This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #YourTaxCash #CollectiveBias All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/7e-jr or your local Walmart for current pricing.
A few weeks ago I shared some of my tips for making your tax refund last longer. One of my best tips from that post was going with a more affordable cell phone carrier. Our biggest bill has to be our cell phone bill, and that's just with two of us on the plan. That's why when it came time to start getting the kids cell phones and data plans, we chose to go with a budget friendly plan, Walmart Family Mobile. We've now been with WFM for over three years and I am very satisfied with it. So when tax time came around this year and it was time to get another one of the kids a cell phone, down to Walmart we went to pick out a phone and a starter kit.
The Walmart Family Mobile PLUS Plan features: Unlimited Talk, Text, & Data which includes up to 10GB of 4G LTE then 2G plus a free VUDU movie credit every month ($7 value) per line for $49.88. The new phone we picked out is the Samsung Galaxy On5, currently On Rollback for $69. The SIM Kit is also on rollback for $19.88. Since Family Mobile bills you later, you only have to pay $19.88 when you sign up, which is a great way to get a child started with a phone plan.
For us having cell phones for the kids isn't so much a luxury but a necessity. A few of the kids walk home and they all have after school activities, so it's important we're all in touch. Walmart Family Mobile allows us the opportunity to do so, without having to stress the bill every month. That's why this tax refund season, again we went with the plan that has been working for us since day one.
Another one of my tips to stretching your tax refund out is to enjoy a movie night at home versus going to the theater. If you have kids, then you know how expensive a night out to the movies is. Not only are ticket prices high on their own, the concession stand is a killer on the wallet. What I do is set up a Movie Watching Party Night at home for us, and even with what I purchase for the party, I still end up spending less than if we go out.
Prepping For A Family Movie Watching Party
For the children, the candy is one of their favorites when going to the movie theater. Actually, who am I kidding? It's my favorite thing too.
When prepping for movie night at home, I stock up on all their favorites and still don't end up spending as much as we do when we buy the marked up candy at the theaters.
Popcorn is something we always have in the house. For movie night, we pop at least three bags and I always have cute little paper bags to serve the kids. I guarantee you there will be no popcorn left at the end of the evening because nothing makes movie night more perfect than a ton of popcorn!
Beverages are important for movie night. I love getting the smaller water bottles for the kiddos. They're already consuming so much sugar that they actually enjoy these cold bottles of water.
Any movie night with kids means having entertainment, other than the movie, especially if you want to actually enjoy the movie instead of tending to bored kids.
I always have a basket of goodies: toys, books, board games for the kids to keep busy with while they watch the movie or get bored.
Each Walmart Family Mobile PLUS Plan includes a free VUDU movie credit every month ($7 value), which means that as a family we have quite a few free movie credits. With a great selection of movies, we can always find something that the entire family will enjoy.
These family movie watching parties on Sunday evening are a treat for all of us. We get to enjoy a great movie while spending time as a family.
With their cell phones in-hand, the kids can capture all those special moments.
With the money we've saved by going with an affordable cell phone plan and movie nights at home, we are now able to do something special for the family this tax refund season. This coming weekend we are going to a theme park and getting us all yearly passes! I can't wait, the kids are going to be so excited. It definitely pays to make smarter choices when spending your tax refund, I think we did a pretty great job if it this year.
How do you stretch your tax refund further?
