We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
The MSE Forum Team would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year. However, we know this time of year can be difficult for some. If you're struggling during the festive period, here's a list of organisations that might be able to help
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Has MSE helped you to save or reclaim money this year? Share your 2025 MoneySaving success stories!
Celebrating the small wins - I followed the MSE recommendation and saved!
GlasgowPete
Posts: 3 Newbie
in Mobiles
Hi - Just sharing a small win I made last week, after following MSE advice on mobile phone contracts and SIMs.
My long-term contract with Tesco Mobile expired a few months ago. Inertia had set-in and I did nothing about upgrading or shopping around. Then I saw the MSE tips and recommendations, and did some easy research of my own.
Using eBay, I now have a new 2023 model phone, from the same manufacturer, running Android v.13 (the one I paid-off through Tesco was the 2018 model, running v.07). It came unused, unopened, in the manufacturers' original packaging, costing 20% less than the store price (even factoring-in P&P).
Separately, I took the MSE special offer on the Lebara 3GB monthly SIM deal, with first six months costing £0.99 per 30 days and £4.40 thereafter (btw, this deal ends tomorrow - 1st August).
Over 12 months the Lebara SIM will save me approx. £68 on what I was paying Tesco.
It's 1GB less data allowance per month than I had with Tesco - but - when I checked my previous monthly data usage with Tesco, during the whole contract I had never used more than 2GB in a month!! I was totally over-estimating my data needs!!
The only downside I can see is missing-out on the Tesco Clubcard points each month!!!! Well worth a few hours browsing. Thank You MSE, for showing me much better options available and motivating me out of my inertia
My long-term contract with Tesco Mobile expired a few months ago. Inertia had set-in and I did nothing about upgrading or shopping around. Then I saw the MSE tips and recommendations, and did some easy research of my own.
Using eBay, I now have a new 2023 model phone, from the same manufacturer, running Android v.13 (the one I paid-off through Tesco was the 2018 model, running v.07). It came unused, unopened, in the manufacturers' original packaging, costing 20% less than the store price (even factoring-in P&P).
Separately, I took the MSE special offer on the Lebara 3GB monthly SIM deal, with first six months costing £0.99 per 30 days and £4.40 thereafter (btw, this deal ends tomorrow - 1st August).
Over 12 months the Lebara SIM will save me approx. £68 on what I was paying Tesco.
It's 1GB less data allowance per month than I had with Tesco - but - when I checked my previous monthly data usage with Tesco, during the whole contract I had never used more than 2GB in a month!! I was totally over-estimating my data needs!!
The only downside I can see is missing-out on the Tesco Clubcard points each month!!!! Well worth a few hours browsing. Thank You MSE, for showing me much better options available and motivating me out of my inertia
2
Comments
-
Great news! I've been with Lebara for over a year and made a massive saving compared to my old contract where I was previously paying for roaming in addition to the monthly fees.Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.0
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 352.9K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.8K Spending & Discounts
- 246K Work, Benefits & Business
- 602.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.8K Life & Family
- 260K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards