Now that the iPhone 14 Pro is out, my wife and I are planning to upgrade our phones to Apple’s latest models; I have an aging iPhone XR that still works well, but want something with a better camera, and my wife has a Google Pixel 3, but wants to switch from Android to iOS for one particular reason.
But in the process of upgrading our phones, I decided that it would also be a good time to look at our phone and streaming plans, and see if we couldn’t find some savings along the way. I’m glad I did, because after we make the switch, we’ll be saving up to $43 per month. Here’s how.
Our current monthly phone, streaming, and internet bills
At the moment, we’re currently spending $237 per month for our phone, internet, and streaming plans. We have a now-grandfathered 5GB shared phone plan from Verizon that’s $100/month, our Comcast internet plan is $118, Disney Plus tacks on another $7.99, and our Spotify plan — which also includes a subscription to Hulu — is $9.99.
Examining our options
| Current plan | 5G Play More | 5G Get More | |
| Phone | $100 | $140 | $160 |
| Disney Plus | $7.99 | $0 | $0 |
| Hulu | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Spotify | $9.99 | $9.99 | $0 |
| Internet | $118.86 | $44.99 | $44.99 |
| Total | $236.86 | $194.98 | $204.99 |
Currently, we use a shared 5GB data plan on Verizon, which has worked pretty well in the past, but lately, we’ve been exceeding our monthly limit as we venture out of the house — and away from our Wi-Fi — more and more.
So, I started looking at some of Verizon’s unlimited plans, which would not only give us a discount when it came to buying an iPhone, but could also potentially save us some money, as they are bundled with streaming services.
But, which plan would be the most economical for us?
I first checked out the Verizon 5G Get More plan, which would cost us $160 per month ($80 per line). This plan includes Disney Plus, Hulu, ESPN+, as well as Apple Music — so I’d be able to ditch all my current streaming subscriptions. However, this would also mean switching from Spotify to Apple Music, but we’re somewhat lazy and don’t want to have to recreate all our playlists.
The other option was the Verizon 5G Play More plan (which we consider the best unlimited data plan overall), which would cost us $140 per month, and includes Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN+. It doesn’t include Apple Music, but even with Spotify, we’re still saving $10/month. (For a deeper dive into everything Big Red offers, check out the best Verizon Phone plans).
Central to picking either of these plans, though, is also switching from Comcast Xfinity to Verizon FIOS for our Internet service. Currently, we’re paying $118/month, but if we were to switch to one of Verizon’s unlimited plans, I could drop that to around $45/month for the 500Mbps plan — Verizon’s mid-tier FIOS option. We don’t do a lot of gaming or streaming, so the 1Gbps plan for $64/month seems like overkill.
What I’m going with
Ultimately, we’re going to pick the Verizon Play More plan, which costs $140/month, but will get us everything we need for our phones, streaming, and home internet needs. In the process, we’ll be saving a good chunk of cash each month; I’m estimating we’ll have around $40 extra, which would get us $480 more each year. Some of that will be eaten up by the cost of our new iPhones (we’ll be on the hook for about $800 after we trade in our old models), but we still look to come out ahead.
Plus, this deal looks to get better very soon, as both Disney Plus and Hulu have announced price increases that will take effect in December.
In retrospect, I should have done this a week or two ago, as the iPhone 14 wait times have grown to around two weeks. But I can wait that long if it means some good long-term savings.
