Travels and Curiosities

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May 11, 2020

Save Major Money With This ONE Switch to Your Monthly Bills

We all despise paying bills. It’s probably our least favorite thing to do, apart from perhaps the brief reward of feeling in control of our finances.

But for many right now, income may already be a growing uncertainty or has stopped altogether. Not being able to pay bills is frightening. We’ve definitely experienced it, especially on the unexpected medical side. It can be all-out stress-inducing.

One thing we are constantly doing to make sure we are protecting ourselves is to frequently review our monthly spending, including what we’re paying to different utilities and services. Lower your spend, lessen your risk.

This brings us to the dreaded cell phone bill. I don’t know how many of you feel like we do, but cell service has gotten outrageously expensive in recent years, notably after the rise of the smartphone and having to constantly carry a data plan.

Until recently, we used AT&T as our service provider, and all-in-all, we really didn’t have any complaints apart from the occasional dropped call.

Comedian and late-night TV host, John Oliver, pokes endless fun at AT&T for this. His show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is actually owned by WarnerMedia, acquired by AT&T in 2018, which makes his constant AT&T rants especially humorous. We’ve included a fun compilation link of just HOW MUCH he makes fun of the cellular giant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T87urVUlD-E

And as much as I’d love to join John Oliver in complaining about AT&T’s service, we never had a problem. BUT we did come to the realization that the $175/month we were paying for two phone lines (unlimited talk, text and data for comparison purposes), was simply more than we wanted to spend. And we started to wonder whether we could save even a small amount by switching to another carrier.

Well, we did just that! But it was no small savings. It ended up being HUGE! And if we’re careful, the savings is going to allow us to fund another travel trip this year.

It’s still hard to believe, but we are now paying just $40/month for essentially the same service. That’s a savings of $135/month!

How did we do that? Let me break it down real quick.

What we received when switching to MINT Mobile. Two new SIM cards + another for a free 1-month trial to share with a friend/family member.

Introducing MINT Mobile

MINT Mobile is among the discount carries emerging on the cellular scene. They operate using T-Mobile’s existing infrastructure, and they are already becoming a huge player in transforming the cellular service landscape.

You may have seen their commercials with the cute green fox mascot—I don’t know if he has a name—or the campaigns with actor Ryan Reynolds, who just bought a significant stake in the company. It’s created a lot of buzz. There’s very much a, “If MINT is good enough for Deadpool, then it’s good enough for me,” effect going on.

I’ve been eyeing MINT for months. Here’s how they work:

MINT Mobile offers pre-paid plans, which means exactly that—you pay your service entirely up-front.

Their website lays this all our in a shockingly effortless, easy to understand approach.

Step 1: Choose a plan. With MINT, you pay for the amount of data you want/need per line. Unlimited talk and text is included. They offer 3GB, 8GB or 12GB plans (this is per month) at a set fee of $15, $20, or $25 respectively (also per month). This is an introductory 3-month rate. More on that in a second.

Step 2: Check your phone’s compatibility and the coverage in your area. They walk you through this in one easy step. But basically you need your phone’s IMEI number, which you get by dialing *#06#. Then you enter this number into a clear and present area on the MINT Mobile website.

Step 3: Unlock your phone with your current carrier. This is a request you make through your current provider that shouldn’t even require a phone call. In our case, we requested AT&T to unlock our phones, and it took about 15 minutes to receive the confirmation that they were indeed unlocked.

One caveat: Your phone must be fully paid off for your carrier to do this. Another: Are you on a contract with an Early Termination Fee? If so, you’ll have to pay that ETF fee first to unlock it, which may be cost-prohibitive. Check these two things first.

Step 4: Pay for your plan. No contracts. No commitments. Nothing to sign. No activation fee. Just pay, and you’re done.

Step 5: In 2-3 business days, you’ll receive your new SIM card(s). Simply follow the steps inside the kit to insert the card into your device—they even send you a SIM card tool—and your line will soon be transferred to MINT Mobile. You don’t even have to call and cancel your current service. It’s automatic, or at least it was in our case. No talking to an AT&T service rep? Bonus.

That’s it, you ask? Yep. It’s literally that simple.

Here’s the impact for us:

Previous AT&T monthly spend — $175/month = $2100/year

Current MINT Mobile monthly spend — $40/month = $480/year

Total savings = $135/ month OR $1620 / year!!!

From what we can tell so far, the service is comparable to what we had before. Did we take our phones into the wilderness and try to stream a 2-hour movie? Not exactly. But we did test them in various aspects of our normal routine: indoors, outside, on the road, hang gliding, etc.

Full disclosure, MINT utilizes the 4G network. That would never make me think twice, but for some it might. Some people need the newest, shiniest, most expensive things. Those people are also usually in tremendous debt.

But wait, did we say something about promotional rates? That must be the catch, right? Not exactly.

Once your 3 months of prepaid service are up with MINT, it’s time to decide whether you want to renew your service. If you only want to pay 3 months at a time, yes, your renewal price will rise to $25, $35 or $45/month depending on the GB plan you want vs the intro offer of $15, $20 or $25.

However, if you are fully happy and you can afford to pay 12 months up-front, in our case $480 for two lines, you will still be able to take advantage of that low initial rate. Apart from that minor inconvenience, the jaw-dropping savings are clear. Plus, paying up-front means that monthly bill, for all practical purposes, vanishes. It’s one less bill to worry about, schedule and stress over, and it’s more money in your pocket. Win-win-win, in our book!

PS: We are not a MINT Mobile affiliate. But should you decide to use their service, please use this MINT Mobile link and we will receive a small credit at no additional cost to you! ;)

Stay safe and happy exploring,

Vincent and Elaine

Founders, Travels and Curiosities

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