If you are trying to save money on your cell phone plan, changing to prepay or pay-as-you-go could be your best option. You only pay for the minutes you use and the messages you send, rather than one lump sum you might never get use out of. You’re not tied into any contract with any network either so if it isn’t working out for you, you can change back pretty much immediately! Pretty much, a prepaid cell phone is like having a calling card with its own phone. You buy a phone from a network provider, ‘top it up’ with as much credit as you think you’ll need, and away you go. You can make phone calls, send text messages, and access the internet until your credit runs out, and you can top up again.
There are so many reasons to opt for a prepaid cell phone, but there are also some reasons against them. It’s all dependant on what you need from your cell phone and whether it will work out cheaper for you. Check out the pros and cons to choosing a pre-paid cell phone.
Pros:
Price – You only pay for what you use so it can save you a lot if you do not use your phone very much.
No credit check – A prepaid plan does not require a credit check the way a service contract might, so even if your credit score leaves something to be desired you don’t need to worry.
Choice – You can choose from pretty much any nationwide service provider across the country, or from smaller regional networks.
No contract – You don’t need to sign or commit to anything which means that you can change provider at any time.
Parental control – If the phone is for your child, you can control how much they spend in a month by limiting them to a certain amount of minutes. This way there is no huge bill to surprise you at the end of the month.
Cons:
Price – While it might be cheaper in the long run if you don’t use it too much, average minute costs on prepaid phones are generally higher that contract minutes. If you think you’ll be using a lot of minutes, prepaid is probably not the best option.
Time limits – You may think that you only need 200 minutes in the month and only end up using 120 in the month. Unfortunately, a lot of providers will void the minutes not used in a specific time so you could end up wasting money if you don’t use them in the set time.
Phone choice – Your choice of cell phone will be more limited than if you were to opt for a contract phone. Prepaid phones may also cost a bit more, considering that the network is not guaranteed your custom for 2 years or any other contract, they have to charge you more to make up their losses.
Extras – Anything other than minutes is an extra cost on prepaid phones. If you want access to the internet, you need to pay for data. This can be prepaid also, though it is almost guaranteed to be expensive.
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