cell phone--should I go with prepaid, or join the Verizon family plan?

[Zech Marquis]

My sister has Verizon Wireless, and with the Family Plan she gave my mom her own cell phone. You simply add a new line for $10 and pick out a nice phone to get--I think they start at $30. Prepaid with Verizon--he local Radio Shack has a really nice model for $90 (with a $50 mail in rebate) I would just buy a new card for whenever my minutes run low-I want to have the yahoo im so my gf cankeep in touch with me, as well as call her too(she's in Manila). Which one would any DUers pick?

[jswordy]

1. Neither...cell phones suck

[Goldmund]

2. Family Plan

Prepaid is highway robbery.

[aden_nak]

3. As a rule, you pay MORE for Pre-paid.

And as long as you can count and regulate your cell phone usage, there really is no reason to get a Pre-paid phone (unless you fail their credit check).

[BiggJawn]

5. Don't know about that...

I put $20 in my cellie every 2 months. and it rolls over at that rate.

Can't get $10 a month from "Canyouhearmenow?good!"...

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

4. Careful on the phone costs

Usually you have to sign a new contract. Make sure you would qualify for those low rates. Otherwise, the cheapest phone because quite expensive.

Then look at how many minutes your family currently uses on their plan. If you can fit in under that allotted amount of minutes, you're probably best off there.

[Misunderestimator]

6. Verizon... unlimited calling between other Verizon customers.

[Nikia]

7. Do you talk to your family a lot

I believe that minutes between phones are free. If your mother likes to call you and chat for an hour a couple times per week, this is really the way to go.
The only advantage of prepaid is that you won't accidently exceed your allotted time and get hit with huge extra fees.

[On the Road]

8. If You Use Your Cell Phone Daily,

a regular account is usually better than prepaid.

[Zech Marquis]

9. i see them everyday

the main perosn I want to call like on a weekend would be my gf, who lives in Manila :-)

[progmom]

10. as in the Philippines?

you prolly don't want to do that on a cell.