Google Fi is Google’s cell phone service. I signed on with them as a customer in 2016 and have not been disappointed. I had never had a smart phone before because I had been mooching off my parents’ family plan up to this point, where I could have a terrorist phone* with no data for only $10 per month. In any event, it was 2016 and I was just about to travel overseas for about six months. I wanted to have a phone that I could use in the event of emergencies and to check-in with civilization every now and again without breaking the bank. Google to the rescue.
Google uses T-Mobile/Sprint and US Cellular network towers in conjunction with wifi connections in order to provide a great and inexpensive cellular service. Importantly for any international travelers out there, it also offers international data for the same rate that it charges you for data usage in the US. In my case, I don’t use a lot of cellular data.
My sister-in-law takes walks during her lunch break at work and streams Netflix shows on her phone. The plan I use wouldn’t be a great option for her. Up until recently, Google offered just a pay-for-use plan when it comes to data usage. They’ve just introduced an Unlimited plan that might be ideal for my sister-in-law.
The Details
Here is a handy website that compares all of their plans in one place based on the number of people you want to sign up.
For the plan I use, I pay a $20 per month rate for connection/unlimited voice and text. For any data use throughout the month, I pay $10 per gigabyte used (on a pro-rated basis).** In my case, this is amazing. I average about 200 MB of data usage per month to run Google Maps for navigation plus whatever else I need when I’m out and about. My average monthly cell phone bill is around $26 per month when you take into account taxes.
Last I checked on AT&T’s site, plans started at $65 per month for one phone; Verizon Wireless is $70. So, since you’re obviously now switching, the plan I’m on is called the Flexible for 1 (<— AFFILIATE LINK). I also pay the same amount for data used ($10/GB, pro-rated) if I’m traveling internationally in almost any location.
For the plan my sister-in-law might benefit from, she’d pay $60 per month for the Simply Unlimited plan. Works the same way it sounds—unlimited data usage. The only downside of this plan when weighed against mine is that she would not get the same international travel data usage.
However, there is another tier of plan called the Unlimited Plus which is $70 per month that she could switch to for months that she might travel overseas. The tech interface on Google’s Fi app is so good that she wouldn’t even have to call and talk to anyone to switch plans for that month.
If you are shopping plans for more than one person, just know that the plan pricing gets significantly better the more people you add onto it. My sister-in-law’s $60 per month unlimited plan? If you’re opening a plan for two people, it’s $45 per month per line. Three people and up? $30 per month per line. However, the base plans are also nothing to sneeze at.
How Much You Can Save
So let’s go over the now-obligatory decade’s worth of savings one might experience (as I’ve been including in many of my other posts) switching to Google Fi from their single plan with AT&T. For me, Google Fi is $26 per month. AT&T’s plan for me would be $65 per month. This $39 difference, when invested each month and earning 7% interest, would make you $6,750 richer after ten years. Here seems to be yet another piece of indisputable evidence that small behavioral changes can lead to big savings and a richer life.
Sign up with Google Fi. (<—AFFILIATE LINK)
And if I ever get together and write a forthcoming credit card article, you can meander over to see how I pay my cell phone bill with my Wells Fargo Propel credit card, which automatically gives me $600 of cell phone protection against theft or loss.
*Hopefully I didn’t offend any terrorists out there. I call it this because it was a Nokia brick phone popular in IED-making. It also had a built-in flashlight. Amazing.
**As in, if I use 250 MB per in a month then I only pay $2.50 for data, not $10. Easy peasy.
Wow! More information on phones than ever found in one place. Since I’m shopping for a family plan for 5-6 phones this opens a lot of doors. The website to compare plans is an excellent start. Thanks.