| Once you've made the leap into purchasing a cell | | | | past your allotted minutes. Look for a cell phone |
| phone, the question becomes, what plan to go | | | | carrier with a competitive plan that fits your |
| for? Many carriers have a bewildering array of | | | | needs in terms of talk time. |
| plans available, making the choice difficult. Pickling | | | | If you plan to travel a lot with your cell phone, |
| the right plan can be a bewildering experience, | | | | you will almost certainly benefit from looking into |
| unless you know precisely what you need and | | | | what sort of coverage your carrier offers. The |
| what you're looking for. Here are a few pointers | | | | greatest plan in the world won't be of any help to |
| to get you started. | | | | you if you end up stranded somewhere where |
| Prepaid Plans | | | | your cell phone carrier doesn't provide service. |
| If you're a very casual user who doesn't | | | | Roaming charge "sticker shock" can be quite a |
| anticipate spending a lot of time on your cell | | | | jarring experience. |
| phone, a prepaid plan might be a viable option for | | | | Finally, consider splurging on some extras. Many |
| you. Also known as "pay as you go" plans, prepaid | | | | cell phone carriers offer free phones with their |
| plans often feature a very basic entry-level phone | | | | plans, and if you have a use for wireless web, |
| and no service contract, allowing you to pay for | | | | instant messaging, GPS, or some of the more |
| your minutes up front. | | | | advanced cell phone features, it's definitely worth |
| While it's nice to have a cell phone plan that you're | | | | your time to compare cell phone plans. |
| not locked into, prepaid plans are not for | | | | Family Plans |
| everyone. Many plans require you to periodically | | | | Individual plans, despite their variety, are often |
| "recharge" the phone's minutes in order to keep | | | | relatively simple. However, once family members |
| them from expiring, possibly resulting in a needless | | | | (especially teenagers) get involved in the mix, |
| expense. This varies by plan, so it will probably | | | | things can turn complicated very quickly. |
| pay to do a little research in this area. | | | | The key factors in picking a family cell phone plan |
| Also, the more you use a prepaid phone, the | | | | are shared minutes and network calling. If possible, |
| more the value diminishes in terms of | | | | find a plan that will allow family members to call |
| cents-per-minute. If you find yourself using your | | | | each other without using up minutes -- this will |
| cell phone for anything but emergencies, you may | | | | retain the usefulness of the cell phones as a |
| be better off just biting the bullet and upgrading | | | | means of communicating between family |
| to an individual plan . | | | | members, without using up a lot shared minutes. |
| Individual Plans | | | | Finally, don't be afraid to comparison shop when |
| Individual plans vary wildly by carrier, but a few | | | | looking for a cell phone plan. Cell phone carriers |
| issues are generally key: value, coverage, and | | | | are fiercely competitive, each vying to offer |
| extras. The most elementary benchmark for an | | | | superior services to their customers. You might |
| individual cellular plan is likely the number minutes | | | | think you're attached to your carrier, but you |
| you anticipate using per billing period. Many cell | | | | may find a much more appealing offer from a |
| phone carriers make much ado about "overages," | | | | competitor. |
| i.e. extra charges that apply once you've talked | | | | |