So this week I did something crazy. It may not seem crazy to some of you but to me it was a big deal. I let go of my contract with Verizon Wireless and purchased a pay as you go phone from Virgin Mobile. I got my very first smartphone. Why is this a big deal? Well, first of all, I am a very loyal person. A good example is that growing up my parents ONLY watched channel 3 (WCIA) news. Morning, noon and night. When I grew up and went to college I still watched channel 3 news. When I got out of college my first job was AT WCIA. Even now that I no longer work there I only watch WCIA news. I'm stuck. Nothing else will do. Same concept for my phone. I can only remember our family using Verizon since we started having cell phones. I used Verizon when I was on my parent's plan and then Brad and I got married and we had a Verizon plan. So for all my cell phone usage...I've been with Verizon. I've never had any issues or complaints.
Two years ago when I went in to upgrade my phone I really wanted to upgrade to smartphone but Brad was not for it. It was at that time that we were finally going to add texting to our plan! So I settled for a regular phone. A year later it was Brad's turn to upgrade and by that time he had come around to smartphone use. He was interested and of course, decided to get one! By getting one we also increased our phone bill. Naturally, I wanted to upgrade too but I had another year to go on my contract. As time went on the thought of adding more money to our monthly phone bill became much less appealing. It becomes quite the conflict when part of you wants to "keep up with the Jones's" but can't afford it.
So after having some of our frugal friends got to a pay as you go plan we thought we'd give it a try. It was still very difficult when most people around me are holding up the latest iphones and ipads. The truth is though...I can't live that way. Not right now anyway. We don't make that much money. Could I have purchased an iphone and had our monthly bill increase? Yes. Would it have made us go broke? No. That's not totally the point. The standard as an American seems to be to constantly upgrade your life. Always want bigger and better. I struggle with this by the day. By the minute even! Sometimes I am fine with all that I have and even think about how I could live more simply. The next minute I'm feeling frustrated because I can't have more. It's a constant battle so this phone serves as a compromise. Having the luxury without the luxury price.
This is not meant to be judgement on anyone of you who might have some of these high tech gadgets. Everyone has to be accountable to their own financial situation. But I feel like I want to say it's ok to not always have bigger and better. It is our desire to strive for a debt free lifestyle and doing that takes patience and work. We can't all get there at the same time either. Some people are already living that life but Brad and I are still working towards that goal. (student loans are killer!) There will probably always be people who have more but there will also be people who have less. I need to stop looking at what my neighbor has and look at all that I have and be thankful. I hope this post encourages others who struggle in this area to do the same.
I may someday be a Verizon user again. I've only had this phone for a few days now so I don't know if this switch will be forever. It's just the change we had to make now. And now you know why it's a big deal for me!
"If you want to live like no one else, you have to live like no one else." -Dave Ramsey
Two years ago when I went in to upgrade my phone I really wanted to upgrade to smartphone but Brad was not for it. It was at that time that we were finally going to add texting to our plan! So I settled for a regular phone. A year later it was Brad's turn to upgrade and by that time he had come around to smartphone use. He was interested and of course, decided to get one! By getting one we also increased our phone bill. Naturally, I wanted to upgrade too but I had another year to go on my contract. As time went on the thought of adding more money to our monthly phone bill became much less appealing. It becomes quite the conflict when part of you wants to "keep up with the Jones's" but can't afford it.
So after having some of our frugal friends got to a pay as you go plan we thought we'd give it a try. It was still very difficult when most people around me are holding up the latest iphones and ipads. The truth is though...I can't live that way. Not right now anyway. We don't make that much money. Could I have purchased an iphone and had our monthly bill increase? Yes. Would it have made us go broke? No. That's not totally the point. The standard as an American seems to be to constantly upgrade your life. Always want bigger and better. I struggle with this by the day. By the minute even! Sometimes I am fine with all that I have and even think about how I could live more simply. The next minute I'm feeling frustrated because I can't have more. It's a constant battle so this phone serves as a compromise. Having the luxury without the luxury price.
This is not meant to be judgement on anyone of you who might have some of these high tech gadgets. Everyone has to be accountable to their own financial situation. But I feel like I want to say it's ok to not always have bigger and better. It is our desire to strive for a debt free lifestyle and doing that takes patience and work. We can't all get there at the same time either. Some people are already living that life but Brad and I are still working towards that goal. (student loans are killer!) There will probably always be people who have more but there will also be people who have less. I need to stop looking at what my neighbor has and look at all that I have and be thankful. I hope this post encourages others who struggle in this area to do the same.
I may someday be a Verizon user again. I've only had this phone for a few days now so I don't know if this switch will be forever. It's just the change we had to make now. And now you know why it's a big deal for me!
"If you want to live like no one else, you have to live like no one else." -Dave Ramsey
I've been feeling the same thing about our phone bill! I, too, had my heart set on an iPhone, but after VLT on Monday, I really felt like God was telling me that it's not the time for that. There are way more important things that we could be doing with our money. Totally making the switch when my plan expires in March.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Jen Hatmaker's "7, an experimental mutiny against excess". She did an experiment with her family and friends to cut out certain things, one month at a time, for seven months straight. The first month she only ate 7 foods, the second she only wore 7 things, the third month she gave away 7 possessions every day for a month, and it goes on. I'm only on chapter 3, but it is really stirring in my heart! I bookmarked the page that said "Would Jesus overindulge on garbage food while climbing out of a debt hole from buying things He couldn't afford to keep up with neighbors He couldn't impress?" Yikes, how much do we Christians actually look like Jesus?
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