The Cell Phone Edition is the second article in a series called Living La Vida Frugal. It’s a look at a few things that I did in the past to cut back on my spending.
I got my first cell phone when I was in university. It was a birthday gift from my parents and I was over the hill with joy. It was a silver Motorola candy bar type phone and I thought that it was the best thing that could ever happen.
This phone was a step up from asking to use someone’s phone and using phone booths. I had my own mobile telephone. I was important! It was a prepaid service which meant that I had to add credit in order to make calls and send texts.
For a university student with no income, this proved to be a wise choice. My disposable income was on the very slim side so being in full control over what I used on the phone was critical.
I kept my first cell phone for about two years before I upgraded to a new phone. A friend of my best friend hooked me up with a brand new Nokia 6230 which came with a new monthly plan. I left the Motorola and the prepaid cell plan behind and was completely smitten with my new phone.
I could text and talk for a little longer as long as I kept within the boundaries of my plan. In the early stages I was able to do it with ease. But as time went on and I made new friends, I found it harder to stick to it and I was soon going over my plan limits and paying more money because of excessive texting and yapping.
To make things worse, I increased the plan limits a couple of times when I realised that I was using more minutes than I was allocated. What had started out as a fifty dollar a month payment, quickly turned into a two to three hundred dollar monthly payment. If I was lucky I would have to pay in the low one hundreds. My mother tried to convince me that I should go back to a pre-paid plan, but I refused.
In 2008, my boyfriend and I went on a getaway to Trinidad. One day we took a “taxi” to the city of Port of Spain. I had my phone in my hand (which was a crazy habit at that time) when I entered the taxi. When I got out of the taxi, I unknowingly left my beloved 6230 behind. When I realised that it was gone, I panicked. We waited for the “taxi” to return to the city. When we checked the “taxi”, the phone was gone. I was horrified. I immediately thought of all the phone calls that would be made on the phone and how I would have to pay the ridiculous charges.
As soon as we got back to the hotel, I called the service provider because I wanted to cancel the service. she informed me that the only way to cancel the service was to come into one of their branches and do it in person. I explained that I was in Trinidad and that I would not be back for another few days. She did not budge and I was boiling with anger.
I made up in my mind that I would cancel the service as soon as I got back home. So said, so done. I went into their office the very first working day after I got back into Barbados and cancelled the service. Thankfully whoever took my phone did not make any calls, so I did not have to pay any outrageous fees.
I signed up for a new prepaid plan with a new number. I used the points that I accumulated on the post paid plan to buy a new, cheaper phone and to pay off what was owed on the post-paid plan. The customer service rep kept asking me if I was sure about cancelling the service and my answer was yes each time.
I’m happy to say that I’m still on the pre-paid plan and it has worked out beautifully. I spend about ten dollars a month to add credit to the phone and it usually lasts. I make calls only if they are urgent and I’m very strict about which calls I answer (no landlines, please).
My only regret is that I did not do it sooner. I went from paying over two hundred dollars to paying ten dollars a month. I have a different phone, only because the screen of the other one broke when I accidentally dropped it.
I’ll admit that my phone does not have all the fancy features, but I don’t need them. Right now I just want to be able to make and receive calls when I have to and my phone meets those requirements. In a way I’m glad that the phone was stolen and the customer service rep was rude and unsympathetic. It prompted me to make a change and i was able to save some money as a result.