Amusement and Question...

[ht_murray]

First, the amusement... according to my super secret tracking device, someone is reading The Second Man through a University of Wisconsin server. I don't know why that amuses me, but it's almost as amusing to me as those hits from Richardson, Texas. LOL.

Anyway, my question. Anyone on my list use or know anyone else who uses a Tracfone? Here's the thing: I HATE phones. If you call me, I probably won't answer. I definitely won't be calling you. That's why I have email. (And the 'you' in this case is just everyone, in general, nothing personal. I sometimes pick up for family. LOL.) I am sick to death of people ON cell phones, driving like morons and hiding their phones under their paper work at work so it looks like they're not texting people instead of working. I have no love for the wireless phone.

But I need one. I need one so I can call work and work can call me. I need one for when I'm running and realize I'm not going to get home in time to get ready for work. "Please come get me! I fail!" And for when I break down on the side of the road, or just for emergencies, in general. And lately, our home phone, which is wireless, has just gone dead. It was only working for ten minutes at a time anyway, and they no longer make a battery that fits it, and I'm sick of paying seventy bucks a month when we don't call anyone and no one calls us.

I'm thinking prepaid is the way to go.

I mean, I know that the options are pretty limited and the quality and function of these type of phones tends to be lower and limited as well, but all I need is to have it when I need it. I will probably almost never use it. I don't plan on surfing the web, emailing, texting, playing games, or any of the other blah, blah that I have a computer for. I rather think I need time offline to stay sane, ya know?

So, does anybody use this type of service? Any noteable problems? Things you wish you'd known before you tried it? Reasons I should definitely NOT take the plunge?

Erm, halp?

Comments

[grlmonday.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if you're not going to do a lot of talking, I'd get just the minimum amount of minutes possible and then, when those are used up (or expire, do it all over again).

That's the problem with prepay. They give you a certain time to use them, and if they don't get used, you lose them. I hate it, but I haven't found a provider that doesn't do that.

I mention Strait Talk as an alternative (I use 400 or so minutes per month, plus I text and check emails on it). However, Go Phone is okay if you only want to get a $10 card for your phone each month, and a $10 card for your hubby each month. That way you're spending about $20 a month. Just remember, though, with those plans you pay only on the day you use the phone.

I had the plan that if I didn't use the phone (I didn't call out, no one called me), none of my minutes were used. But if I made a call, then $1 was subtracted to activate the phone for 24 hours. Then, in that 24 hour time period, I paied $.10 a minute for each call that I made. That would have worked just fine if I didn't use my phone every single day, which I do.

If I were you, I'd look into that. You may go six days straight without using your phone. A $10 card may last you all month. And if I'm not mistaken, my nephew got a $10 card yesterday, and it said he had until April 2nd to use his minutes. So that's two months, rather than one month. Really, if you barely ever use a phone, Go Phone is fine. Give the Go Phone a shot (or Tracfone, whichever you use). If you find you're talking/texting more than expected, then you may want to consider Straight Talk.

[tru-faith-lost.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I didn't get a notification for this one. I wonder why.

And so far, I like Tracfone and Straight Talk the best. The only thing I'm not liking about Straight Talk is that I can only find 1000 minute blocks where I'm looking. Where do you get yours? Do they have smaller allotments? I notice Tracfone and GoPhone both have smaller chunks of time that can be purchased, which is the only reason I'm leaning more toward Tracfone. Plus, a lot of the Tracfones come with double minutes for life, and every time you add minutes, it seems to add 90 days to the service, so you only have to think about it like 4 times a year.

ETA: I don't know who else I'd call besides work and hubby. I don't even know anyone else's number. LOL. And hubby no can text. :P

[grlmonday.livejournal.com]

:D Sounds like Tracfone is your best bet.

I get mine from the Straight Talk section in Wal-Mart in Charleston, WV. The smallest I've seen is the 1000 minute block. If they had a 500 minute for $15 I'd be in pre-paid cell heaven LOL. I will say that last month I used 700 minutes because I was constantly updating family with mom's condition, so it really worked out that I had the extra minutes.