On 10/7/2010 2:11 PM, Hilary wrote:

snip

I have a Tracfone which I only use in an emergency, plus 1-5 times a
year for "I'll be there in 10 minutes, are you home yet" or "Do we
need XYZ from the store?", etc. I have no idea if it texts or not,
since texting seems to me to be the biggest waste of time EVER!! Just
call the person and TALK. But then again, I'm a grown-up, not trying
to text during math class. I don't care if you can text using one
character for every word, it is still WAAAAY faster to actually TALK!

I have about 800 minutes (which came with the airtime) saved up and it
costs less than $80/year. Totally worth it, since the last time I used
it I was stranded in a snowstorm, in a dead car, up in the
Adirondacks. Would probably still be there if I hadn't had that
phone...

Tracfone is heavily advertised but it's actually one of the most
expensive "emergency phones" on the market.

PagePlus requires that you add $10 every 120 days, or about $30 a month.
You can keep a T-Mobile prepaid phone active for $10 a year, but
T-Mobile coverage is not what you want in case of emergency.