Can You Afford To NOT Add Text Messaging?

Merle Ihne, III
Gopher Wireless
www.GopherWireless.com

When someone adds a new phone from Gopher Wireless, regardless if it is from NEXTEL or T-Mobile, they are asked if they would like to add text messaging to their plan. Some think that they'll do without it for now to save money. Besides they can always add it later, right? Be careful how you answer, because you may not be saving yourself money.

One easy answer is if you know you want text messaging and you use it a lot. You can get an unlimited texting package for about $14.99/month. Anyone who does a lot of texting will choose that. You can also get smaller packages of texting for $5 or $10/month.

The other easy answer is people who know that they won't do any texting at all. They know that they can go without that feature and they will be happy. Maybe the only texts they get are the free ones sent by the company.

Where you need to show caution is if you do a little text messaging. Maybe you'll think that you'll only text up to ten times a month. That's okay. If it is only ten texts a month then you can pay the ten cents per message instead of adding text messaging as a feature for $4.99 or more because you'll be saving money.

What about incoming messages? Most companies now count your text messages as those you sent plus those you received. So when you think about how many text messages you'll be using in a month, add those messages people will be sending to you on top of those you'll be sending out.

If you are planning on sending ten texts in a month and receiving the same number, that would put your text message total at 20 for the month. The cheapest option here is to still just pay the ten cents per text and not add the text messaging features to your line. The break even point on this is fifty messages per month. With T-Mobile, the cheapest messaging bundle is 400 messages for $4.99 a month. If you have the feature, it's like buying the first fifty messages and getting the nest 350 for free. If you go over your bundle, then you start paying the ten cents per message again.

This is where people will get a surprise on their bill. They start texting more than they originally planned. They see that it is useful to send quick messages to each other and start getting in the habit of doing some of their communicating that way. The ten cents a message quickly adds up. It is easy to send 1000 messages in one month when people get used to it. People text jokes to one another and brag to everyone on their phone list that their team just scored a touchdown, etc.

If you don't have text messaging as a feature, 1000 messages at a dime apiece can add up to $100. And don't forget the received messages! Maybe those will double it to $200 extra on your bill. This is one of the things that can upset and frustrate people with their cellular phone bill and maybe they'll take it out on the company too. That is why it is important to think ahead about text messaging.

I have a niece who totaled 4900 messages in one month. That was okay because she was on an unlimited text messaging plan for $14.99 with T-Mobile. No matter how much texting she did it was only going to cost her $14.99 on top of her regular plan. Whether she's getting her homework done or not is another question.

Where she made a mistake was reducing her text messaging plan to the 400 messages for just $4.99 a month because she wanted to save $10 a month. But she didn't reduce the texting she was doing. That would have been a huge bill if the account holder wasn't on top of things and kept track of usage online.

One customer came in wondering why their bill was so big. Their son was sending text messages at ten cents each and they got about $60.00 added on to their bill. They weren't sure what texting was and why it cost extra(because they didn't get their original phone from us). By adding text messaging as a feature they were able to keep control of the bill and their son could still text his friends. Realizing that they were saving so much, they could afford to add another phone for themselves for less than what they had been spending. Everybody's happy now!

Tips for text messaging:

1. Make sure that you have a realistic expectation of the number of text messages you'll be using in a month.

2. Keep tabs on how many you are using as you go. Once people start text messaging, they get used to it and start using it more. T-Mobile customers can easily check messages used on their phone by pressing #674#(send). Or you can check usage online. You will want to avoid overages by adding text messaging as a feature or bumping up your text messaging pool from 400 to 1000, or from 1000 to unlimited.

3. Keep track of the number of messages your kids are using. If you are on a family plan you may want to get unlimited texting for the whole family for $19.99. All phones on the family package will be able to send and receive as many messages as they wish. No overages!

4. Using instant messaging counts as text messages. AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger can be used from your cell phone. Now you can chat while you are away from your computer. Each of these chat messages counts as a text message so be sure you have enough.

At Gopher Wireless, we aren't paid more for adding features on your plan. We act as consultants instead of salespeople, so you won't be pressured to add something you don't want or need. We are focused on what is the best for you. You can see more of us at www.GopherWireless.com or give us a call at (218) 270-0052.