Budgeting your Wireless: Minutes and Dollars

The state of wireless providers is really truly something to behold. Every time you turn on the television, a new phone is out, they’ve got just the new deal for you, but the terms of service have changed. Hassle free is thrown around a lot, but it seems like the more often they use the phrase, the more likely it is that you will need a company in the middle to manage the contracts. Of course, it doesn’t necessarily have to be like this. So on that note, here are a few options for everyone to start cutting their wireless bills.

Believe it or not, it can be done!

Wireless providers who don’t use contracts are becoming more and more viable today, by taking advantage of larger providers networks, but at a fraction of the cost. AT&T has recently launched Aio Wireless, quick on the heels of T-Mobile leaving the contract business. Sprint has been fielding boost mobile for some time, as well as leasing bandwidth to Metro PCS. Any of these 2nd party providers would do when losing the leash of a contract.

Early termination fees apply.  Unpaid or over due accounts may be sold to Balrog.
Early termination fees apply. Unpaid or over due accounts may be sold to Balrog.

Of course if you’ve got yourself a small business, the contract is almost unavoidable, or preferable depending on your outlook. Even a traveling professional might find it preferable to latch on to a larger network for their range of services and coverage. In that case you might find yourself benefiting from mobile analytics to help track your use, as well as the use of your employees. Just as you budget your money, you need to know where your data and minute limits are being spent to get a better grip on your use.

Still, even the level of service you’re paying for might be draining your pocket book. Why are you paying for an unlimited plan when you never top 200 minutes in a month? Do you pay for a tether plan rated for gigabytes, when you have trouble making it out of megabytes. don’t be afraid to reduce your monthly limits if you find yourself routinely well under them. Even if you’re looking at a potential 20 cents per minute overage, you know you’ll be spending $20 per month on wasted air time.

Yea. Yea, phone went off. Yea. I'm a zombie now.
Yea. Yea, phone went off. Yea. I’m a zombie now.

Now there is one cheaper solution available. Bear with me on this one: Pagers. After Macklemore’s success with the song “Thrift Shop”, the dramatic increase in not just cellphones, but phone plans, and the oncoming zombie apocalypse, pagers are going to be the way to go.

They’re rough and tumble for when you’re scavenging for supplies from the wasteland of Atlanta. They only vibrate, so you don’t have to worry about dying while listening to a Katie Perry ringtone, and they run for days on battery power. Plus, a pager plan costs pennies on the dollar compared to a conventional wireless plan.

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Scott

Scott brings philosophical insights and witty wordplay to his writing for Unfinished Man. With wide-ranging interests from bikes to beers, he explores the novelty in everyday life. Scott aims to both inform and entertain readers with his perspectives on culture, technology, and the pursuit of living well.

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