How To Choose A Cheap Cell Phone Plan

Some people talk all day on their cell phones, while others use them only occasionally or for emergencies. The constant talker and the curmudgeon both need a cell phone plan, but not the same one. By figuring out how much you talk on your phone, as well as what additional services you require, you can shop around for the best deal on cell phone service.

Light users can avoid oversells

Like many service-oriented businesses, cell phone companies engage in a practice known as overselling. They attempt to lure you in with large numbers of minutes or text messages that you might not ever use. They make the most profit off of these plans, as people are constantly overbuying cell phone plans and using relatively little. There are two ways to get around this, depending on your usage patterns. If you talk and text very little, say, two hours a month of talk time and less than 20 texts a month, a prepaid plan would work best for you. T-Mobile-to-Go is a nationwide prepaid service for $0.10 per minute and $0.10 per text. With the parameters just outlined, this would cost you $14 per month as opposed to the $30 for most companies' cheapest contract plans. This plan, however, does require a $100 upfront investment. If you do talk and text more than that, a cheap contract plan is probably the better option for you.

Tips for heavy users

Light users can save a ton by going prepaid or using a cheap contract plan, but for heavy users, especially those who use a lot of data, things are not so simple. First things first: avoid "unlimited" plans unless you use a ton of resources. The $100 per month these plans run are not worth it otherwise. If you are a data user, monitor your data usage for a month (there are smartphone apps that do this). Most companies have multiple data plan tiers. AT&T, for instance, charges $15 for 200MB of data or $25 for 2GB. Do the same calculations for voice and text. Heavy users can also benefit from long-term contract deals, both in terms of phone subsidies and monthly rates. A smartphone outside of a contract can cost upwards of $500 or $600, whereas under contract it might cost less than $200.

Choosing a cell phone plan is daunting, especially if you are a heavy user. If you are in this category, several enthusiast sites such as Howard Forums can help tremendously. With help from such forums and guides, you can assure yourself that you are getting the best service for the best price.

If you talk and text very little a prepaid plan could work for you