I admit that I'm hooked on my smartphone, an older model Samsung Epic 4G. I signed up with Sprint a little over two years ago and was hoping to switch over to DH's Sprint SERO plan when my contract was up. Well, Sprint won't let his grandfathered $30 plan have any extra lines at that price. So, I'm quitting Sprint. Actually, I already quit and it happened overnight.
I'm now up and running on my same phone with same phone number after porting my number to Ting (#ad). I used to pay $80.10 for a monthly plan that gave me unlimited everything, but month after month my usage is around 250 minutes calling, 250 texts and 1GB of data. I just signed up for Ting at $44/month for 500 minutes calling, 1000 texts and 1000 MB of data. And I have no contract so I am free to change carriers if this does not work. But for saving $36 a month on my smartphone, I will make it work. I've effectively cut my bill in half, so now my phone will cost just over $500 a year, rather than $961/year.
If you're interested in switching, Ting runs on the Sprint network, so if you have a Sprint phone (no iphones allowed on Ting though) you can bring your own device and it will work. You can also buy a phone from them or use an unlocked phone from another provider. Ting has a referral program where you would get $25 in phone credit or services credit by using this link.
I realized while on a cruise last week, that I can get by without constantly checking my phone, since it was out of commission as I was out of the country. Sure I had thousands of feeds and emails and texts when I signed back on - but I didn't have to have all that stuff. I just deleted without reading to start fresh. Now I will need to try to change my usage behavior and use Wi-fi more which won't use my data plan. There are lots of places that have free Wi-fi like the grocery stores, libraries, and my home. I sit at a computer all day long and can check my finances and weather on the PC rather than using my phone. I've started putting it in a drawer instead of being plugged in on top of my desk beckoning me to check something every five minutes.
As part of my frugal lifestyle, I'm seeking to minimize wasteful, costly activities and behaviors in my daily life. Getting a cheaper phone plan is a step in the right direction. I realize there are more options, and LIfehacker outlines a lot of them here. So, if you are out of contract, check out your options before you commit to that expensive plan.
