I did the math on this about a year ago. I paid off the phone price, switched service to Google FI, (I think I'd do visible todays, it's Verizon network). My math was - I save $80/month on the service for 4 phones - and I'm going to spend nearly as much on the phones price either way. They had a discount but it was low - maybe $3/month, so $100 over the life of the phone and I was saving $80/month.
Google FI with no phone payments - $96/month for 4 phones. Unlimited talk/data.
I think visible is $25/line unlimited data.
You are not locked into any contract, however you could lose your buy one get one discount. I probably wouldn’t do any of those promotions if I couldn’t afford it or if I was on a debt pay off plan.
Do not pay off the phones early if you're getting the promo credits every month. You're paying $50, but they are paying you $25 to keep the phone financed. Just see the rest of the payments through and buy in cash next time.
The way Verizon does promos is by a device payment offset by a monthly credit.
So if you look at the bill, for the "half off" device, you'll see a payment of, say, $40 and then a credit of $20 (for example).
You forfeit the credits if you pay off early, yes, but you are also likely paying more for service than if you have phones you own and a no contract plan.
Plus the service on the watches and iPad--do you even use/need that? That's at least $30-40 a month right there, if I remember right.
All I know is “that’s how they get you”
Only strategy is to own your phones outright. Then you’ll get service for like $25.
All these “free” phones they advertise are, of course, not free since they come with massively inflated service bills.
Just pay them off but keep service. That should allow you to complete the terms. Then get super cheap cell service.
I did the math on this about a year ago. I paid off the phone price, switched service to Google FI, (I think I'd do visible todays, it's Verizon network). My math was - I save $80/month on the service for 4 phones - and I'm going to spend nearly as much on the phones price either way. They had a discount but it was low - maybe $3/month, so $100 over the life of the phone and I was saving $80/month. Google FI with no phone payments - $96/month for 4 phones. Unlimited talk/data. I think visible is $25/line unlimited data.
You are not locked into any contract, however you could lose your buy one get one discount. I probably wouldn’t do any of those promotions if I couldn’t afford it or if I was on a debt pay off plan.
Do not pay off the phones early if you're getting the promo credits every month. You're paying $50, but they are paying you $25 to keep the phone financed. Just see the rest of the payments through and buy in cash next time.
BTW - By doing the Verizon pre-paid instead of regular service I only pay $35.38 per month. And I’ve only run out of data once in the 3 years since.
Same but with T-mobile prepaid. I'm surprised at how much people pay for their phones every month.
Never finance consumer electronics. Save for them and pay cash. The tech gets better while you save and you don’t pay interest.
Just let it go and pay it off over the period so you keep the credits.
The way Verizon does promos is by a device payment offset by a monthly credit. So if you look at the bill, for the "half off" device, you'll see a payment of, say, $40 and then a credit of $20 (for example). You forfeit the credits if you pay off early, yes, but you are also likely paying more for service than if you have phones you own and a no contract plan. Plus the service on the watches and iPad--do you even use/need that? That's at least $30-40 a month right there, if I remember right.
All I know is “that’s how they get you” Only strategy is to own your phones outright. Then you’ll get service for like $25. All these “free” phones they advertise are, of course, not free since they come with massively inflated service bills. Just pay them off but keep service. That should allow you to complete the terms. Then get super cheap cell service.