The craziness of the holidays is officially upon us. I don’t know about you, but I’m about knee-deep in holiday madness… in the best way though! This is my favourite season of the year and despite it being busy and hectic, I always try to find ways to keep calm and focus on what the season means. I know most people find holiday shopping hectic and stressful, but gift-giving is probably my favourite part…
Trying to find that special gift that’s going to go that extra mile is a challenge I gladly accept. I’ve begun focussing on giving gifts that are going to be functional (and not re-gifted haha) to those I love…
And there’s nothing more functional than our mobile devices. Whether or not we like to admit it, our phones and our phone plans have become integral parts of our daily life. I mean, I’ve made an entire career change around it to be quite honest with you. But even those I never thought would want/need a good phone or a good phone plan have completely surprised me.
My grandparents…
My grandparents are a prime example of that. Last year, we got them a device (on a simple basic plan, on what we considered to be a large, reputable, and reliable network carrier). They live on the other side of Canada (in Vancouver, BC) and I used to call them every day, hoping they weren’t grocery shopping so that they could be home to answer the home line. On their end, being able to watch my Instagram Stories every day made them feel like they were a part of my life. They got to hear all of my updates, laugh at me and my friends hanging out, and be a part of my life, despite being hundreds of kilometres away.
We soon realized (especially because of that last one), that the basic phone plan option just wasn’t for them. Even at 80 years old, the basic phone plan that we were paying tons of extra fees on wasn’t a good fit, for my grandparent’s usage… or our wallets.
My business…
I’ve been with a network carrier that arguably controls a large percentage of Canadian phone plans for a while now… since I was 16, to be exact. I’ve had years of struggles and tons of calls to their customer service line and yet, somehow never thought to leave. Until one day, I received an overage bill of $673.86…. $673.86!!! I paid it.
The reality of our day and age, and specifically my business of sharing my life online, means that data isn’t just entertainment anymore. It’s a part of my livelihood. Come to think of it, my bills are sent to me online, my wallet is on my phone, my personal trainer is my Health app, and just about everything requires internet connection. Despite this, I was scarred by the bill I told you I received, and would shut off my data as soon as I got an alert that I was approaching my 2GB limit (yes, I somehow managed to be an online creator with 2GB of data). But this was starting to impact my business. I wasn’t able to get back to emails on time, I was scared to consume any media in fear of it using too much data, and I managed my 2GB more strictly than I managed my designer purchase budget.
Freedom Mobile
And then, about 6 months ago, I had the incredible opportunity to try Freedom Mobile. I had heard of Freedom Mobile before. My best friend had been on their network for a year and raved about it. I didn’t let go of my old plan. Why? I don’t quite know. Call it network brainwashing, perhaps? I was just so comfortable in my old plan and felt like it was a big hassle to go through closing it out. I was also skeptical. I had no idea what to expect from Freedom Mobile, whether or not it was going to be reliable, whether or not there were going to be extra fees, whether the service was going to be up to par…
6 months later and I completely understand its name. Freedom Mobile is truly about freedom.
Absolute Zero Offers & Big Gig Unlimited Data Plans
In July 2019, around the time that I started on Freedom Mobile, they launched a game-changing offer. They introduced the fact that every Big Gig Unlimited data plan would come with the option of adding a phone at NO extra charge. This basically meant that customers, including myself, would get a premium phone (which currently includes an iPhone 11 and Samsung Galaxy S10) for $0 upfront, $0 extra each month, and $0 at the end of a standard 2 year commitment. Their Big Gig Unlimited Data plans are also incredibly affordable, starting at only $50 a month.
But what about my original hesitations…
This is exactly why I waited 6 months to share this blog post with you. I wanted to really try it out, really understand how it would impact my business, and whether or not it really was what it said it was. And spoiler alert: it is. For those who know my past year, I’ve traveled across Canada, driven to remote places to capture content… all while keeping 2 phones on me. One on my previous carrier and one on Freedom Mobile. Everywhere I went, I compared the 2. And despite the ridiculous amount I was paying for 2GB of data (on my previous carrier plan), I personally did not find a difference in network service between it and Freedom Mobile. And yet, I was paying an incredibly premium price.
I tell just about everyone I meet how incredible my experience has been with Freedom Mobile. Transparently, I’ve been partnered with them to test out their network since July, but phones and phone plans have become such important and personal aspects of our lives. I felt like I needed to make sure I tested and believed in it before going into depth on my experience with it.
Their mission of changing the landscape for Canadian phone plans is one that truly inspires me. For years, my friends and I have complained about how Canada has the most expensive phone plans, and constantly compared it to other countries where our friends were browsing on data with no hesitation or fear of overage fees. But Freedom wants to change that. They’ve spoken publicly about how they’re making moves to do that. And I’ve personally seen them influence and challenge the competitors around them. So a big thank you, Freedom Mobile. Thank you for speaking up for us Canadians and our $673.86 overage fee bills!
Giving the gift of Freedom…
So this year, as the holiday season comes upon us, and new phone devices have been launched, giving the gift of freedom has never been easier. I’m looking into setting up new plans for my grandparents and getting them off my hand-me-down devices. And Freedom Mobile’s Absolute Zero Offer and Big Gig Unlimited Data plan is going to be wrapped under the tree all the way over in Vancouver for them.
If you’re looking to make the switch yourself or have someone on your list who’s needing a bit of phone-freedom in their life, I can’t recommend Freedom Mobile enough (and am happy to answer any questions you might have on my experience in the comments below). I’ll leave the links to Freedom Mobile’s Absolute Zero Offer below:
Check out Freedom Mobile’s Absolute Zero Offer details here
So here’s to you movers and shakers this holiday season, to the grandparents who binge watch our Instagram Stories, to the holiday rush, to each gift wrapped with love, and to the companies, like Freedom Mobile, who are making it all easier for us. Thank you for reminding us that you’ve got our backs, during the holiday season and beyond it!
*** This post was made in generous partnership with Freedom Mobile. All thoughts, opinions, experiences, and recommendations are exclusively my own.
