Today, my thoughts are more personal than about finance or business. Before you click away, it’s not a sales pitch, just a thought I’d like to share. You see, I know I’m not the only person dedicated stupid enough to take their cell phone with them on vacation and answer it throughout their week off. There have been times that I planned to spend a week working in the basement (I’ve been finishing the basement, mostly by myself, and it’s nearly complete, waiting for the flooring to come in) and didn’t mind a break or two to catch up on business. In fact, I was able to tell me manager that I planned to take a few conference calls and keep up with email, so I put in 3 days vacation but was in the basement most of the week. Truth be told, that’s not quite a real vacation, although it’s rewarding to just get a project completed.
On the flip side, there are times I’m away with the family, but because I don’t have my own cell phone, I’d still have the work cell on me in case my wife or daughter need to contact me. Unfortunately, this means looking at the phone and doing my best to ignore business calls. Easier said than done.
For a few weeks vacation a year, it would be crazy to get a full feature $50/mo phone. As I started to get closer to FinCon12, the second annual conference for financial bloggers, I thought about this a bit more and decided I wanted to enjoy myself, not take any business calls, and have a phone that would be only for my family and other bloggers who I wanted to keep in touch with. I almost walked by the phone pictured here when I saw that $50/mo working. I looked on the inside cover and saw the phone had a feature that let you use it for one day, unlimited voice anywhere in the US, for $1.99. And the phone came loaded with a $10 credit which means if used on the day at a time plan, it would be good for any 5 days, not necessarily consecutive. This phone will also take pictures, text, and has limited web browsing, each for a small fee. Finally, the cost. It’s normally $20, but happened to be on sale for $10 last week at Staples.
Perhaps because I’m old enough to remember the early cell phones, like Gordon Gekko sported in the movie Wall Street, along with its huge fees. I recall coworkers’ bills exceeding $600 in a month when they used “only” 1000 minutes. The first clamshell style phone was compared to the communicators in the science fiction TV show Star Trek. And here I found myself buying this one for $10.
For those who have no cell phone, but would like to have occasional access, this pay-by-the-day plan can make sense. A reload of $15 can be used for up to a month before expiring. If you deposit $100, the credit lasts a year, and you can authorize the phone on any day you plan to use it. An interesting idea for those who might want a phone for trips or when their youngster needs a phone for a limited time. Even at the $20 retail, it’s pretty cool to be able to buy a working cell phone you can use and discard if you wish.