Here is how you do it:
Buy a Tracfone from their website for $14.99 that comes with Double Minutes for Life. Then, every 3 months, purchase the 60 minute card for $19.99. That gives you 3 months of service at a time with 120 minutes (remember you bought a phone with double minutes for life). Do this 4 times a year and you are only spending $80 for service and a total of 480 minutes, which comes out to only $6.67 a month! You won't need anymore than that unless you use it for more than emergencies. There are taxes and small fees in certain areas, so it may run you $10 more a year in some areas, but that is still just $90 a year! The minutes carryover, so if you don't use it - you KEEP it!
If you want to buy the entire year of service, you will get more minutes. For $99, you get a full year of service + 800 minutes (remember they doubled) + 250 bonus minutes = 1,050 minutes! So for $99 you are getting 1.050 minutes to use over a year or about 88 minutes a month for just $8.33. That is the best deal right now if you have the money to pay up front.
In times where you need more minutes - travel, hospital stays, etc. - you simply buy a larger card. When I was pregnant and in the hospital a lot, we spent $120 a year to give us more minutes to use. You only need to buy new minutes as you need them and if you need more, simply add them and they all double.
The typical American is spending $200 a MONTH on a cell phone just for convenience. If you want to cut costs, save for the future or simply be able to give to others in need - sacrificing your convenience will give you that ability.
