Spend as little as possible
I started this year off… poorly, by dropping my mobile phone in the bath. It was a fairly old one, so not waterproof in any way.
Despite trying to dry it out in a bag of rice, etc. it never recovered. RIP Nexus 5x, you served me faithfully for 2.5 years (and cost less than 30,000 yen in the first place).
The timing was interesting though, as I had been considering whether to get a new phone (the Pixel 3!), and had decided not to as my old one was working just fine… sigh.
For most people, the big three expenses are accommodation, transport, and food. Communication, including internet and mobile phones is probably a very close fourth for many people.
I saw a post on Reddit the other day where someone was spending 288,000 yen a year on mobile service. My wife and I used to spend almost 240,000 yen a year when we were both on Softbank.
This can be a very expensive category, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some ways to make your mobile bills much, much lower.
1. Switch to an MVNO
I wrote about my experience switching from Softbank to Aeon Mobile here. The TL:DR version is if you are still with DoCoMo, AU, or Softbank you should probably take a good, hard look at switching to one of the cheap carriers.
2. Switch to Android
I had an iPhone for a long time, but Apple’s control of pricing means that you are paying a premium compared to equivalent specs on Android. The greater competition means you can save a lot of money if you use an Android phone (and the phones are pretty slick now too). Check out prices on kakaku.com.
3. Get off the upgrade cycle
Many people buy the best, newest phone and then upgrade it every year or two. This pretty much guarantees you are paying a fortune, either through a subscription to a big-3 mobile operator or for the phone itself.
If instead you buy an older or budget phone and keep it for a bit longer, you can save a lot of money without really compromising on the user experience. Then, when you come to upgrade a couple of years later your ‘new’ (budget) phone will feel amazing compared to your old one.
In practice this is about the same experience as having the newest phones, just a year or two behind.
When my phone drowned this time I jumped online and ordered an unlocked Huawei P20 Lite for 24,000 yen. In the end I decided not to pay top dollar for the Pixel 3.
Luckily my Aeon Mobile SIM survived the dunking so I just popped it in and started using the phone.
The phone has been wonderful so far. Light years ahead of my old Nexus 5x and the price was most definitely right 😉
How about you? What’s your approach to mobile phones?
I caved and bought my first iPhone this summer with a super cheap SIM from Yamada Denki. Hubs on the other hand wanted to stay with SoftBank but was told that because he doesn’t have a permanent residence visa ( he has a ‘child of a Japanese national’ visa by the way) all the cheap plans and cheap phones aren’t available for him anymore. I was incredibly shocked to hear this but at least it’s pushed him to finally leave SoftBank and get a SIM plan.
I was so happy to see the back of SoftBank. Horrible company.
I have a Docomo flip-top that I’ve been using for nine years now. My monthly bill is usually just under 2,000 yen.
Me too. 800 yen a month. Calls only.
800 yen? Damn–I’m getting fleeced!
A year ago September I picked up an unlocked Moto G5plus (about ¥28k at the time, via amazon), plus an IIJmio sim. Setup was easy, not a single problem since. They were reviewed well, and known for the most basic android system (no bloatware). Apple prices were just too high (even direct), and I was switching from a flip/Galapagos phone that I’d had for years. It has been fine, and in retrospect, I’m glad I didn’t splurge for Apple.** If I lose or break this one, I’d just get another.
**My first mac was an SE, maybe ’89, and I’ve used Apple stuff continuously since then, so android was a gamble–but now, absolutely no regrets at all.
My husband decided to downgrade to a basic flip top. He still has the iphone to search the Internet, but he is saving a lot of money from just eliminating the smartphone altogether. He was an early iphone user and loved it, and he used it for more functions and more intensively than anyone I know. It was no toy. He relied on it for his business. If he can make that kind of choice and not suffer debilitating withdrawal symptoms, anyone can.
Ha, ha. Debilitating symptoms indeed. Even in the week I found myself without a phone I ended up reading a lot more that I do usually…
Never understood the people who want the latest iphone right after its release. I have a Oneplus 5t with an MVNO and it has been nothing but amazing. An upfront cost of 50k for the phone a year and a half back and just under 2k every month.
I quit softbank mid-contract. Despite the penalties I’d do it again just to escape them.
Using a rooted Moto G5 plus on Android 9 and loving it.
Spend just over 5000 a month for two contracts, less than a third what we paid with the SoftBank scumbags beforehand.
I refused to succumb to the two year prison sentence of cell service. Knowing that they offer “bundle” services was enticing but still outrageous. I go with Sakura Mobile (LOVE it) for phone (2900 yen per month), BBIQ for home internet (7000/month), and Netflix for TV. When comparing, I think you have to look at the bundle offers to make a fair comparison.
I completely agree, but I am far too lazy to try to figure out the total value of bundles (especially now that they can include electricity and gas). I just try to get the best for each individual service, and refuse to play the game 🙂
Ben saved me 200,000 yen. I read his previous article about lost cost carriers. It came at the perfect time. I was so sick of both apple and SoftBank. My iPhone 6+ bent and broke. See Bendgate. Even with Apple Care I had to pay about 120,000 yen on top of the 100,000 yen for the Apple Care. My SoftBank bill was 9,000 to 10,000 a month. I use maybe 3gb of data, I paid for 10. Unlimited calls to any SoftBank user. I made maybe ten minutes of calls a month. This was their cheaprst plan and they had nothing cheaper to fit my usage. The final straw was when I was going on a huge trip and called about 10 different hotels and hostels. Talked 1 to 2 minutes. My bill was over 13,000 yen. I went straight to softbank and cancelled my contract. I couldn’t useu iPhone. Soft bank refused to unlock my iPhone. I sold my iPhone and bought a pair Hauwei phone for 20,000 yen and it was almost identical to the iPhone 6 minus the camera quality. I went to UQ mobile. My bill is 2,500 yen a month. My plan fits my USA exactly. Over two years I save 200,000 yen!!! It’s been about 15 months. The battery in this Hauwei is starting to show it’s age, so I may upgrade to another cheap phone at the two year mark, but I could not be happier.
Very glad to hear that!
Happy flip top user here. When I see everyone glued to their smartphones on trains and subyways, at restaurants, or on the road (cycling , walking) I realize what an addiction this has become and am SO glad that this is not my particular vice. On the other hand, when I’m at home, I am still on my PC surfing for news, shopping or whathaveyou. Hopefully I will grown out of that addiction some day. The internet is part blessing part curse. (maybe more curse?)
I’m really tempted to join you, as I don’t like how much time my phone sucks out of me.
Do enjoy my music, Kindle, etc. but I guess I could do all that offline.
Something to think about!
“When I see everyone glued to their smartphones on trains and subyways, at restaurants, or on the road (cycling , walking) I realize what an addiction this has become…”
Yeah, I don’t like that trend either. I’m constantly thinking, “look up! Look around you! There’s actually stuff going on!”
I’m on a Line Mobile service with an iPhone SE. ¥1800 a month with 3gbs of data. More than enough.
wow, only 3?
hhhmmmm? Softbank is getting a lot of bad press here LOL. I went to softbank (was a long term AU user) and found the company excellent and good value. I have been getting the latest iPhone every 2 years (with a contract) mainly because I wasn’t paying much more for the upgrade (??)
I am sure I am paying a little more than having a really old phone and only having 3G etc but I got 50Gb every month with softbank and its so cheap! I am very happy. Its far too much for me but its nice to have. I find trading in my 2 year old phone keeps things cheap (ish?) for me but I will admit I will not pay any extra for a newer phone from now on, my phone does all I want and more
At the end of the day it’s a personal choice (like all personal finance, opportunity cost is at the core of this decision).
I find Softbank a racist company with poor service and products, and was thrilled to get away from them (paying 1/10th as much for me monthly phone bill was a pleasant bonus). Others may not feel that way.
But I think it’s worth looking at all spending (especially regular subscription style spending) from time to time to see if it is still providing value…
I find Softbank a racist company with poor service and products (quote)
hhmmm? I must be missing something? Products? what don’t they have? or what poor products are you referring to? I admit I was only looking at the iPhone when I went to softbank so I can’t comment on its other products but its the first time I have heard this about softbank. I was going to get the iphone 8 but found at softbank I could get the iphone X cheaper (a big surprise) and they had a special where I could get 50G of 4G for a very small fee (I was only looking for about 15G). So I was more than happy. As for service I have always found them very good, to be honest, my impression was that softbanks service was maybe better than AU? But of course I can only comment on the branch I went to.