I have seen cell phones (and technology in general) ruin lot of kids. I am anti-smart phone for kids who aren’t in college. Take that for what it’s worth. We’ll see if I’m still on that wagon in a couple of years.
BUT, when Conner was in 7th grade I like we needed an extra phone just to have around when they go somewhere. I remember a LOT of times being at a party, or at a place, just wishing I could find a phone to call my mom. I knew technology could help that problem.
I did some research. I asked on Facebook. It seemed like a 20 dollar plan was my only option. It isn’t.
We went with T-mobile pay as you go. We put 10 bucks on it every 3 months. That gives them 30 minutes of talk time, or 100 texts, depending on how they use it. I have made it very clear to both my phone users (because Mr Middle sometimes uses it too) that if they text or talk to friends on it, they will be paying for it. The phone we bought was about 20 bucks at Walmart. It’s just your basic flip phone, and it gets the job done, without kids wanting to show it off. There are times that Conner will keep it in his bckpack for the week. During the play, it was mostly with him, but I term it as the “extra phone”so no one gets comfortable with it being their own and handing out the number.
We have a home phone. I think, if we didn’t have a home phone, things would be different. I have a strong urge to make him make phone calls. I don’t love all communication via text. The home phone provides away to keep verbal conversation up.
I do see this changing as C enters high school next year. I am guessing a cell phone will be in his birthday pile. It won’t be a smart phone — at least not via data networks, and I do plan on it being a pay as you go variety, that he can load up on his own, with me supplementing for the times I want to get hold of him.
I asked he principal at the middle school once how many kids, she thought, had phones. She said 100%. Obviously, she was wrong, but it is something that we need to deal with and have a handle on.
Anyway, I just wanted to write this blog to mention there are other options then 20-30 bucks/month smart phone we hand over with unlimited data — if you’re not comfortable with that. Which I wasn’t.
So, why did you get your kid a smart phone? Are you happy/unhappy you do so?
My girls still have quite a few years before we have to worry about this (though with the way things are going toddlers will be getting their own phones soon). I just got my first smartphone a little over a year ago. Andrew and I waited until we were out of school and had a good job before we felt we could afford such a luxury. But the fact is, smart phones are such the norm now that its hard to find options for plans with out data. It seems like you have figured out a good solution for that with your boys.
I think I will definitely get some sort of kids cell phone in the coming years since we don’t have a house phone. I share a lot of your thoughts on kids not needing a smart phone but I cant help but think that by the time we are at that point there might not be any options without data. The last few years I had a phone without internet, it was hard to get a decent phone. The non-smart phone just arent made as well and they kept breaking or wearing out, for me at least.
One thing I have decided, is that if our kids want to buy themselves a fancy phone, I wont stop them.
Lindsay, by the time your kids are in these situations, who kNOWS what they will have. When Conner was born I never would have dreamed we would be where we are at. Thanks for the comment. 🙂
don’t down grade the healthcare plan….we save $300/month signing up!! We’re struggling to keep our home at 60yrs of age and I am disabled with M.S…..This is not the senior life we expected……pension was cut in half by the company after 33yrs. of service with no insurance. Life is a struggle for many these days, but, we have to be strong and moved forward……. You can’t budget when even pennies are no where to be found ! I thought life was tough raising my 4 kids….this is 100x tougher !! My medicine costs are over $6000/month……..now what live on a “budget in a box”….my new book tittle !!!!
I am a nurse and my husband works in manufacturing. It was important to him to know that we were being “fair” with our money. I always seemed to have more left over at the end of the pay period than him. Turns out that the bills that I “pay” (the money gets transferred to the house account) were coming out of his check because he didn’t transfer the money like we had agreed. So now I make sure that the money gets moved on my payday and he sends the checks to whoever. I am the organizer and he is the doer. I am not good at the day to day payment stuff (aeb my vague language lol) and so we each play to our strengths. My budget is different because we have 6-7 kids 2 adults and a handful of pets. Our groceries/toiletries/household runs about $175 a week and we spend about $300 a month in gas because we live 25 miles from our jobs and I work home health so I drive a lot for work. But the rest looks pretty close to ours. Nice job.
I think different people in different phases need different health plans. This one is working for us, but I know (believe me, I KNOW) this one would’t work for everyone and it’s certainly not ideal.
It’s good to know what other people spend. I think we have unrealistic expectations about how others life. we’re all just doing our best. 🙂
I have worked with students of all ages in a wide variety of situations over the past 3.5 decades. I have 3 daughters (grown) and 6 grands (ages 2.5-18). My thoughts on phones and kids, in short….is parents need to lighten up. While I do not think every kid needs a smart phone, I see no issue with a child having a cell phone. Especially as mobile kids are today. When you kids are spending time apart from you (play dates to sports and clubs) then they need a phone to have access to you. I overwhelming majority of kids I talk with in the upper elementary and middle school ages, want a phone to contact parents over friends. When mom is late picking you up, it is concerning. Public phones are not available anymore as they were when we were kids. This is a safety issue, not a social one. Also, lighten up on texting. It is cheaper and faster than voice. It will never replace voice, but can be an effective and budget friendly way to keep tabs on your family. As far as holding on to a landline, that is personal. In my opinion, you would be better investing the $$ spent on a landline into newer more flexible technology so that all members of your family have a method to communicate with each other as needed. Too many parents are trying to live in the time frame they grew up in. That is gone. New tech is not evil and you can still have the values from earlier times, with the enhanced safety and communication of modern technology. Please do not take offense to this. I also have an extensive background in public safety. I feel so strongly about this, that my husband and I pay for 2 of our grands phones. One is 9 and has a plain phone, her brother is 14 and upgraded to a smart phone last June. We use the smart phone features for things like google hangouts (face-time for I-phone peeps) to assist with homework and other things from 500 miles away. He also does this with his Aunts and Uncles. His biggest “treat” is to be able to download music from the google play store. He will ask for Play cards instead of cash for chores, etc to add music to his collection. (He tends toward Jazz since he plays the trumpet) He also uses it for research and google docs for homework and to communicate with his teachers. You can set limits of what can and cannot be accessed very easily. Easier than on a home computer. You can also track everything from his location to texts, to calls to where he surfed, if you are so inclined. Since he has never given us a reason not to trust him, we do. There is no landline in his home, so this is essential that he and his sister have a way to communicate. It does not have to be expensive. That depends on your budget. Keep an open mind, Instead of dismissing technology out of hand, research how it can be used to your advantage. Just because it was not around when you were young, does not make it evil, nor unnecessary.
Zipfish, I think those are all really good things to think about. Since i’m home about 80% of the time, I like my 3 dollar landline for using at home.
But, I do think a cell phone is on my son’s birthday list. I mostly shared this post to say that it didn’t have to be expensive to allow them to be safe. Thanks for your input! 🙂
We don’t have a home phone, so if I have to run to the store for a minute or two, I leave my phone here so they can call my husband or 911 if necessary. I think this year we will be making the investment into a basic phone so they can call us, grandparents and one friend of their choice, and so that I can carry my phone with me if I have to run out for a minute.
It’s great that you are home the majority of the time. Most kids do not have that available. 🙂
Yeah, I wish they knew how lucky they are. 80% may be a bit of an exaggeration (maybe not if you count the time we sleep). I do only work one day/week most weeks.
Hence, we need a cheap plan. 🙂
They will appreciate it when they are older. I did a reverse of what most do. I worked full-time when they were young and home as teens. Now that they are adults, they frequently tell me how glad they were that I was around during those years….well at least 2 out of 3 do….
Yes, I’ve thought a lot about that now that my littlest is going into Kindergarten, I want to still try and stay home as much as possible. 🙂
My girls tell me they would have rather had me home during their teen years than younger. We were lucky in that my hubby’s schedule and I meant the kids were only at a sitter part-time (I was a firefighter, he is a cop) I work on 24 and off 48. So I was home 2 out of 3 days. It is easier to find childcare that agrees how to handle the issues of early childhood/elem. The issues get much more complex as they age.
Well I won’t be reading your blog again 🙁 “forced into Obama care” …. thanks for sharing your opinion. Now that I know where you are and how ignorant you are on our countries economic status I have no reason to read ANYTHING you have to write on budgeting! Better late than never though, right?
Wow, what would blogging be without a troll every now and then. I hope you don’t talk to people in real life like that. Anywho, that is the truth. My individual plan is 428 right now, and once I head onto a plan that is certified under obama care it will go up 200 dollars. I do not need or want maternity care, but since it’s a one size fits all kind of bill, that’s how I’m being hurt by it. It is, in fact, being forced on me. I’d much prefer my old plan. I was what Obama care was supposed to help. Middle class familes needing individual coverage. Good luck to you in your other blog trolling, Alexandra.
I’m actually an avid Pintrest user and was reading this because it came up in my feed and our family has recently begun budgeting. So sorry to inform you that I am not in fact a “troll” as you so boldly stated but in fact just disgusted at you broadcasting your ignorance! I can only hope that you loose other readers over this and that you are not able to spread your intolerance of the poor in this country!
Hmm, I think the troll part is your attitude… but putting that aside, let’s have an adult conversation. What would you say that the change from my healthcare increasing by 200 dollars/month and my deductible almost doubling (3.5k to 6k)? I see the good in Obamacare, but I also see a lot of families struggling with its new healthcare restrictions. Also, if you use the word “ignorance” (or any of its components) one more time your title of troll will be solidified. Congratulations.
Ignorance is defined as a lack of information or knowledge. I did not call you dumb, stupid, or an idiot. I said that you were simply lacking knowledge on the subject. If you were offended by being told that you lacked knowledge than I truly apologize. The current issue with the new healthcare plan is that it in fact has taken far too long to come into effect. Yes you will spend more money on healthcare short term (which sadly means the next 3-5 years). Yet in the long run and for our children (especially females) we will all have better access to medical care. People who at one time could not afford insurance, much less a medical bill, will one day be able to because of this bill. This is your blog, and you are obviously legally allowed to put your opinions out in the open in any form. But you run this blog and allow the comments section, and yes that particular statement hit me like a brick wall in reading and I wanted to point it out.
I’m all for comments. Less so for name calling, and I think that’s what you were doing when you consistantly called me ignorant. You did notice that my health insurance costs way more then my food costs, right? I put a VERY high priority on insurance in our budget. I don’t think healthcare or insurnace is going to get less pricey. What leads you to think this?
Alexandra, you are being IGNORANT, everyone has a stance on this healthcare reform, either you like it or you don’t but, can you just keep your argumentative comments to yourself? This blog is for people that want to read about comments on budgeting, not YOUR healthcare opinions! Hilary was just mentioning her own figurations with her budget to potently help others, if you don’t like it just leave the page!
Awh, snap. Thanks Ashley. 🙂
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Alexandra is clearly the ignorant one, or as she likes to explain it – she lacks knowledge. The affordable care act will increase healthcare costs now AND in the future, while driving the quality and efficiency of medical and pharmaceutical care down. However, this doesn’t need to become a political discussion, nor do i think it was intended to be. Hilary, I command you for sharing the details of your budget. Sometimes personal finance can be one of the most private and hardest things to share. Especially for people who attach personal value to money. You are clearly not one of those people.
Our budget is very similar, however, I cannot escape Costco with less then $300 per trip. With our 4th baby on the way, we just consume more. Maybe you can share some good tips on saving at Costco sometime?
Keep up the good work!!
I make a list, I try to stick to it. If my budget is 150, I allow 15 things on the list… since it seems to average about 10 bucks/item there. It’s a killer though! I only have 3 kids though… 🙂
Alexandria, I don’t agree with your stance on Obama care, you must not be one of the millions of families who has experienced a vast increase. I am grateful that our health insurance increase has allowed others whom are less fortunate to have medical care, however it is extremely unpleasant to work SO hard for your income just to pay into this fund for every other American, who sometimes just chooses not to work, to benefit from my hard work. We, who have had an increase, have had our freedom of choice taken away. Lets talk about the word ‘ignorance’, I think sometimes ignorance is bliss, because if I didn’t know what I know about Obama care than I would be a much happier person! Don’t worry Alexandria we got your expenses covered!
It is annoying that we need a one size fits all system, when we could easily have many choices.
Hmm, a system with no choices… what does that remind me of… 😉
I still have some years before this is a concern, but I’m on the bandwagon with you. This is the way to go!
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Hi My mom got me a smart phone when i was in 6th grade it is not one of the new ones it had been my moms and our exchange students before it got to me it is a super old smart phone and i have the same t mobile phone plan (unlimited txt and like 1,000 hours a month) as my parents but it has been more then helpfull i can contact my parents when ever i want but i can also txt my friends and call my friends my family moves a lot cause my dad is in the army and if it wasn’t for my phone i would have no way of contacting my old friends cause most of them only use their phones they dont use their emails any more. so i personally like what my parents did.
I agree. We may be moving in a few months and I know that cell phone will be integral to him still feeling like he’s connected. 🙂
Ya it helps me a lot 🙂