4 Steps to a $100-a-Year Cell Phone Bill for Moms

My husband and I don't like monthly bills.  Well we don't like bills in general!  As  stay-at-home Mom a $50 cell phone bill was not a good thing.  I only really talk to my Mom on the phone most of the time.  So here is how I have $100 a year cell phone bill.  There are some annoying set up stuff and costs.  But after year one only $100 a year.

1. T Mobile $100 - 1,000 Minute prepaid plan with $30 cell phone

The first thing I did was get a T-Mobile $100 pay as you go plan.  The plan in 1,000 minutes for $100.  That is about 3 minutes a day.  That means when I am away from my house I can only use the phone for emergencies.  I use it to see where we might have lunch or in the car incase something happens.  Since I am a Mom I don't talk on my cell phone in the car because that is dangerous!  I ended up getting a phone similar to this one .  

2.  Hook Up Phone to Internet

Now I know you are thinking, I talk on the phone for more than 1,000 minutes.  I have people to talk to.  Since I am a stay at home Mom, I spend most of my time at home.  I have home phone hooked up to the internet with this device:  OBi100 VoIP Telephone Adapter and Voice Service Bridge.  I have to admit, my husband this part for me but it is rated very highly in the reviews on Amazon.   You will need to purchase a phone to attach if you do not already have one.  The quality is great and we never had an issue!  

3.  Get a Google Number

Will Google Voice you will give out one phone number to everyone.  With this number, both phones will ring when someone calls.  Your voice mail will be transcribed and delivered to your mail box.  You can make and receive free text messages from your computer.  

4. Cancel Your Other Phone Service

Fingers crossed you are done with your plan, but if not you may still have a cost savings to make the switch early.  I had a $100 cancelation free that still make the switch worth it. It has been 3 months and they still have not billed us the fee yet! 


Conclusion...

So as I said the initial setup for the first year was about $170 for personal phone service but next year will only be $100!  Last year I paid $50 a month or $600!  I have many other places I would like to use that extra cash like vacation!  

I have to admit you need to get into a pattern of using the new phones.  I only use the cell phone when I am out of the house for short periods of time.  If you save up extra minutes you can use it or buy more minutes.  The home phone is great and free!  Also I can check the answering machine from anywhere.  

There are a few issues.  I can not get text that people send while I am away from my house.  I have it set up so I don't because then I would have to pay for all texts I receive. I can send texts from my cell if needed for 1 minute a text.  The phone I have is not fancy but it is what I need.  

*Bonus:  If you have a cell phone that can connect to the internet, you can also have your google number ring that phone if you are around a wireless internet connection that you are currently connected   There are apps, for example talkatone, that lets you talk on the phone for free.  My parents did not like the quality and amount of time to connect so this did not work for me.  But in an emergency or if you wanted to chat at a coffee shop or mcDonalds for free you could.  

About Lisa Rusczyk

Lisa Rusczyk is the founder of Charlie The Cavalier (a blog about Charlie her dog, and her friends, family and home) and founder of 50ThingsToKnow. Lisa is a Doctoral student in Educational Leadership who happened to start writing her first book 50 Things to Know Before Having a Baby after her little girl was born. Her book sold over 1,000 copies in the first year on Amazon. Today, she has over 10 books and helps others self-publish. Further, she shares this information with the public via this blog, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, and recently on a local television station. Lisa knows that like her there are a lot of people who would like concise information on a topic in one digital location. Lisa is known for her simple and effective tips.