After reading all the comments on my last post I thought I would clarify somethings:
Dillon has a mobile (cell) phone which is pay as you go. When Dillon buys credit for it he can use it, he rarely buys credit as he tends to use it up in one go. I will not go guarantee for a bill pay phone even though the call and text costs would be cheaper because....well after the last post I think no explanation is needed but I'm not prepared to stump up for his bill.
I believe Ireland is one of the most expensive places to call mobile phones from, it costs even more to call mobile to mobile and it is only since Eircom lost it's monopoly on the phone industry that the cost of calls have become cheaper and land line calls free (although we pay a monthly fee to cover these 'free' calls).
It's nice to know that I'm not the only mother of a teenager displaying lack of common sense, I did credit him with more sense but I was plainly seeing him through rose tinted spectacles as he claims that every penny was worth it despite the additional €106 bill from calling the girlfriends mobile from mum's house in the UK. That's close to €350 he spent on phone calls in two months...I'm thinking a few new play station 3 games, a new bicycle, nearly enough for the longed for laptop, a camera, spending money for the foreign trips he'll be taking this year. He is very lucky that he has a job gardening for his granny so he has the means to pay off his debt but it does mean he'll be very poor for the next six months and I hope he has learnt his lesson.
Sam, Dillon does more than enough smooching but some studying wouldn't go amiss as he's big exams this year!
Monday, January 14, 2008
The Saga Continues
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27 comments:
Both Taylor and Liam have pay as you go cell phones and this is because I refuse to be responsible for unpaid bills. They have to earn the cards they get now, and since both of them so rarely actually do chores the phones are off more often than on.
Ouch! Well, I guess it's a lesson every kid has to learn at some point...
Whoa!! That's a big bill to rack up to call girlfriends!! Glad he could find a way to pay back. Make him work for it next time, do not just pay.
We just bought Trisha a cell phone too which comes as family package and just costs $10 more than we pay for our 2 cell phs and she doesn't use that much expect when she needs. My son isn't going to get it until he is in HS but I am worried. He is a talker!:D
Gosh worth every penny! She must be special. I must admit I do get quite annoyed when T cuts me short on the mobile to save money - LOL. I am a talker too.
Off subject - did you like Water for elephants? it's my next book club read.
Doh! - just noted the star system, it was obviously a good read. Glad you liked The Other side of the bridge too :)
Our kids don't have cell phones yet. They could get them and pay for them on their own as they make enough money. Our oldest is the example and is just too cheap. She does not have a boyfriend yet at 16, but I don't know if she would be willing to part with her money. Our son at 15 has his games and doesn't cheap out on clothes but he does have a balance in his account that he won't deplete. I could have trouble with the younger one. She is 10 and learning, but money burns a hole in her pocket. She may end up as good or better than the others with the ribbing she gets about her spend happy ways. Our son works at a tree nursery in summer. All the kids have consistent jobs. It is nice when they have a source of income.
beccy I was very careful not to mention the cost of his phone bill on my post~ if he thinks it was worth it that suggests to me he has not learned any lessons!!
smooching... Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Haven't heard that term in awhile.
At least he has a job!!! That is more than some!!!! =)
I know you're not here so you may not be able to get it but we have a family package w/ 1400 minutes, we're sharing between 6 phones but there are other packages with less phones and minutes or even more and we have unlimited texting, unlimited calling to/from any sprint phones and free nights and weekends. We pay right at $140 a month for all of that and we always have minutes to spare. As someone else said it was $10 a phone to add 4 of the phones. Oh and we have free roaming. Even when we were in Canada last summer it didn't cost us any extra to call the states.
Do they have something similar there?
Yes, good for Dillon! Anne has now a mobil phone with a pre paid card...and she is looking for a job for her "expensive life",... you know what I mean ;O)!
Nice to see you back posting Beccy. Ouch on Dillon's phone bill. Sounds like it was a nice girls weekend out in London.
Alix, Dillon insists she is special so lets hope she appreciates what this has cost him. He's also grounded for a week to think about it.
I loved Water for Elephants, I read it for my book club (we're meeting tomorrow) so I'll be interested to see what everyone else thought. The Other Side of the Bridge was really good but I thought it was obvious from the start who Carters father was. I would have liked it to be less obvious. I loved the richess of her writing and could picture it all so well.
Dawn, the great thing about them having mobile phones is that they are easily contactable when out and about, also if they need a lift home after an event they just have to ring which saves us hanging about waiting. As he has pay as you go he has to fund his credit. If he needs me he can send me a free 'call me' text.
Pamela, it made me laugh when I read Sam's comment.
I agree mum, he says he understands now how much it costs (didn't have a clue before as it was only us telling him it was expensive). Also I explained that we have to pay off the bill regardless of how much money we have in our bank account. We can't ring the company and say our son ran up a huge bill can we pay it off over the next six months.He hadn't appreciated that. What he meant by it was worth it was that talking to the girlfriend was worth the money but he realises that he can't afford to ring her mobile .
Welcome j. he is very lucky to have a well paid job or else he'd be years repeying the debt!
Lisa, mobile phone companies here are different to landline companies and you cannot group together the costs. Even my mobile is pay as you go because the mobile bills are so huge. I use my mobile for emergencies when I'm out and texting, even then I spend between €10 and €30 a month.
Steffi, I hope Ann finds a job she likes.
It was a great weekend Barbara.
Just reading these posts now Beccy. What a bill! Doesn't he use IM? Seems like a cheaper (free) option than all that speaking time. Heh... but I can't help but remember all the hours spent on the phone as a teenager, but can I remember what we talked about??? ;-)
Beccy- You had to give him the benefit of the doubt, you're his mum, but that's over now! I can't believe he wouldn't see all the things he could have had INSTEAD and still thinks it's worth it. Young 'love!"
Lisa
Looks like teenagers problems/issues/lessons learned are universal. I am NOT looking forward to my 3 boys turning into love struck teenagers.
Sounds like you and your Mum have dealt with this very well.
thanks for your message. flapjacks!! i'd forgotten!
dogs won't get 'em. the mailman will now leave them on the back porch.
thanks!
he must really like her to thank that's worth it.
I don't even like my husband that much.
just kidding-- kind of.
fingers crossed that he has learnt this lesson, at least he knows he has to pay for the bill
had I better give him a cheque instead of a present for his birthday?
Good for you Beccy! Kids have to be taught the value of money!
EE has a prepaid sim card for his mobile but MR doesn't. They only take their cell phones when they have activities outside and need to call me when they're done so I can call a cab for them.
I'm dreading the day when they have girlfriends and burn up the tel lines...
It's interesting to read how different things are around the world.
It's less expensive to call by cell phone here. A gazillion minutes we never use up, and two phones and two phone numbers, for $59.95 per month. I almost never use the land line. The land line is about $30 for the basic monthly fees, and calls cost extra.
Deborah, sometimes IM just isn't the same as talking but he does that as well.
Lisa, love truck indeed!
Thanks Katybug.
Sam, he'd love whatever you give...well not everything as I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate a pink tutu!
I quite agree John, lets hope he's starting to learn it.
La bellina mammina, I'm hoping my other two children learn from this so it doesn't get repeated by them.
Kila, Ireland definitely seems to be one of the most expensive places to live for €55 a month we get our broadband and free local landline to landline calls, mobile costs are completely seperate.
Izzak had a pay as you go phone for awhile but used up the minutes to quickly to be worth it so for now he doesn't plus where we live now he can't always get service anyway so not really worth it.
I think all kids have to learn that lesson at least once.
my kids woulda lost phone privilages for a year for that kinda phone bill...course i'm a mean mommy to;P glad your making him pay it off.. thats one way of learning the lesson!!
our teenager has a prepaid cell phone (as do hubby and i). i can't be bothered to spend a fortune on cell phone charges. but it's terrible that you have to pay more for calls to mobile phones (at least that's what i think you wrote....)....
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