How Google FI Saves Me Money On My Phone Plan ($300+ in Yearly Savings)
Google Fi saved my life. That’s dramatic but it definitely made my life a lot better. If you are like me and have to pay your own phone bill as a college student, you are probably going with the cheapest option you can find. However, sometimes that cheapness gives up reliability. I remember when I used to have carriers like Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile. They were cheap, but they did not deliver the reliable service that I needed.
When I traveled for conferences and such it was even worse, but I was a college student trying to save money. So, I kept paying $55 a month and getting by – that is until I ran across Google Fi.
What is Google Fi?
Join Google Fi using this link and get a $20 credit to your plan: https://fi.google.com
Google Fi is exceptional for two types of people that spend most of their time near accessible Wi-Fi (like college students) and people that travel overseas frequently. As a college student, especially students that live on campus, this is an opportunity – an opportunity to save money and still have a reliable service.
Google Fi offers two simple no-contract plans: Flexible and Unlimited. As a college student that spends most of their time on Wi-Fi, the Flexible plan is an excellent money-saving option.
Note that the pricing options given below are based on a one-person plan. Google Fi has other affordable pricing options as more people are added to a plan. Click here to learn more.
What is Google Fi’s Flexible Plan?
The Flexible plan is Fi’s cheapest option, costing only $20 for unlimited calls and texts. The Flexible plan also allows you to pay only for the data that you use, which is supreme for someone looking to save money. Fi charges $10/GB which equates to about $0.10 per 0.01 GB. I usually only end up using 0.20 GB on average each month which only costs me $2, since I spend the majority of my time on WiFi.
The Flexible plan also comes with something called Bill Protection. It is for people that end up using a lot of data on the Flexible plan. Bill Protection comes into effect for anyone that uses more than 6GB within their billing cycle.
Fi states that “If you use a lot of data in a month, Bill Protection caps your bill so you never pay too much. Data costs $10/GB until Bill Protection kicks in—and after that, data is free for the rest of your billing cycle.” With Bill Protection kicking in at 6GB, your bill is effectively capped at $80 + tax ($20 unlimited calls and texts + $60 of data). But if you are someone that is always on WiFi then it will be very rare that this becomes an issue for you.
What is Google Fi’s Unlimited Plus Plan?
The Unlimited Plus plan is just like it sounds. It is Fi’s plan for unlimited calls, texts, and data. The plan costs $70 a month. Since this plan comes with unlimited data, Google Fi does not offer Bill Protection.
An Added Bonus with Google Fi: It works without roaming in over 100 countries!
If you are someone that travels a lot, especially those of you thinking about studying abroad, Google Fi can save you a huge amount of money.
On the Flexible plan, Fi offers free international texts. International calls start at 1 cent per minute and data is billed at the regular $10/GB rate.
On the Unlimited Plus plan, Google does not charge extra for texts or data and they offer free international calls to more than 50 countries. Other countries not covered under the free calls start a 1 cent per minute.
So if you are frequently going overseas, or intend to study abroad for a summer or longer, Fi is perfect for you. You can easily switch to the unlimited plan for the duration that you are abroad and have peace of mind knowing that your bill will be $70 each month and no roaming fees!
As a quick side note, If you want to learn more about how you can study abroad and do so for little to no cost to you check out this article I wrote on just that topic!
What is Google Fi’s Simply Unlimited Plan?
Google Fi recently announced a new plan called Simply Unlimited. This new plan is exactly like the Unlimited plus plan except it costs $10 less and does not come with the international features included for free. So, Simply Unlimited looks to be for someone who travels more domestically than internationally.
Putting it All Together
Google Fi is arguably the most college-friendly phone service. It is an affordable option if you are looking to save money and still get reliable service. It’s great for college students that spend most of their time on Wi-Fi as well as for people that travel abroad.
If you are interested in learning more about Google Fi, I have an affiliate link below for you that will give you a $20 credit toward your service plan. If you go for the base plan, that is essentially a free month of service for you. So check it out, especially if you are looking to cut costs while still having reliable phone service.
Join Google Fi using this link and get a $20 credit to your plan: https://fi.google.com
Best of luck adulting!
And Remember,
Adulting Starts Here
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About The Author
Donald Williams, Jr.
Donald is an avid believer in helping young people prepare for adulthood. He spends his time working on Adulting Starts Here and helping new adults plan for the future. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and going to the beach.


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