Wow - Sprint Actually Helped Me Save Money!

A little while ago, I optimized my cell phone plan with Sprint. All this time I knew I was probably paying too much for my cell phone plan but I was reluctant to make a change thinking there would be some sort of consequence - I've been screwed by cell phone companies before and so have other members of my family. So I was pretty relieved (and pleasantly suprised) to see that choosing the plan that Sprint selected for me - based on it's analysis of my cell and text usage actually ended up saving me over $30 this month!

It also, unfortunately, let me see just how much money I've paid for my old plan this past year. See this:

Note that I don't know why it says "Check Over the Phone" because I pay it online with my bank account but you get the idea. The amount paid over the past thirteen months seems to have no rhyme or reason because I was pretty prone to paying whatever I felt like for my cell service back in my Money Moron days. Several times I had to pay the full amount due so that my service wouldn't be shut off. Sometimes I just paid whatever I had. But, averaged over the past thirteen months, I paid about $103 a month for cell service! What? How can that be so? I'm thinking the numbers are a bit skewed since many times I would not get the amount owed back down to zero each month. But either way, I was paying at least $70 a month for service. I know I paid $82 last month and the amount owed was back down to zero.

So guess how much my bill is for the first month under the new plan? $48.92!!

Yup, I saved AT LEAST $20 and probably more like $30 a month by switching my plan.

Which is pretty awesome since I was wondering how I was going to be able to afford joining my favorite hobby again with monthly dues of $35. Problem solved. Thank you Sprint!

Optimizing my Sprint Bill

I knew when I made out my last Budget that my Sprint bill would be due soon, as it had been just under a month since I paid them last. But there just wasn't much room in the Budget and I admit, not paying my Sprint bill on time has been a problem for me before. So I just figured they could wait around for their payment since they tell me right there on their web site that my "credit limit" is $250 so it should technically take over 3 months of non-payment before I should hit that mark.

But, just for those people who are toying with the idea of falling behind on your Sprint payments, here are some cute things that Sprint has come up with to "remind" you your payment is due:

1. Sends you a text message saying "Payment Reminder."
2. Sends you an email with an Invoice attached to it
3. Starts blocking your ability to receive and/or send text messages
4. Turns off your voicemail - you can call it and check your messages but people who call you won't receive your voicemail.
5. Blocks to your ability to make outgoing calls.
6. And finally, blocks all activity from your phone.

As someone who has been through all 6 stages of Sprint service removal, I've come to know these signs well. Luckily I have not had the most severe measures taken against me in a while (ever since I stopped paying for my Older Sister's Cell Phone and that's a story for another day!) but I had made it to Stage 2 last week.

And how much did I owe Sprint? $164.90, yikes! And, coincedentally, 10 cents less than what I also owed Boyfriend for agreeing to put part of my Work Trip expenses on his credit card. That figure includes two months of service so luckily I don't have to pay it again for a while.

But paying about $80 a month for cell service is still too much and it got me thinking about how much service do I actually need. Luckily, Sprint has this new feature called the Plan Optimizer right on their site where it analyzes your usage and tells you which alternate plans may save you money. I had to laugh when I read that because a full SIX YEARS ago I had to perform a similar task for a boss of mine which took me literally hours of pouring through phone records and number-crunching.

So, here are the results:

My original plan is only $50 but with all the add-ons I end up paying $72. I won't compromise on Insurance as someone who had broken or lost her phone and been faced with the devastating reality of paying $250 for the ugliest phone in the store.

But I am paying $5 a month in order for my night minutes to start at 7 p.m. instead of 9. Annoying.

I am also paying $5 a month for Picture Mail. Even Sprint thinks this is a bad idea and told me so right on the Plan Optimizer. I have maybe mailed three pictures since signing up for this feature several months ago.

I also am paying $5 a month for 300 text messages. This, unfortunately, will have to remain as my friends are all too fond of this method of communication. See for yourself:

Of my 700 Anytime Minutes, I have only used 143 this month. Therefore, it looks like the Talk 450 plan which would reduce my 700 minutes to 450 would save me money as long as this amount is normal which I am pretty certain it is. This would save me $10 a month.

Talk 450 also has Unlimited Night and Weekend Minutes starting at 7. This would save me $5 a month.

I have used 171 text messages this month. I can keep my 300 text messages a month with talk 450 and keep paying the $5 a month. This will save me nothing.

I can abandon my Picture Mail capabilities as it appears I have not used it this month anyway. This will save me $5 a month.

Roaming is included under the Talk 450 plan as well since according to the Optimizer I spend $2.30 a month roaming. That seems high but the usage chart indicates that I definitely roamed for at least one minute this month.

So the net savings would be about $23 a month. I think I'm going to do it.

The good thing about the Plan Optimizer is that by changing your contract this way, Sprint recognizes your old contract and you don't need to renew it for another two years. Which is cool because I like getting my free phone every two years.

Hopefully I can start seeing a savings with this new plan and also remember to pay my bill on time!

Will my phone get shut off (again)?

So I get a text message from Sprint yesterday - payment is due now - and then an email this morning. Okay, I get it, payment is due. Sprint has turned off my phone many a time but actually the past couple of months (since I dumped my stingy sister who never paid me back from my bill) I've been good. The email said I have to pay NOW to avoid service interruption, but when I logged into my account, it looks like I have until the 24th.

So what's a girl to do? I'm going to just risk it because I have just 6 DAYS until my next paycheck and I really really want to get there without:

1. Borrowing money; or

2. Incurring any overdraft charges at the bank.

Last night wasn't the smartest night in terms of finances. I spent approximately $15 between beer and cigarettes but I just needed a venting session with a good friend.

AND this morning I forgot my yogurt and had to get breakfast at Dunkin Donuts at the cost of $4 cuz I was dragging myself to work.

So now, until next Wednesday I have $46 cash on hand - some of which I will spend today purchasing Mother's Day card and small gift; $107 in the bank ($80 of which will be taken when my payment to Aunt Sallie shows up).

I think I can do it. Usually my Dad gives me some pocket money when I come home so this weekend isn't a factor. I really only need to make it until Friday. Here's hoping I can do it.