If you’ve been reading my monthly financial updates, you’ll know that we in the FIby35 household are big fans of saving money where we can so we can splurge in areas of our budget that matter more to us. You’ll also know that one of those areas we save big time compared to the average American consumer is on our cell phones. After renewing our plans for another 12 months, it was finally time for a dedicated post. Join us and save money today using Mint Mobile!
What it is
Mint Mobile is an online-only mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). What does that mean in plain English? (I had to Google it). It means that they’re a communications service provider that operates their own network on somebody else’s infrastructure, specifically T-Mobile’s. That means you get the same nationwide coverage that T-Mobile touts, but without the huge overhead costs of operating and maintaining the equipment. Hence the “online-only” part: Mint Mobile doesn’t have physical locations, so they also don’t have the cost of stores and salespeople to cover by driving up the cost to the consumer.
As an added bonus, Mint Mobile is owned by actor Ryan Reynolds…and who doesn’t love Ryan Reynolds?!
Mint Mobile offers budget-friendly plans that all include unlimited talk & text, nationwide 4G (or 5G, if you’re fancy like that) LTE coverage, and free calling to Mexico and Canada. As of this writing, they offer the following monthly plans:
- 4GB for just $15/month
- 10GB for $20/month
- 15GB for $25/month
- Unlimited data for $30/month (the fine print says you’re capped out at 35GB)
How much data is right for you? Well, the prevalence of wi-fi just about everywhere now means you probably don’t need that much data. For reference, I typically use less than 3GB of data per month. I recommend starting one plan lower than you’re comfortable with. You can always add more data or switch your plan, and even if you do hit your limit, they don’t just cut off your data completely – it just slows down a bit. I think you’ll adapt your data usage to your plan once you see the significant savings it provides.
The slight catch is that Mint Mobile requires you to buy in bulk by paying up front. They offer introductory plans of 3 months and renewals of 12 months at a time. There’s no contract like a typical wireless provider, but you do have a bit of a larger initial cash outlay. But at that low of a monthly price, it probably isn’t much more expensive than your current monthly bill anyway.
They also have a coverage checking tool on their website and a 7-day money back guarantee to make sure you’re satisfied. We’ve been using Mint Mobile for over 2 years now and love it!
How to use it
Browse to mintmobile.com and check out the plans for yourself (they also sell phones, but you can bring your own). They do a great job of explaining the perks of their plans. Don’t forget to check out the handy “how-to” videos to explain the process.
Once you switch to Mint Mobile and get your new SIM card, you just pop it in your phone and you’re on your way. It’s that easy! Similar service for a drastically lower price. Mint Mobile’s website also has the functionality to manage family plans, so if you need multiple lines you can manage each plan under the same account.
How to save money today
According to the some sources, the average American spends about $50 per month on cell phone service, or $600 per year. By switching to Mint Mobile’s 4GB plan, you cut that down to just $15 per month, or only $180 per year. That’s about the easiest $420 you’ll ever save!
If you love the idea of Mint Mobile and saving money today on your cell phone service provider, I’d be thrilled if you used this link to sign up. There’s no extra cost to you, but we will receive a credit towards our next renewal. Thanks in advance.
Conclusion
There really isn’t anything bad I can say about Mint Mobile or its services at this time. Prior to joining, I used another low-cost MVNO for cell phone service and the experience was admittedly pretty terrible. I’ve had no such issues with Mint Mobile – setup was painless and maintaining my account is simple. You can even keep your current phone number! Their customer communications are timely, helpful, and done in that cheeky-modern tone that is actually refreshing when we’re so used to the same corporate parlance used everywhere else.
Are you ready to save money today and switch to Mint Mobile? If not, what other budget-friendly carriers do you recommend?
