As you know, this blog is all about staying connected with family. As a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community, I am able to share my story and my opinions on the Walmart #FamilyMobile Unlimited Talk, Text, and Data plans. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser.
We have very few family members living in the United States, so my kids have become very close to the cousins who live nearby. For most people, graduation is a happy time. Parents are thrilled to see their children move on to the next phase of their education, and the children are excited to move on (or out) as well. For us, when someone moves away, we feel their absence immensely. Each year around graduation time, my kids ask with worried faces, “When does [insert cousin’s name here] graduate? Has [he or she] chosen a college yet? Will they stay here?” Even the cheapest wireless plan might not be enough to help the kids feel like they are still connected when family members leave – will they have enough minutes or data to say everything they want to say?
This year, has hit the kids particularly hard. One of their favorite cousins will be the first to leave the area after graduation. My youngest weeps just thinking about it, and my oldest tries his best to act like he doesn’t care – but it is obvious that he does. The middle kid has started making his list of things not to forget to tell her when she’s gone.
We haven’t decided what to get the graduate as a gift for her hard work and accomplishments, but we know we will have to figure out a way to let our kids communicate with her once she starts college. Baby girl is used to being in her cousin’s hip pocket, following her, chatting with her, snuggling in her lap. Neither one of them will have time for that after she graduates, and I can’t afford to be jumping on the road for a visit every time Baby girl needs a hug. We still have a budget to maintain. That’s where the idea of the “family phone” comes in.
The kids are always complaining that I won’t let them get their own phones or so much as look at my phone too hard. I purposely have no games on my phone. These days they don’t even ask to use it. I think that I still have the idea in my mind that they will go crazy, download a bunch of things, run up my bill, drop my phone, mess with my settings, or something else that will cost me some unimaginable amount of money. They may or may not, but in any case, I’m not willing to take the chance. Thank goodness for Walmart Family Mobile. Walmart has gotten me out of many a purchasing pinch, so I am not surprised that I can find a bargain there for phones too.
For under $80 (retail price $74.88 online) we can get the Alcatel One Touch Evolve Prepaid Cell Phone, the family starter kit, (an additional $25), and choose one of two unlimited plans. Yes, you read that right – Unlimited talk and text, or unlimited data, talk, and text. That means that no matter how many calls Baby Girl makes to her cousin about her new sparkly dress, my bill is still the same. No matter how many Instagram pics of cars my middle kid sends – my bill? Still good. If my oldest wants to text her a hundred questions about college life? No problem, not for my budget anyway.
The Alcatel One Touch Evolve is an Android phone, so the kids are already familiar with how to use it. The 4 inch screen is perfect for their little hands, it has great battery life (up to 13 hours of talk time), has a 5 megapixel camera, and with unlimited no contract plans available starting at $29.88 a month, this is perfect for our “family phone”. I can pay the bill online or in-store. Maybe getting a “family phone” for the kids will help them to look forward to sharing new experiences with their cousin while she is away. They can take photos during the family dinners and get-togethers and share them and she can send back pics of her new experiences in college – all without breaking the bank. It will help her feel closer to home, and help them to see that graduation time isn’t so bad after all.
