Just wanted to start this by saying this isn't an attempt to convert anyone or anything. This seemingly has worked for me but might not work so well for other people. It's definitely cheaper, but could be inconvenient for other people who use their phone differently. But it's what I've been doing for nearly a year, and I've saved a lot of money. There are probably other ways to deal with this, and I would love to hear how you guys make your phones more affordable. Anyway.
I used to pay a monthly phone contract. I thought I needed it, needed the data to always be connected, needed the minutes and texts. I thought there was no way I could survive without being connected at all times. I needed it!
A few years ago I got an iPhone and payed a few hundred bucks a year. I upgraded to android when that contract ran out and payed about the same again. When that contract finished I still had a working iPhone and Android phone. I used the iPhone for music and apps you could only get on iPhones. It was an ipod basically. I didn't have any sim card in it. And it didn't matter.
But the android still needed a sim right? It was my 'phone' phone. So I payed a lot less for a contract. But it was still a lot of money. Money I didn't need to spend. There were pay as you go options. But because I had it, I always used the data. And ran out, or over. Which incurred costs. It felt like a scam.
I realised I never really called anyone. I texted. And I didn't text on mobile. I used WhatsApp. So I was basically only paying for data. "But sometimes you need to make a phone call!" I hear you say. My broadband came with a homephone contract. Which doesn't cost anything unless you made calls. And there are times when you can call certain other numbers for free. So if I needed to make those calls to businesses I could do it during those hours. And if I was desperate I could call and just pay the small fee at that time. So it was way cheaper.
But I could Skype. I could call everyone else using WhatsApp or whatever if needed. I just mostly ended up receiving calls and I texted peeps. I was that guy. And it wasnt a big deal.
And data. The thing I thought I couldn't do without. How would I keep up to date with my WhatsApp messages?! What if I'm travelling somewhere and there's no WiFi, then I wouldn't know if I'd been WhatsApped, or be able to check the Internet or play those games that require you to be connected. How would I survive?!?
Surprisingly easily as it turns out.
It just wasn't a big deal. Like at all. I have WiFi at home so it's never a problem there. There's WiFi at work so no problem there. There's WiFi at university so no problem there. There's even WiFi on the bus I have to take sometimes and I don't need WiFi when I drive. There's WiFi in shops, restaurants, shopping malls... basically everywhere. All the times I would use data I could have been using WiFi. And it's free! And works just as well. My phone would automatically connect to them. The ones that require signing in take two seconds. It made phone contracts feel like a scam. I know they aren't, not really. And some people need that level of connectivity. But I felt like I had sort of beaten the system, or was ahead of the game. I didn't feel like I was missing out. And I couldn't believe I spent so much on them before.
This was about the same time I stopped using Facebook. I still have the account, and use it for groups and stuff, but only from a computer. Not my phone. I don't receive notifications or check it or have the apps or anything. I used to check Facebook All. The. Time. And that ate away at my data. Often taking me over my allocated allowance and charging me extra. I seem to remember I got a contract that just capped me when I ran out - so no extra fees but suddenly no data (but I quit altogether pretty quick after that). I think that's where I started to utilise WiFi more and realised I could basically get by without data.
Anyway. It's been a year nearly. And I haven't paid ANYTHING for my phones. Not a thing. I have a smartphone, two actually, and yeah they're older than yours but they do basically everything yours does. I keep telling myself I'll get a new one when it dies and I told myself that long before I ditched the sim. And it just keeps on going. My iPhone is still my music player. And they both perform like new. I don't need anything else. I use my phones every single day. And they work flawlessly. When they die I will buy new outright and stick with no sim.
If I need to make more calls or whatever when I leave uni and get a job I'm going to get those pay as you go things. And make sure data is always off.
It's weird because I feel slightly more free. I spend way less money of course. It's like before my phone was always on. I was always reacting to it all the time. And now it's a little less and it's when I choose. Sort of. With the amount of WiFi it's rare I can't connect to stuff conveniently. But its just different. I don't know. It just feels like I have some semblance of control now and I'm not being shafted by corporations that don't care about me anyway. This phone that used to suck money away ever single month is free now. Well I paid a lot for it each month before, and those monthly payment deals are a scam for sure. I could have bought the phone for a third or less outright what I ended up paying in the end for it. But I digress.
I know I could have paid for more affordable sims, but at the time I wanted the most modern up to date phone and they came with the biggest monthly payments. And I could afford it. I still could. But when I thought about it, I couldn't justify the expense. I maybe couldn't afford to save the hundreds I needed to buy outright, and felt like it was my only option at the time to have the phone I wanted, but it's different now. I will never pay the huge amount of money I was like that again. It's just a phone. Yes I use it everyday to text and check the internet and play some games and reddit and whatever. But for about a year, I've been doing that just fine for free. And I don't ever want to go back.
November 04, 2017 at 11:41AM
