Cell Phones- Why such a rip off?

OK so here's the deal, my GF and I have two cell phones on a family plan and our two year contract has finally expired. I hate talking on the cell phone and we barely use any minutes. Really we only talk to each other and make a few business calls. Even calls to my friends are very short and to the point. I just hate cell phones.

Well, we end up paying around $80 a month for these stupid things and we have tons of roll over minutes that go unused. IS there a cheaper alternative out there. Seriously! We have the lowest possible minute plan out there. We do talk to each other a bit so the free mobile to mobile comes in handy a great deal of the time. However, I usually just leave my cell phone at home most of the time- did I mention I hate this stupid thing.

Literally it makes me feel sick and stupid to keep giving these companies my money but at the same time I would still like to have minimal service and free talk time with the GF. Your opinions please.

I felt the same way about having a land line. I am basically paying $XX.xx a month to order pizza. I am glad I got rid of land lines years ago.

Go with one of the local carriers, not Verizon or Sprint or At&T or T-Mobile. We have MetroPCS out here. For like $35 a month, you get unlimited minutes and all the other stuff. If you don't travel a lot, they are really the best, as they don't have a huge network.

FQRizzo said:

I felt the same way about having a land line. I am basically paying $XX.xx a month to order pizza. I am glad I got rid of land lines years ago.

Click to expand...

What do you have now? Do you use the internet? I have heard of people doing this.

I was going to look for a pay as you go plan for my elderly father. No monthly fees from what I understand and you only pay for what you use. Might be something to check into.

Sick Boy 82 said:

Go with one of the local carriers, not Verizon or Sprint or At&T or T-Mobile. We have MetroPCS out here. For like $35 a month, you get unlimited minutes and all the other stuff. If you don't travel a lot, they are really the best, as they don't have a huge network.

Click to expand...

I will definitely have to look into this. We are currently using AT&T which was before Cingular.

I just don't see the value in the service we are receiving.

I use T-Mobile pay-as-you-go for my iPhone. I pay about $25 every three months. Beats the hell out of the $70 or so a month AT&T wanted to charge me.

I read new legislation will outlaw cell phone companies from attempting to charge for services through to the end of the contract if you cancel the agreement early.

El Roranous said:

What do you have now? Do you use the internet? I have heard of people doing this.

Click to expand...

I use just cell phones now.

I think I stated before but here goes it again. If work didn't pay for me to have one I wouldn't have one. Too damn expensive.

Anyone have any experience with this -

https://www.tracfone.com/index.jsp?lang=en

Pay as you go will probably have to be the option for us. I just hate shelling out my hard earned money on a contract I am barely using. I don't see cell phones as a necessity or a status symbol at all!

Kabukiman said:

I use T-Mobile pay-as-you-go for my iPhone. I pay about $25 every three months. Beats the hell out of the $70 or so a month AT&T wanted to charge me.

Click to expand...

I really like the sound of this... It sounds very reasonable.

I'm sure there are thousands of people claiming poverty, but have cell phones. What a waste of money. People want to get a hold of me? Send me a freakin telegram.

It's all about priorities and I think a lot of people have them skewed. I see some pretty ghetto ass people paying hundreds of dollars on a phone bill every month and neglecting other important bills in life....

No doubt. Of course, I'm out there spending $100-$150 a month on toys and $80 a month on cable/DVR and $20 on Netflix. LOL.

I just personally hate the cell phone and think it adds to the lameness of the world.

Is the internet free on an iPhone? Like if you have a wireless router and want to connect to it do you have to pay for that or do you just get to use like a laptop would?

I don't have cable either. I also think cell phones have added to the lameness of the world. Probably because it seems like an addiction. I see people with these things glued to their heads and they start becoming rude to all that is around them.

I see 2 people sitting together at lunch and both are talking on cell phones. LOL.

El Roranous said:

Is the internet free on an iPhone? Like if you have a wireless router and want to connect to it do you have to pay for that or do you just get to use like a laptop would?

Click to expand...

Yup. 802.11x wifi is free.

I just got 200 dollars off on the new samsung glyde by switching to verizon and I also got half off on all the accesories, yay me!

AT&T customer service is terrible