My parents recently retired and their income dropped considerably. In fact, they are living only on social security payments which barely come out to a thousand dollars a month. Because of their low income, they have had to make an adjustment to their living standards. They cut a lot of bills like cable and phone. I told them that they still needed a phone because the phone is what they would use to contact the outside world. I needed to call them every now and them to make sure they are ok and if they do not have a phone it would be quite tough to do that. That is why I told them about the free government cell phones program
In this free cell phone program, you can get government phones with free minutes. The minutes are limited though. I think this is the perfect program for my parents because they would only use the phone to call me anyways. Plus, they are candidates for the program due to their low income. In order to get into the program, your income has to be at or below the poverty level set by your state. Every state has a different poverty level. This is become income levels varies throughout each state. The income of the west coast and northeast are usually higher than in the southern states. You can find out if your state participates by going to the Safelink Wireless website.
From the Safelink Wireless website, you can also apply for the free government cell phones. Each household is only allowed one phone though. What I like about this program is that my parents can keep the phone even if they decide not to continue participating. That way, when they do decide to participate again, they can just use the same phone. I told my parents that once they get the phone to be sure they do not make unnecessary calls. That is because I do not want them to waste their minutes. They have very limited minutes per month and it should only be used for real emergencies.
