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Budget Wireless Carrier Service

A student gives tips on how to budget wireless carrier service.

By Alex HolguinPublished 7 years ago 3 min read
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So you have a phone plan—more than likely a 2 year committed smartphone plan, which includes unlimited talking, texting, and up to 2-3 GB of data monthly, or, for an extra $50.00 a month unlimited data. You're probably spending somewhere between $76.00 (at minimum), if not, then well over $100.00. I've got news for you, you're probably spending way too much for services... At least, I found that was the case for me, having had an AT&T plan for over 6 years and getting an employee discount which knocked my bill down to at least $76.00 per month.

Recently I've been looking into ways to decrease spending and save, as eventually I'll be putting myself through nursing school, and living thrifty... Nothing against the major carriers, other than the fact that quite a bit of money can actually be saved each month which can equate to hundreds of dollars that can be applied elsewhere in your life.

I've done some research and actually trialed out a couple of plans with a couple of budget carriers in the past 3–4 months. I'm going to be talking about the plan that I've chosen to use long term. As of currently, my phone bill is at $18.00 (tax not included) and usually averages at $21.00 to $35.00 monthly with tax and depending on usage (using an iPhone 6 Plus), and I'm quite satisfied with my budget carrier plan. I'm currently using Ting Mobile, which uses the Sprint LTE network for coverage.

*Side note: before diving right in, I would recommend checking out the coverage maps for services which can be located on their site (see link below) under "Coverage" on the Ting site. Luckily for me, coverage is flawless in most areas of Fresno, CA and I have had only a couple of instances where coverage was delayed, but it's overall not a bad option for myself.

The way that Ting Mobile works are that there are tiers for usage options you are only billed for what you use. You can even go to their site (see link below) and forecast how much you may spend depending on your monthly usage, which can be checked out on their site under "Rates."

I actually don't use mobile data, and that may be another blog about the KarmaGo wifi hotspot which I use in between wifi at work and at home (data can be cheaper if using a prepaid hotspot and the Karma Go device also runs on the Sprint LTE network, check them out and use this promo code if you decide you'd like to purchase your own unit:

I even avoid going over my minutes with Ting by using Google Hangouts (AKA Google Voice) to make calls over wifi. It's not so much of a hassle as it is a hustle.

The thing I love most about Ting Mobile is that they allow you to bring your own device over to them (once unlocked), with their SIM cards selling at $9.00 (literally that and shipping costs are all you spend on initially if you bring your device over), and there is no contract involved. For me, savings will be around $600.00 in about a year which can be put aside to save, go on vacation, buy more Starbucks, etc... (I'm sure you get the idea).

Be sure to at minimum check them out, and if you decide Ting is an option for you please use this promo code which will take $25.00 off your monthly billing, or off of the price of a new device once you make the switch.

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About the Creator

Alex Holguin

Writer, pre-nursing student, humanist, activist, LGBT issues, beer/wine drinker, beard lover, dreamer, poetry dabbler, horror movie fan, tech savvy-ish, budget advice, and more....

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