<p>We are reviewing our phone plans and so is DS. We will likely switch providers and would gladly include DS in our family plan (he isn’t on it…long story). HE does not want this. He would prefer to do this himself.</p>
<p>We made the same offer with Netflix. He wants his own.</p>
<p>Both of mine are on our plan. They have their own apartments, internet cable service, cars, insurance, pay their own taxes (complete with filing mistakes :o) credit cards, bank accounts, and really are financially independent. I love having them on our phone plan. We don’t even have them reimburse us. (I know, such indulgence!..:))</p>
<p>D1 is working. She pays for her apartment and all utilities. She has unlimited data plan on our family plan right now. It is $40 total. What, I am going to ask her for that money? I would rather if she were to take me out for lunch every once in a while.</p>
<p>I will add an option…if Sprint coverage is good where he is and a Droid is appealing, Virgin Mobile has a $35/mo plan with unlimited data and text, 300 mins. There are plans with more minutes than that as well, if needed.</p>
<p>I mention it because my family finds is cheaper to have 3 of those individual plans than to have a family plan with any other carrier.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I am assuming you are with Verizon. </p>
<p>He can KEEP his data package and still get his own plan.
You can transfer assumption of liability into his own name, he’ll have to pay a security deposit depending on his credit and voila, he keeps his phone, his number, his data package and you guys don’t have to pay for an extra phone on the account if he were to start one up in his own name.</p>
<p>Have him pay his share- no need to get a new plan and easily pay double (or more!). I don’t see it as losing independence- it’s just a way of being frugal! Both my older sister and I are independent adults paying our own bills, but our parents like keeping us on so that they don’t have to pay to call us.</p>
<p>Our S1 came off our plan as soon as he graduated fr. college. He had a data plan and is a habitual phone loser/breaker. He was moving oos and would be moving around a good bit (Navy) so he and we thought it best if he just handled his own business.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is whether you would rather have your son have the money or the cell phone company if it is more expensive to change plans.</p>
<p>Both my daughters are on our plan and one is married and her husband is on our plan too. They pay me. Why give Verizon more money?</p>
<p>We had put our kids on their own plans, but after a while we put them back on ours, it is cheaper all around and they simply give me their credit card info, I pay their portion of the bill each month on each of their credit cards.</p>
<p>We’re at the crossroads for this issue as well. We have a family Verizon account plus I have a separate phone for my non-profit. We’re trying to figure out what we want next and haven’t decided. S wants unlimited data on some android platform or possibly iPhone. So far, have not needed data personally. D isn’t sure what she wants. We have unlimited text, 700 minutes voice & it works OK for us for now. Prefer not to pay cell phone company extra money. Will wait to see what S wants to do & then we may all switch to that. My sister says that Verizon offered her 2 months free to renew for another 2 years & we could probably get that as well, plus free/cheap upgrade.</p>
<p>For now, we are thinking of all staying on same cell plan together. Agree if credit history is an issue, let the bill be in kiddo’s name & have everyone pay his/her own share as desired, OR use some other bill (electric, cable, water, phone).</p>
<p>O.K. Here is another angle. I am moving back to the U.S. this coming summer and will go on my son’s family plan. 
He has been on mine here and has had a european pin for years. tit for tat!</p>
<p>Actually, one of the best ways for a recent college grad to build up credit is simply by paying on the student loans. If the student signs up for automatic withdrawal of loan payments, the payment will always be on time. I actually think that’s more significant, because I see student loans (PLUS loans) showing up in my credit reports, but no reference at all to my phone carrier (ATT). So I kind of doubt that the mobile bill does much to build credit, though it might potentially hurt a person’s credit if payments are late - that is, it may be that the carriers don’t report to the credit bureaus unless there is a problem.</p>
<ul>
<li>I just checked around some online – it looks like I’m right. In general, utilities - whether it is phone, cable, electric company – do not report to credit agencies unless there is a problem resulting in a negative report. They are considered to be billing for service, rather than extending credit-- so you aren’t doing your kids any favors in that respect by putting the account in their name.</li>
</ul>
<p>We have had a family plan, with a corporate discount, for eons. Because if that we got grandfathered into the unlimited data plan deal, which I don’t think is available any more. Our s’s have offered to pay their share of the phone bill but its been the one thing we have been comfortable continuing to pay for them. I just cancelled younger s’s health club membership yesterday, which signified that he was not coming home any more 
There are not any of this club in the city our s. will be living in. That was traumatic enough. So we give them the gift of the cellphone. They pay their own auto insurance. I think for now it all works out ok.</p>
<p>We cut him loose.</p>
<p>I guess he’s also double paying for rent, utilities, health insurance, etc. But I just don’t want to carry the cost of him any longer, especially since his salary rivals mine.</p>
<p>I am sure both of my kids will graduate from college and their first-year salary will be more than mine. Good point, archiemom.</p>
<p>Yes…S1 has way more disposal income than DH and I. Paying his own cell ph. bill is not a hardship for him. After graduation he wanted to have his own plan and we thought he should too. He lives in a different state. His bank is not the same as ours. He travels fairly frequently. In our family’s case, it just makes the most sense for S1 to have his own Verizon acct.</p>
<p>We have maxed out our family plan: my phone, S’s, D & SIL, and now MIL. H has business phone…when he retires, something will have to give, because 5 lines is the limit. Most families I know keep their adult children on their plan until there are issues with service, coverage problems, etc.</p>