Taking time to do a cell phone plan comparison is really important these days, especially when you’re trying to find the cheapest cell phone plan to fit your needs. Cell phone plans can be confusing with so many providers trying to get your business. How anyone can make an informed decision amidst the influx of information published, some of which seems conflicting, is an accomplishment in itself.
But cell phones have become an important part of our daily life. They can provide peace of mind whether it is to keep in touch with children with GPS locator applications, or elderly loved-ones who need just a bit more attention in their twilight years. Taking the time to do a cell phone plan comparison is an great way to make sure you are getting what you need at the best price.
Know What You Want When You Compare Cell Phone Plans
The first step towards finding the best cheapest cell phone plan for your needs is to determine the intended use of the phone. With talk, texting, email capability, and web-enabled devices there are a wide variety of choices to suit anyone’s budget and lifestyle.
There are unlimited cell/web/text plans or specific minutes per month. Obviously, if the headset is not web-enabled, then it would be wise to only look for talk and texting plans whether it is for family and friends with shared minutes or an individual plan.
Even with a cell phone family plan with shared minutes, scrutinize the plan during your cell plan comparison as some will count both the sender and receiver as minutes used against the minutes allocated. For instance, in this particular scenario with a shared monthly 500 minute plan, you phone your family members sharing the plan a total of 400 minutes. Because of the definition of this particular plan, each family member also spoke with you for 400 minutes, making for a total of 800 minutes – 300 minutes over your plan limit. As a result, 300 minutes will be billed at the going rate, sometimes as high as 25 cents/minute or more.
The best defense is to ask a lot of questions and to be well-informed. Some providers will allow you to change plans with no penalties in order to accommodate your usage patterns. Be sure you understand your options before you sign a contract.
Compare cell phone plans and prices from a variety of companies. You may even want to make a cell phone plan comparison chart of the features and charges from each company and cell plan so you can get a clearer picture and more easily compare cell phone plans to each other.
If you don’t use your cell phone very often, or you don’t want to be tied to a contract, you may want to consider a prepaid cell phone plan comparison. In this case you may want to create a chart to compare prepaid plans to each other so you can find the best one for your needs. At one point I might put such a cell phone plan comparison chart on my site, but because plans change so often it may be difficult to keep it useful and up-to-date. This is why I suggest people create their own charts when they start shopping for the cheapest prepaid cell phone plans.
Once you find the best cell phone and plan for your needs you may want to consider mobile phone insurance. Of course this may depend largely on the cost and importance of your cell phone.
Be Aware of Additional Fees and Taxes
Unfortunately, most wireless providers don’t always clearly state that additional fees and taxes are added to the set monthly rate. These additional fees and taxes can add up quickly. There might be local providers that advertise a monthly rate including fees and taxes. Again, it is important to be an informed buyer by carefully reading what is and is not included in the advertised price and to shop around.
Read The Fine Print During A Cell Phone Plan Comparison
As with any service or contract, reading the fine print is extremely important as the fine print usually states all the one-time charges, 411 surcharges, and cancellation fees should you decide to cancel before the end of the contract.
It is important to understand the charges that will be incurred on a monthly basis and to budget wisely. With time-limited free offers luring prospective cell phone users, there should not be any surprises once the regular billing statement comes around.
Even though there are literally hundreds of options available from cheap cell phone plans and prepaid phone plans to high end unlimited cell phone plans for Smartphones, the cell phone has become a necessary tool, even if used only as an internal family tracking system. It is up to the individual user to preform a detailed cell phone plan comparison and select the best cell phone plan for the value for its intended use.