Cheap Ongoing Mobile Plan for Teens

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  jv on 22/05/2025 - 21:43

  +1

  We got the Everyday mobile yearly plans last year… $170 for 125Gb on the Telstra network. But they've been grandfathered since last Sep.
  We can also gift them data if they are running low…
  Works out to around $14 per month each, and we also get 10% off a Woolies shop each month… (up to $50)

  • 

    freefall101 on 23/05/2025 - 00:11

    +1

    TIL there are mini JVs out there somewhere, running around, using their Woolworths mobile plans to fund discount groceries and usurp the Labor government in Victoria.

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  sumyungguy on 22/05/2025 - 21:57

  You should be aiming for less than $1 per GB; OnePass mobile has some good deals to 27-May; 280GB $169 365 Days. I just re-read your post, sorry to hear you can't cash flow two 365 day plans for now. Any chance your bank offers any deals? I'm with Commbank: $6 per month for 12GB and $45 for nbn25 (12m promo offers)

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  Wiadro on 22/05/2025 - 22:06

  my mrs acts like a teen, i got her this https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/904120

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  vince088 on 22/05/2025 - 22:34

  -1

  I have my son on Moose Mobile $12.40 month for 6 months (Optus network)
  https://moosemobile.com.au/

  After it ends I plan to move him to More mobile with Commbank yellow discount code $11/month for 12 months (Telstra network)

  Then plan for the next discounted network next year :)

• 

  Series4Episode10 on 22/05/2025 - 22:37

  $40 unlimited data calls & text Felix Mobile Vod/Optus

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  Russ on 23/05/2025 - 01:01

  A few questions that will help the recommendations:

  • Do your kids need to use SMS and make phone calls at all, or can they just use messaging (e.g. FaceBook Messenger, WhatsApp), and maybe the occasional "voice call" through WhatsApp? If so, a data-only plan can sometimes be cheaper.

  • You say their data needs are "low". How low? Less than 1GB?

  • Do your kids mobiles have eSIM capability? Do they have dual-SIM?

  I've just got my mobile usage costs below $7/month, with unlimited calls, unlimited SMS/MMS, and 500MB of data. It's a bit of a lump sum cost up-front though, but if your kids only occasionally use phone calls and SMS, you could use a PAYG plan for that, and use an eSIM for data. This will reduce the up-front cost significantly. My plan is described here if you're interested.

  If the mobiles don't have eSIM capability but are dual-SIM, you can use the second SIM slot to add eSIM capability. I've just written a post about how to do that here, but again there's an up-front cost attached.

  • 

    vince088 on 23/05/2025 - 08:36

    I don't believe 500mb is enough esp. for a teen, will definitely go over.

    • 

      Russ on 23/05/2025 - 08:39

      The OP points out they have WiFi at home, and the OP hotspots to them while they're out of the house, so it may be for emergencies only.

      We'll have to wait and see what the OP says.

      At 1GB data usage, my "plan" is under $8/month, and I can remotely top up someone else's data (e.g. "the kids") as needed, by gifting my data.

      • 

        Mr_P on 23/05/2025 - 18:18

        They were on 5GB with Circles and that was fine, 1GB or 500mb is probably a bit low. Both have iPhone 12's.

        They don't call or text really at all, they do use messenger and I call them when I need to get in touch

        I'm not too hard up that an upfront plan is out of the question, i'd rather just have something ongoing though so I don't have to think about it once a year

        • 

          Russ on 23/05/2025 - 23:19

          @Mr_P: Okay then, I have a plan that's cheap, but probably isn't as convenient as being charged monthly.

          For calls and SMS, as they're so infrequent, get an Aldi Mobile PAYG or Amaysim PAYG plan for that.

          For Aldi Mobile the ongoing cost is $15 per year (as the minimum top-up is $15, and that gives them $15 credit to spend on outgoing calls/SMS during the year). Aldi Mobile use the Telstra wholesale network, so coverage should be good.

          The OzBargain post on Aldi Mobile's PAYG plan is HERE.

          Amaysim have a similar PAYG plan, $10 per year gives you $10 credit to spend. But it's only visible to you AFTER you become an Amaysim customer, so a little trickier to sign up for. Amaysim uses the Optus mobile network.

          The OzBargain post on the Amaysim "As you go" plan is HERE.

          Both of these plans have horribly expensive data, so get the data from elsewhere at much cheaper rates. You said your kids have iPhone 12's, that model of iPhone is eSIM capable.

          For the cheapest data in small quantities, weirdly it's cheapest to act as though you're a foreign tourist visiting Australia, and purchase an eSIM from an overseas provider. I'm going to work on the assumption your kids will each use about 3GB per month on average. I'm also going to assume you have a good debit/credit card that doesn't charge fees for "overseas transactions" or "purchase in foreign currency", and gives you a good exchange rate (such cards exist, ask if you don't know about them).

          Keep in mind that I haven't yet done this myself, and the webpages of eSIM providers are usually a little vague about some things, so I'm not 100% sure this will work for you.

          Eskimo are an eSIM provider, and they have some features that other eSIM providers don't typically have:

          • their eSIMs can be "topped up" with more data
          • You have two years to use the data you purchased
          • purchasing more data extends your existing data for another two years
          • you can gift your data to other Eskimo users, with a minimum gift of 500MB (useful if one of your kids has run out of data, and the other still has plenty of data).

          Eskimo's data is cheaper when bought in larger quantities, e.g. 1GB is 4USD (currently $6.24 AUD), while 10GB is 18USD (currently $28.08 AUD), so $2.81 AUD per GB.

          So the plan is that you buy 10GB of data for each of your kids, every three months or so. That gives both of your kids an eSIM, and up to 2 years to use up the data.

          The ongoing price of this system, using 3GB/month average data usage:

          • $1.25/month for calls and SMS, assuming you choose the Aldi Mobile PAYG option
          • $8.43/month for 3GB data
          • Total $9.68/month, or less if they use less data. $6.87/month if they use 2GB/month.

          The downsides to this system:

          • It isn't clear if the Aldi Mobile PAYG plan will automatically recharge at the end of each year, you may have to log in and hit the "renew" button. Optus may be better, not sure.
          • You have to remember to top-up the data in your kid's eSIMs regularly, 10GB every three months or so. It appears you can purchase multiple 10GB data blocks and these stack in your account, so maybe you can buy 20GB (= 2 lots of 10GB) every six months.
          • It isn't known if Eskimo send warnings when data is about to run out. However, if that happens, one kid can call the other and ask them to gift some data. Or call you and ask you to top-up the data.
          • If the kids use 4GB of data or more each per month, it would be slightly cheaper to use Kogan Mobile's $150 yearly plan, which equates to $12.50/month. But that has high up-front charges, which you wanted to avoid.
          • eSIMS from overseas typically make you appear as though you're in an overseas country, for example I'm currently using a Roamless eSIM, and websites think I'm on the island of Mauritius, near Africa. Might cause problems with region-limited subscriptions like Netflix, and your bank may not let you log in. Probably not a problem for your kids. Data may be a little slower too, as it has to go from the internet to Mauritius, then back to Australia - two hops instead of one.

          Here's the Eskimo 10GB plan, note the price is in USD.
          https://www.eskimo.travel/en/plans/australia-esim/10gb

          There are a few eSIM providers other than Eskimo who sell data with a long expiry time, but Eskimo appear to be the cheapest per GB. Nxtlsim and Roamless are about $4 per GB, BNESIM and Keepgo Travel are about $5 per GB.

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  Jake17 on 23/05/2025 - 12:29

  you got unlucky with the transition, i was on the $10 circles with 20GB a month that had only two months of the discount left, and my offer from Amaysim was $10 for the next 12 recharges with 70GB of data, pretty happy with that, I don't care for data much as I'm almost always connected to WIFI and barely use data when I am out and about, all my music is downloaded to phone, so no usage there,

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  Brucet on 23/05/2025 - 13:19

  I am using EZYSIM.