in

Searching for Canada’s Cheapest Cell Phone Plan

Canada has some of the highest cell phone prices in the world.  Over the years I’ve been through a lot of the options.  Currently we use Wind in our house.  Their network has some quirks, but we knew that going in and I have no complaints at all with the service so far.

Well, I guess I do have a bit of an issue with the price.  Our house currently pays more for two cell phones than we do for internet.  We really like the internet, but I think phones are kinda meh.

Wind Has The Best Pricing for Data

  • unlimited province wide calling
  • unlimited texts
  • UNLIMITED DATA!
  • $30 per month!  Less my share of the $5 per month bundling discount. 

As far as monthly plans go, this plan is obviously a rockstar!  They’ve changed their plans up a bit since we signed up, but they’re pretty close still.
When I had looked into reducing our monthly costs after signing up I read about Wind’s sweet pay as you go plan.  It was basically the same price as every other cell phone company, but it offered data for $2 per day maximum.  I like having data availble for occassional use when I’m not in a WIFI zone.  So, having the $2/day maxed out a few days a month would still probably put me well below the $30/month I’m paying now.
I recently updated our budget and decided to do something about the phone > internet costs.  I went to switch to pay as you go and saw that they discontinued this option way back in April!  I have the cheapest option with unlimited data already, so it looked like there were no options for me to cut serious costs.
I resigned myself that my only option was to pay the $100 per year with a pay as you go carrier and change my phone habits to not include data.  After paying off the balance for my phone and covering all the activation costs, I figured I’d save about $75 the first year.  Maybe unlimited data is worth $75 to me.

Introducing Canada’s Cheapest Cell Phone Plan

Then I found it.  You can get a 7 eleven prepaid cell phone.  You can buy top ups for as little as $25.  Here’s the part that makes its plan special: all topups last for a year.  This is pretty big news.  With all the other prepaid companies I’ve ever heard of you have to pay $100 before your topup lasts a year.  For someome like me who makes minimal calls and texts, I might just be able to squeak through the year with $25 of usage even with the 911 fees coming off this balance.  I don’t think I’d pay over $200 for data for my phone for a year, so I think this will probably be worth it.

Now That I’ve had Unlimited Data, Could I Do Without?

I’ve had unlimited data on my phone now for over a year.

I’m used to being able to google something to avoid arguments with my better half.

If my toddler starts fussing in the back seat, I can toss my phone back for her to watch her shows on youtube and avoid the reckless driving that would happen with a two year old wailing in my ear.

If the modem at home needs a reboot, I can pull out my phone to keep surfing instead of going down stairs.

If I had never had data it would be super easy for me to say that I wouldn’t pay for it with so many WIFI spots out there.  But now that I’ve tasted the sweet convenience, my frugal muscles will be put to the test.  Expect to hear an update about this in the coming weeks.  Wish me luck!

Update:  After experiencing a worrying day, I’ve put any plans to decrease my connectivity with the world on hold.

If you enjoy my blog, Follow Me!

If you liked this post, Share It!

What do you think?

Written by mom

3 Canadians Who Can Increase Your Financial Literacy

Cheap Places to Take Your Kids: IKEA $1 Breakfast