I'm never going to pay for mobile service again, and there's some fun maths behind it :)
Context- I live in Canada
- I keep my data turned off. I have WiFi at home and work, and I'm okay with not having internet when I'm out. I haven't used data in 2 years, and I'm not any less happy because of it (I think I'm actually happier)
- I'm a heavy WhatsApp user. My parents live in a different city, and my sister lives in Australia. I'm constantly text- and video-chating with them using WhatsApp for free while I'm at home connected to Wifi.
- I'm a light mobile network user. Last month, I only sent 4 SMS texts and had no airtime. WhatsApp saves me from really having to use these features.
How I got my phone bill down to $0- I signed up with Public Mobile on their $10/month plan
- I used a referral number when I signed up, which gave me a reward of $25 (this was during a limited time promotion, which is currently happening until January 1)
- I turned on autopay, which gets me $2/month off as a reward
- I referred 4 people (coworkers and parents), which earned me $25 per referral (as per the limited time promotion) as well as $1/month off per referral as long as they stay with Public Mobile
- I plan on staying with Public Mobile, and every year you're with them, they give you an extra $1/month off for loyalty, up to a maximum of $5/month off. For example, after 3 years with them, I'll get a $3 discount on my monthly phone bill, and when I reach 4 years it will increase to a $4 monthly discount.
The maths- I start at $10/month
- For using autopay, I get it down from $10/month to $8/month
- For having 4 referrals, I get it down from $8/month to $4/month
- Each year, my bill will decrease by $1/month, so after a year, it will be $3/month, then after 2 years it will be $2/month, . . .
- Thanks to the limited time promotion, I have $125 credit in my Public Mobile account: $25 for signing up with a referral number and $100 for referring 4 people ($25 each)
- My first year will cost $4x12=$48. So my balance going into year two will be $125-$48=$77
- My second year will cost $3x12=$36 (thanks to the loyalty reward, which lowers my bill by an extra $1/month stacking each year). So my balance going into year three will be $77-$36=$41
- My third year will cost $2x12=$24. So my balance going into year four will be $41-$24=$17
- My fourth year will cost $1x12=$12. So my balance going into year five will be $17-$12=$5
- My fifth year, and all subsequent years, will cost $0
So there you have it! The only caveat is that if one of my referrals leaves Public Mobile, I'll lose their $1/month discount, so I'd have to refer another person to keep the foreverness of this.
If you want to replicate this, now is your chance! The promotion that gives you $25 for signing up with a referral and $25 for each person you refer is on
until January 1, 2019! See
www.publicmobile.ca for details. To get the $25, you have to activate
online, not in-store, and you have to enter a referral number during activation. You can use my referral number (
7806917522) to get your first $25. Activate your SIM ASAP so you can use the rest of the month to find your 4 referrals (feel free to post on this thread to let people know they can use you as a referral).
You can buy the SIM card for $10 from the Mobile Shop in Superstore (that's where I bought mine), London Drugs, wow! mobile botique, or K Mobile. You could also try Walmart, but I've heard that they try to force you to activate your SIM in-store, which will make you lose the $25 necessary for this hack. You could also order the SIM online, but they'll deliver through Canada Post, so good luck.
Let me know if you have any questions. Happy phone bill hacking!! :)
P.S. If you can't live without data, you can still get super cheap plans with their promotion right now. If you activate online (not in-store), you'll get the $25 (if you use a referral number) stacked with $10 off per month for the first 6 months of any $30+/month plan, so that's $85 of savings on an already cheap plan with data. Sign up by the end of the month!
