If you are low income and are struggling to pay your monthly bills, then you will be pleased to learn you may qualify for a free cell phone from the government's Lifeline program.

While the Lifeline program has been around since 1985, during the Obama Administration, cell phones became available instead of only landlines, and thus they picked up the term "Obama phones."

Qualifying for a Free Lifeline Cell Phone

To qualify for a free cell phone from the government's Lifeline program, you need to be low income. In addition, you must be the only person in your household applying for a free phone. In other words, every member of your family cannot get a free phone. The phones are given out to ensure your household can contact employers, family, and most importantly, emergency services, so only one phone per household is allowed under the program's guidelines.

To be able to get a free phone, you need to be able to prove you are low income. Thankfully, the Lifeline program makes this very simple for consumers. If you are on another government program such as Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the food stamp program, or Medicaid, then all you will need to do is provide a copy of your membership card for either program to the phone provider.

Obtaining a Free Lifeline Phone

If you believe your income is low enough to qualify for a free government cell phone, then you have a couple different options for obtaining one, including:

1. ordering one online
2. getting one in person

You can easily order a Lifeline cell phone online. Each state has their own Lifeline program page you can find by Googling your state's name and the words "Lifeline cell phones."

When you go to your state's Lifeline page, you will quickly notice you have a variety of different carriers to choose from. This is especially important if you live in a rural area where not all cell phones will work. For example, if your area has a Verizon cell tower but doesn't have any AT&T service, then you can choose the carrier with a phone that will work in your local area.

In addition to a variety of carriers, you will also be able to see the plans offered by each company. Some carriers will give you more minutes, more texts, or even a better data plan, so it pays to compare the plans before ordering a phone.

Finally, you can also obtain a free cell phone by stopping at one of the places in your local town where you see a vendor booth set up with signs offering free cell phones to those who qualify.

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