Wireless services have definitely become a staple in the modern lifestyle. And like other necessities that are brought about by modern lifestyle such as electricity, it hardly comes for free. Thus, being a regular part of our monthly budgets, careful planning when it comes to wireless budget allocation is a must for a successful financial accounting and planning. If you are lost among all of the plans that claims to be affordable, then this guide to efficient wireless budget planning is sure to help you.
The Available Choices
Before choosing a course of action, it is essential for us to know what sort of choices we do have. First, it would largely depend on your location as some states have limited choice of network carriers. AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are almost the only ones that are consistent throughout the country. However, there are generally two types of choices. One is postpaid plan carriers and the other is prepaid network carriers. The best choice depends on your situation and here are the criteria.
Consider Your Budget
Most part of financial planning is dependent on your general cash inflow and outflow. As an absolute rule, you should never live beyond your means. List your monthly income and your monthly expenses. Subtract your savings from the difference. I would advise your monthly wireless services not to exceed 5% of what is left in your pocket regardless of your lifestyle demands.
Know Your Needs
Even with a huge inflow, you still have the choice if you want to maximize the 5% allotment that we have assigned for your wireless services or if you want to spend even less. The lower your expenses the better. As a factor to decide whether or not it is ideal to allot more on your wireless budget, you should know your needs.
- Do you need high speed data plans for video streaming as you are always away from your home?
- Or is a wifi connection always accessible to you or you hardly leave at home and you do not need a data plan?
- It can also be the case that you do not need to access the internet at all using your mobile phone.
Conclusion
- If you have a need for high end functions and use them on a regular basis, it is ideal to have a postpaid plan like that of Verizon’s or Sprint’s (as long as it is within the 5% ceiling).
- If you have a need for high end online functions and hardly use them, it is ideal to get a vanilla phone straight from the provider and get a prepaid SIM card.
- Finally, if you hardly have a need for wireless internet connection, I suggest going for a very basic phone that hardly costs $15 using a special deal like a Straight Talk promo code.
