MM: What would be the financial tipping point ?

[Deleted]

I want to drop VZW for straight talk. We have 2 lines right now and pay $150 per month plus tax for our 2 ph with 600 mins and a data plan on each.  We have a driod razor max and droid bionic so they wont work with straight talk.

We would have to pay 2 cancellation fees $180 and $260.  We would also have to buy new phones.  Of course we can sell ours for about $100 each. 

At what point do I determine if switching is better or should we stay and finish out the contract?   (18 more months)

[Deleted]

Is there anything in between (maybe an unadvertised plan) that would reduce your cost for the next 18 months while you wait out your contract?

[Deleted]

I think you would save enough by dropping Verizon that you would more than cover the contract cancellation fees pretty quickly.

I wish I could get DH on board with this. It'd be so much cheaper. We pay $180/month for two smart phones and a regular phone (MIL is on our plan.) It's absurd.

[Roc A Bee]

How much would new phones be?

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2013 13:12:27 GMT -5 Roc A Bee said:

How much would new phones be?

no idea

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2013 13:11:37 GMT -5 @totsintosa said:

Is there anything in between (maybe an unadvertised plan) that would reduce your cost for the next 18 months while you wait out your contract?

Nope. VZW are bas-turds (not a type-o)

[Deleted]

Well, assuming the StraightTalk is $100 a month for the two of you after taxes (do you know how much taxes are?), and you're spending $150 now, you would save $50 a month by switching.

Taking into account the cancellation fees and selling your old phones, you'd break even in about 5 months, but you should add on another month for every $50 you spend on your new phones/activation/etc.

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2013 14:19:01 GMT -5 vigurl said:

Jan 24, 2013 13:11:37 GMT -5 @totsintosa said:

Is there anything in between (maybe an unadvertised plan) that would reduce your cost for the next 18 months while you wait out your contract?

Nope. VZW are bas-turds (not a type-o)

Have you called and asked them to cancel?  I know people who have had luck negotiating that way.

Also, are there any corporate discounts you could take advantage of?

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2013 14:24:47 GMT -5 v said:

Jan 24, 2013 14:19:01 GMT -5 vigurl said:

Nope. VZW are bas-turds (not a type-o)

Have you called and asked them to cancel?  I know people who have had luck negotiating that way.

Also, are there any corporate discounts you could take advantage of?

No I have not tried to cancel.  I did that with my Verizon home phone but never tried with cell.  I already have a 20% off corporate discount.

Taxes are about another $20 per month for the total plan on VZW.

Straight talk does not charge taxes if you buy your minutes at a Walmart store.  (I heard)

[orangeblossom]

My sister just left Sprint to go with Ting (uses Sprints network). I believe she said they were running a special to pay termination fees up to $350 or something like that.

I looked at the plan set up and it seems pretty good. Maybe you could check it out.

www dot ting dot com

[Bob Loblaw]

I'm pretty sure Verizon prorates their termination fees so every month you get closer to the end of your contract, your cancellation fee drops. Are you taking that into account?

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2013 15:45:54 GMT -5 Bob Loblaw said:

I'm pretty sure Verizon prorates their termination fees so every month you get closer to the end of your contract, your cancellation fee drops. Are you taking that into account?

Yep.  They say it goes down $10 per month

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2013 15:24:32 GMT -5 orangeblossom said:

My sister just left Sprint to go with Ting (uses Sprints network). I believe she said they were running a special to pay termination fees up to $350 or something like that.

I looked at the plan set up and it seems pretty good. Maybe you could check it out.

www dot ting dot com

Thanks!  I will check this out!

[midnightmare81]

We will be doing this at the end of our contracts. Not worth it for us to do right now, but it is our next plan of action. Verizon has REALLY gone down hill in recent years!

[rfs13]

Have you looked into a share everything data plan for your two phones? MH and I each have iPhones and we switched to the Share Everything with 1GB of data -- making this change reduced our bill by $30/mo.
Between the two of us we only use 1/2GB a month (this is because we are hooked to wi-fi in our offices and at home)...it may be worth looking into.

[chessie]

We decided to wait. Rep told me it be around 400 to cancel. Two data phones be around 400-500 total through Straight talk. Currently we are paying 220 for 2 unlimited data phones. It would save us a lot in the long run, but with the cancellations fees and costs of phones, we will wait it out 6 months.

[jigsy]

From what I have seen, You'd be paying around $35/month for a phone with a data plan, so your monthly cost would be $70-ish. If your bill is around $160 including taxes, you'd be saving $90/month. You would break even with the cancellation charges (after the $100/each for selling your phones) in ~3 months. Since you have a smart phone, you will spend at least $150 for each phone (and that is low I think. It will take another ~3 months to recoup that cost.
So all in all, you are looking at 6 months to break even if you get $100 for each phone and you only spend $150 each on your phones...however, after recouping the costs, you would save over $1000 during the life of your contract.