tracfone.
stuff that kills people’s incomes:
cable bills
phone plans
new car leases
basically any re-occurring monthly billables on products they do not have to have (ie you can get a phone that isn’t smart and require an expensive plan). most don’t have to have a smartphone. they want it.
but they wonder where all their money goes.
True, what you said, but also the cost of necessary food and utilities are only increasing, income flat, and cost of health insurance/health care is way out of line as a percentage of take-home pay.
We don’t have a smart phone, have basic cable, haven’t had car payments of any kind in over 3 years... we are not “getting ahead” by any stretch of the imagination.
While tracfone is convenient in many respects, they aren’t the best bargain. Consumer Cellular is one of the best carrier values for domestic use, with custom plans for various needs. When absolute connectivity outside the US in the most countries is the priority, T-Mobile wins hands down.
They are leaving out the rise in utility costs, such as higher energy prices due to renewable energy mandates on utility companies, environmental controls with costs passed on to consumers, regulations that increase costs, decreased supply from shutting down coal fire plants, etc. And the increased cost sharing from mandates to provide so many people with food stamps discounted utilities, electric rates are rising constantly above the rate of inflation. The same cost sharing mandates for covering people on food stamps to get cheaper water rates, sewer rates, etc. also raises water bills.
Phone bills are going up due to a digital generation not caring about $20 a month in app fees and $80 for streaming until they wonder where the money went. The growing taxes and fees on the phone bill have impacted everyone, such that these fees add 20% to our bill. Oh, and sales tax - OMG, they tax me on it, too.
Income tax rates haven’t changed, but property taxes haven’t really gone down anywhere in the nation. Depending on where you live, the devalued property won’t see property bills go down, only modest limits on property tax increases when house prices went up. A lot of people pulling out of the stock market and moving into real estate has kept it from crashing and now on the upswing.
And let’s not forget about health insurance and medical costs. Health insurance rates are still growing faster than the rate of inflation, due to added mandated services, and health costs are theoretically lower but still growing faster than the rate of inflation.
We use Tracfone, too. Total cost of 2 tracfones and one home VOIP line is less than $30/month.