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Home > Confused!! Pre-paid phone vs. Tracfone

Confused!! Pre-paid phone vs. Tracfone

January 21st, 2011 at 05:03 pm

I bought a Verizon phone at Big Lots that I thought was the kind you buy the minutes for increments depending on my usage. It turns out that if I use the phone every day I am charged 1.99, 2.99, or 3.99 which in the end is the same as my cell phone bill of around $100. I don't get it. Anybody know more about these phones?

4 Responses to “Confused!! Pre-paid phone vs. Tracfone”

  1. CouponAddict Says:
    1295632044

    Maybe you can return the phone, and purchase the kind you thought you were purchasing.

    I would return it asap though as those kind of purchases usually have a very short return life.

    I went online to the verizon website and what you bought was a daily rate phone instead of a phone that has a monthly minutes prepaid card. The phone you have could be a great fit for someone who only gets or makes a few calls per month (me) where as the other type might be better for someone who makes daily calls of shorter duration.

  2. ceejay74 Says:
    1295636051

    I agree, return the phone ASAP.

    For true prepaid plan, I recommend either Net10 or T-Mobile. You have to buy a certain number of minutes to get a certain period of activation. For instance, with T-Mobile if you buy 1000 minutes for $107, you get one year of service. If you use up the 1000 minutes before the end of the 1-year period, buying another 1000 minutes will start the clock over and you'll have service for another year. If you get to the end of the year and haven't used up your 1000 minutes, you'll need to purchase more minutes to ensure your phone stays in service.

    We have three prepaid phones in our house, 2 from T-Mobile and one Net10, and it has brought our average monthly cellphone expenses from about $85 to about $60. We're happy!

  3. patientsaver Says:
    1295650757

    I use prepaid calling cards which you can use with any phone, cell or landline.

    Verizon has a 700-minute card you can get for $20, so that works out to 02.8 cents a minute that you can use for in-state or any state. They're available at Costco.

    About as cheap as you can get i would say

  4. Jerry Says:
    1296836804

    That is a pretty cruddy deal if it leads to no savings at all, and I agree that you should return it for something else. Prepaid is a good option, if you can find it, because you have the insurance that you will not go over the amount that you want to pay! Good luck...
    Jerry

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