Pay as you cell phone info. needed

Luv-N-It

Luv-N-It

New member
My daughter wants one. Has been wanting a cell phone. I refuse to get her one and pay for all the associated costs. Therefore, with her Christmas $$$ this is what she would like to get.

Therefore, need opinons as far as phones there are-good and bad. Need info. if people call her pay additional fees from their home lines or cell phones? Basically, give me all info. you can and act as I the dumbest person you know :)

I've seen commericials for those Virgin phones on the go??? :phone: What are opinons on these?
 
Seems like a good deal w/an hour of minutes? What about local calls? Would someone have to call long distance or do you get a local phone number or what?
 
You go through a quick process on the phone to activate it and they ask you what state you live in and the nearest city. So it would be a local call if someone lives in your area. as far as I know. I just use this phone when I go on trips and emergencies. Hope that answers your question :)
 
first off, how old is your daughter?

anyways, i think the best way to get in on all of these deals is to go down to t-mobile and talk to them. they will get her a good plan depending on how much she plans to talk and when she talks etc etc. but be careful, you may end up getting a cell phone for yourself and your wife too! thats what happened to our family...

P.S. i have AT&T and i dont like it. all of my friends have t-mobile and ive been dying to convert to t-mobile but i have to finish my AT&T plan first, theres like a 200 dollar cancellation fee that my dad refuses to let me bypass.
 
I have a pay as you go plan throught US Cellular. I basically only have it for emergency's. If I don't put money on it every 60 days they sweep the account. From what I have seen they are all like this. Some sweep at 30 days and some sweep at 60 and 90 days. If the account stays inactive for I think 5 months they cancel it. I think it cost like 10 cents a minute after like 7p.m. on weekdays until like 6 a.m. the next morning. Weekends are 10 cents a minute. Peak usage I think is like 30 cents a minute. Out of area calls are like 1 dollar a minute. On my plan, the minimum amount you can put on the phone is 15.00, and that has to be done in person. You can put 25.00 on the phone with a credit card. I put 15.00 usually every 60 days. I have trouble using that up. If at the end of 60 days and you have money left, and you add more money, they roll over any previous amounts. Pay as you go is nice for an emergency phone. I don't know that I would want it for everyday use.

However if you want to limit her minutes and keep her financially responsible (kind of funny coming from this group and the amount we spend on detailing stuff), pay as you go might be the way to go. She might think twice about making that call, just to talk.

Oh, on my plan they required a backup payment option. Basically, if you run low on money if automatically draws on a credit card. There are other options available on that.

I kind of like the idea of a calling card, because once thats out you have to go and get another one. Helps control the minutes.

If you want to know more please PM me.

Hope that helps.
 
Eveyone has been very helpful.

She is 13. At some point, I will go down and talk w/someone somewhere that is how I will have to get a phone. However, I always do my research before talking w/any company or salesperson. This way, I know the truth that is being told. Also, as with anything in life when purchasing something, there are always deals you wish you would have known about before/after the fact.

Thank you for the education. You all have saved me valuable time driving all over the city and talking to three different people at three different companies. :) A good estimate always has three opinions.
 
you may want to check with some other cell providers... they typicly offer a emergency phone program not listed on their regular plans. They typicly give you an aloted amount of talk time and the plans are around 15 - 25.00 a month.

Also at those rates listed on the t-mobile site you might be better off just getting her a regular plan for 30.00 a month .... there are options are there ... i know with kids though you have to be careful as they may be on the phone more than they are off the phone so this could possibly be a very expenive learning experience!
 
hmmm, 13.... is that 6th grade? if it is, i think you should go ahead and give her a cell phone. basically speaking, i think its sorta like a ritual or something for teenage girls to have a cell phone. however, make sure that you make it clear that she cant go over her minutes or else she gets her phone taken away for a month or something.
 
Good thing you were not my son. You would probably think I'm the devil too :) The whole reason I'm not going to pay for it, is teach her responsibility on her own nickel. :angel
 
my 5th and 6th grader asked for a cell phone this Christmas..didnt get them one.

However, once this school year is up, I may reconsider.
I think you should look around at the various company's out there.
Each is trying to position themselves with free phone offers, etc.

One I use for the wife and myself is Nextel...soon to be SprintNextel.
Cool feature with Nextel and its phones are they are GPS phones as well.
So, a service they offer for I think $15/mo. is Mobile Tracking. You can
if you need check on the location of your kids, for "there safety" !


Regards,
Chris C :phone:
 
wow thats pretty mean.... does she get good grades? my belief is that if she gets goo grades, shes earned a phone for herself. i mean, how is she supposed to make money when she already goes to school and studies hard? there's no time for a job!
 
zesty-man said:
wow thats pretty mean.... does she get good grades? my belief is that if she gets goo grades, shes earned a phone for herself. i mean, how is she supposed to make money when she already goes to school and studies hard? there's no time for a job!
Click to expand...

Are you a parent before I go further? There is a lot to say w/this comment.
 
nono, what im saying is that she cant really work to get money, something more like household chores etc etc. but what im saying is that if she gets good grades and does her chores and stuff accordingly, why not get her the phone?

if you plan to make her pay, how will she get the money? allowance? i think christmas money can only go so far, i mean, after maybe a couple months plus activation cost etc etc, all that christmas cash is gonna be gone.
 
When I was in 5th and 6th grades, I use to work. I would mow lawn, and I even worked on a farm. No handouts. How do you learn finacially responsiblilty with handouts. In 5th or 6th grade if my daughter asked for a phone it would be simple----NO.
 
OI812 said:
When I was in 5th and 6th grades, I use to work. I would mow lawn, and I even worked on a farm. No handouts. How do you learn finacially responsiblilty with handouts. In 5th or 6th grade if my daughter asked for a phone it would be simple----NO.
Click to expand...

Ahhh man after my own heart. She can babysit and do other things to make money. Like help dad detail...she'll learn to make the money if she wants the luxury items of life bad enough. Yes, she is a good student and not a trouble maker. For that she receives other benefits like an atv and so on...
 
im not trying to say that you guys are old or anything, but times have changed... i think its a lot harder to get jobs when you're young now. i mean, minor stuff is easy, but nothing that you can count on as steady......

i think i am sorta wrong about this too. some see the cell phone as a necessity and others a luxary. so girls may see it as a necessity for talking to their friends, but personally, i see it more as a necessity to talk to my parents. going to a private school is hard for my parents and we have to keep in touch so we know whats going on. i guess that would probably be the main reason that my parents decided to get me a cell phone when i was in the 7th grade......

if you guys still disagree with me on this, then ill be sure to ask my mom what were her "real" reasons for getting me a cell phone and paying my bill. maybe im too spoiled...... is your daugher an only child too?
 
I'm not responding to this thread anymore. Its way off subject now. I've got a cell phone and know how companies work. I'm going to check with my provider first and use that as my leverage.

I was wondering before checking into anything how the pay as you go cell phones work. As usual with any threads, when you give personal opinion it always opens up a can of worms about life! :)

Zesty you make a good point for your own personal reason for your cell phone in the 7th grade. I'm sure your parents work schedule dictated a cell phone need for you while in private school.

I'm gone and not responding anymore. Carry it on gents if you like. I'll enjoy the reading and laughs now. :)
 
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