Cell phone and paying off debt

[nitemarecooper]

I am finally getting serious about paying off debt and need a little advice. I have one year left on the contract of an unused cell phone. Currently it is set to minimum cost however if I buy out the contract at $20/mo (12 mo left) it will only save me about $10 per month in cost compared to letting the cell continue unused. Should I pay off the cell to reduce monthly bills or just put that money toward other real debt? Any ideas? Thanks.

Nitemarecooper

[maat55]

I see 240 dollars borrowed at 50% interest, I would pay it off now.

[disneysteve]

Keeping the phone will cost you $360 over the next 12 months.
Getting rid of it will cost you $240 over the next 12 months.

Sounds like a no-brainer to me. Ditch the phone and save $120.
Send that $120 to the debt with the highest interest rate.

[nitemarecooper]

Thanks

That is pretty much what I was thinking myself. It is worth buying out the contract and reducing monthly expenses at the same time.

Nitemarecooper

[SacredFaerie]

Can I ask why the cell phone is going unused?

[nitemarecooper]

Unused cell phone

Can I ask why the cell phone is going unused?

It is a line owned by my wife from just before we got together (newly married). She has a 2 line/contract Rogers account (one line for her 19 yr old son and one for her). She dropped her phone in the toilet a year ago and as cell phones don't scuba dive, that was the end of her phone and use of her line. We had already bought a Bell 10-4 phone by then due to the need of that type of phone service and thus never needed to replace the scuba diving rogers phone. We also pay the monthly service for her son's phone (about $60/month) as she flatout refuses to budge on the idea that we 'must' pay for her son's phone as her way of helping him out a little in the only way she knows how. I don't like it or agree with it, but as both lines/contracts will expire by Dec of '09 that will be the end of that expense as she finally agreed to not continue paying his line after the current contract expires.

Nitemarecooper

[SacredFaerie]

I'm guessing Bell is another cell phone service? Makes loads of sense.


As a college student who's Mom (sorry for the bad grammar) pays for her cell phone among other things can I ask why you didn't agree with it? (It's just sheer curiosity you don't have to answer if you don't want to.)

[nitemarecooper]

Cell Phone

I'm guessing Bell is another cell phone service? Makes loads of sense.

Bell telephone has a cell phone service called 10-4 which operates like a walkie-talkie type service as opposed to a conventional cell phone. That type of service was more in line with our needs due to my line of work and my company provided cell phone.

As a college student who's Mom (sorry for the bad grammar) pays for her cell phone among other things can I ask why you didn't agree with it? (It's just sheer curiosity you don't have to answer if you don't want to.)

I just don't agree with paying for his cell phone as our budget is extremely tight and her son is 19, out of school and (allegedly) working on his own. In real life, even she admits that he is far too picky when it comes to work, and won't go back to finish high school in order to make a better life for himself. All combined, he is struggling to keep a job, won't take a job unless he considers it perfect, and thus is currently out of work asking us to simply give him free money to pay his car and other bills until he can get his next 'perfect job'. My wife was the first to refuse that request.

We have offered to assist him with finishing high school and getting in trade school or college (his choice as to what he wants to do) if he were willing to move to our province with us to help him more face to face. He refuses that as well.

Nitemarecooper

[SacredFaerie]

I just don't agree with paying for his cell phone as our budget is extremely tight and her son is 19, out of school and (allegedly) working on his own. In real life, even she admits that he is far too picky when it comes to work, and won't go back to finish high school in order to make a better life for himself. All combined, he is struggling to keep a job, won't take a job unless he considers it perfect, and thus is currently out of work asking us to simply give him free money to pay his car and other bills until he can get his next 'perfect job'. My wife was the first to refuse that request.

We have offered to assist him with finishing high school and getting in trade school or college (his choice as to what he wants to do) if he were willing to move to our province with us to help him more face to face. He refuses that as well.

Nitemarecooper

Ah I see. If folks are willing to help you out I really don't see why you wouldn't take it. I'm so grateful for the help that my mom gives me that it makes me want to work harder. To prove to her that her money and time wasn't wasted.

And there's no such thing as a perfect job. Unless you work for yourself and even then the boss can sometimes be a prick.

[MoneyTrev]

Ditch your phone to pay off debt cause you don't use it.

You get more freedom cause if you decide that you need a phone later on, you can sign up for a new phone and possibly get better deals and have more money to pay off your debt which is always a plus.

[noppenbd]

There are a number of cell phone swap sites where people will take over your contract. Check out this WSJ article:

Breaking Free of a Cellular Contract - WSJ.com