I recently switched my mobile phone from T-Mobile to Google Fi. The main reason I changed was for the better international service – T-Mobile gave me free 2G service internationally, while Google Fi gave me full-speed service at the same price I paid at home ($10/GB, capped at $60 for up to 15GB). Having full-speed data was worth paying a little money!
And it’s worked out well – I could use my phone in Europe and Asia as if I’d been at home, with great coverage, good speed, and no worries.
Every month, whether I traveled or not, I found myself using just under 6GB – so I was paying almost as much as possible while not taking advantage of the free data above 6GB. This seemed silly, but, unless I wanted to use data for no good reason, what could I do?
Last month, I decided to try something different. I’d already started using Apple’s Screen Time feature to add a little resistance to spending a lot of time on Facebook and Twitter; now, I decided to try not to idly pick up my phone while I was out and about, at least not without WiFi.
And at the end of the month, I had used 0.88 GB, for a data bill of $8.80 instead of the usual $57. I didn’t feel particularly deprived, and it was kinda pleasant to look at the world instead of my screen!
I don’t think every month will end up under a gigabyte, but having that tiny incentive to stay off the phone seems like a good idea.