They say that the only thing that men lie about more than their height is the size of their… cell phone bill!  (This is a family-friendly blog, folks!)  As much as I’d love to write an article about the secrets turning you into the next Tacko Fall, we’ll have to stick to the surprisingly-not-so-boring topic of saving you over $200 per month on your cell phone bill.

My cell phone story goes back to when I was 16.  I know this will shock our younger readers, but many of us did survive with nothing more than a Tamagotchi in our hands at all times.  My parents had just divorced, so between that, after school clubs, and learning to drive, it made sense to have a way for either parent to contact me.  We decided on the classic Nokia phone that I would share with my younger brother for an extra $40 per month on our family plan.  You read that right; my brother and I shared a cell phone.  It can be done!  I can literally feel the look of disbelief through some of your screens, but this was the way of the early 2000’s.

Sharing wasn’t an option once I went off to college, so I got my own phone for the next few years at the small cost of another $40 per month.  We also switched to Verizon since the coverage was better in the areas where our split family were living.  When I graduated from school, I began paying for my potion of the cell phone plan along with rent for the period of time that I lived at home.  Avoiding the temptation to switch to a smart phone, I stayed on this family plan after I moved out and the cost remained about the same, maybe creeping up to $50 per month with the occasional two hundred dollars for a new flip phone.

The bill began to change a bit when I moved in with Lady Centsei.  She had a smartphone on a family plan with her mother and brother, and it made sense for me to bring my measly flip phone to that plan, despite not using the data.  However, I switched jobs in 2015 and they offered me $50 per month if I upgraded to a smartphone and agreed to have work e-mail on the phone.  Coincidentally, this was less than the cost of adding another “smartphone line” to our plan, so when a promotion came around for Lady Centsei and I to get “free” new phones by changing carriers to Sprint and signing for two years for about $120 for the four lines, we jumped.  TheCentsei had joined the smartphone generation.

It won’t surprise you to hear that our bill crept up and up over the years, with a notable spike coming again in 2018 when Lady Centsei’s mother and brother wanted to upgrade their phones too.  The plan was in their name, and they agreed to cover the extra charges.  Those extra charges soon became EXTRA CHARGES ($210 per month).  It all came to a shocking climax in July 2019 when our bill came to $277.46 between the four of us.  Trust me, here is a screenshot of the transaction that I use in my tracking and budgeting tool, Mint!

$277 was my metaphorical cellular rock-bottom.  While it was true that Lady Centsei and I were responsible for less than half of the bill, there was no question that something had to change.

Enter, Xfinity Mobile.  I’d learned about this service on another financial blogger’s website, as it starts at just $12 per month, though the “catch” is that you have to be subscribed to one of Xfinity’s internet packages.  However, as luck would have it, Xfinity’s is the only high-speed internet provider in our area, so we’d already met the criteria.  Furthermore, our 2-year contract was a month or two from expiring, meaning this might be the perfect time to strike a deal with them to bundle the services.

And so, I did.  After spending just 5 minutes on the phone with them and committing to a new 2-year internet contract, they agreed to lower our internet bill from $75 per month (which is what it was set to go up to at the end of our agreement) to $50 per month if we bundled the $30 per month Xfinity Mobile “3 shared gig” service and agreed to a 2-year term for the internet (the mobile service has no contract).  What’s more, the internet service had peak speeds 3x as fast as my old service, and Xfinity Mobile runs on Verizon’s towers which has much better coverage than Sprint in some areas near me.

The math wizards among you will see how this works out.  I was set to pay $75 per month for internet alone.  After the phone call, I’d be paying $80 per month for faster internet and better coverage cell phone service.  In effect, my cell phone service costs me just $5 per month.

This $5 per month new plan with Xfinity Mobile compared to my $277 per month old plan entirely with Sprint means a savings of over 98%: $272 per month.

Rare is the day when life hands you a financial opportunity like this.  Saving $270 per month could represent over $300,000 in retirement, compounded for 30 years at a standard 7% return.

The savings could, perhaps, be even greater, taking into account the rate of increase that I expected with Sprint compared to Xfinity Mobile.  Sprint had already increased our bill to over double from what we were paying originally.  I don’t expect such drastic increases with Xfinity.  However, even if they did increase the price to an unacceptable level, all plans are month-to-month, so I’d have the flexibility to leave without incurring termination fees.

Here are the many “pros” with Xfinity Mobile:

1) Cost.  Xfinity Mobile has the lowest cost cell phone service by a landslide.  Like me, you could literally save 90% by switching.

2) Coverage.  The service runs on Verizon’s towers, which has the best service in just about every part of the United States (Verizon itself is the most expensive).

3) Data Speed and Call Quality.  Faster data in most locations.  Better call quality (clarity and low call drops) than any other provider I’ve used.  More reliable.

4) Month-To-Month Contract.  Switching is low risk because you won’t be locked-in for years.

5) Customer Service.  Customer service has been quick to answer my calls with a live person and work to resolve issues.

6) Number Of Devices.  You can have 1 to 5 devices (cell phones) on the plan for the same cost; there is no “per line” cost and no cost to add a device!

There are a few important “possible cons” to consider as well:

1) You need to retain an Xfinity internet service for the duration of the mobile service.  Personally, I think this is how Xfinity is able to offer such a low rate on the service; it makes customers like me “sticky” and less likely to leave.  This wasn’t an issue for me because I was using the service anyway, but it might be more difficult if you are locked into a contract with your ISP.  Note that most, but not all, Xfinity internet plans do require a contract as well.

2) You may incur an early termination fee with your existing cell carrier.  Your phone must be “unlocked” which most carriers won’t do if you still have time on you contract.  Admittedly, I did pay to get out of my contract, so my 98% savings only reflects my “going forward” savings.  I believe the fee was $600 for our two phones, but given that I’m saving $250 per month, this fee was offset within 3 months of switching.

3) The phones with which it is compatible is a bit more limited than some other providers.  This fact, too, was no burden for us, since my 5-year old iPhone 6 and my wife’s 3-year old iPhone 7 are indeed compatible.  To name a few brands, iPhone’s 6 or higher, Galaxy 8 or higher, and Pixel 4 and higher should work.  The phone must be fully unlocked (GSM unlocked won’t work). You can easily check on their website.  Xfinity also has phones for sale at market price.

4) Not ideal for large families who each use tons of data and need new phones every year.  The lowest cost plans do not come with unlimited data, only unlimited calling and texting, so if you are a high data user, your savings will be lower.  We chose the 3GB data plan for $30 per month, since we’d only been averaging about 2 GB per month over the last two years.  There are currently plans of 1 GB per month for $12, 3 GB for $30, and 10 GB for $60, and you can switch at any time.  Extra gigs are $12, so it’s best to just be a bit conservative in your estimates.  You can switch your data allotment each month if you’re consistently over or under.  Data you use on WiFi doesn’t count, so just keep your phones connected to any home or secure WiFi, and your usage will be low.  After all, you don’t really need to be streaming cat videos on YouTube in the middle of the woods anyway!  The unlimited data plan is $45 per line per month, but you can “mix and match” if you have one person who uses a lot of data, so everyone else can rely on shared data.  If you have 6 family members who each “need” unlimited non-WiFi data and who get new phones every year, there may be lower cost plans elsewhere.

5) Switching is always a pain, no matter what.  There’s no easy way to switch carriers, especially if you have multiple lines in a complex agreement, as we did with Sprint.  My mother-in-law had to pay off her phone; we had to pay the termination fee; Sprint did not “unlock” our phones as promptly as they promised; the sales rep that assisted us made a keying error that was hard to correct; it was around the holidays… the list goes on.  Much of this wasn’t Xfinity’s fault, but be prepared to spend a few hours on the phone with your old carrier and Xfinity if you have a complex setup.

In short, I highly recommend this service.  And no, they’re not paying me to say this. 

If everyone in your family needs a new phone every year and uses a mountain of non-WiFi data, Xfinity Mobile might not be for you.  Nonetheless, it could be a financial life saver for anyone who’s currently paying too much for their cell service.

To my readers: Stay safe, stay Healthy, and stay Centsable!