Rick's mom is on our cell phone plan; she's been on it for many years now. We just pay the bill for her; she doesn't have to worry about it. She can just use her phone and it's fine. She has an old clam-shell phone, not a smart phone (we are not going with a smart phone for her as she wouldn't use it). But she's had the same phone now for a very long time.
I keep track of our cell phone usage from month to month, data info, cell phone minutes, text minutes, etc. I have always done so. I like to know where we're at and how we're doing with minutes and such.
She's lucky to use 5 minutes of call minutes a month. She calls her daughter sometimes, but not often. When she needs to talk to us, she uses her house phone (despite us pleading with her to use her cell). Most of the time, she'll just call me at work if she needs me because it costs nothing that way. I think that maybe she's worried that she'll use a bunch of minutes, but honestly, it's fine. She could spend time on her phone every week and we wouldn't go through minutes.
The bottom line is that we are wasting money by including her in the plan. Rick asked me if I thought we'd be better off just getting her something like a Trac Phone and buying her minutes; those minutes would easily last her a very long time. And it might be cheaper in the long run. She still would not have to pay anything; we would take care of it all for her. I'm wondering, too, that maybe a Trac Phone might be better because it might be a little larger than her old clam shell phone. I am wondering if part of the reason she doesn't use her clam-shell is because maybe the numbers and buttons are harder to see or if she just doesn't think about it. She basically wants a phone in case she's out and about and she falls or she's in an accident, something like that. Like for emergencies. Keep in mind that she is in her 90s now.
What do you think? Any opinions? Trac Phone (or similar) for Rick's mom or keep her cell phone?
I keep track of our cell phone usage from month to month, data info, cell phone minutes, text minutes, etc. I have always done so. I like to know where we're at and how we're doing with minutes and such.
She's lucky to use 5 minutes of call minutes a month. She calls her daughter sometimes, but not often. When she needs to talk to us, she uses her house phone (despite us pleading with her to use her cell). Most of the time, she'll just call me at work if she needs me because it costs nothing that way. I think that maybe she's worried that she'll use a bunch of minutes, but honestly, it's fine. She could spend time on her phone every week and we wouldn't go through minutes.
The bottom line is that we are wasting money by including her in the plan. Rick asked me if I thought we'd be better off just getting her something like a Trac Phone and buying her minutes; those minutes would easily last her a very long time. And it might be cheaper in the long run. She still would not have to pay anything; we would take care of it all for her. I'm wondering, too, that maybe a Trac Phone might be better because it might be a little larger than her old clam shell phone. I am wondering if part of the reason she doesn't use her clam-shell is because maybe the numbers and buttons are harder to see or if she just doesn't think about it. She basically wants a phone in case she's out and about and she falls or she's in an accident, something like that. Like for emergencies. Keep in mind that she is in her 90s now.
What do you think? Any opinions? Trac Phone (or similar) for Rick's mom or keep her cell phone?
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