Harness the Power of Pay-As-You-Go

While consumers have become used to paying a monthly fee for electricity, water, and shelter, there is no reason to pay a monthly bill to use a cellphone. That's because your favorite cell phone carriers now offer pay-as-you-go options to limit user costs. Indeed, you can pay upfront for an agreed upon amount of talk and texting capabilities without the risk of overage fees. Explore these carriers and their pay-as-you-go formats to limit the amount of money you spend on your phone each month.

Verizon Wireless

Verizon now offers a "Page Plus Cellular" plan that allows you to buy bulk minutes in advance. Indeed, you get the same Verizon coverage enjoyed by monthly billed customers but at a lower cost. For instance, a 2,000 minute Verizon minute card costs only about $80. This usually means it will be months before you need to buy a card with fresh minutes. On the other hand, a 100 minute card costs only about $10 and won't expire until four months after it's purchased. Pay-as-you-go plans with Verizon Wireless also allow you to use off-contract Verizon phones. This means you're able to save even more money by buying a used phone on eBay, Craigslist, or similar outlets when low-cost phones are found.

T-Mobile

Similar to the plans found with Verizon, T-Mobile also offers minutes in advance for a low cost. For instance, you can spend about $100 for 1,000 minutes that are good for an entire year before they expire. T-Mobile offers a "Gold Reward" plan for those who buy a certain amount of pre-paid minutes, generally 1,000. This plan gets you up to 15% more minutes the next time you buy a pre-paid calling card. Best of all, basic T-Mobile phones compatible with prepaid calling cards are cheap. Indeed, find basic phones for as little as $25 or use your personalized SIM card to use an off-contract T-Mobile phone and insert the card to repopulate all contacts and other phone settings.

AT&T

AT&T offers as many as 2,000 minutes for as little as $100 on the H20 Wireless plan. Additional minutes and text messages above this prepaid limit are usually about five cents. Still, this is cheaper than the overage charges that go with most monthly cell phone plans. Save further by using an old AT&T phone on the H20 wireless plan. You can even use an iPhone with these pre-paid minutes, though without the benefit of a data plan of course.

Conclusion

Previously, prepaid cell phone plans came advertised primarily by lesser known carriers. However, this article shows that even major carriers like Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and AT&T, offer minutes on a pay-as-you-go format that allows you to buy only the minutes you want without committing to a lengthy user contract. Examine these options and more to decide what phone carrier and pre-paid service best suit your needs and compare features to save money in the long run.