You work a full-time job, pay rent on your own apartment, you don’t have a curfew but you do have a car loan…but you still need to get off your parents’ phone plan. We know how it goes. Maybe you’re trying to save your money, because of the aforementioned rent and car loan; maybe you think you’re saving your parents money by keeping your line active; or maybe Mom and Dad have kicked you out of the family plan and on to the proverbial wireless curb. Or perhaps you’re just worried that switching to your own plan will be costly and difficult.
The good news is you can still save money by switching to your own phone plan, and it doesn’t have to be costly or difficult at all. So, if you’re ready to finally declare your wireless independence and eliminate one more thing giving your parents leverage over you, read on to see just how easy and freeing it can be to get off your parents’ phone plan.
What to consider when getting off your parents’ cell phone plan
Before we dive fully into how to get off your parents’ phone plan, let’s look into the what of getting off your parents’ cell phone plan. Er, we mean, here are a few things to consider before you say deuces to the fam plan:
Current plan renewal date
When does your family plan currently renew? It’s best to time your new plan right before your current plan renews – that way you won’t miss a moment of service. However, you also don’t want to pay two phone bills. So the best option is to allow for a little overlap between your old and new phone plans. If you’re in the middle of your billing cycle for your current phone carrier, it might be best to wait 4-7 days before your current plan renews.
Current plan terms
Other carriers offer discounted rates for adding more lines to a family plan, so unfortunately, you may affect your family’s overall wireless bill if you leave. Personally, at Mint, we believe you should get the best price no matter how many lines you have (even if you’re a party of two). But you know how those other guys are.
Your personal plan needs
Do you use mobile hotspot a lot? Make sure your new plan includes it. Are you on Wi-Fi more often than not? Then you can probably save even more on a lower data plan and still do everything you need to do with your phone. Knowing how much data you need is always a good thing when you want to make a switch.
What you don’t need
Just like some shady car dealerships, other wireless carriers like to “throw in” extras and claim it’s on them. But what might sound like a great bundle deal can actually end up costing you a lot more than if you just paid for wireless service and got everything else separately. It’s called being bundlef*!ed…because that’s the word we made up for it.
A potential new customer deal
Some wireless carriers offer a special deal for new customers…kinda like us. Our exclusive 3-month New Customer Offer lets you try Mint at the lowest possible price. Yeah, it’s pretty sweet.
Make a plan to get off your parents’ phone plan
So you have a phone, you’ve found your carrier, and the time is nigh…you’re ready to ditch your family phone plan once and for all. But, like your parents have probably told you before, you gotta have a plan in place.
Make sure your phone is compatible with your new carrier
You don’t want to go through the work of activating your own phone plan only to discover that it won’t work with your phone. Mint Mobile makes it easy to BYO phone with our handy compatibility checker (hint hint).
Make sure your phone is unlocked
Some carriers (ahem, like us) require an unlocked phone. If your current phone is already paid off, getting it unlocked should be fairly easy. If you’re not sure if your phone is unlocked, or you’re not sure what an unlocked phone is, we’ve got you.
Don’t leave your current plan until your new one is active (if you want to keep your number)
Assuming you aren’t leaving your family entirely and going into hiding, you’ll probably want to keep your number. In order to bring your number from one carrier to another, it needs to stay active with your current carrier until your new carrier successfully completes the transfer. To do this, you’ll need some account info from your current carrier as well. Don’t worry — we’ve already taken the liberty of compiling an A-Z guide of phone carriers and how to bring your number over from them, so check there before making that call to customer service.
Mint Mobile is the perfect solution for your new plan
Now you know everything there is to know on how to get off your parents’ phone plan. You’ve read this far, so now you gotta read our pitch – them’s the rules. Anyone looking to ditch their family’s phone plan and venture out on their own should look at Mint Mobile. We don’t bundle services at Mint; we do offer premium wireless for less and only premium wireless for less. You can get a flexible data plan, so you only pay for the data you need, plus our service comes in bulk, where the more months you buy, the more you save.
To get started, simply select a new customer offer that best fits your needs…it’s a 3-month plan at our lowest rate, so it allows you to determine exactly how much data you need going forward. Also, while we may have the best phone plans for one person, we have Mint Family, too. You can create your own family plan here and get our best rates starting with just two lines, so bring your partner, your roommate or your sibling who’s also planning to bail on your family’s plan. Who knows, your parents may end up begging to jump on your family plan.
