From the article: Top 5 Ways to Save Money on Your Cell Phone
There are a dizzying amount of ways to spend too much cell phone money and not enough ways to save your hard-earned money. While we present a money-saving list to you for help in finding cheap cellular phones and services, we also want to hear from you how you have successfully cut your wireless costs. Share away!
Straight Talk
- I have to agree that prepaid is the way to go and the best out there is Straight Talk. With no contract or credit check, I only pay $45 a month for a totally unlimited plan (calls, texting, surfing) that I actually use and don't worry about. The plan has put $50 a month back in my pocket and will potentially save me nearly $1,200 over the next two years rather than my previous carrier. The phone selection is great and what's even better is being on Verizon's dependable network. With the money I am saving, I was finally able to purchase a Smart Phone and I love using my Samsung Finesse on the Straight Talk network.
- —Guest Kimberly
Straight Talk!
- Prepaid is the only way to fly, with no bills or overages or other funky stuff. I use Straight Talk. It’s unlimited for $45 a month, prepaid (so no bills) and on Verizon’s network… the best. Unlimited talk and texts, plus 30MB of data, which is about 350 web pages. Fantastic deal. It's available at http://www.StraightTalk.com
- —Guest Frank Lee
Prepaid is a good option
- I agree with @Idolson, prepaid is one of the best ways to save on cell phone costs. If you gotta have it but your budget is really tight, prepaid is the way to go. I use NET10 prepaid and have found they also have really great coverage. My monthly cost (with a fair bit of usage) is always around $15 to $20.
- —Guest Dennis
low-tech tips on trimming cell bill
- These are all great tips, Adam. I would like to add a few more "low-tech" tips. One way to trim cell phone costs is to reach out to your work, organizations and/or clubs you belong to and inquire about any discounts you can get on cellular phones and plans. For example, I work with a national cellular provider called Consumer Cellular that enables AARP members to receive a 5-percent discount on monthly cell service and 30-percent off on accessories such as blue tooth devises and phone chargers. Also, just because you don’t see a promotion advertised by your cellular provider doesn’t mean they don’t exist. You just have to ask!
- —Guest Keith
Pre-paid!
- If you don't use your phone a whole ton, pre-paid is the way to go. We found that on many plans you can buy a whole lot of minutes for the price of many of the contracts. My daughter uses Tracfone (which has better coverage than my Verizon). I only average one or two calls per day, and it costs about $10 per month (minimum is $8.33) Hers costs in the range of $10-15 (minimum is about $8), but we figure even if she uses it a whole lot more, it won't come near a contract, so we're sending her off to college with it.
- —ldolson