How to Deal with a Teenage Mobile Data Guzzler for $5

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At today's age, there is simply no escaping from digital devices... or if you have older kids at home, the topic of  "When can I have my own phone?" invariably pops up more often than not.

For my two boys, they have their own mobile phones when they entered Secondary One because they take the public transport back to home from school. Of course while convenient, having their own mobile phones also opens up a whole new world of issues.

Issues like excessive usage, constant mobile gaming and busting their mobile data.

Yes, that last issue is particularly prevalent... especially after doing a quick check with my friends. For some reasons, teens love to watch YouTube videos on the go. Add on the amount of data consumed through Instagram, music streaming and sending copious amount of photos (and videos) over WhatsApp, and I think most parents have been losing more than a few strands of hair whenever the mobile bill arrives.

So what is there to be done for this group of  huge data guzzlers among the teens?

First and foremost, education and laying down some ground rules.

Like it or not, mobile data is now a want and not a need for most teenagers. So my take is if they want it, they should either be responsible for the usage or pay for it themselves.

For me, I suggest the budgeting approach: Parents pay for a certain amount of data each month, the children track how much they have used, and then they pay for anything beyond that allotted amount.

So how much data is enough? 2GB is enough for a start - good enough for WhatsApp among family and friends, scrolling through Instagram, navigating Maps and casual surfing on the browser.

That will of course mean that watching videos using mobile data is a no-no which is great because it will teach teens the concept of delayed gratification - wait til they get home when there is WiFi. What I do with my teens is also to sit them down and identify the sources of data drain, teaching them to turn off any features on their phones that drain data automatically in the background.

How much then, are you willing to pay for 2GB worth of data per month? $10, $15 or $20?

HOW ABOUT $5???

Wait what, $5 per month for 2GB of data... and with NO contract at that? Because seriously, what can $5 get you nowadays?

2.5 items at Daiso.

1 McDonald's value meal.

Oh and here's a fave among the teens - 1 cup of brown sugar bubble milk tea.

Or you can choose to get the 2GB monthly plan from Circles.Life at only $5!

No contract. No gimmicks. No frills.

The $5 plan from Circles.Life comes with 2GB data, 50 Mins Calls and 25 SMS per month. And the best part? Signing up for the plan is super easy and FAST! I signed via its website in the morning and got my SIM card delivered to my doorstep right that very evening. And yes, you can also transfer any non-Circles.Life number to this $5 plan.

Download the Circles.Life app into the phone so that your child will be able to keep track of the data usage.

The great thing is the plan does not automatically charge you when your child exceeds the data cap! Instead, the data will be cut off unless you top it up. NO MORE BILL SHOCKS, that's for sure!

But in case your child needs extra data for a particular month, you can boost the plan at $8 for 1GB or $12 for 2GB, and even $5 for 30mins talktime or $10 for 200 mins talktime plus free incoming calls.

And for that extar boost, you can even consider getting your child to pay for it from the monthly allowance. Good eh? 😂

Parents will also be glad to know that there is an option to add Parental Control to the plan at $2.99 per month. Parental Control is a service that will protect the child from potentially harmful and dangerous content, or contact over the internet on your mobile service by blocking content that are categorized as Adult Content, Hate and Intolerance, as well as Weapons and Violence.

So parents, if you are looking to hand your child a mobile phone and are thinking of which mobile plan to get, the Circles.Life $5 2GB plan is your best bet.

2GB worth of data might not be the largest amount of data in the eyes of the child, but it ensures that the child will learn how to manage the monthly data consumption in an efficient manner. This will go a long way in instilling responsible mobile data usage and financing over time... and best of all, parents need not worry about being billed for extra data charges when the data limit is busted!

So yes, I have a new found BFF now.

To sign up or find out more about Circles.Life's $5 2GB plan, visit HERE.