Practical example of how PM saves you big money!!

[srlawren]

A friend of mine is on a really crappy plan with Telus, and has a phone that's quite old.  She really wants an Samsung Galaxy S7, but they are so bloody expensive to buy outright at $900 Canadian! So this morning I did a bit of research for her about how to make that more affordable.

In short:  even with buying the phone outright, you can save well north of $500 over the 2 years of a typical carrier contract.  This is assuming she needs canada-wide unlimited calling and texting, and about 1 or 2 GB data per month.  Here's the contents of the email I sent her.  Sorry it's long.

Spoiler

Okay so I compared the TELUS options for the S7 vs. buying it outright and using Public Mobile, the company I use that is owned by TELUS and runs on the same awesome network.  Here's how it breaks down.

Comparing 1GB/month + canada-wide calling + texting anywhere

Public Mobile:

Pick the 90 day canada-wide + texting + 3GB data (approx 1GB/month)

Price is $126 for 90 days, which works out to $42.58/month

Multiply that by 24 and add $900 for the phone, total is $1,922 over 2 years

Telus, Premium Smartphone plan:

Pick the canada-wide + texting + 1GB plan

Price is $90/month and $400 for the phone

Multiply that $90 x 24 + $400 = $2,560 over 2 years (+$638 vs. Public)

Telus, Premium Plus plan:

Pick the canada-wide + texting + 1GB plan

Price is $100/month and $100 for the phone

Multiply that $100 x 24 + $100 = $2,500 over 2 years (+$578 vs. Public)

The difference is even bigger if you wanted 2.0-2.5 GB/month. It's hard to directly compare as Telus offers 2.5GB/month and Public is 6GB/90 days or approx 2.0GB/month, but comparing those two:

Public Mobile:

Pick the 90 day canada-wide + texting + 6GB data (approx 2GB/month)

Price is $135 for 90 days, which works out to $45.64/month

Multiply $45.64 x 24 + $900 = $1,995 over 2 years

Telus Premium Smartphone:

Pick the canada-wide + texting + 2.5GB plan

Price is $100/month and $400 for the phone

Multiply $100 x 24 + $400 = $2,800 over 2 years (+$805 vs. Public)

Telus Premium Plus:

Pick the canada-wide + texting + 2.5GB plan

Price is $110/month and $100 for the phone

Multiply $110 x 24 + $100 = $2,740 over 2 years (+$745 vs. Public).

Conclusion:  You can save a lot by buying the phone outright and moving to Public Mobile!  The only downside really is the lack of roaming, so like me, you'd have to use Roam Mobility when travelling to the US.  We can discuss that part in more detail and see if it's worth the $578 to $805 savings vs. the easier convenience with Telus when roaming.  That's really about it!

The offerings from Bell and Rogers have the phone $100 cheaper than the Telus premium plan.  If you do the math, the PM and outright phone purchase is still a LOT cheaper over the 2 years.

Your mileage may vary, but this was a real eye opener for me!

[srlawren]

@daredogg Apple typically does not discontinue or clear out the previous model--they continue to sell it alongside the new one (albeit at a slightly reduced price).  

[daredogg]

I agree with @McLaren that buying the previous year's flagship model will help save even more money, making buying outright a better option. With the iPhone 7 out now, I bet the iPhone 6S will drop in price to "clear out old stock". 6's are already $0 with the big 3.

I noticed this on the apple.com website, Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program where you get a new phone every 12 months (only available in the US right now).

http://www.apple.com/shop/iphone/iphone-upgrade-program

My guess is that the concept is much like leasing a car... you'll always have a payment and never actually own something. If you've ever run the numbers on leasing, you'll realize that buying is the cheaper option (provided you don't put like 100,000 kms on your car annually).

[srlawren]

@Rockdaddy22 yep, and with PM's awesome plans, there's little to no need to take a subsidy on contract from the big guys!

@Kayfun101 already bought the S7, but thanks for the suggestion.  Also, I had a spare PM SIM I'd been hanging on to for just such an occasion, which I gladly donated to her.  🙂

[Kayfun101]

Look on orchard there if there is a s6 I think I seen one there and you get a free SIM card wean they ship to your house so a bonus to switch hope this helps her

[Rockdaddy22]

I'll be buying the iPhone 7 outright just like I did with 6S, I hate phone contracts with a passion. 🤑

[srlawren]

Final update:  phone has been purchased!  The phone was already on promotion down from $899 to 800, and then the dusty BlackBerry 9700 we traded in netted her the $200 trade-in discount, making the phone only $600 + tax, unlocked, no contract, no fuss.  🙂

[srlawren]

Quick update:  

Phase 1 is completed!  Last night, we activated a new PM account for my friend, and ported over her Telus number.  She's now saving about $25 + tax per month and getting 8 times the data (2GB/30 vs. 250MB/month).  

Phase 2 -- purchase of the S7 at a Samsung experience store -- is expected to complete this weekend.  They have a $200 trade in deal going on right now, so I'm sacrificing an ancient BlackBerry I had kicking around gathering dust, to sweeten the deal even more.

Gotta love Public Mobile!!!  

[srlawren]

@markjanzen indeed!  

[markjanzen]

i did the same math when buying my s7. sure its expensive up front but works out cheaper in the end...

[srlawren]

@McLaren thanks for the suggestion, but she's pretty smitten with the S7.  🙂  Just trying to get her the best value for what she wants, in this case. 

[McLaren]

Tell her to buy the previous years flagship model and she'll save even more! 

[Luddite]

---

@ckl wrote:

@srlawren Post deleted. Late Friday... My brain is malfunctioning.

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Hey @ckl that's my problem every day! 

[ckl]

@srlawren Post deleted. Late Friday... My brain is malfunctioning.

[imm1304]

I signed up on the last day befoer PM stopped giving beta discount ($10/month for 12 months).  But I did not become active in the community until 1 month later.  

Yikes!  Your friend's plan sounds aweful for 2016!  Best of luck.. I hope she choses PM.  

[srlawren]

@imm1304 1 year, awesome!  That will be me in October. 

I didn't go into a lot of detail but my friend's current plan with Telus was from back when she bought her phone, so it included a hardware subsidy; but that subsidy was paid off ages ago, and she's still paying the same amount but getting nothing out of it really.  I think her plan includes 250MB or 300MB of data along with Canada-wide calling and texting for somewhere around $70/month!!  Time to change for sure.  I'll do my best to get her over to PM, but at least to a modern plan and phone.  🙂

EDIT:  typo in "hardware" ugh.  My keyboard is cursed.....or possessed....

[TroyDaBes]

It's really amazing on how much money you can save with Public Mobile. Just think of the dollar you can save every year with its loyalty rewards! I'm in for a long time with PM unless they start increasing the price. 

[imm1304]

Excellent analysis @srlawren.

As @Luddite said, you mean more than $500 over 2 years 😉

I did this exact calculation before making the move to PM a year ago.  Which reminds me, its my 1 year anniversary with PM!  😄  

[srlawren]

Ooops.  Thanks Luddite, error corrected.  I think you knew what I meant, but thanks for letting me know anyway!

EDIT: my Geitrol is on order.  Hope Amazon delivers quickly.

[Luddite]

Ha, your turn for the Geritol. Seems highly unlikley she will save $500/month!!! 

Other wise great analysis, and the way I evaluate these "cheap" phones. PLUS those phones are locked to the carrier.