Recycling a Phone Case - Cutting Case to Fit Phone

I recently upgraded the five cell phones on my account to smart phones. I know we are way behind the times but between cell phones and the house / internet phones, I was paying near $300 a month.

Verizon has a new program where they will give you $15 a month back on smart phones if you don't have a contract with them for a new phone. 

You can get $10 back on flip phones that don't carry a contract as well. However, they won't give you the discount on your bill unless you call and ASK them for the discount! 

I guess they were losing people who have been customers for years to other carriers with their flat rates as they didn't have a contract and if you had your own phone. 

Verizon said that because they don't have to carry the cost of your phone, they can give you the discount that they are saving per person per month by not having to carry an expensive phone.


I know many people who upgrade their phones the minute they are eligible for an upgrade. I haven't had a contract on any of our phones for many years and have paid the same as those who have gotten the new phones.

I, for one, think it is about time that they reward those who have remained customers without carrying the burden of the newest and smartest phones. 

One reason I didn't upgrade, was that each phone on a smart plan cost $20 more than I was paying. For the smart phones, it would have been $100 for all of us and since I was paying near $300 with all the phones and internet, I figured that wasn't an expense I could afford. 
 
Because I needed the discount to afford upgrading, I needed four smart phones in order to not have a new contract. Princess Three bought her own and was the first to switch. For some reason, I still didn't trust that the bill would stay the same with the new discounts but it is near what I paid before with all of us upgraded. 
 
In two months, I paid $340 for phones. I blogged a bit about it before as one of the phones had porn on it after I bought it used. Click here for that post. 

It was a bit pricy up front but three of the girls helped pay $25 each for the most expensive I-phone as it was a gift for Princess Two's birthday.  

It has been a bit of an adjustment for us, especially me. I really relied on my phone for a calendar and reminders daily on the calendar but the new phone I have has only factory set phone ringtones and I can't always hear it even when it is on me. I need a loud alarm to hear over people talking or the girls music etc.

For the most part however, we enjoy having the world at our fingertips. With that, living in a small town and buying used older phones, we aren't able to just go in and purchase covers as the don't keep inventory on much of the old stuff. 

With having to order covers online since I don't want the phone to break if dropped, I went to some second hand stores. I found a phone cover with the right button placement but had the phone jack in the wrong spot and the camera was in the right spot but the flash was covered. Also the plug opening was in the right area but a little lower than I needed. It was $0.50. 

I figured it was worth it for that price to do some "surgery" on the case and recycle it to fit my phone. I took some sharp scissors and started cutting it up. First, make sure the cover fits the phone you want to put it on. Second, place the cover on the phone just over it so you can mark the cover with dots on where you need to cut the cover. You don't want to cut the cover more than needed as you want the protection from as much of the cover as you can keep. 

After marking it clearly with a Sharpie or other dark marker, start cutting. It is better to cut less than more because you can always cut more but you can't put back what you cut. 
 
It is interesting to see how well the case has worked. The only problem i have had is the sound isn't loud but I don't know if that is a phone problem or the cover blocking it. I can't seem to hear much difference when I take it off so I think it is just that phone. 
 
Anyway, for less than a dollar, I have a great phone cover and I love that it is grippery on the edges and firm in the center as it is easier to hold and the case stays on well. 

Another blessing from above....