monthly bill you're saving about $26.40 a month, or about $317 a year?

I went through the guide and stumbled on Consumer Cellular and they had exactly what I needed.

Excellent to hear!

[skunkfunk]

That's $226.28 over 18 months, after subtracting out the cost of the phone from the monthly savings.

Nobody else did ROI with new equipment, so I'm guessing monthly bill to monthly bill you're saving about $26.40 a month, or about $317 a year?

Correct

[Daley]

Correct

Rockin'.

[NICE!]

Daley (or IP? Which shorthand do you prefer?),

I just checked out your awesome site and saw that you're eschewing ads and going the donation route. Props, although I'm curious as to why you don't want to link something...

At any rate, I think I owe you a couple bucks at least since you saved me a bundle. What do you need to keep that site running, what's a good donation, and what is a donation that is small enough that transaction costs make it not worthwhile?

[Daley]

I just checked out your awesome site and saw that you're eschewing ads and going the donation route. Props, although I'm curious as to why you don't want to link something...

Daley is fine. :)

As to your observation, this is the other thread I started a few days back that lead to the creation of this one. I do have a bit of income off of Amazon referrals, but it's not much. I was spitballing ideas, and was reminded of why the guide exists in the first place.

I'm hoping that the feedback and some solid current numbers from here will help establish the possibility of my flipping this over into a full-fledged educational and community outreach non-profit for lower income families combined with a small research, development and testing lab. If I do this, I need to make sure there's sufficient funding to let me push for the next year to year and a half to make it self-sufficient.

[jba302]

We are down from $112/month to $17 / month, and we bought the $20 phones (https://www.ptel.com/phones/phoneinfo/3651). This started in January. She was on sprint with an iphone and i was using virgin mobile with an HTC EVO that was more super glue than phone by the time we switched. So we'll be up over a grand by the end of the year, phones included.

Was tempted to buy a neat-o smart phone as a "look how much we are saving" treat, but I've noticed that I don't habitually check email or social media quite as much which has been a nice benefit.

[NICE!]

...

I like the ideas (especially helping the poor), but it doesn't answer what you need for donations now!

[Daley]

I like the ideas (especially helping the poor), but it doesn't answer what you need for donations now!

Well technically, hosting is covered. The sink is time, so if you're donating to support time spent, any and all amounts help.

[bythesea]

I know this post is old, but I just wanted to thank you for your guide and all the posts here on this forum.  I just ordered my SIM cards and activation pins from Ptel and will be saving $76 a month on 3 phones!  I'm thrilled!  I can't believe how much I was paying for things we didn't even use or need. 

Oh, and thanks to a link on one of your blog posts, I went through my old smartphone and deleted all of the unneeded apps, turned off the data that was hardly ever used, and pretty much turned it into a dumb phone.  I now can only get calls and text.  It might sound crazy, but it felt so mentally freeing doing that.  I'm a few days into it and think I will be leaving it that way.

Again, many thanks. 

[Daley]

Thank you, Bythesea.

[Sibley]

Well, I prepaid for 2 years (Voipo) instead of paying for Vonage monthly. Works out to be a $20 per month savings maybe?

Cell phone is still under contract and not worth it to front the cash to get out.

You've also saved my parents at least $20 per month, not sure of the exact numbers. Yes, they could have done much better, but I'll take what I can get sometimes.