What is your family's TOTAL monthly spend on cell phones?

[RegGuheert]

What I'm looking for here is the TOTAL amount of cell phone expenditure you make each month, including all lines, all voice, data and text plans as well as any other taxes, expenses or discounts.

 

The goal here is not to find out what the best deal is, but to get an idea of what homeschooling families spend in this category.

[Impish]

$0 :D

[Erica in OR]

$10 or less. We maintain only one cell phone, a Virgin Mobile pay-as-you-go plan. We use it only for emergencies and for church members being able to locate dh when he's out and about, rather than being in constant contact.

 

Erica in OR

[RoughCollie]

We switched from a Verizon cell phone plan with unlimited texting, 4 phones, $180 mo, including tax. This is $45 per month per phone.

 

We now use Net10 phones (about $35 each with 300 free minutes) and buy phone cards to replenish the minutes (ea minute costs $0.10). The minutes cost us about $45 a month for 3 phones. This is $15 a month per phone.

[OnTheBrink]

AT&T family plan. Two lines, two phones, one phone has limited texting. It ends up being about $85ish a month.

[Corraleno]

We have 3 phones which are pay-as-you-go with Virgin Mobile, with no texting or data plans. We never use all the minutes, so we just do the required $20 top-up every 90 days. So that's $240/yr, or an average of $20/month total for all three phones (roughly $6.70 per phone).

 

Jackie

Edited January 5, 2010 by Corraleno

[Crissy]

Less than $50.

That is for my cell service through Verizon and a pre-paid phone for each of our two boys.

My husband's phone is paid for through a company we work with.

[skueppers]

Ours is a little over $100 a month, but much of that is for my husband's work, which requires both near-constant availability by phone and hundreds of text messages a month.

 

They would provide him with a cell phone, but he wouldn't be allowed to use it for ANY personal calls. He'd rather provide his own.

[nukeswife]

We have a really special deal through Sprint. We were on the plan that allowed you to go over your set limits for something like $5 for each extra 100 minutes or something like that. Well when my dh had his phone put on hold during deployment when they reinstated it they started charging us for it separately and because our life was so crazy I didn't catch it for a year (I though dh was just using a lot of minutes for work etc) Well when I called and complained and they dug back to see when things went wrong they gave us a credit for all the minutes and then offered us a 20% discount for a while. Well each 2 years when it's up I call and tell them I'll leave if they don't continue the discount, so we get up to 500 minutes (way less than we'd use) shared between 2 phones for $50+taxes a month.

 

We don't do texting or data etc. My dh was thinking about switching to add those features which would have made our bill go up to about $120 a month plus having to buy new phones, when I asked him why we should do it , he said "because it would be cool" Then he realized that was a pretty bad reason and that what we have works just fine.

 

 

Well that's way more info then you wanted LOL

[elegantlion]

We pay around 150.00. That includes 3 phones with unlimited txt, data, and shared minutes. My dh has to have his for business so we keep the monthly allowable minutes higher. We can call each other for free. We do not have a home phone.

[Jennifer in MI]

Dh's portion of our cell phone bill is paid through work. So, technically, I only pay $35/month. But, the bill is more like $70. This is nationwide, 750 minutes, 500 texts/month.

[happyhomemaker25]

Means we only spend about $60 every two-three months for both of our cell phones. We only use our cell phones and got rid of our land line. We just prefer to use email to communicate with people.

[dragons in the flower bed]

We are another family that only does the required $20 top up every 90 days. We have one cell phone. The monthly total comes out to around $7.

[Caitilin]

we spend nothing. dh's is through work, and mine is on my mother's plan. Yes, she is very generous.:D

[amyable]

Dh's is paid for through work. Mine is one of the Virgin Mobile deals mentioned above, but for some reason (maybe because I've had it awhile?) I only have to pay $15 every three months. I use my phone once in a blue moon, so there are always minutes building up.

[Daisy]

$75. Two phones through Verizon. Unlimited long distance (which is primarily what we use it for) and txt msg. We never use all our minutes but don't want to change it and start a new contract. We currently are not under a contract. We only have a local land-line (no long distance).

[RegGuheert]

I just realized that our monthly cell phone bill has grown to over $250/mo.! That's over $3000.00 per year! That makes cell phones the largest expense we have! :eek:

[lauriep]

We have 3 phones which are pay-as-you-go with Virgin Mobile, with no texting or data plans. We never use all the minutes, so we just do the required $20 top-up every 90 days. So that's $240/yr, or an average of $20/month total for all three phones (roughly $6.70 per phone).

 

Jackie[/quote

 

We pay the same for our three phones, except we use Tracfone (texting is included).

[Denise in Florida]

We spent more than I wish we were :glare:. But we have four phone (four people) with unlimited texting, and free long distance.

[jenL]

We spend about $98 a month for 2 phones, 700 shared minutes, unlimited texting on one, and free Verizon to Verizon calling.

 

We're about to change our cell phone to become our home phone, so it will probably go up $20 a month for a bit of a better plan. It beats what we're currently paying for phone though.

[Angela in GA]

Ours is just under $150. I think it was $146 this last month. Four phones, unlimited texting, Iphone data plan for one, 700 shared minutes. We do NOT have a land line. We might go back down to 500 minutes, since we don't seem to be using all of our minutes since my bff just got AT&T. Gotta love free mobile to mobile. ;-)

[Ginevra]

My husband's company pays for our phones, but I still wrote the total at $150+. I have a Blackberry with a lot of calling minutes, unlimited text and data and unlimited radio walkie-talkie. I must say I'm pretty amazed that anyone's cell bill can $20 a month! That seems like a far-fetched fantasy! But dh is constantly available on the phone because he runs the biz. And I'm constantly available to him because I run the biz behind the biz! :D

[lakotajm]

We also end up paying $20 a month for two tracfones. The 60 minute phone cards cost $19.99 at Dollar General, which is where we got the phones. They have been automatically doubling our minutes to 120. Don't remember why. Anyway, we only need a card for each phone about every other month. So that is $20 a month. I cannot even imagine spending $100 or more a month on any phone. We have to keep a land line because we are in the boonies and cannot get a cell signal here. Wish we could eliminate that. I only have the basic local plus 100 long distance and that comes to about $53.00 per month. So altogether, all phones cost us under $75.00/month. It still seems high. But I would hate to not be able to call long distance since everything is long distance when you live in the boonies!

 

Lakota

[I talk to the trees]

Another Tracfone user here! Ours works out to be about $8/month. I keep it for highway emergencies, and the occasional call to dh at work. (Verizon charges long-distance fees for these calls because of the way the campus phone system is set up, so I'm better off calling him with the cell phone. Grrr.....)

 

-Robin

[5KidzRUs]

Three Virgin Mobile PAYGo = $20/month and Skype unlimited iPod - call and text (send and receive) about $5/month. So, $25/month for 4 phones.

[Georgiana Daniels]

Ugh. It's a big expense--3 lines, 1200 shared minutes, unlimited texting--for $148 a month. I wish it were less, but we don't have a home phone and my hub needs the minutes for business. My daughter and I love the texting.

[Jumping In Puddles]

we spend nothing. dh's is through work, and mine is on my mother's plan. Yes, she is very generous.:D

 

EXACTLY my situation!! :)

[Mommyof4ks]

We spend 16.50 a month for two pay as you go Tracfones for a total of $200 a year. No texting, no data, just for those times we need contact away from home.

[mom31257]

My dh has a pre-paid plan with net 10. It is $15 for automatic renewal of 150 minutes. I have a reduced rate plan for long-time users of AT&T. I was going to leave for prepaid and they offered me $30 a month for 300 daytime, 500 night and weekends, and roll over minutes. We don't text, although dh's plan is only $.05 for 160 characters.

[MamaT]

Our cell phone bill runs around $170.00 monthly for 5 phones, unlimited texting, and 1400 minutes. We also have pay-as-you-go phones for our two 10yo kids, so that would probably be another $30.00 or so a month.

[melissel]

Ugh, ours is $150-$160, and I hate it. But we both have Blackberry phones and most of what comes with them (I refuse to pay for their crummy GPS though). DH is a real estate sales agent though, so his phone is his lifeline for work, and to avoid paying crazy overage fees, we just have a huge number of minutes instead. Plus, our home phone service is spotty and probably going away soon, so the cells are our reliable lines. Still, I hate that bill :glare:

[Sahamamama]

$0 -- no cell.

[chaik76]

Comes to right around $99. Two phones, 700 minutes, 500 texts. Our son has a pay as you go phone (he's eight) but I'm not counting it in the expenditure because he has to buy his own minutes.

 

ETA: We haven't had a land line in about eight years. So this is our only phone expenditure...

[Denisemomof4]

we pay around $100 for 3 phones. The thing that really irks me, though, is how we pay through the nose for our privacy/way of living. We have Verizon wireless for computer, satellite for tv, phones, and cell phones. The cable tv ends about half a mile down the road from us, and we'd have to pay some outrageous amt. to have it come to our home, something like $100 or $200 per FOOT. NO WAY.

 

We pay about $325 - $350 per month for land line, cell phone, internet and satellite tv. I love satellite tv, don't know what I'd do without animal planet, home and garden channel, national geographic and the learning channel! I won't give it up! My boys and hubby love the history channel and the military channel.

 

Oh well. It's worth it. I couldn't live any other way. :)

[H.S. Burrow]

$0 :D

 

 

Same here. :D We canceled the cell phone plans about a year ago.

 

Our home telephone bill is $20 per month - unlimited calls. Our total telephone and high speed internet (including taxes and fees) is $58.42.

[LaMere Academy]

$140 a month, Verizon, 4 phones with 1400 minutes and 10 free landline numbers we can call and receive calls from. No texting.

[Marylou]

Anyone who keeps his cell phone mostly to have long distance should check out www.onesuite.com 3 cents per minute any day/any time. I've used it for years and really like it.

[TN Mama]

$95-$100. We have 3 phones (mil is on our family talk plan) 1200 minutes. Dh and I both have 200 texts/month. With the new A list we'll never use all of our rollover minutes.

[Kari C in SC]

I gotta say I feel like we are paying too much after reading this. We have Sprint 1500 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data on 3 phones for $150ish a month. Dh and I pay $90 for our phones - our oldest pays the other $60. This is because we didn't used to have data on our phones. On our old plan he could just have it on his. On this plan, it was not much more to have it on all the phones. It is cheaper for him to stick with our plan than get a separate plan for himself - so he treats us with the internet. Now, I am feeling like that is a crazy amount for all of us to be spending. Ugh!

[rwjx2khsmj]

$115 Two phones with unlimited calls and text. We don't have any land line.

[AngieW in Texas]

We don't have a home phone. We each have a cell phone with unlimited texting and 1500 shared minutes. We spend $145-150/month (varies slightly from month to month) for our 5 cell phones through Sprint.

 

One year ago we were spending the same amount for a very different plan. We had three cell phones through Spring with 800 shared minutes and no texting for $100/mo. We also had VOIP through AT&T for $50/mo. Dropping VOIP and getting cell phones for everybody was the same total cost.

Edited January 5, 2010 by AngieW in Texas

[lovetobehome]

No cells, period. So we spend nothing!

[prairie rose]

We have prepaids and only put money on them when we are using them, like a long trip or something. So it's a luxury we pay for when we have the money, not a monthly expense.

 

My kids will get cell phones when they can pay for them. If they have a need for a cell phone before then, they will borrow one of our prepaids. So far, my oldest is almost 12, we've never needed to lend them our cell phones.

[tex-mex]

No land line for us! I have a Pay as You Go cell and hardly use it -- $20 a month.

 

Hubby's work pays for his iPhone (AT&T) account as a group plan for $20 a month... with unlimited text and unlimited surfing.

 

We are thinking of going to a VOIP for our PC... like Skype. DUnno yet?? You can connect it to your PayPal account. Still thinking bout it.

Edited January 5, 2010 by tex-mex

[krisperry]

$0 - I don't have one. My husband's is covered by his firm.

[KidsHappen]

Well, I am not going to post the amount because quite frankly I am embarassed but I am providing phones for six people plus several air cards for internet. I know it is not a neccessity but I frequently have four or five people in different states at the same time and I feel more comfortable with them all having a phone. I do spend five or six times as much on groceries and slightly more on mortgage though. It's not going to break my heart at all when everyone moves out though just because I will save thousands on mortgage, food and phones. :001_smile:

[Melissa in Australia]

$0 . nobody in my family owns one.

[happygrrl]

$78 for 2 phones sharing 1200 minutes (no txt or data). We live in a rural area with no competition, so that is the best we can do. We also live off the grid... I mean WAY off. Our cell phones don't even work at our house! When I need to call ds in town I walk a-ways to get signal, and even then the wind has to be just right. Needless to say we rarely use up our minutes. I won't go without them though... with this weather dh can leave me a "snow level" warning when I am in town, so that I can come home before it gets dangerous. Not to mention all those "we need chocolate!" calls when dh is in town. :) We went many years without any phones or internet (no tv or radio signal here either) and I really missed some big events. However, I would not change for any other situation, as it is a true blessing not to have a phone that can ring in my house!

[Tap]

I answered 100-124 but it is a bit distorted. It is what our plan costs (1600 min for 3 phones) but dh's employer pays for his work portion which is apx 80/mth. SO, out of our pocket...40ish. I use about an hour per mth, ds uses 30 minutes or so...the rest is all dh :0) :svengo: He, in the past, used to use 2000 minutes a mth, for just himself (work and personal). He uses texting a lot more now, which is a huge time saver as well as $$. He also uses his office phone and our home phone. I would guess he is on the phone at a minimum of an hour, but up to 3 hours a day.

 

P.S. all of our minutes are talking minutes not data.

[MamaBookworm]

Just @ $150 a month for 3 phones with text email etc. We decided the upgrade from our less expensive plan was a school expense. Since my poor unsocialized homeschool daughter neede to keep in better touch with her several out of state friends. ;)