Cell Phone and Related Plan for Senior Citizen who almost never uses it

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Willmunny
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Cell Phone and Related Plan for Senior Citizen who almost never uses it

Post by Willmunny »

My Dad is sort of stubborn/willfully ignorant when it comes to technology. My mom has a relativity new smart phone and she basically handles anything requiring technology in my parents' household. With COVID they don't get out much, but during normal times my dad is occasionally driving alone visiting friends/family in nearby towns or taking walks at the park or trail alone.

My mom previously set him up with a Tracphone with a prepaid card just in case he ever needed it. He rarely used it, but I felt better about him having it if he were not with my mom. I recently learned that, according to my mom and dad, the phone he had switched over from prepaid minutes model to a monthly charge (not sure if this is still tracphone or a different company). They were also having some issues with the phone, so they just decided to cancel it. So apparently he hasn't had a cell phone for some time, and that concerns me given his age and some health issues.

I want to just sort of take the lead in suggesting a new phone for my dad. He would refuse to learn a smartphone, so it would just need to be a basic flip phone. While they are comfortable financially, my dad grew up with parents who experienced the depression in a rural area and he despises "wasting" money. So, because he could go months without using it, to "sell" him on the idea it would ideally be some prepaid service where minutes do not expire for several months (if such a thing exists anymore). If such a thing does not exist, then just something very inexpensive would be the best route for me to convince him to get another phone.

Does anyone have any recommendations/experiences in solving this problem for similarly situated folks? If so, recommendations for a phone to buy and related service/plan would be appreciated. My mom has a traditional (not-prepaid) Verizon plan with mobile data - not sure if adding a line to a Verizon account and a basic phone (if Verizon has those) would be an option.

Thanks in advance.
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daytona084
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Re: Cell Phone and Related Plan for Senior Citizen who almost never uses it

Post by daytona084 »

You will get a lot of suggestions. My DW is similar to your dad. I got her an ATT Prepaid plan. If you reload with a $100 purchase, the balance expires after one year. That would calculate to $8.33 per year. HOWEVER... If you have over $100 balance in the account, the customer service pepple will gladly extend the expiration date. She uses minutes at the rate of about $4.00 per month.
livesoft
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Re: Cell Phone and Related Plan for Senior Citizen who almost never uses it

Post by livesoft »

My daughter just bought phones for her parents and put them on her cell phone plan. Problem solved at no cost to parents.
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Willmunny
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Re: Cell Phone and Related Plan for Senior Citizen who almost never uses it

Post by Willmunny »

livesoft wrote: Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:29 am My daughter just bought phones for her parents and put them on her cell phone plan. Problem solved at no cost to parents.
Thanks. I hadn't thought about that. That's certainly something I am willing to do. My mom wouldn't need a new phone. She has a relatively new smartphone and uses Verizon like me.
TN_Boy
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Re: Cell Phone and Related Plan for Senior Citizen who almost never uses it

Post by TN_Boy »

livesoft wrote: Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:29 am My daughter just bought phones for her parents and put them on her cell phone plan. Problem solved at no cost to parents.
+1. I've done similar things. It doesn't cost much to add a basic phone with no data service to an existing plan.
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ResearchMed
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Re: Cell Phone and Related Plan for Senior Citizen who almost never uses it

Post by ResearchMed »

livesoft wrote: Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:29 am My daughter just bought phones for her parents and put them on her cell phone plan. Problem solved at no cost to parents.
This is what we did for my parents.

We were even able to get them a phone number with their area code, which would make it easier if their friends ever needed/wanted to phone them.

My mother did use it once in a real emergency (when she got very confused - the first sign that more care was needed), and we were SO glad she actually did keep it with her at all times when she was out and about.

We emphasized that there was "NO COST AT ALL TO USE THE PHONE; you are part of our monthly plan!"
They needed to have that emphasized, or they would have left it in a drawer, uncharged.

livesoft: I trust that your daughter knows her parents quite well, and thus was able to choose a good plan for them, eh? :wink:

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iamblessed
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Re: Cell Phone and Related Plan for Senior Citizen who almost never uses it

Post by iamblessed »

I just bought the 2.50 plan I am happy. http://www.ebaystores.com/Red-Pocket-Store
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illumination
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Re: Cell Phone and Related Plan for Senior Citizen who almost never uses it

Post by illumination »

It sounds like you may have already tried it, but I bought a 1 year Tracfone plan for my daughter for like $120. You can put the Sim card in almost any phone, I gave her a hand me down iPhone. Most of what she does is texting and FaceTime over WiFi, so actual calling minutes are rarely used. But she has something like 1500 talk minutes, which for someone who rarely uses their phone to make calls outside the home, should be plenty. We're on our 2nd year and the plan works great. At some point I plan to put her on our Verizon plan, but it's almost quadruple the price.
FCM
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Re: Cell Phone and Related Plan for Senior Citizen who almost never uses it

Post by FCM »

My wife and I each have an inexpensive flip phone with an AT&T prepaid plan ($100/yr). We hardly ever use them since we are both retired and pretty much home-bodies. We consider the prepaid phone plans as an "insurance" expense since we only have a need for such insurance when in our respective cars and need to contact 911, AAA, our spouse, etc., via a voice call. We never even come close to using all the minutes @$0.25/min during the course of a year, but as I stated earlier, it's insurance.
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