Help me think through a home phone alternative...

[Ann.without.an.e]

We have cell phones only...no land line. I would like for DS to participate in an activity in the afternoons and I feel comfortable leaving DD here to sit with little man while he naps, as long as she has a way to reach me. I need a cheap alternative to a land line, just for an emergency.

 

I do not know all that is out there, so I have been looking into one of those "pay as you go" cell phones. I think it will come out to about 10-12 dollars/month. I wish there was an option for something that you only pay for the minutes you use and they don't have such a short expiration.

 

Am I missing a cheaper alternative?

[elegantlion]

You might look at what it would cost to add a phone to your already existing cell phone plan. I think we pay 10.00 extra to have ds on our plan. He started with a hand me down phone so there were no upfront costs.

[Samiam]

I agree with PP. We pay $15 for an extra line on our cell phone account, sharing the minutes we already have on our package. The phone was free since we activated a new line. Our calls to our own phone lines, the ones on our account, are free as well, so don't come out of our package minutes.

[Sherry in OH]

You can get a Tracphone one year card for $99. If the phone is only used for emergencies, you should not need to add additional minutes to it.

[gingersmom]

I have a landline with no features and I pay $18/month (with tax).

[AngieW in Texas]

Our cell plan charges just $10/month for each additional line. We are all phoned now.

[ocelotmom]

Having a bare-basics landline is not a bad idea for 911 purposes (going through the cell network is more complicated, and may add valuable minutes to the process), or to have a different option in case there's a problem with the cell network.

[Ibbygirl]

My husband found a way to make "phone calls" through the computer using his gmail account. We just use a cheapy logitech microphone to speak and the speakers on our computer to hear. He calls his sister, who lives out of state, all the time for free and he's even called his dad internationally for very cheap.

[Puma Mom]

 

My husband found a way to make "phone calls" through the computer using his gmail account. We just use a cheapy logitech microphone to speak and the speakers on our computer to hear. He calls his sister, who lives out of state, all the time for free and he's even called his dad internationally for very cheap.

I'm not sure I'd leave my dd home with just an internet phone since it's no good if either the internet or the power goes out.

[Ibbygirl]

I'm not sure I'd leave my dd home with just an internet phone since it's no good if either the internet or the power goes out.

 

Ah gotcha. I don't think I read your OP closely enough. I was just thinking you were looking for an alternative to a land line, but yeah for a young girl home alone I would want something more realiable too. :) I hope you find something that works for you. :)

[Ann.without.an.e]

Thank you. We opted for a TracPhone. The cheapest alternative with a good reliability rating. We paid 9.88 for the phone at Wal-mart. Added 120 minutes for $19.98, and the minutes are good for 140 days. I can just add another 120 before expiration and keep any minutes remaining. I think this will be the best for us.

 

Thanks for you help :001_smile:

[parias1126]

We pay $20/month so my DDs each have a phone in case there is am emergency. My DD8 only gets her phone if we are leaving the house. It has certain numbers programed into it. She can only call mom, dad, her aunt, and grandma with it.

[NanceXToo]

You might look at what it would cost to add a phone to your already existing cell phone plan. I think we pay 10.00 extra to have ds on our plan. He started with a hand me down phone so there were no upfront costs.

 

Thanks for suggesting this!

 

I had been considering getting a cell phone for my special needs teen for her 19th b-day. She's never OUT anywhere without me or a trusted adult, so I've never really felt the need to give her her own cell phone. But lately sometimes she's been staying home for short periods by herself, like if I run my younger daughter over to Girl Scouts, and older dd wants to just stay home and watch TV and so on, and it's made me a little nervous anyway because we have no landline. (We have relatives 3 houses up the road but still).

 

So at first I was thinking of either one of those firefly phones, or of just getting a prepaid phone, but then there's the hassle of adding minutes and so on.

 

Anyway after reading this, we found out we could add her to our plan for $10.00 a month AND get her a FREE PHONE. Of course, we had to sign a 2 year contract, but, whatever, it's only $10.00 a month!

 

It made her feel really grown up and she loved getting it, she can use her own phone to call her dad and grandparents and aunt and so on, and I can feel more comfortable leaving her home alone for short periods since I know we can get in touch with each other. :)