Last spring I switched wireless phone service from Verizon to NET10. I am saving approximately 60% on my mobile phone charges by doing this. With Verizon I was paying $1080/year for 750 minutes/month shared by two phones. On average we used a total of about 45 minutes a month and texting was extra!
We have been using NET 10 for over 3 months now and it's time for me to purchase more service. While NET10 offers monthly plans that don't rollover minutes, I can save even more money purchasing the "Pay As You Go" plans since we don't use many minutes (and unused minutes will rollover). I like to crunch the numbers on everything to get the most for my money so of course I wanted to see which Pay As You Go Card would be the cheapest. The answer didn't come easy because NET 10 makes this difficult to figure out. Below are your options and my conclusions.
For $45 get 600 minutes and 60 days. A years worth of this card will cost you $270 or $.07 a minute. Do not buy this card at all. It is the equivalent of buying the 900 minute 90 day card but costs $30 more over the year .
For $30 get 300 minutes and 60 days. A years worth of this card will cost you $.10 a minute. If 1800 minutes is way more than you would ever use in a year, this card would be the cheapest route for you to go at $180/yr.
For $20 get 200 minutes and 30 days. A years worth of this card will cost you $.10 a minute. This card cost the same per year as the 90 day card, $240 a year, but with 1200 less minutes. I also would not buy this card.
For $60 get 900 minutes and 90 days. A years worth of this card will cost you $.06 a minute or $240 per year. If you would use between 3000 and 3600 minutes a year those 600 minutes would still be $.06 a minute. I know it would be very difficult to pinpoint your usage to between 3000-3600 but if you had to purchase additional minutes (and you can only buy 150 additional minutes per order via web) you would have to do so at $.10 per minute. Otherwise, if your usage is below 3000 go with the $100 web card below.
Web only. For $100 get 1500 minutes and 180 days. A years worth of this card will cost you $.06 a minute. At $200 a year you will get the most minutes for your money with this card unless you use more than 3000 minutes per year. Then see the 90 day card.
For $25 get 750 minutes per month. If you use over 350 minutes a month, you can go with this plan. It comes out to $.03 to $.07 per minute. The more you use the less it will cost because the minutes do not rollover each month. $300 a year is still really cheap compared to contract services.
For $50 per month get the unlimited plan. If 900 minutes per month doesn't do it for you, this plan is still cheaper than Verizon's most inexpensive plan at $600 a year and now you not only have unlimited talk, but also unlimited text/picture messaging, unlimited web/email and 411.
Please note that the above prices do not include taxes and fees which I am estimating to be about 11% nor do they take into consideration the cost of buying the phone. The phones, however, can be bought inexpensively and sometimes can be as low as free if NET10 offers a pre-paid card with your phone purchase that offsets your cost.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Favorite Printable Coupons
Print coupons for your favorite brands and save at Coupons.com.
$1/2 Folgers 3 oz or larger.
$1/4 Totinos Party Pizza.
Free Taco Seasoning if your store doubles $.50/1 Old El Paso Product
Staples Deals Sneak Peek 9/4
Penny deals at Staples starting Sunday 9/4. See flyer here.
HP 4x6 Photo Paper Limit 2
Hammermill Ream Paper Limit 2
Pentel Sparkle Gel Pens Limit 1
Each $.01 after easy rebate. Because these are easy rebates you can pay for these items with rewards.
Staples Cap Erasers $.01 after instant savings. Limit 2
Prices good from 9/3 to 9/7
HP 4x6 Photo Paper Limit 2
Hammermill Ream Paper Limit 2
Pentel Sparkle Gel Pens Limit 1
Each $.01 after easy rebate. Because these are easy rebates you can pay for these items with rewards.
Staples Cap Erasers $.01 after instant savings. Limit 2
Prices good from 9/3 to 9/7
Thursday, September 1, 2011
New Saveology Members Get a $15 Staples Gift Card for $8
All You Two Year Subscription for $.71 per Issue
Get a 2 year subscription to All You for $.71 per issue with 50% cash back from Shopathome.com. When you register with Shopathome for the first time you get a bonus $5 so that would make it like $.50 an issue!
How Do You Do That? Coupon Sources
After 3+ years of doing some serious couponing, I am starting to figure out what works best for me. This series will help answer that question I always hear: "How do you do that?" Or more like, "How do you get all that stuff free?"
~First of all, you need coupons! Well duh. You know the most common place to get coupons is the Sunday paper. So you browse through and clip the ones for products you need to buy this week and toss the rest in the garbage. STOP! You will save very little this way. The trick is to save your coupons until the item goes on sale. Then buy the product at the lowest possible price or for free before you need it. This usually happens about 4-6 weeks after the coupons are issued but can also happen that week. Go here to learn about methods and organizers that best suit you.
~Another source of coupons is your printer. Coupons.com, Red Plum, Couponnetwork.com and Smartsource.com are good sources to print coupons. I update my Favorite Printable Coupons page whenever valuable printables become available. You should also search these sites before heading to the store to by items you need NOW.
~Request free samples. Not only do you get a free product to try but most of the time you receive coupons with the sample. The free samples I post are always easy, involving either entering your address, maybe registering on a website first or liking a company on Facebook. But I never post samples that involve purchasing something first, or run you in circles leaving you wondering if you'll even get the sample you just spent 10 minutes trying to request.
~Doctor Offices. Keep your eyes open for tear pads of coupons found at the dentist and other doctors. They often net free products. Take a few but don't take them all!
~Peelies. These are stuck to products and it is preferred you use them on that product that day. One week at CVS blink Tears were on sale for $7.99, $7.99 ECBs printed after the purchase making the product free. There was a peelie on the gel variety for $4 off so I made $4 on that purchase. Can't beat free? Yeah you can!
~Blinkies. A little red box attached to the shelves that spit out coupons. These are good to save for a sale. I usually take no more than 4 of each. I don't recommend taking kids coupon shopping since they can be really distracting but they are good at spotting these machines. So is your forehead when you bend over to look at something on a lower shelf.
~Inside the packaging. Don't forget to check for coupons inside products before throwing the packaging away.
~Vocalpoint.com frequently send free items and coupons automatically. Definitely worth the time to sign up!
~Check company websites before shopping for items you need NOW and look for a coupon link.
~Ever see coupons laying on the shelves at the grocery store? It was left there by a Coupon Fairy.
~First of all, you need coupons! Well duh. You know the most common place to get coupons is the Sunday paper. So you browse through and clip the ones for products you need to buy this week and toss the rest in the garbage. STOP! You will save very little this way. The trick is to save your coupons until the item goes on sale. Then buy the product at the lowest possible price or for free before you need it. This usually happens about 4-6 weeks after the coupons are issued but can also happen that week. Go here to learn about methods and organizers that best suit you.
~Another source of coupons is your printer. Coupons.com, Red Plum, Couponnetwork.com and Smartsource.com are good sources to print coupons. I update my Favorite Printable Coupons page whenever valuable printables become available. You should also search these sites before heading to the store to by items you need NOW.
~Request free samples. Not only do you get a free product to try but most of the time you receive coupons with the sample. The free samples I post are always easy, involving either entering your address, maybe registering on a website first or liking a company on Facebook. But I never post samples that involve purchasing something first, or run you in circles leaving you wondering if you'll even get the sample you just spent 10 minutes trying to request.
~Doctor Offices. Keep your eyes open for tear pads of coupons found at the dentist and other doctors. They often net free products. Take a few but don't take them all!
~Peelies. These are stuck to products and it is preferred you use them on that product that day. One week at CVS blink Tears were on sale for $7.99, $7.99 ECBs printed after the purchase making the product free. There was a peelie on the gel variety for $4 off so I made $4 on that purchase. Can't beat free? Yeah you can!
~Blinkies. A little red box attached to the shelves that spit out coupons. These are good to save for a sale. I usually take no more than 4 of each. I don't recommend taking kids coupon shopping since they can be really distracting but they are good at spotting these machines. So is your forehead when you bend over to look at something on a lower shelf.
~Inside the packaging. Don't forget to check for coupons inside products before throwing the packaging away.
~Vocalpoint.com frequently send free items and coupons automatically. Definitely worth the time to sign up!
~Check company websites before shopping for items you need NOW and look for a coupon link.
~Ever see coupons laying on the shelves at the grocery store? It was left there by a Coupon Fairy.
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