Are No Contract Phones The Best Wireless Option?

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Last fall my family finally made the plunge into the smart phone world.  We were enjoying a cheap wireless plan as we limped along with phones that were over two years old, but envying the features and conveniences that come with smart phones.  With our scratched, dented, and worn out phones showing signs of giving up we pulled the trigger and signed a two year contract with AT&T.

Multiple readers suggested that I should have checked out no contract options.

I was very excited to be given the opportunity through the Collective Bias Community (#cbias) to try such a plan through Walmart Family Mobile.  Service through Walmart Family Mobile is no-contract and allows customers to buy a new phone from Walmart, or use a phone they already own.  Walmart has many models to choose from including high end phones such as the brand new Galaxy S4, and the service is even compatible with the iPhone.  The plan utilizes the T-Mobile network and boasts unlimited talk, text and data.

The primary draw of smart phones for our family is the connectivity to social media.

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We have two kids that are growing up fast and the grandparents don’t get to see them as often as they’d like. Being able to capture a memory at a baseball game or a dance recital and instantly share it on Facebook for their grandparents to see is invaluable.

A plan through Walmart Family Mobile could potentially save us money. #FamilyMobileSaves

TThe down side of switching to smart phones is that our mobile phone bill jumped significantly.  An unlimited plan through Walmart Family Mobile costs $40 for the first line, each additional line costs $35. For my family of four, we would pay $145 whereas we currently pay $210 (pretax) for our AT&T plan.

I activated my new Galaxy S4 at home using a starter kit (Check out my activation experience in my G+ album). I’ll be trying service through Walmart Family Mobile for the next few months to see how it compares to our AT&T plan.  At the end of July I’ll give an update as to how it’s working out for me, and if it may be a viable alternative for my family.

 

Do you use a no contract mobile phone service? How do you like it?

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21 Responses to “Are No Contract Phones The Best Wireless Option?”

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  1. Petunia 100 says:

    I switched to Ting from AT & T last year. I can’t say enough good things about the service, or the prices. We don’t have smart phones, but we have 3 lines and my teen-aged son texts A LOT. My bill this month was $38.41, including taxes. 🙂 And, I didn’t even have to pay it, because I also received a $50 credit this month for referring a new customer.

    • Travis says:

      That’s awesome, Petunia – I’ve never heard of Ting – sounds like another option for readers to check out. Especially if people want to go with the non-smart phone route!

  2. I also just switched to Ting (which uses Sprint’s network) and love it. I bought the Galaxy S4 because also I use my phone as my main camera, and I’m an author and have to be connected all the time. I love the phone and the service and am so happy I left Verizon.

    • Travis says:

      I love the Galaxy S4 as well, Kristi – it takes AWESOME pictures! One of the downfalls of the no-contract route that I’ve noticed so far is that you have to come up with a big chunk of money up front to buy an expensive phone (if that’s what you want). But over time I would bet the reduced cost makes up for itself…

  3. You bet me to! I’m actually doing a similar post this week as well 😉 I can’t wait to try it out!

  4. cj says:

    I’ve been doing Straight Talk with AT&T chips. I bought a used Samsung Galaxy 2 for $200 and a used HTC aspire for Tim. We’re already replacing Tim’s phone with a Galaxy 2. I’d love a S4 but, it’s not in the budget. The goal to go prepaid was to save 70 bucks a month.

    We switched back in November from Verizon to Straight Talk. Our bill was almost $180 with Verizon. We both have smart phones and have since the blackberry came out with the storm.

    I love my service. Sometimes Data could be better but for the most part, I have no issues with the service and my issues only come into play when I’m at the farm or riding in the park.

    I’m pretty happy with my service and I’m really happy with the price. $95 by the time I pay tax. Next time I drive through Delaware tho…I’m getting couple phone cards there (no tax).

    • Travis says:

      I’m glad you brought that up, CJ….while new phones can be very expensive there is a market for buying quality used phones as well. Thanks for sharing!

  5. We’ve used a no-contract phone for years and love it. My text and talk only phone costs us roughly $100 a year. However, we are now looking into some type of a change up as we add daughter #1 and possibly get a family plan, as her BFFs are moving to CA. :-(. We’ll see what we come up with, but we’ll definitely be checking out Walmart.

    • Travis says:

      Laurie, are you using a no-contract phone (where you pay monthly but you can quit anytime), or do you have a “pay as you go” phone where you pay X amount for N minutes? My Dad has a pay as you go phone as he literally uses it twice a month. 🙂

  6. Slackerjo says:

    It’s good that you researched the best plan for your lifestyle however I think the ability to instantly upload to social networking is more of a want than a need. There are other methods to perform this task, using technology you may already own.

    I guess we will agree to disagree on this matter.

    • Travis says:

      Oh, we certainly agree, slackerjo! I fully admit that instantly uploading pics to social media is a “want” and not a “need.” I could certainly take a digital picture, print it out and send it via the post office. Or even just send it in an email. But being able to instantly post it, and then call my parents and say “go check out facebook!” or even just text them is touch of a button, in the moment, almost live action convenient. Cell phones in general are a “want” – although they’re so ingrained in our lifestyles at this point that it sometimes doesn’t feel that way. But I’m sure you would agree that even with discretionary spending it’s wise to try to get the most for your money – which is the goal of the article: To explore different options and educate myself (and readers) what options are out there, and then let readers make an informed decision as to what option works best for them, and their budget. Thanks for sharing your perspective!

  7. Robert says:

    By my calculations, the Total Cost of Ownership for a family of four who all want iPhone 5s you would save $240 with the Wal-Mart Family Mobile over the course of 24 months. ($6,316 for AT&T vs. $6,076 for Wal-Mart) Under AT&T, the 6GB Mobile Share is $230/month. ($90 + 4x $35/phone) and you get to buy the phone at a discounted $199/phone. If you went with Wal-Mart Family Mobile, you would have to buy the phone outright for $649/phone but save $85/month.

    • cj says:

      The market is completely saturated with this Iphones. You can get a 4s for about 150 to 200 Dollars

      • Travis says:

        Thanks for both your comments, Robert and CJ! I think what we can learn from this is that while there is money to be saved with Walmart Family Mobile if I would pay full price for a high end smart phone, more money could be saved by purchasing a less expensive or used phone!

  8. I don’t know what the options are for an iPhone off of a contract, but I have to say that the ease of use means that I’m willing to pay more for it.

    • Travis says:

      You are able to use an iPhone that you already own with Walmart Family Mobile – so you don’t necessarily NEED to pay more for it. 🙂

  9. I’ve had ATT for the past 5 years. Constantly renewing contracts sucks, but I have the original iPhone plan with unlimited data. I’m afraid to let it go as I think it may be the best alternative.

    • Travis says:

      Sometimes those “grandfathered” plans are the best……hold on to it as long as you can!!! Thanks for stopping by, Michael!

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