Paying Too Much For iPhones
Even as people have cut back on their expenses the last four years, they have been paying more for their iPhones. The Wall Street Journal reports that with smartphone bills running about $100 a month, “the average household’s annual spending on telephone services rose to $1,226 in 2011 from $1,110 in 2007, when Apple Inc.’s iPhone first appeared.”
And those with numerous iPhones pay “sometimes more than $4,000 a year.”
On top of that, people sign contracts locking them in at these high rates for a years at a time.
Needless-to-say, we can do better than that. Up until recently, I used a T-Mobile plan that cost about $45 a month and had unlimited Internet and more texts than I ever came close to using. It was important to me that my cell phone plan:
a. not be AT&T, because their bad customer service and monopolistic tendencies bother me,
and
b. not be month-to-month. As soon as you sign that contract, you lose your right to switch carriers and are at the company’s mercy.
But $540 a year for a cell phone is still pricey, so I decided to try this $10 per month plan recommended by Mr. Money Mustache. Assuming it works out, that will save me $440 a year.
And if it doesn’t cut it for my cell phone needs, Virgin Mobile has a plan that costs $35 a month with no contract.
More contract-free plans are showing up every day, so a bit of shopping around can save you hundreds, if not thousands, in your budget.
What cell phone plan do you use?
