Cheapest way to run a basic talk and text phone

Comstock

As part of the new moneysaving me, I've decided to dump the smartphone and go back to talk and text. In the last year, my record monthly usage was 164 mins and 58 texts. Most months I do less than 100 minutes.

Not the very lowest level, but not massive either. What is the cheapest way to run a phone at this level.

The cheapest tariff, on the face of it, would be Three's 3-2-1 where I would have paid £6.08 in my heaviest month, and less most months.

But I'm not sure if Three offer basic talk and text mobiles- I don't think they do. I could get a new smartphone and leave the data off, but that would be too much temptation

And I'm looking to reduce my screentime and general addiction to technology as well as save money.

I don't think EE's £1 a week deal would give me enough minutes, and if I ever have a really heavy month on the phone (family emergency?) then I'm going to get stung at 30p a minute.

What plans/networks/phones do the basic talk and texters on here use?

Neil49

As long as you have a 3g phone then the Three deal would be a good option.

You could probably get a cheap unlocked 3g phone from Carphonewarehouse with another providers sim and then just change to Three when it suits you.

Comstock

Neil49 wrote: »

As long as you have a 3g phone then the Three deal would be a good option.

It would be ideal, but like I say, I don't want a Smartphone. I want a solid talk and texter I can charge once a week (or less)

pmduk

Or you could try Delight Mobile which has similar charges to 3 but has 2G coverage.

Comstock

hmm, interesting, thank you . They are an MNVO on EE, yes?

Rusty!

Comstock wrote: »

It would be ideal, but like I say, I don't want a Smartphone. I want a solid talk and texter I can charge once a week (or less)

3G doesn't automatically mean a smart phone.

pmduk

I believe so, I've only heard about them recently but not used them.

mobilejunkie

1) Sainsbury's PAYG sim free bundle for 30 days from (free) actuivation... order by 2nd May. Cost - free.

2) Cashback contract; basic Nokia phone, 250 minutes, tons of texts plus 500mb (even though you don't need them). 24 month contract, cost after cashback 99p per month.

kingrulzuk

The best is Vectone £3.50 bundle: 100min 100 text and 50Mb
OR £5 Bundle: 150min 150text and 500Mb

Vectone are an MNVO on EE

System

I wouldn't touch Vectone / Delight with a barge pole.

Three give a free 150mb data bundle with each topup, so using that and free wi-fi might be enough to not go cold 'data' turkey.

If you register your debit/credit card with 3 directly then you can top up £5 going forward (Your 1st topup with the card has to be £10 for some reason)

Other than that - Tesco Lite Tariff or Mobile by Sainsburys for 4p texts / 8p calls

kingrulzuk wrote: »

The best is Vectone £3.50 bundle: 100min 100 text and 50Mb
OR £5 Bundle: 150min 150text and 500Mb

Vectone are an MNVO on EE

eDicky

Heng_Leng wrote: »

I wouldn't touch Vectone / Delight with a barge pole.

Delight seems to work fine for me. So far. Cheap simplicity. Might even splurge on a 99p 30-day bundle...