This past winter was our youngest daughter's 14th birthday. We had promised her a cell phone only when she was old enough, we agreed upon 14 years old when she was 11. Her sisters only got theirs last summer, and they are a few years older. With all of these cell phones in the house, we decided to consolidate our bills to a phone share plan to conquer our ever growing phone bills. We had all of the kids help in researching a good cell phone plan for our family's wants and needs. It turned into a great project that we, and the kids, worked on for about a week. I highly suggest other parents too get their kids involved in the process. It not only brought our family together, but it also helped the kids understand the price of having a phone and what limitations they would have. All their choice, well it was really a group decision.



Since we were already a customer with Telus, and liked their no nonsense billing process, we decided to stay with them. Telus family share plans start with a plan for two. Two can share all unlimited calling between them as well as included minutes, texts, messaging etc, for $35.00/month. Of course the price rises with extra members, so this is what we found. Right now there is a Telus offer available for a 1, 2, or 3 year agreement where the first month is free.

With access for up to 5 family members, we would receive unlimited mobile to mobile calling between all family members. Unlimited weekend, voice mail, call waiting and we get a free phone for every family member. That was exciting for the kids. The share plan members are all under the same account, and must reside within the same province. Depending whether you choose a 1, 2, or 3 year plan agreement, there are bonus minutes added to the plan. A warning though, an additional 10 cent charge will be added to any text or attachment sent outside of Canada. All five members must be Canadian domestic numbers and does not include your own Telus mobile #, or toll free numbers. Local talk and text does not include roaming, or long distance charges. This includes picture and video messaging as well, but our kids won't have that much access on their phones anyway. We can change the five numbers on the plan after any billing cycle, but this wasn't applicable for us either.

There are, like with any other plan, extra costs and charges. This is where we spent a lot of time. There are extra charges for additional local minutes, directory assistance, 911 emergency access charges, and long distance and roaming charges. There is also the system access fee and a one time account set-up charge. We all sat down and agreed on the limitations, signed a contract with each other for individual cell phone responsibility, and chose the Share 40 Plan.

The kids can share and trade unused minutes with each other, and have unlimited incoming minutes. The price is $40.00 a month for our 5 family members. A great deal as far as we're concerned. I don't even want to mention how much we were previously paying.

I highly suggest all parents get their children involved in the information on billing and charges for cell phones. It has really helped our family in cutting down on any future arguments, and the kids feel a real sense of maturity.