After about 13 years the prepaid dumb phone experiment is over. Welcome to the smart experiment, i.e. like everyone else.
The last time I had a "smartphone" iPhones did not exist. Then about 6 years ago I got a prepaid plan with a basic phone and I never heard from my family again.
Dumb phone +
+ I saved tons of money. I spent less than $100 a year.
Dumb phone -
- I had to carry two devices; the dumb phone then a wifi device for all internet tasks. Two devices to charge, maintain and keep track of.
- my parents (yes I actually did hear from them once in awhile) and I used my wife's smartphone to communicate because "Aiya! Two dollars!"
Why did I finally get smart(phone)?
My dumb phone and wifi device were getting old to the point both devices were way past any updates and were losing most functions except for text, email and light browsing.
I was willing to spend (way) more money to save time working around a cheaper system. Time is a limited resource and there is no getting it back, but you can spend money and do things to save your time doing things you don't want to.
I wanted to consolidate to one device.
I was 99% settled on a base model iPhone SE until I discovered I could get a smartphone in MINT GREEN if I paid about double and got a higher end model. Easiest decision ever! MINT GREEN!
Expected benefits of getting smart.
Device consolidation. One device to do everything. Only have to charge one device.
Navigation. I'm great at getting lost.
Touchless payments. Especially in pandemic times it's great to not have to hand anything over or handle cash or cards.
Shrink the wallet. Put every possible card on the device so I don't have to carry it.
Better communication with family. So far, crickets, but it's early days. It's worth spending 8x more if I appear more available.
Updates to come!
