subject: Save Money on Cell Phone Offers: Beware of Family Plans by:Syd Johnson [print this page] There are many offers for family cell phone plans on the web. To get the best deals, here are some guidelines:
Get enough anytime minutes
Keep track of your usage
Be aware of the costs for extras like text messaging and internet access
Have a family policy on whether or not your will these extra services
Avoid roaming charges and...
Monitor your monthly statements
15 minutes talk time per day
Get enough minutes for everyone on your plan. If you have more than three people on the same plan, you should avoid 300 and 500 minute plans. Assuming you have free nights and weekends, a 300 minute plan works out to 15 minutes of talk time per day. This is certainly not a good deal, even for two people. Unless you like to pay outrageous per minute fees, get as many minutes as you can afford.
Text Away
Teenagers love text messaging. So do cell phone companies since it costs about 10 cents to send out a message and .2 cents to receive one. If you have teenagers, consider a plan that includes unlimited text messaging and internet access. If this is not available you can also get a cell phone that is not internet ready so they can't go online even if they wanted to. The same applies to camera phones, enhanced phones and anything else that can end up costing you at the end of the month.
Family Policy
So you have your incredibly jazzed up, multi-color-camera-MMS phone. Can you exercise restraint? Everyone should agree on what is considered acceptable use for a cell phone, such as keeping in touch when you plan to be late. You should also define unacceptable uses, such as draining the minutes without notifying the primary account holder so everyone else goes over their limits.
Roaming Fees
Almost every carrier has a high end plan where you can avoid roaming charges. This is another feature that is well worth the cost.
Monitor your statements
Every charge on your statement should be valid, always. Do not hesitate to call and ask for an explanation if something was higher than you expected or if there was an error. Ask for a credit if needed, and do the follow up. Sometimes, a credit can take up to two billing cycles to appear on your statement.
You must communicate with your friends and family to take advantage of these great plans. The structure of cellular plans coupled with the convenience of having it at all times can make any cell phone plan a disaster for your family budget. You must do some additional research if you want to make your cell phone the best gadget your family ever bought. To get started, keep this article handy, find a reputable web dealer, read the fine print and sign up for your family plan today.
