Susan's Scribblings the Blog

Some folks over-use their cell phone plans; I under-use mine, and it’s still going to cost me.  My plan might well be an ongoing no-win scenario.

Sure, some of the folks we all hear about who are cellular addicts practically have their thumbs surgically attached to their devices and a Bluetooth(R) glued to their ears.  Plans costing $50 a month or more get eaten up in text messages and minutes and burn holes in people’s wallets all the time.  For folks like me, who are on a budget and only use the phone for calls we really need to make (not to tell a friend the new hairdo looks great or the dog likes his new diet food), it’s hard to get a plan that works for us.

Monthly plans are not budget friendly if they are the equivalent of a tank of gas (or two) every month and you either don’t use it enough, or talk and text through them before 30 days run out and have to add more.  Whether you use the phone that often or not, it’s money out like so much water down the drain.

Pre-paid plans give you a phone and a monthly, quarterly or yearly payment option that gets deducted only as you use the device, and normally the best option is to pay for a year.

Unfortunately the phones aren’t always the most inviting to use.  I’ve been through three phones; one was a step above ancient when I was politely told in a letter from my carrier that I had no choice but to upgrade.  You know your phone is older than dirt when your cellular carrier makes you give it up.  I kept the second phone until even its logo was ancient.  The third was recommended to me by a nice salesperson who introduced me to getting the Internet on my phone.  It loads sometimes, on a good day, but the screen is too small for a true webpage experience.  Still, it was within my budget, and it still enables me to make calls and check my email.

The problem is my habit of not using the phone for everything except personal hygiene.  I can’t play “Angry Birds.”  I can’t speed text because the keyboard is not QWERTY (oh my).  After so much hitting a number button six times to get the character needed, texting gets to be bothersome.

Oh, and did I mention the screen is tiny (like an oversized postage stamp)?

So I’ve paid loyally and annually for a year of usage, but after awhile you can’t pay for another year because too much money is sitting in your prepaid account.  Ouch!

I recently went to the phone store to discuss my problem with the helpful representatives there.  A nice salesperson (or should I say associate) called the big bosses at the main headquarters for help.  There really was none.  The funds on account can’t be refunded or applied to something else like a better phone so I can text on a full QWERTY keyboard.  The only solution is for me to try to find a way to use the phone more, and quickly, so I can lower my balance enough to continue with my current plan.

Use it or lose it.

Public phones are going away, and more people are on budgets than ever before, and we mean wallets so tight the presidents’ faces on the bills look like they’ve gotten a facelift.  You’d think the cellular carriers would be more accommodating.  I’m going to try to talk and text gaily for a while to see how much of my own money I can whittle away to satisfy my carrier’s rules and policies, but I can’t help feeling oppressed and helpless with something I had hoped would be a help rather than a hinderance.