Update: Cell phone plans continue to change! Check out our more recent blog post in February, 2017 for the latest on cell phone plans.

————

There's a tectonic shift occurring with cell phone plans.  Here are a few stories that your students could read and summarize (or you can send them out to the web to look for recent stories on this trend also) with the focus on understanding how this change will impact consumers:

• Cell phone contract era is so dead (Fortune Magazine)
• How you buy cell phones is about to change forever (Time)
• A simple guide to buying cell phone service in 2015 (Washington Post)
• New cell service pricing strategies show how industry is changing (LA Times)

Given these changes, how do students think they should shop for these plans in the future?

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.