The Student Room Group

Wise to have a phone contract at Uni?

Hey guys, i am in need of advice. I am looking at getting a phone contract for the first time. It will amount to £22.50 a month with my bolt ons included. However, as i am going to university in September, i am wondering if this would be a good idea with my finances being low. At the moment i am earning a lot of money just through my part time job but at University i will be living off my loans, grants and a few savings, i have no help from my parents even though my household income is just slightly too high to get the full grant. I would like to hear anybody's opinions as i really don't know and i really want to go on this contract.
Thanks. :smile:

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Reply 1
Depends if you'll actually need it. Personally, i've never had a phone contract and only top up about £20 a year on my phone as I've no need for it,
Reply 2
I love having my phone contract mine £20 a month but i can use the mobile internet and have 1200 texts and 600 mins - tis good

and will mean you dont have to use your room phone - those things are pricey
Reply 3
Depends entirely if you use it.

If yes, yes.
If no, no.

You'll always learn to budget around if need be.
Reply 4
Really depends on how much you will use it. If it's just for phoning home then probably not because a llot of stuff can be arranged over facebook with friends. If you get one with Orange they do a review every 6 months where you can change to a more suited price plan if you aren't getting your moneys worth im sure, could be bull though.
Once you get a contract you can't really go back... (I mean, even once the contract is finished, you are so used to it you get another one...)

Maybe just stick with PAYG for now, at least until you've worked out your finances. Aren't O2 quite good for PAYG?
You could get a rolling contract where you only have to keep it for 1month
Reply 7
I think it is... depends how much you will use it but sometimes you can end up paying more topping up by pay as you go so definitely worth it in that case.

Before you go on contract, monitor how much you top up in a month and if its over £23 then its worth getting it.
Reply 8
I've never had a phone contract and don't intend to get one.
Reply 9
I'd get a phone, plus a rolling contract if you can afford it. Contracts included the price of the phone in the plan anyway, you can only save a little bit of money by getting the phone 'free' and paying x amount per month.

How many mins and texts do you need? £22.50 can be quite costly for a student, unless you are getting a good phone with it which you want. It all depends on how much you want the phone. What length of contrat too?

One suggestion could be as I said about, get a phone for like £100, then get a contract which is about £15 per month which can be cancelled at any time, then you are not locked in and have a phone. You'll find that £15 contracts which are sim only are pretty generous, but may not include internet with some providers.

I got a phone (Nokia E63) on an 18 month contract on '3' (Three), £15 per month for 75 mins, unlimited txts, unlimited 3to3 calls and unlimited internet. And that deal was back in August.
Depends how much you use your phone.

Vodafone do an epic student deal - like unlimited texts, unlimited calls to Vodafone mobiles (which on my bill includes landlines!), 900 minutes, SIM-only... Thinks it was £10/month, perhaps £20. I added unlimited Internet on for a fiver a month to get emails etc.

But if you get away with topping up a tenner a month now, it's unlikely to change a great deal unless you get quite involved with stuff at uni.
Reply 11
This is something I've been thinking about and went into Vodafone and discussed it with them to get me a suitable phone and plan. Because I was topping up every month and needed a new phone, I decided to go on to contract.

I pay a bit more than I was hping to - but none of the phones on the £10/month contract were suitable.
Reply 12
Personally, I'd always used PAYG until I started university; but by the time I was mid-way through my course it was cheaper for me to get a £40 contract than to continue on PAYG.

It'll all depend on your personal usage, but I couldn't have continued on PAYG as a student without wasting hundreds of pounds a year.
Reply 13
I was PAYG prior to university, but was using £20 or so a month anyway. Before arriving at university I thought about it and came to the conclusion I'd probably use my phone a lot more and so it'd be very much worth it to get a contract.

I got a £25 one with Vodafone and it's been great. The deal wasn't amazing, unlimited texts and 300 minutes a month, but it's definitely worth it. I think after a few months I'll re-evaluate how much I'm using my phone and maybe change plans (I'm finding I'm phoning a lot more than texting... texting is such a hassle now for some reason).
I used to be on contract and hated it. Switched to PAYG and found it so much cheaper....but then I went to uni, my phone broke and upon getting a new one I went back on contract simply because my boyfriend lives back at home, and couldnt rarely afford credit. I'd be spending a fortune on PAYG now, so the contract works in my favour. If it wasn't for wanting to contact my boyf regularly, however, I'd still be on PAYG for certain.
So yeh, down to personal usage.
I'm on 3 and my contract only costs £5 a month for 1000 texts and 150 minutes. My phone isn't too swanky either so it's no big deal if i drop it down the toilet or something :smile:
Most of my friends are on contracts, so am I, but we all use our phones non stop. Just depends on your needs. You'll probably find that you use it more at uni than ever before, mind you. Don't wanna be caught out in freshers running out of credit half way through texting all the people you've just met!
Reply 17
NewRebel
Hey guys, i am in need of advice. I am looking at getting a phone contract for the first time. It will amount to £22.50 a month with my bolt ons included. However, as i am going to university in September, i am wondering if this would be a good idea with my finances being low. At the moment i am earning a lot of money just through my part time job but at University i will be living off my loans, grants and a few savings, i have no help from my parents even though my household income is just slightly too high to get the full grant. I would like to hear anybody's opinions as i really don't know and i really want to go on this contract.
Thanks. :smile:


If you already have a phone you should have a look at sim-only deals! they are sometimes stunningly low!

It really all depends on how much you ring people but do keep in mind that at uni your phone will probably be your main point of contact!! besides emailing and stuff and if you make a lot of friends you might be using your phone more. for 22.50 I'm sure you can find some deal with unlimited texts so that should do well.

Hope this helps a bit..

http://shop.orange.co.uk/mobile-phones/plans/simPlanList.jsp?cmsPageId=02500 (orange: 600 min/unlim texts for 19.57 a month)
Reply 18
There's an advantage and disadvantage.

The advantage is that your phone bill will come out at the same time each month, so you can plan your finances for it, whereas your PAYG could run out at any time. Plus, having a phone contract (and being able to pay it off) will do wonders for your credit rating (which will be your friend at Uni).

Disadvantages, you're tied down for a year, so if you don't use all your units then your wasting money.
DarkWhite
Depends how much you use your phone.

Vodafone do an epic student deal - like unlimited texts, unlimited calls to Vodafone mobiles (which on my bill includes landlines!), 900 minutes, SIM-only... Thinks it was £10/month, perhaps £20. I added unlimited Internet on for a fiver a month to get emails etc.

But if you get away with topping up a tenner a month now, it's unlikely to change a great deal unless you get quite involved with stuff at uni.


Really?? :smile: I'm on a rubbish vodafone contract at the moment and looking into changing it, nobody's mentioned student deals at vodafone but I will ask now!

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