| Everyone knows prepaid simply means you pay | | | | regular contracted cell phone plan, but you have |
| up front, or buy time or minutes in advance. | | | | to pay in advance for the month, and it is often |
| What people generally get confused about is the | | | | slightly more expensive than a contracted plan. |
| difference between different types of prepaid cell | | | | Again, you have to buy your cell phone, or get a |
| phone plans, and I'm going to break it down for | | | | used one from someone who no longer needs |
| you. Since you're looking for prepaid cellular I have | | | | their phone, but used it on the same network |
| to assume one of two things. You have bad or | | | | you're planning to use. These plans may have no |
| no credit, you're on a strict budget, or both. Either | | | | contract, or sometimes a limited contract. One |
| way, prepaid doesn't always mean cheaper. I'll | | | | huge benefit to monthly prepaid plans are |
| explain in a moment. | | | | unlimited talk time, whether it be free nights and |
| Two Types of Prepaid Cell Phone Service | | | | weekends, or in network calling, plus a provisioned |
| When most people refer to prepaid in cellular, it is | | | | amount of anytime minutes. |
| a fairly broad term, so to get the best plan for | | | | Which is cheapest? |
| your situation it's good to understand the two | | | | Some people mistakenly think pay as you go is |
| main plan setups. There are regular or monthly | | | | the cheapest prepaid plan, but it's simply not true. |
| prepaid plans, and there are Pay as You Go | | | | Just because you can get talk time at ten cents |
| prepaid plans. These are not the same, and the | | | | per minute doesn't mean it won't cost you more |
| only real similarity between the two is the fact | | | | in the long run. Pay as you go works best for |
| you do have to pay in advance, and they have | | | | people who will barely ever use their cell phone. If |
| no, or limited contracts. Let me explain. | | | | you want a cell phone just for security purposes, |
| Pay as You Go Cell Phone Plans | | | | or to make the occasional quick call, this is the |
| You'll never see a contract for one of these plans. | | | | way to go. |
| Not even a limited contract. That's because you | | | | If you like to talk a lot on your cell phone, a pay |
| have to buy your own phone which can cost as | | | | as you go plan could quickly add up. For example, |
| little as ten dollars in some cases, and it works | | | | in one month you buy a twenty five dollar air |
| almost the same way as a long distance calling | | | | time card, run out of minutes and buy another, |
| card you buy at the store, but you use it for | | | | you just spent fifty dollars. What's worse, you |
| your cell phone. These are commonly referred to | | | | didn't get any free talk time at all. You would be |
| as reload cards. They can range anywhere from | | | | better off to take that fifty dollars and get a |
| ten dollars, to one hundred dollars. It just depends | | | | regular monthly prepaid plan. This way you get a |
| on how many minutes you want to add, and the | | | | few minutes you can use any time, and you may |
| minutes typically range from ten to twenty five | | | | also get some goodies like free mobile to mobile |
| cents per minute. | | | | in network calling, or a healthy amount of night |
| Regular Prepaid Cell Phone Service | | | | and weekend minutes. This way you'll talk more, |
| These plans work almost the same way as a | | | | and pay less. |