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Choose a Cell Phone Plan Based on Your User Profile
1. The need for anytime minutes 2. Caller type (local, national, family or infrequent) Why exactly should you figure out your lifestyle? You should figure out your lifestyle because, without a doubt, your user profile with the cell phone will provide the single biggest savings factor for your cell phone plan. First, to pinpoint the right plan for you, look into the minutes you spend on the phone during weekdays per month, excluding nights and weekends (might vary by carrier, usually nights are 9pm to 6:59am Mon-Fri, weekends 9pm Fri to 6:59am Mon). In a cell phone plan, the time excluding nights and weekends are covered by "anytime minutes". You should forget nights and weekends for now, they're usually covered by enough minutes in any cell phone plan (and odds are, you won't be making many calls on nights/weekends, as that's why they're so cheap). If you do find and choose a plan that has zero night & weekend minutes, keep in mind that usually talk time during nights and weekends on those plans is taken from "anytime minutes". This is not a industry standard, however, so do check plan details. If nights/weekends are not sufficiently covered, add price of those additional minutes to your total cost. Easy Ways to Find Out Your Need for Anytime Minutes and Save MoneySome easy ways that you can use to figure out an estimate for your need of anytime minutes per month * Look at your past cell phone plan bills * Keep a diary of cell phone usage for a few weeks * If this is your first cell phone plan purchase, estimate roughly how much time you'll be spending on the phone Monday to Friday, from 7am to 9pm. Usually, people tend to make fairly regular amount of cell phone calls. That makes targeting an exact match for anytime minutes on a plan fairly easy. You may find out, for example, that your need is approximately 200 regular anytime minutes per month and your current plan provides 350. Now, by getting a plan that provides less anytime minutes (a more targeted plan, it's best to leave some upside flexibility on minutes, however), you can easily cut your monthly spending on a cell phone plan by ten bucks or more. But the Savings Don't Stop ThereIf figuring out your level of anytime minutes is the first level of savings, the second level will provide further savings by targeting your caller type: local, national, family or infrequent. Targeting your caller type will cut costs for those functions that you use and need: no roaming costs for a national caller, discounted rates for a local caller etc. Carriers have cell phone plan designs for the select group of lifestyles: * Local caller cell phone plan (you use the phone within close regional borders) * National caller cell phone plan (the calls are primarily made across the nation) * Family caller cell phone plan (you need a shared account for the family) * Infrequent caller cell phone plan (cell phone is reserved for emergency calls, cell phone as a backup) First, have the number of anytime minutes (those not covered by night & weekend minutes) on the cell phone in mind. Then, using your caller type (local, national, family or infrequent) will cut down the number of alternative cellular phone plans to a minimum. At that point, you'll get the biggest savings and the best plan for your needs. Remember, it's not uncommon to start research for plans from over a hundred plans, but by targeting plans this way, you'll be looking at (the right) plans in the single digits. Below, you'll find a suggestion of carriers' plans that fit each category. To see a fitting plan type, first use the caller type category and then the number of minutes.An Example on How to Use the Lifestyle CategoriesTo give you an example, let's say an imaginary cellular phone plan shopper, Janice Tripp, * Spends an average of 250 minutes on the cell phone during weekdays on a given month * Definitely a local caller and * Doesn't need a family plan Then, below, she would choose a cell phone plan type from her favorite cell phone company that corresponds first to her needs as a caller type (local) and then anytime minutes (about 250). The Different Cell Phone Plan Lifestyles and Plan Suggestions LOCAL PLANS Carriers have designed special cell phone plan packages for those that use the service on restricted regional boundaries, and make few long distance calls. Each cellular phone plan company defines the term "local" by itself, so make sure to check details. The savings you'll normally make are on local calls (of course!), while long distance and roaming charges might be much higher. Choosing this type of plan will keep you chatting with family and friend for longer and for cheaper, so you won't miss any important developments in your loved ones' lives. If this is you, a local caller, here are my suggestions on what type of plans you should be looking at (these are approximate prices, I checked them for zip code 10001): Verizon Local DigitalChoice plans: * Monthly fees: $34.99-$59.99 * Monthly airtime: 400-700 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.40-$0.45 AT&T GSM America local plans * Monthly fees: $19.99-$299.99 * Monthly airtime (anytime minutes): 45-6,300 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.35-$0.45 Cingular Region plans * Monthly fees: $39.99-$79.99 * Monthly airtime (anytime minutes): 600-1,500 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.30-$0.45 Nextel Instant Connect plans * Monthly fees: $35.99-$65.99 * Monthly airtime (anytime minutes): 0-1,250 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.40 Sprint Free and Clear Area-Wide Plans * Monthly fees: $45.00 * Monthly airtime (anytime minutes): 1,000 minutes ALLTEL Greater Freedom plans * Monthly fees: $29.95-$199.95 * Monthly airtime (anytime minutes): 300-4,200 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.25-$0.45 NATIONAL PLANS A cell phone plan aimed at national users usually gives free or at least cheap long distance and roaming rates. These plans are great for travelers and people who need to make long distance calls from local area. Keeping in touch with family and people close to you is important while traveling. It makes a hotel far, far away seem closer to home. Who wouldn't find oneself sleeping better after making that "crucial" late night "I miss you too, honey" call :-) If you primarily make calls outside the local area, here are my suggestions on what type of plans you should be looking at (approximate prices were checked for zip code 10001): Verizon America's Choice plans: * Monthly fees: $34.99-$299.99 * Monthly airtime: 400-6,000 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.20-$0.45 AT&T GSM America National plans * Monthly fees: $39.99-$299.99 * Monthly airtime (anytime minutes): 450-5,500 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.35-$0.45 Cingular Nation plans * Monthly fees: $29.99-$249.99 * Monthly airtime (anytime minutes): 250-6,000 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.07-$0.45 Nextel National Free Incoming Plans * Monthly fees: $49.99-$109.99 * Monthly airtime (anytime minutes): 300-1,200 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.40 ALLTEL National Freedom plans * Monthly fees: $39.99-$199.99 * Monthly airtime (anytime minutes): 450-4,000 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.25-$0.40 FAMILY PLANS For many people, the majority of cell phone calls are made between family members. Seeing demand for cheaper calls between family members, some companies have designed specific cell phone plan types to cater to those needs. These family accounts and minutes are shared (keeping it in the family, as the song says). To top the savings on calls, many cell phone companies also offer good deals on multiple phones as well. Nothing should keep a family from sharing those special moments on the phone, definitely not the price of those calls. Looking at it this way, getting a shared family plan might be the single most important decision that increases the bonding between your family members this year. If a shared family plan is definitely something that you are looking into, here are my suggestions on what plans you should look at (approximate prices were checked for zip code 10001): Verizon America's Choice Family SharePlans: * Monthly fees: $34.99-$99.99 * Monthly airtime: 400-2,000 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.25-$0.45 Nextel National Team Share plans * Monthly fees: $15.00-$89.99 * Monthly airtime (anytime minutes): 0-1,200 minutes * Rate after included airtime: $0.40 INFREQUENT USER PLANS If the cell phone plan is used very infrequently or it is reserved for emergency calls, it makes sense to get a cellular phone plan with low monthly fees. Having a cellular phone really does add to that special feeling of safety. You're just one quick cell phone call away from help in case of emergencies. No more worrying about "finding a call phone." Fortunately, within the national and local caller types, there are packages clearly targeted at the infrequent user type. Below are three cellular phone plan recommendations with low monthly fees (prices were checked for zip code 10001). T-Mobile - Basic (National) Plan * Monthly fee: $19.99 * Anytime minutes: 60 * Night & Weekend minutes: 500 weekend minutes * Rate after included minutes: $0.45 * Activation fee: $35 AT&T GSM America Plan * Monthly fee: $19.99 * Anytime minutes: 45 * Night & Weekend minutes: 0 * Rate after included minutes: $0.45 * Activation fee: $36 AT&T mLife - Local Plan (TDMA) * Monthly fee: $19.99 * Anytime minutes: 45 * Night & Weekend minutes: 0 * Rate after included minutes: $0.45 * Activation fee: $36 |