Cut your cell phone costs to under $10/month

March 9, 2:26 PMGadgets ExaminerDan Appleman

Previous Next

3 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Gadgets Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

A variety of phones are availale,
many under $20

 

With so many available cell phone plans, it’s very difficult to find the best deal. In fact, a study released today of over 700 San Diego customers showed an average cost of over $3/minute for cell phone use. Why so high? Because most people never use all the minutes they are paying for.

Most monthly plans are designed for heavy phone users. In fact, TV is full of ads for new “unlimited” plans running about $100/month (that’s $1200/year). Those plans are profitable for phone companies because they know most people will end up paying more for this unlimited service than they would for the lower cost plans.

But what if you aren’t a heavy phone user? What if you want your cell phone for casual or emergency use? With most monthly plans starting at $40/month, you can definitely find yourself paying $3/minute or more.

The good news is – there’s an alternative.

Prepaid calling plans are not just for those with poor credit. They offer a great deal for those who don’t use their phones heavily. In fact, you can maintain a line for about $8/month (with the full amount applying towards minutes at anywhere from .10 to .25 per minute). All of these plans require you to add funds periodically to keep the line active – but it’s a relatively low amount (and all available to pay for calls). For example: AT&T Go Phone and T-Mobile prepaid will keep the line active for a year if you put $100 on the phone (that’s $8.33/month). Virgin Mobile and Tracfone requires $20 every three months (that’s $6.67/month).

These plans have no contracts, though they do offer low cost phones and bundles. You can manage your account entirely through the web.

Be sure to read the plan information carefully – each one has a variety of packages available to cover minutes, text messages and even data.

Virgin Mobile and Tracfone require special phones that you purchase from them. With AT&T GoPhone and T-Mobile you should be able to use any unlocked GSM phone (you can just purchase the SIM card from them and drop it in your phone).