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Save some money on your cellular bills- and save yourself from a contract!!

Recently, I decided to start “shopping” for a new cell provider.  Mind you, my service is ok, but the pricing is outrageous for what I get for service with my current provider, and it is quite honestly not worth the money.  At all. I pay more for a low level plan with no bells, no whistles, than most people pay for a smartphone with bells and whistles.  We get a small discount due to my husband’s employer, too.

Let me start with the phone.  Unlike contract plans, you don’t get a “free” phone with 2 year service agreements.  But, then, you don’t have to stay with the plan for 2 years, either. I received the Samsung Intercept for this review. Buying this phone is $199.99- it is an Android smartphone, so you have all of the bells and whistles of  a smartphone.

Sleek, isn’t it?  Mine of course now has a rubbery hard case in a zebra print, but I can’t get any photos to show up clearer than the stock photos so here you go.  I am used to my ipod touch so I really wanted to get a touch screen phone (as did my kids.  Yep, they play with the apps.  Sigh.  Not a can of worms everyone will want to open…)
I love this phone.  We’ve had a ton of fun with it for the past 4 weeks- trying out apps from the Droid Marketplace, doing Whrrls for blog related things, trying out Foursquare, and more.  I found the calls to be pretty clear when we actually used this as a phone, which is obviously important!!  We live in an area that doesn’t have the greatest coverage for Virgin Mobile, and I feel like we still had great call quality and service bars pretty much everywhere we went.  I didn’t notice a difference from my current plan, which made me really happy!!
Touch screens can be super sensitive, so I did have a few more “pocket calls” than I’ve had with my other cell phones (but this phone is way more fun to bring places, so that can be a factor too!!).  I did find myself on more than one occasion wondering how my chubby fingers got me to the screen that I was looking at, but honestly, that’s a user thing not a phone thing.  I’ve been really happy with this phone and I think with the “plans” offered by Virgin Mobile, this can make someone who wants a smartphone (like me ) and doesn’t have a lot of money to spend on a smartphone (like me) a GREAT option to have all the bells and whistles without the hefty price tag!!
For plans, Virgin Mobile offers three basic plans :
For $25 a month you get UNLIMITED text, email, data and web (this includes google ‘locator’ kind of like gps.  Good for people, well, like me!!).  This also includes 300 talk minutes.  I don’t spend a ton of time talking on my cell phone unless I’m trying to use up the minutes that we pay for.  The talk feature is more for in-case-of-emergency or for when my sister finds the cutest pair of shoes and I have to go see them RIGHT NOW, or other important events.  (If you are chatty on your cell I’d definitely recommend looking into the $40/month plan…maybe you talk a TON and want unlimited talk.  That’s a lot of time on the phone for $60!!)

Let’s look at what *I* pay for over a 2 year period.  I’m going to say my phone is “Free” and just use the monthly bill.  For 24 months, or the average time of a contract with my current provider, I’d pay 24 x $54.00 (rounding up for ease of math) which is $1296.00.

For Virgin Mobile, I’d pay the $200.00 for the phone (rounding up again) plus 24x $25 = $600 + the $200 for phone so $800.
I have a basic cell phone with a QWERTY keyboard that I got “free” and will pay $1296.00 for in the 24 months of my contract.  I get the 10 somethings of data a month with this, and no fun or fancy features and 450 minutes (nights/weekends are free).  (I have NEVER used all of my allotted minutes, and never more than 100 night/weekend minutes).
Now.  With Virgin Mobile, I can BUY a fancy smartphone with lots of fun features, bells and whistles, PLUS pay the $25 a month for unlimited data/web/email/texting plus 300 talk minutes and SAVE myself $496.00 over 2 years.  Plus, I have no contract.  No early termination fees, no feeling stuck.
That’s not a small amount of money. Not for us. I’m honestly wondering WHY I haven’t looked into Virgin Mobile before this.
Kind of makes you look at what cell phones cost in a new light, doesn’t it?  Check out other cell phone reviews.
Thanks to Virgin Mobile for sending the phone for me to try.  I’ve got a whole new mindset about my phone service! Opinions expressed within are my own.

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About Brett

I'm a 40 something lifestyle blogger living in Connecticut with my husband and our 3 kids, plus our two rescue pups. We love to hike, travel, play games, watch movies, and just be outside together! Having 3 active kids makes for a hectic schedule and I try to share content, recipes and other things that can help to make today's busy family life simpler, easier, or just plain more fun!

I started working full time at a local middle school in fall 2021 and some of my students are insistent that I am mean.

Comments

  1. Crystal C says

    I’m in need of a semi prepaid service. I LOVE the prices I am seeing and the fact you don’t have to limit your choice in a phone.

  2. Cara R. says

    >Wow! I have never had cell service other than Tracfone, but am currently considering a smartphone or iPad2. And that whole line of thinking started because I wanted a Kindle. LOL! This gives me something to seriously consider before I take the plunge on an iPhone or an iPad (or a Kindle with WiFi and 3G). Thanks!

  3. Leandrea at Coupons Are Great says

    >I am so glad you like them. 🙂 We actually are going to stop our service with Virgin Mobile because it simply doesn't work at our house. D'oh! There are a few other prepaid options that my husband has researched and we are ready for a change. The Samsung Intercept is a cool phone!

  4. MidgetMomma says

    >Im now soooo mad at myself! I wish I had heard about them sooner, like seriously we just got smart phones and samsung ones at that (the continuums) and I wish I had looked else where for a phone company. I shop around for everything else, but we always seem to stick to verizon for our phones. Which is partially because of where we live right now service with other companies is not always that great but dang it i wish I had shopped around!

  5. Katie says

    >I dropped my unreal plan with Verizon in December and went with Wal-Marts Straight Talk plan. $30 a month and I get 1000 minutes, unlimited web and 1000 texts. For $45 a month it's unlimited everything. They have phones priced from $49 – $299. I got the $100 with the qwerty keyboard and love it. I honestly, as much as I thought I text, don't even use the 1000 allotted each month. Not bad for $30. 🙂

  7. Dana says

    >My kids have their own apps too. My daughter at 3 can turn on the phone, unlock it, slide the screen to her apps and play a game. It's crazy!

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