Save Money on a Prepaid Cell Phone

Cell phones are ubiquitous. Everywhere you turn young and old alike are using these devices to keep in touch with family, friends and coworkers. Despite the popularity of these items (or perhaps because of it) the prices of contract cellular service have stayed steady while cell phone companies have added premium features like texting and data plans to actually increase our monthly bills. If you aren't careful it is easy to rack up a bill each month of $100 or more on a single cellphone--$1,200 a year on that single device!

Prepaid phones are changing the scene. These little phones come with no contract so you can switch carriers for a better deal whenever you desire. They are prepaid which protects you from high depostis, unexpectedly high cell phone bills, dings to your credit rating if you are late paying a bill while allowing you to control how much you spend every month.

Big Talkers:
If you use your cell phone for talking extensively there are unlimited talk plans averaging around $60 a month (taxes included) that will allow you to talk to whomever you want for as long as you want. This is less than most cell phone carriers charge on their plans for a simple package!

If all of your friends share the same cellular phone carrier see if your provider offers an unlimited plan to other members of the network. For instance, AT&T offers a $1 a day unlimited calling plan, enabling users to make and recieve unlimited calls to other AT&T wireless customers.

Small Talkers:
If you don't use your phone for talking every day look into those plans that allow you to pay an access fee only on the days you use your phone. Why pay for something you aren't using? Combine this method with a texting plan to save some serious money on your cellphone bill.

Smart Talkers:
Instead of using your cell phone to talk everyday send a text to mobile callers explaining that you are away and will call them later. You can then call them from a home phone to save the daily access fee or simply text to get the information across. On the days you actually use your cellphone make all of the calls you have planned at once to get the full value of the daily access fee without having to pay to use it on multiple days.

Learn to access your voicemail from a landline phone and make it a rule to never access your voicemail from your cellphone. This will save minutes and access fees on the days that you don't use your phone.

Texters:
Invest in a texting plan with rollover or an unlimited texting plan if you have super-powered texting abilities. Sending texts instead of calling will save you access fees on the days that you don't make a voice call so let those fingers continue to do the talking!

Texting to Save Dollars and Time:
By using text messages instead of voice calling on prepaid cellphones you can still communicate with friends and family while saving money as well. Text plans are not only cheaper than voice plans but you don't have to worry about spending hours glued to the phone. Simply text what you need to say in a few words and be done with it. This will free up time otherwise spent chatting while saving money as well.

Ditch the Data Plan:
Free wireless Internet can be had at the library as well as a variety of coffee shops, restaurants and hotspots all over the United States. Instead of spending the money on a data plan so that you can access the Internet on your phone use your computer instead and pocket that money. You do not need to have Internet access everywhere you go, despite what the commercials tell you.

Use Bluetooth:
Get a phone that has bluetooth capabilities. You can use this to send pictures, ringtones and other items to and from your cell phone without racking up data usage charges. You may pay more for the phone, but you will save that money back quickly by using it to avoid any data usage charges.

Watch your Fingers:
Cell phone companies love it when you hit a wrong button, hitting you with data charges even if you immediately cancel the action. Contact your Prepaid service provider to instruct them to block data usage on your cell phone or simply learn what activates the browser and avoid those sections like the plague!