Cellphone question

Save Cell Phone Bills and Use them at Tax Time at End of the Year for Write off, if used to make Company to Company calls or any calls... Just a Tip I learned...

 

If I ever had a 460.00 cell bill, I would find another carrier and service plan, WAY out of wack there..........and, sharing minutes has its drawbacks.......I have already used the pay-as-you-go.......not only do you have to pay for your minutes, but airtime access......an OK circumstance if you dont use it a whole lot, or have a credit issue.

 

If Cingular is offered in your state , then go "Cingular" with all the family memebers your talk time will be free (if they also have a cingular phone). You do not get charged for being in different states (you do countries though, I racked up a good cell phone bill being in Canada for 2 days, ouch)
But here is me, 1)16 year old (talks on the phone all night) 2)me/I don't use it as much anymore, but It is the only phone I use 3) my boyfriend he talks on phone more than me 4) my 13 year old son, he doesn't use it much , my highest bill was 250.00 that was because of my dingy daughter and text messaging and me getting the phones disconnected 1 time. That was $36.00 x 4 to get them back on. OUCH AGAIN , my fault though. I didn't call them and make arrangements

But the nice thing about cingular you limit your calls for about a month or 2 and then you save all the minutes you did not use (its called rollover)
I love "CINGULAR" If you ever have problems and you can't pay, they will work with you (as long as you talk to them).

There is probably other perks your husband could purchase

Check them out before you go pre-paid, I feel pre-paid is a rip off! I have never had one though.

If you chose them save some minutes the first month or 2 if possible so you don't have to worry about minutes. My normal bill was 150.00 a month and we never went over minutes. It is 9.99 for each person (other than the main account holder)

Wow Cingular owes me a few dollars if you chose them

 

A company I was OTR for this year had NEXTEL phones and I was paying to the company, $100.00 a month for UNLIMITED minutes and nationwide coverage, plus I had the walkie-talkie use.
I don't know what the base rate was, I only know what MY end was.
I currently have a Verizon "phone" with the usual quirks of cell phone usage; basically it works when/where IT wants to.

I would NEVER remain on hold for longer than 5 minutes with ANY company. I merely call back until I get thru. Redial works well for me.
Anyone on hold for longer than 5 minutes and the recipient usually forgets about the caller especially at most Truck Companies and shippers/receivers.

I hope for your monetary as well as strees reduction rates, y'all find a system that will be beneficial.

 

I currently have two cell phones with two different carriers: Sprint and Cingular. I pay $150/mo total for both of them. I wouldn't recommend going the prepaid route. It is a rip off. Talk to Verizon, they can certainly increase your anytime minutes so you can keep from going over. I used to have Verizon and they would change my plan on a monthly basis if I had gone over my minutes. Of course, that was over five years ago.

Another option to consider besides the prepaid route is have your husband get a phone of his own and keep it at the lowest package he can get. If he uses it for only his work related calls, you could easily see a savings from the whopping $460 bill you're paying now. Example: My Sprint phone only has 400 anytime minutes on it. I don't have any extra features other than night and weekends unlimted after 9pm and Sprint to Sprint. That only costs me $40/mo. Sprint is also the only carrier I know of that charges you a monthly fee to be able to call other Sprint phones on an unlimited basis. One of the reasons I won't have them after my contract is up next Nov. My Cingular phone has 900 anytime minutes with rollover. Unlimited nights and weekends starting at 7pm (additional $6 monthly fee) and unlimited mobile to mobile (no additional charge). I use the Sprint phone just to talk to friends who are on Sprint (at least until next year) and the Cingular for all other calls. I am on the phone A LOT and have never in my 3+ years of driving paid more than $200 for any phone on any given month, and I usually average right around $150/mo as I said earlier.

 

My roommate and I have Nextel phones and are very happy with them. Our plan is 300 anytime minutes per month, free incoming (all calls to our cell phone are free), free long distance, unlimited nights and weekends, unlimited nationwide walkie talkie, free nextel to nextel calls and for an extra $10 (I think it's $10 -- may be $15) a month you can add free calls to and from Canada. Neither of us has ever gone over our 300 minutes and we talk alot on the phone. Calls between us are always on the walkie talkie and so we can talk 4-5 times a day with no additional charge. He gets calls from his dispatcher and his kids and there is no charge and it doesn't cost him any minutes. When he needs to call his company, he will call and ask them to call him back so it doesn't cost him minutes. He has been on the phone many times with shippers/receivers, friends and brokers and has still never come close to using his 300 minutes. This plan is $49.95 a month -- for 2 lines, we pay just over $100 per month including all taxes and government fees.

Every company has a plan that is right for someone -- that's how they can all make money. What's most important is coverage area and what type of calling you do. If you mostly make outgoing calls, then it would be best to get either a ton of minutes or one of those plans where you can get free calls to specific people you call alot (like the Friends & Family Plan). If you mostly receive calls, then free incoming would make sense. If you don't use alot of minutes most months, but have months where you use more than your allotment, then the rollover plan would work. I guess my point is, look at the types of calling your family does -- especially at what types of calls are costing you the most. Look at the different carriers and their coverage areas -- find the ones that have the best coverage in the areas you and hubby are in most frequently -- I haven't found any one company who covers everywhere, but it does get better all the time. Look at the different plans that the companies with the best coverage have and see which ones suit your needs the best. It doesn't hurt to call them either, sometimes these companies will be able to help you put together the best plan for you at the best rate. Whatever you do, don't get a pay as you go phone. These are great for people with credit issues or to help teach kids responsible phone use, but they can be expensive to use on a regular basis -- although, I have to admit that the best coverage I ever had was with my Tracfone. Never found a place I couldn't get a signal -- even though it may have cost me a little extra to access a 'roaming signal'. Definitely check into alternatives to what you have now -- even a small monthly savings will add up over time. Good luck.

 

You said you are with Verizon. I had a BIG problem with Verizon and eventually cancelled my contract and forced them to waive the contract cancellation fee. Verizon charges for ROAMING. I would switch to a company that does not. I have Sprint and pay a flat rate every month (Unless I go over the limits) with NO ROAMING. Verizon may advertise no roaming, but it is a farse. Just my .02

 

Sprint has an agreement to share lots of cell-towers with Verizon since thier systems are compatible, so it a nice deal, either way.

 

That's a super high phone bill. I thought mine was bad but it's about $200. My wife has an iPhone and I have a Blackberry with unlimited texting and mobile to mobile minutes. We are with At&t.