Save Money with a Prepaid Cell Phone

The best way to save money when you need a cell phone is to buy a prepaid cell phone. You don’t have to sign a contract; you pay as you go, and in some places, you can get rewarded with extra minutes just for buying groceries. Here’s how you can save money:

Prepaid Cell Phones are Inexpensive

You don’t need to buy an expensive phone when you can buy a prepaid cell phone. You can find a new phone for as cheap as $10, or you can buy a used one for even less at a yard sale. If you choose to upgrade or buy a more expensive phone, you can. It’s just not necessary. Think about why you’re buying the phone in the first place to help you determine which phone to buy. If it’s only for emergencies, then getting the most basic phone will save you money. If you don’t plan on having a home phone, and this is the only phone you’ll use, then a more expensive phone that will give you more functions may be necessary. Even then, the more expensive phones only cost around $40.

You Pay as You Go

Having a prepaid cell phone puts you in control of your bill. You don’t have to be enslaved to a monthly plan that dictates how many minutes you can use. You don’t have to worry about signing lengthy contracts just to make your monthly payments affordable. You can simply come up with a budget, and decide how many minutes you want to add from time to time. For example, you might decide to add a lot of minutes when you travel long distance, but purchase far fewer minutes when you’re home.

No Overage Charges

What happens when you use more minutes than what your plan calls for on a regular cell phone? You get charged a penalty per minute, also known as overage charges. These can be as high as $0.40 per minute. Many plans are designed to lure you into a contract with a monthly rate and minutes combination that appears workable. People find out soon enough that the plan is not workable, and that most of  their phone bills consist of overage charges. You don’t have this problem with a prepaid cell phone.

Get Free Minutes for Shopping

You may be familiar with the concept of grocery stores offering a discount on fuel to shoppers who buy a $100 or more worth of groceries (when using a rewards or membership card). Various supermarkets now offer free minutes to prepaid cell phone users. When you purchase a certain amount of groceries (usually $100 or more), you’ll earn free minutes that get added automatically to your phone (20 minutes or more). If you only use your phone for emergencies, and buy at least $100 worth of groceries every month, you may not have to buy your own minutes for a long time. Even if 20 or more free minutes a month is not enough for your usage, you’re still saving some money.

The number one reason for going with a prepaid cell phone is the fact that you don’t have to sign a contract and obligate yourself to paying a monthly fee. In addition to avoiding contracts and overage charges, you’ll save a lot more money if you pay as you go with a prepaid cell phone.