MOBILE PHONES IN OUR LIVES |
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(NAPSI)-More and more young adults have a mobile phone and prefer to use it to a landline phone to stay connected. In fact, according to a recent T-Mobile® study, young professionals use their phone mostly after work. Recent graduates who are heading into the workplace instead of the classroom this fall are also facing the financial realities of adulthood. According to a MonsterTRAK survey, more than half of college graduates plan to move out on their own this year, and many will begin spending their hard-earned, entry-level-position paychecks on rent, food and cell phone bills. While the commute home can be a great time to make happy-hour plans with college friends or ask Mom or Dad for workplace advice, many mobile phone plans limit free calling to weekends and late nights, which can make staying connected to family and friends inconvenient and costly. But wireless carriers do offer solutions for young professionals and recent graduates that may save them money on their cell phone bill. T-Mobile offers these suggestions to cash-strapped college grads: 1. Match your plan to your usage: Before you purchase service, think carefully about when you make most of your calls and also whom you call the most. Chances are you can find a plan that lets you pay only for how you use your phone. For example, a great option is T-Mobile Prepaid with the new Pay By The Day plan. For just $1 per day* you get unlimited nationwide night calling starting at 7 p.m., along with unlimited calling to any T-Mobile number. And you pay only for the days the phone is used. Or if you’re like most people, ¾ of your calls are to the same five people, and if that’s the case, you might opt for a more inexpensive monthly plan and add T-Mobile’s myFaves® calling option to it, which features unlimited nationwide calling to the five people you call the most. 2. Avoid long-term contracts and surprise bills with a prepaid plan: With no annual contract, no credit check and no monthly bill, prepaid plans are a simple, direct way to go mobile-and can be used with a broad range of mobile phones, including the popular T-Mobile Sidekick®. 3. Rather type than talk? Look for unlimited texting or bundles: T-Mobile offers unlimited domestic messages (text, IM, picture or video) for only about $15 a month.* Or if you can keep an eye on your texting limits, a less-than-$15-a-month* bundle of 400 messages might suffice. You can add either of these features to any monthly plan from T-Mobile. 4. Keep it in the family: Parents can save kids a lot of money by letting them stay on a family plan and letting them pay them (instead of a wireless carrier) for the minutes and messages. Adding a line and a messaging bundle to an existing family plan can cost as little as $15 a month*. The other solution is to establish your own “family” with roommates or friends. There’s no rule that says families have to be related. 5. Coverage matters: Make sure you’re choosing a wireless carrier with great service where you live, work and play. Check the carrier’s return policy and consider test-driving the service. T-Mobile even offers a Personal Coverage Check Web site where you can discover the signal strength at specific addresses that matter to you. To learn more about T-Mobile services, visit www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans. * Plus taxes and fees. |
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