I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop and post about finding affordable smartphone service with unlimited plans has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. My husband has a cell phone through his employer, but they aren’t allowed to use the phones for personal calls or texts. This is understandable, but also frustrating. If he’s running really late and out in the field, he’s not able to call and say, “hey! I’m running late!” and he also can’t check emails in the event I’ve sent him something time sensitive. I think the worst part for him (first world problems…) is that he can’t send or receive pictures of the kids at all. Or pictures of anything, really.
We’ve wanted to do a smartphone for my husband for a while now- it just makes sense with him on the road all the time for work- he’s all over Connecticut and frequently in Massachusetts. We’ve held off a long time because we simply didn’t want to pay for already expensive cellular service plus an additional $30 a month for data with a 2 year contract commitment. It’s not a need and not something we were willing to do. So we’ve been looking around and waiting and researching for plans that have NO commitment, no contract, and offer affordable smartphone service. I think we have found that in the Walmart Family Mobile plans.
With the Walmart Family Mobile program, consumers like us who aren’t looking-or willing- to pay high prices for a contracted amount of time can find devices AND plans that are affordable. Several devices are on rollback right now (including the Concord that we received for this review, priced down to $79.88 from $99.88 and the MyTouch device which is $129.88 from $149.88). I’m not telling you about the devices to recommend them or not- I’m trying to just show that there are affordable options for the Family Mobile plan that are out there. There’s several different phones available through this program which is brought to you by T-Mobile. You can also bring your own phone to the plan and just get the activation kit with a SIM card- just be sure your phone is a GSM phone so it’ll be compatible.
Here’s what got us so excited to give the Family Mobile unlimited plans a go- there are plan rollbacks that are available: $39.88 for unlimited talk, text and web and $29.88 for unlimited talk and text (great for new users and kids). Remember, NO contract. The $39.88 is less than we were paying when I was with a contract service for my phone and zero texts, zero web. Just phone. Basic phone. This is a whole lot more without a commitment. Good grief, am I making us sound like we’re commitment-phobic? I mean, obviously we aren’t since we got married but if you didn’t know better…you might think we are. The activation kit is just $25.
We have started our Family Mobile journey and will be updating in a month or so with what we think of the phone and service. Stay tuned…
Visit Walmart Family Mobile for online account management and information.
Ch
#FamilyMobileSaves #CBias #Shopeck out my whole shopping experience to get the Walmart Family Mobile activation kit at our local Walmart store!
Terri says
My family would save so much by switching!! I’m kicking myself for not having checked out the Walmart Family Mobile plans sooner. I think I’ve always been a bit skeptical about pre-pay or no contract plans but I’ve heard great things about these plans and I’ve certainly had enough of our pricey contract! Thanks so much for sharing your find – looking forward to reading more about your experience 🙂
Nicole Santiago says
Another affordable wireless service plan is GIV Mobile. GIV Mobile is the first no-contract wireless service that is dedicated to donating 8% of a customer’s monthly bill to a nonprofit charity of their choice. Some of the charities GIV Mobile supports include Ronald McDonald House Charities, Scholarship America and Kids In Need Foundation. Customers can choose from “Unlimited Everything” plans that start as low as $40/month for unlimited talk, text and data.
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
I’m hoping you like this because it sounds almost too good to be true! I have unlimited data right now and I’m paranoid to give it up for just anything.
Stefani says
I don’t have unlimited minutes now, but enjoyed my phones that I had in the past that had unlimited as part of my service. My provider now is too expensive to go that route so I have a plan.
This smartphone service sounds perfect for my daughters.
ria says
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for- thanks! And I can’t wait for an update in another month.
JulieK says
I LOVE how companies are coming out with these low cost no contract plans! It’s just ridiculous the fees some services charge! Can’t wait to hear how you like it!
Melanie a/k/a CrazyMom says
We actually have this plan for like 3 month now and LOVE it… the price is amazing and the service is GREAT… I bet you guys will enjoy it, too …. Can’t beat it. My kids are getting their phone soon, too… Can’t wait to hear how you like it….
Andrea says
I love that you can get a phone with data and text without a contract! I’ll have to look into this more when we decide to let our oldest get his first cell phone. Thanks for sharing!
Tara says
I know others that have this phone plan and they love the savings! I wish all companies would go to this!
Danielle @ We Have It All says
OH! We have THIS phone! And I got the $25 starter pack too and I LOVE it! I am using it for one of my kids and I am about to buy 2 more. It’s worked great for us, I have no complaints.
Dawn Lopez says
Oh this is just so cool, can’t wait to see how you all make out! I have been eyeing this plan for a while now.. sounds awesome!
Amanda @ Mommy of Two Little Monkeys says
I love that there are better, affordable options out there now. I’m excited to see how this works for you. Contracts drive me crazy!
Tara Funair says
I have a great deal of friends who have similar phones. I haven’t heard anything negative yet !
Beeb says
Brett, I can’t wait to hear how this works out for you! I keep meaning to look into this to find out if the data plan is unlimited too, but I haven’t gotten a chance yet. I really need an affordable option for data – I kind of gave up on finding a plan for my unlocked iPhone for now because none of the plans with reception in my area offered enough data even at the highest price. Between the reception, how much data you get, and the fine print, shopping for cell plans makes my head hurt. LOL! So, looking forward to seeing your thoughts on this and learning more!
Amiyrah says
What a great deal! We are looking for a starter phone for our son, so this might be the ticket. Thanks for the review!
Tammi @ My Organized Chaos says
Nice! Any idea if this is available in Canada?
Kelsey Apley says
This is becoming a very popular trend I have noticed. Right now we are happy with who we have as a provider. My sister uses this though and really likes it.
Ashley S says
No contract is pretty awesome!! I like that they have Family Mobile Plans.
Daisy says
NO CONTRACT makes me so happy! I really need to get in on this because our phone bills have been through the roof. Can you believe that I had text messaging disabled so that I wouldn’t be charged 25-cents to receive texts and when I got my new iPhone, they changed the setting that blocks texts. I received a bunch of texts that I wasn’t even paying attention to and then realized what they were when I got the bill. Oh…. I am all about a new phone carrier without contracts after that surprise!
Pam says
I would be all over this, Brett! My daughter needs a smart phone. Her iPhone has quit working and there is no way I am paying the big bucks to replace it on our current plan.