Author Topic: Cheap cell phone/plan recommendations for couple with baby (baby pics a must)  (Read 4362 times)

Marvel2017

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We have a baby and use phone to take/send pics to family. Currently on AT&T with two iphones and unlimited data/text for $150/month. But would like to save some money here. Also would like phone that can give us directions/find an address while out, etc. Is there savings to be had in this spend category for us given these requirements, or would we need to goto cheap phones that are only used as phones basically to make it worth switching money-wise? Thanks!

purplepants

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Someone will probably be able to steer you toward the perfect plan, but in the meantime...

Have you logged into AT&T and checked out your options for plans lately?  Unlimited data is a LOT of freaking data, especially because you can use WiFi whenever you're at home (as well as many places out and about).  I'd check your past usage to see how much data you're actually using on a monthly basis and drop down to a plan that provides as much data as you're actually using. 

dandarc

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Check out the 2 super guide posts at the top of "Share your Badassity".

We're with Republic Wireless - 2X $10 / month plans.  Works fine for us.

Shade00

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We have a baby and use phone to take/send pics to family. Currently on AT&T with two iphones and unlimited data/text for $150/month. But would like to save some money here. Also would like phone that can give us directions/find an address while out, etc. Is there savings to be had in this spend category for us given these requirements, or would we need to goto cheap phones that are only used as phones basically to make it worth switching money-wise? Thanks!

The easiest switch for you would be Cricket - it is owned by AT&T and uses the AT&T network. You can take your iPhones over without issue. 2 lines with unlimited talk/text and 2.5gb of high-speed data (unlimited data after that at 128kbps) would be $70 a month for two lines. The value really goes up with more lines, though, because you can have 5 lines for $100.

Marvel2017

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Few more details. We pay $152/mo TOTAL. 2 iphones, insurance, unlimited text and data. 550 phone minutes-on a Family Talk plan. I get a 22% discount through work, otherwise it would cost more.

I went on AT&T site and don't see a cheaper plan for iphone.

We have home internet and I have internet at work that I can wifi through to save on data-we just need to be able to access internet on the phone while we are out driving and such. My wife and I text a lot and she can call me at my office at work. I have seen people mention google voice for talking for free so we can probably do a lot of our voice calls at home over wifi if that helps. Mainly we would want a phone that can take baby pics and emailing/text them to people (which we can do at home over wifi). Maybe a "per mb" data plan is what we need?

geekette

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Everyone has their favorites, but after looking at the Superguide, I took my iPhone to Airvoice using their $10/month plan (they also use AT&T towers).  If you use mostly iMessage, that just uses wifi data if you're connected, or a tiny amount of data if you're on cellular data.  Regular texts are .02 each, voice calls are .04/minute, and data is .066/MB.  We have VoIP at home, so I probably only use my cell for a couple of calls and texts a month (not counting iMessage).  I use a good bit of data, but the remainder carries over.  Right now I have a $30 surplus (handy when we go on vacation).

If you don't have VoIP and need to make a lot of cell calls, they have unlimited talk/text plans as well.  No insurance, no tax, limited hours for support (but they're based in the US, which is nice). 

One thing I found is that AT&T inflated the amount of data I used compared to what Airvoice does, but turning off all auto updates and such really cuts down on data.

If you go off AT&T, though, you will lose visual voicemail. I don't know how other MVNO carriers handle it voicemail notifications, but I get no notice at all if someone leaves a message.  Of course you do get a missed call notification (assuming you're not in a dead zone), but I do miss that little red circle.


purplepants

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I have the AT&T Mobile Share Value plan.  Only one phone on the plan at the moment (DH is deployed).

4GB of shared data with rollover
Unlimited Minutes
Unlimited Text

For $95 a month, before my 20% discount through my employer.  The breakdown is $70 for the plan, plus $25 per device using it.  If your family could use the same plan, it would be about $120 before your discount. 

4GB is a lot of data.  I stream music all the time, talk to DH daily via Facebook Messenger's free call feature, etc... And I'm still rolling over about .25 GB each month. 

That being said, Ting, Cricket, etc... are better rates for sure.  I just can't speak for the quality of the service, not having tried them.

kd2008

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I believe Cricket Wireless would be a great fit since you already have AT&T iphones.

$35/ month per line get you unlimited talk & txt w/ 2.5 GB per line. Plenty for photos, directions etc. So the total for you would be $70 including all taxes and fees.

Airvoice, H2O etc may end up cheaper but may also be a bit of hassle.

PM me if you would like a referral - good for $25.

Marvel2017

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I'll also add that we don't have an attachment to iphones, the obvious disadvantage is a lot of our family has iphone so that might impact charges if we are calling/texting them from a different type phone plan. We can probably sell the iphones for $200 or more used on ebay. I wouldn't mind having a cheaper to replace phone honestly because we have a toddler and more likely to find the thing in the bottom of the tub/toilet/other water source one day.

purplepants

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I'll also add that we don't have an attachment to iphones, the obvious disadvantage is a lot of our family has iphone so that might impact charges if we are calling/texting them from a different type phone plan. We can probably sell the iphones for $200 or more used on ebay. I wouldn't mind having a cheaper to replace phone honestly because we have a toddler and more likely to find the thing in the bottom of the tub/toilet/other water source one day.

I'm a grown-ass woman and found my iPhone at the bottom of a toilet the other day (after dropping it there myself).  Luckily, it was my work phone and not the one I paid for!

If your family is not local, having the iPhone can be nice so the kids can Facetime with relatives, but there's always Skype!

Daley

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Read the guide (unabridged link here), as has been recommended already. This way you can make a more informed decision on your own instead of just blindly trusting others to think for you.

I also wouldn't recommend Cricket for a variety of reasons. It's not just about what's the absolute cheapest.

mm1970

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We've got google phones not Iphones, but we are on ATT pre-paid.  I've thought of switching to Cricket.

My husband pays $25 a month and I pay $45 a month (more data).  Most of the time we use data on WiFi at home or at work.  So the data lasts longer.

The only time I really run out of data is on vacation.

I'm sorry I don't remember how much data I get with that.

ltt

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I have an IPhone (about $100 per month).  Two boys with Samsungs that are on my plan--they are $50 each per month, and one daughter who we just got a Moto E through Republic Wireless--we went cheap (she says she can't take selfies---hmmmm, oh well), but the Republic is $12.46 (which includes taxes and fees) per month.  Can't beat that.  We will be switching as soon as the contracts run out on my sons.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!