Cell phone $1/day with caveats
The $1 a day cell phone plan from Boost Mobile, a division of Sprint, sounds like a good deal on the surface. But I'm not sure it is any cheaper than a traditional plan with a flat monthly bill.
Let's do the math. You pay $1/day for unlimited text messaging, mobile-to-mobile and nights and weekend calling. You also pay $.10/minute for every daytime minute you use. They define daytime as between 7 am and 9 pm.
If you don't use the phone at all one day, you don't pay $1 that day. Phones are $40 to $180, plus you pay $1/day to use the walkie-talkie feature. There is no activation fee. It costs $3 per line to deactivate. There are some limits on text messaging.
Hubby and I pay about $93 a month total for 500 minutes and unlimited texting on our two phones. We paid $36 to activate the account and got the phones free because we signed a two-year contract. Our two year cost is $2,268.
So how does the Boost Mobile plans compare, assuming we actually use about 400 minutes a month and don't use our phones at all 5 out of every 30 days?
The Boost Mobile two-year cost is $1,600. But that's just for one phone. There doesn't seem to be any family plans available, so Hubby and I would have to open a second account. With two phones but the same amount of minutes, the two-year cost rises to $2,260. Just $8 less.
Do the math to reflect your usage patterns and see if Boost Mobile makes sense for you.
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About The Bargain Hunter
Daily News staff writer Julia Scott loves to find bargains on everything from groceries to Gucci. Her tips will help keep your hard earned cash where it belongs - in your pocket.
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Julia--I went to their website and I don't think you're right. Their "chat plan" charges $1.00 per day whether you use it or not. http://plans.boostmobile.com/chat.aspx
It sounds like their basic paygo plan is better for you. http://plans.boostmobile.com/paygo.aspx
10 cents a minute anytime with no daily fee and 10 cents for each text. If you and your husband only use 400 minutes a month that's $40 plus 2 phones at $40 each and you get a two year total of $1040 for both of you. You guys would have to send about 17 texts per day to bring your cost up to what you're paying now.
Steve,
Thanks for looking into the paygo plan, it does sound cheaper. The chat plan does not charge you the $1/day fee if you do not use it at all, according to a PR rep. The Web site does make it sound that way, however. ~Julia