D lives independently from us. She’s currently has an iPhone and plan with AT&T. She’d like a new phone for Christmas and is open to breaking away from AT&T to go to another carrier. She does not want to be part of our family plan. I’m not entirely sure of her monthly cost but I believe it is $100+. She lives in an area where Verizon and Sprint seem to have better coverage. I am not sure that Sprint has good coverage elsewhere. We have bought phones through Costco, but as she isn’t a member, everything is set up through my name and that isn’t something that either of us wants. She wants a smart phone but may not have to be married to an iPhone.
What do your young adults do who are not on your family plan? Does anyone have experience with some of these prepaid plans? I’d like to get her a phone but I am not sure about how to help her evaluate her options.
Why does she not want to be on the family plan? I get a need for independence and all and that’s a great thing but given the pricing structure of cell phone plans, it is just cheaper to coordinate and get a family plan, at least from my experience and knowledge.
I rarely use name brand provider, with one exception. Been happy wit H2O, Ultramobile. My kids dont talk, only data and messaging. Tmobile has this sort of secret plan with 100 min talk/month, 5gb high speed data, unl text, for 30/month. Best deal for lots of data. Schools have pretty good wifi coverage, these off brands tend to give you 2gb data for 30-35 month, unlimited everything else, some free international thrown in. BYO phone.
@doschicos I can’t say for sure, but they’re her reasons and I support that.
@Leafyseadragon I read what you’re saying, but I’d rather just purchase the phone for her.
I’m not fond of how the major carriers changed their plan structures and phone purchasing. It seemed much more affordable just a few years ago. What do young people do who are not on their family plans? She graduated two years ago and has her current Wi-Fi through her apartment.
My D is on her own plan with AT&T on an iPhone. It’s around $85/month for 6GB IIRC. You could go a little cheaper with less data.
Easiest thing to do is just hit up the various carriers’ web sites and go through the plans they offer. There’s so many options the best thing to do is go straight to the source.
I kicked all my kids off my plan to teach responsibility, then we added them back on and I have all their CCs, I charge them their share each month, much cheaper and if anyone goes over, they pay
@veryhappy I agree that it should be that way. In a good chunk of the world it is that way. As Americans, we pay too much. Maybe the politicians should focus on that!
The problem in my area is that most networks provide crappy reception except for Verizon, which rules out Ting I believe.
You might check out Republic Wireless. No contracts, and their technology uses cell and wifi together to keep plans affordable. They “piggyback” off of other carriers, and I think Sprint is one of the providers. They have a bring your own phone deal, or you can buy one of their androids for a fair price.
Right now we pay $25 per phone each month plus tax. Unlimited calls, texts and cell coverage. I sound like a commercial!
We switched over when our kids graduated 3 years ago and have been pleased.
I only pay for what I use. $5/mo for 200 txt (or $10 for 1,000), $5/mo for 250 international minutes, unused txt and minutes roll over (up to 750 min int), 10 cents a min for calls. $25 refill is good for 90 days. ATT gophone.
