I haven't been around lately (with the excuse that I have been too busy with work, life and studying.) Today I'm writing about mobile plans (what with the iPhone 6S coming out it pays to know what you're paying for.)
What most of you don't know is that I don't change phones very often. So while the universe comes up with a new phone promising to be better than the previous one, I'm still using my RAZR, my Palm, and my BlackBerry. Maybe some of you won't know or remember what those are, but I'm pretty sure you know what a flip phone is. With the keypads not being on the screen and actually being keys. I quite enjoyed that type of phone. And I didn't worry about dropping it from the second floor to the ground (I've gone as high as fourth and other than a few cracks and chips it works fine.)
I think I'm a good candidate to compare post and pre paid plans. I've been using a phone since Nokia came up with the giant hand-held phones with a giant battery. (That was in first grade I think.)
Let us start with the Prepaid Plans
What do you pay for? A SIM card.
A SIM card that typically comes with initial credits that can make you call or text or surf (depending on your phone.) if you don't already have a phone, you have to buy one out right. You can get this from your provider, or your friend (using the same provider,) online (although beware of stolen phones and jailbreak/openline.) You can even get it free from parents or family members. Just make sure the phone and SIM are compatible meaning the phone is not exclusive to a provider.
What else you need: time and time again you'll need to reload/top-up your phone for credits if you want to keep making calls.
Why I like it: it's easier to budget with a prepaid phone. You know how much each message costs and how much credits you have left. It forces you to monitor your usage and stay on budget.
What's the downside: sometimes you get caught in a bad situation where you run out of credits. And you're in the countryside and they don't have top up stations, convenient stores or even internet connection. You'd have to wait to find one before you can start making calls or texts again.
Let's go to Postpaid Plans
What are you paying for? A SIM card, a phone, and the credits used monthly aka your credit plan.
Let's dissect that:
A SIM card is what helps you connect to the world. Similar to the Prepaid one only this is the brain that gives you automatically credits each month.
A phone- you can get this free with your plan if you stay with your provider for two years. You can get it in installments billed to you monthly. Or you can also buy it out right like a prepaid. This is one of the perk that postpaid offers. If you don't have enough cash to buy a 700USD phone you can pay in 20USD installments to get it. (Only if you really want it though.)
Credit plan- this automatically restarts each month for as long as you keep them as your provider. The good news is you never run out of minutes. And if you do you can continue making calls and will just get billed overage.
Why I like it: I think those listed above are pretty good reasons why I like it.
What's the downside: You're stuck with a plan for two years minimum. So if I lose my job tomorrow and I still have 14 months left of my contract I would have to pay that amount every month or buy out my plan in order to stop paying for my phone monthly.
Pro tip: its always cheaper to buy your phone out right than pay for it in installments through your provider. Again you have pay in full, upgrade with a discounted rate (normally the higher the cost of the plan the better the upgrade you get,) and installments for as long as you have a contract. Remember that credit card talk we had? You don't get charged finance charges if you pay in full. Similar to that concept, since the provider is financing the cost of your phone they will (because it is a business) surely have some form of profitability from selling it to you in installments.
Pro tip #2: always review your plan if you're postpaid and your usage if you're prepaid. Re-evaluate. And compare always. Are you paying for a lot of things you don't need? Do you need to top up less frequently?
What did I do?
I switched from post to pre paid to control usage. There's that extra control you have when you decide to have 100USD this month and 50USD the next. If you need to just use calls you can sign up for just calls. And the rates are cheaper than post paid plans.
I switched to a different phone recently because of work. I needed the functions in my new phone. If I didn't need it I would have stayed with my old phone from high school. This I paid for in full (through my credit card) deferred into 6 months. That way you get to pay in installments without being charged finance charges or interest.
Hope that helps especially Christmas is coming and i know a lot of people upgrade phone plans during the holidays.
Xo,
Paula
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