Deep in the midst of the year of family I started to have strange thoughts. “What if we cut our spending even more” I thought. “What if I don’t have to work at all, and could just teach a class or two when I want to” I thought. Now I know that this was all a fantasy from my sleep-deprived mind, but this hallucinating thinking did get me to seriously evaluate our standard monthly finances. For example, we were paying about $75 a month for a family cell phone plan with just basic phones – no data. So, I started keeping my eyes out for better options, when low and behold, a few months ago I found Ting.com.
You can read all about Ting on their website, but here are the basics that mattered to me:
- They use Sprint’s network (which is working well for us in the greater Boston area, and has worked great on recent travels)
- They charge you for what you use each month, as opposed to a set plan
- Minutes, texts, and data are all charged separately. We don’t pay for data because we don’t use it; we just use our smart phones when wi-fi is available.
- Saving money!! So far, we have spent about $37 a month on or cell phone bill – WITH smart phones.
I will also add that Ting’s customer service has been great. All my requests for help or information (both over phone and internet) have been answered promptly and helpfully.
So, the G-man and finally joined the 21st century! We now have smartphones (cheapest ones I could get). I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out – I don’t like the idea staring at a screen while I should be doing other stuff. However, after three months, here are my thoughts on the pros/cons of switching to smartphones:
Favorite things about having a smartphone:
- My Evernote lists (I keep everything in Evernote) are on my phone and with me when I need them.
- I can easily take pictures of the kids when we are out and about
- Texting doesn’t take a million years typing the number buttons over and over again to get letters (I was always lousy at that)
- It’s easy to download my podcasts for my commute
Least favorite things about having a smart phone
- The temptation to check email. Oh, the temptation
- All the notifications I had to turn off (see previous item)
- Feeling like an old person when I first got it and couldn’t figure out how to make a phone call (I have since figured that out)
Whether you are new to the smartphone game or not, I would recommend checking out Ting. If you decide to go for it, use this referral code: https://zi9q5c2sq36.ting.com/ and you get a $25 credit right at the start!*
*yes, it’s a referral code, so I also get a credit if you use it. So, if you used it, thanks! If you didn’t, we can still be friends. Of course, all the opinions in this post are mine and mine alone – and are for real! Promise!
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