NT's Net10 phone broke, so we were able to get him a new one, plus 300 minutes and a phone card with 200 more minutes for $21.56! (That's cheaper than the usual $32.82 for 300 minutes with no phone or extra phone card. So why won't we take advantage by just getting him a new phone every time and saving $11+ plus getting nearly twice as many minutes? Terrible tech support. He went phoneless for a week while they got their s#%* together.) Since the second year began in late March, here's what we've paid:
CJ 1000 minutes late-March T-Mobile fillup: $107.78
NT 300 minutes late-March Net10 fillup: $32.82
NT 300 minutes late-May Net10 fillup: $32.82
NT 500 minutes + new phone late June: $21.56
Total cost for the year: $194.98
It happened in late June, but I forgot to record it in the post-vacation madness. Now it's late July already! This is the end of the fourth month of our cellphone "fiscal year," so our average monthly cost for this year is $48.75. I expect that average to go up again soon when AS needs new minutes, but still, awesome that three people have had cellphone service for less than $50 per month so far!
RECAP: I switched to prepaid in late March 2009. We have 2 phones on T-Mobile prepaid and 1 on Net10 prepaid. AS and I refill in 1000-minute increments and only need to refill when we run out or when it's been a year since our last fillup to stay active. NT needs to buy 300 more minutes every 60 days to keep his phone activated.
Our cellphone bill, for three phones on a family plan, used to range from $80-$95, depending on texts, calls to 411, etc. Usually it was close to $85. My goal for this year is to get my average cost to $50 per month, but any average number below $85 will be a savings.
Prepaid plan 2010 cost updates
July 27th, 2010 at 06:30 pm
July 27th, 2010 at 06:48 pm 1280256483
July 29th, 2010 at 09:27 am 1280395629
July 30th, 2010 at 06:45 pm 1280515526