Our Family Is Proof Walmart Unlimited Mobile Saves Time + Money

***I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Walmart Family Mobile® #FamilyMobileSaves #cbias #SocialFabric All images and photos are original content copyrighted to Momma Told Me Blog, 2013.

Momma Told Me: Electronics should make life easier.

Exactly one month ago I made the big switch. 

After one year of giving my current cheap wireless plan 'another chance,' I threw my arms in the air and proclaimed "Something has to change!" Month after month I was spending time calling in to customer service, even just to complete the simplest tasks. My automatic payments weren't going through 'automatically,' and the wait time to speak to a physical human was exorbitant. Then, when I found my way to a human assistant I was shuffled from department to department. The month before my big switch I spent 6 hours on the phone with customer service, and that wasn't even to address the 90% missed call rate on my phone line. I was fed up of spending my hard earned money on sub par service, and my family's time with me, on the phone.

I'd heard a lot about the Walmart Family Mobile plans offered at my local Walmart, and decided to swing by the mobile department on a recent grocery shopping trip. I knew Walmart offered several no-contract phones and wireless carriers; but I knew little about their in house Family Mobile Plan for individual and shared service plans. It turns out I could get the same wireless service, with potentially stronger signal strength, and faster connection speeds (4G on capable devices) for $5 less a month than I was currently paying. In addition, if I enjoyed the service and decided to switch our family over, I could save even more money adding additional lines for just $35 more/line a month. I wasn't quite sold on the switch just yet, so I asked to speak to an electronics department employee to learn a little more. It turned out that particular employee used the service himself, and for his entire family, with high praise; and that was all I needed to convince me to give it a shot.

One of my favorite things about choosing a cheap wireless plan is the extra room in my budget to invest in a top of the line device. Walmart Family Mobile has many specially packaged devices ready for instant activation on their T-Mobile based network. But they're also a 'bring your own' ready plan, which means most SIM enabled devices can easily be ported to their affordable monthly pay-as-you-go service. Bring your smartphone from an existing plan, or purchase a new or used handset and start-up the phone with a simple Walmart Family Mobile activation kit. In our case, I was due for an 'upgrade,' and was happy to find the latest LG Optimus (L9) handset ready for activation with my new plan. Setup was extremely easy, and done all online, though my old carrier was not available for number transfer, so I did have to accept a new phone number. Read more about our Unlimited Plans shopping experience and Walmart's mobile center in our Google+ Album.

Photo taken with LG Optimus L9, on Walmart Family Mobile Plan

Not only does my new Optimus L9 smartphone have 4G capabilities, an upgrade from my previous 3G, but a built in 5MP camera, with smaller capacity front facing camera options. You may recall I had initially worried about making the 1GB top-tier 3G data speed cap stretch the entire month. My previous plan hadn't had a cap, but was extremely unreliable; so the trade off was worth the gamble initially. Now, a month later, I've yet to use the entire 1GB of 3G speed; and am continually impressed by the connection speed and consistency. Of course, when I am at home I rely primarily on the device's WiFi connection to surf the internet; but I am a heavy user when it comes to Google searches and map guidance on the go. Not only have I had no reason to contact customer service, but I can track all of my call and data usage easily through the online My Family Mobile account management portal. A week before my billing cycle was over I received a simple reminder text through my mobile device with the option to pay online or through the phone.

A good cell phone plan is nice, but can it really change your family? This humble blogger says "Yes!" Not only have I had an entirely hassle free month of strong, reliable, service, but I've shaved $5 off my monthly cell phone service bill. It may not seem like an overwhelming amount of money up front, but those savings easily grow when you consider the average American family household has 3 or more mobile lines. (And I know we'll be adding Jay onto my plan next month). For me, however, the true 'savings' has been the extra time I have to spend with my family. With Summer here, and the 90F+ temperatures in Southern California, we've been transitioning into Summer with some frugal heat beating activities.

We recently hit the local dollar store with our Family Mobile Savings and everyone got to pick out an affordable water toy. Since we live in a condominium complex without a pool we're forced to find creative ways to beat the heat. This means weekly water balloon, bubble, and water gun sessions. In the past I've often had to sit fun activities like this out because I've been strapped for time and on the phone solving service issues or trying to process non-recurring recurring payments. I'm happy to report, last month, we got in an entire Summer's worth of fun! (And the Summer's just beginning.)  I'm thrilled to be able to bring back the tickle monster and arm myself in our family's water fights, and I think it's fair to say the entire family appreciates the extra time too. Okay, well, everyone except for Nora, who seems to be target practice :)

In summary, Walmart #FamilyMobileSaves me money, but more important to me, time and hassle. The fuss free set up is simple enough for even smartphone newbies to navigate, and the interactive customer portal gives an in-depth account overview at any time during the month. I can't be more pleased with the speed of our data, or the connection quality of my calls, and the new LG Optimus L9 is a wonderful upgrade from my previous device (a much older Optimus). Having reliable and affordable smartphone service is so much more than an electronic luxury. Affordable smartphone service can help keep the family connected and capture priceless moments with instant sharing capabilities. It's a necessity in my mind. I'm simply thankful Walmart Family Mobile has provided me with a fuss free no-contract service that keeps our device options open, and my time free for what really matters, my family.

What Daughter Says: Stop chasing after your wireless company. Walmart Family Mobile works for you, while saving money.