[bigbadwulff]

So about a month ago I broke my BB Storm. Been using a POS regular cell phone. Went thru like a week of withdrawl.
Got to checking my cell phone bill. This **** is nuts! For what I'm paying for a stupid cell phone(or really 4 on a Family plan) I could buy a nice car!!

2 Blackberrys with $29.99 data plans and one cell phone with internet access that comes to like $75.00 A MONTH over and above regular monthly charges.

I swear we are all absolutely crazy for paying these fees!!

My usual monthly bill is about $240.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I swear I'm going back to just basic crap phones.

[dhendriksen]

My phone bill is around $180 for me (Droid X), my wife (Blackberry Tour), and a dumbphone we let the kids take with them sometimes.

That's on top of a 25% discount from my company.

You're right, this IS crazy. What's craziest is why does my wife (stay at home mom) need a Blackberry? She's also got a laptop and an iPad! She doesn't even work!

We all need to come back to reality...

[dragonsamus]

I agree. But I can't go back...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[xliderider]

My phone bill is around $180 for me (Droid X), my wife (Blackberry Tour), and a dumbphone we let the kids take with them sometimes.

That's on top of a 25% discount from my company.

You're right, this IS crazy. What's craziest is why does my wife (stay at home mom) need a Blackberry? She's also got a laptop and an iPad! She doesn't even work!

We all need to come back to reality...

I agree, your wife doesn't need a smartphone.

You tell her.

[bigbadwulff]

Disposable income is way down in America and in all areas that have cell phone service. Yet you hear nothing about cellphones being a big cause of this. Can you imagine how you could spur other aspects of the economy by cutting back on your cell phone bill?
And furthermore how far cell phone companies would cut their fees back after they see this trend?
All it would take is one thread on a discussion board to start the ball rolling....

[dhendriksen]

I'll tell you what my wifes response is to the blackberry question.

She gets coupons in email, email from e!online and people.com,and needs Facebook.

Like that's worth $30/mo...

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

It depends how you look at it that determines whether or not having a smartphone is worth it. I don't have internet service at my home, but I am fine because I have my EVO. It suits all my browsing needs. I don't buy books anymore because I read the free classics iwith my Kindle app. I dont have to buy a standalone GPS device because I use my phone that has free GPS and I don't have to worry about updating the maps. I like to play games once in awhile, but I don't have an Xbox. I listen to free music using Pandora. I haven't bought a disposable camera in a couple of years because I use the camera in my smartphone all the time. I also don't have a landline because I have unlimited mobile to mobile and 1500 anytime minutes in our family plan. So for me, the $129 I pay every month for two lines actually saves me a lot of money than if I didn't have it. It is also a lot more convenient to have so many capabilities in your pocket. My EVO has become the all-on-one device that literally saves the day for me everyday.

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[Blkbear]

.....
What's craziest is why does my wife (stay at home mom) need a Blackberry? She's also got a laptop and an iPad! She doesn't even work!

We all need to come back to reality...

Yes I agree, your family does need to get back to reality! I'm pretty sure most people factor price of extra services into their budgets. At least those with a sense of how far their money goes.

<snicker>

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[DarkSource]

My phone bill is around $180 for me (Droid X), my wife (Blackberry Tour), and a dumbphone we let the kids take with them sometimes.

That's on top of a 25% discount from my company.

You're right, this IS crazy. What's craziest is why does my wife (stay at home mom) need a Blackberry? She's also got a laptop and an iPad! She doesn't even work!

We all need to come back to reality...

This sounds more reasonable. To the OP, I suggest cutting back on some features. Was your Storm using the regular $29.99 or the corporate plan? The same question goes for your wife's BB. I don't know how much you talk on the phone, but you could try going for less minutes. My family could add two more smart phones and still be under or just about $5 over $200.

[syb0rg]

i have T-Mobile's EM+ Plan, 2 Android lines (my MT3G and my wifes cliq)
-unlimited talk
-unlimited text
-unlimited data
-free tethering

all for 142.00/month + taxes.

[bigbadwulff]

T-"Mobile" here is about 20 square miles of service. I travel outside that quite often plus my daughter is in college and no T-"mobile" service there at all. Even Sprint only has service near major highways.
The good thing about Verizon is there is a signal about everywhere. The bad thing is you pay for that.....out the nose.

[grotty]

I second everything you just said dwaynewilliams!

[ekz13]

that's always been my biggest sticking point with vzn (and I would love to try them for the storm) but I can't justify paying that much for thier service. I have sprint, 4 lines (3x BB, 1x rumor touch) and my bill is 168/mo. their service (for me anyway is good and I've not had any major problems with signal or service etc.

the thing that gets me is alot of times, these companies charge 30 per line for bb service but only 15 for reg data (at least they used to) either way though, it is almost impossible to run a smartphone without it, you'd get killed on the data trickle, and they don't allow it otherwise. maybe you could look at getting a smaller data package, not sure if vzn has them or not.

[wmoor004#CB]

I feel your pain BBulff! I recently purchased the Droid X and I have the BB Tour and my bill is $190 a month. Today I am getting rid of my BB Tour and getting a regular phone! No more $200.00 phone bills for me.

Now I am going to put the Comptech supercharger back into my S2000! lol

[jpr196]

You're not crazy. I find it amazing when I see the percentage of young people carrying around expensive smartphones, which I assume come with expensive plans. There's no way in **** I'd be paying 70+ bucks a month for my kids to have a smartphone and I don't know how high school/college kids afford those bills on low wage jobs themselves.


It amazes me that in a bad economy, people can keep up with soaring cable, internet, and phone bills. It's almost an unsustainable bubble in many ways.

[ekz13]

those are luxuries that people deem as a necessity, but it's theirs to spend as they see fit.

[xlipstickandbruisesx]

I agree, before I got my Evo I was seriously considering going back to a simple phone. It's not that I don't have the money to pay for it but I just feel like its a waste sometime, especially because I put my mom on my account when I finally convinced her to get a cell but she has just a basic device and doesn't use any or the services (she just learned to text) and maybe 100 min a month but I pay 130 because of my phone . Cable is also a give waste for me I don't watch 90% of it but you have to get it in tiers and nothing I like is in the same tier lol plus I like certain things on all the premium channel but luckily I got a deal for 20 for hbo, showtime, cinema and starz but still its just a waste of money.

[MissJennell#IM]

My phone bill is around $180 for me (Droid X), my wife (Blackberry Tour), and a dumbphone we let the kids take with them sometimes.

That's on top of a 25% discount from my company.

You're right, this IS crazy. What's craziest is why does my wife (stay at home mom) need a Blackberry? She's also got a laptop and an iPad! She doesn't even work!
We all need to come back to reality...

I would like you to tell her that exact sentence! I bet you would get reemed! I was a stay at home mom for 8 years until I got divorced and needed to work. I had a smartphone half of those years. I used the crap out of them. I was always out doing something and never at home. Volunteering at my kids schools, practices, and so on and my phone helped keep me organized and on top of everything. I was also a part of pta and all that and could get everything I needed done because of my phone. You definitely would be wrong in your assumption of stay at home moms not 'working'. They 'work' they just don't get paid for everything that they do.

As for the OP you can do whatever you like. It is your money. As for me if I want to 'waste' my money on a blackberry or whatever smartphone I have I can. And I will. As can everybody else. I work hard for my money and will spend it as I see fit. Just as anybody else on here.

[avt123]

It may help me save a lot more money with a dumbphone, but I will never go back to using one.

[cracked_reality]

That's a really interesting point, and a lot of times I feel like I want to chuck it all, get a dumbphone drop the cable and internet and go outside. But then I remember I'm reading this from and because of my BB and the moment passes.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[jpr196]

I think it's all fine and dandy while it's responsible spending. If you're sitting on $15,000 in debt and paying a $75 phone bill each month, it might be time to reconsider your priorities.

Let's be honest here, a smartphone is a luxury for the vast majority of the population. Yeah, it might help the general consumer stay organized a tad better, but we got by as a society very well before they became prevalent in the past few years.

[MissJennell#IM]

I think it's all fine and dandy while it's responsible spending. If you're sitting on $15,000 in debt and paying a $75 phone bill each month, it might be time to reconsider your priorities.

Let's be honest here, a smartphone is a luxury for the vast majority of the population. Yeah, it might help the general consumer stay organized a tad better, but we got by as a society very well before they became prevalent in the past few years.

Define what you mean by $15,000 in debt. Does that include your house? Or just things like credit cards and such? Most people who have a house are more than $15,000 in debt. But as long as they are paying their mortgage every month along with all their other bills and saving money then why wouldn't they be able to have a $75 phone bill?

[RFCole]

I don't know if American carriers are charging ridiculous sums or if it's an exchange rate issue, but my BB plan costs me 25GBP a month, which included a free 8900, unlimited BIS, unlimited texts and 500 anytime minutes, which doesn't include incoming calls - are incoming calls still included in your minutes over there? I couldn't imagine not having a smartphone now I have one, but there isn't that much difference in price between smartphones and dumbphones over here in the UK.

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[MCMXCIII]

I don't know if American carriers are charging ridiculous sums or if it's an exchange rate issue, but my BB plan costs me 25GBP a month, which included a free 8900, unlimited BIS, unlimited texts and 500 anytime minutes, which doesn't include incoming calls - are incoming calls still included in your minutes over there? I couldn't imagine not having a smartphone now I have one, but there isn't that much difference in price between smartphones and dumbphones over here in the UK.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

As far as I know, some carriers in the US still charge for incoming texts etc. Also the fact that everything is separate (you have to choose packages for texts, minutes etc all individually) (I'm assuming this is still the case? Please correct me if I'm wrong)...

I'm in the UK and pay 34.60GBP (52.97USD) for 700 minutes and unlimited internet, BIS and texts on O2. Admittedly I'm on a small business tarrif, but even the normal plans don't vary on that price by much. Over all for the family (3 of us- 2, soon to be 3 BB's) we probably pay on average around 84GBP (128USD). I feel sorry for you guys getting completely shafted due to the fact everything about the plan is split to be individual. $240 per month is insane!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[MissJennell#IM]

As far as I know, some carriers in the US still charge for incoming texts etc. Also the fact that everything is separate (you have to choose packages for texts, minutes etc all individually) (I'm assuming this is still the case? Please correct me if I'm wrong)...

I'm in the UK and pay 34.60GBP (52.97USD) for 700 minutes and unlimited internet, BIS and texts on O2. Admittedly I'm on a small business tarrif, but even the normal plans don't vary on that price by much. Over all for the family (3 of us- 2, soon to be 3 BB's) we probably pay on average around 84GBP (128USD). I feel sorry for you guys getting completely shafted due to the fact everything about the plan is split to be individual. $240 per month is insane!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Not everybody in the US pays that much. I have 3 blackberries on my account and I pay 140 a month with insurance on all 3. That also includes 1500 minutes, unlimited data/bis, unlimited texts and so on.