Author: dontspendmore

By David

If you have tried shopping around for cell phones recently, then you probably already know that they can get very expensive. On average, cell phone users pay around $70 a month for their cell phone service. This is just too much for many of us to afford. If you would like to get a cell phone more for its native features than for actually communicating though you would still like to have the option open in case of an emergency, than a prepaid wireless service plan may be right for you.

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Cost

If you do not use the main features of your cell phone very often (phone calls, texting, and data usage) then getting a prepaid wireless service plan can save you quite a bit of money over the long haul. It has a number of cost advantages over a traditional plan. Most notably is that you do not have a monthly subscription. Instead you will pay in a certain amount, either through the carrier’s web site or by purchasing and activating a phone card. This will keep your service active for an amount of time as determined by the type of card used. Keeping your phone active in this way is the only recurring cost you will have with a prepaid wireless service plan. Any other costs will depend upon your usage of the phone.

Device

The primary disadvantage of a prepaid wireless service plan is that you will have to purchase your phone upfront, so the nicer the phone you would like to have, the more it will cost you to get started. Still, this can also be an advantage because you will not be stuck paying the high monthly fees for your service, saving you enough money to easily pay for the initial cost of the phone and then some. There are a wide variety of phones available for use on a prepaid wireless service plan and what you want to get will depend on how you intend to use the phone. If you are getting the phone purely for emergencies than getting something really cheap with a long battery life is probably a good idea. On the other hand, if you want to do most everything with your phone that you would normally do on a smartphone, you may want to get something nicer.

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Getting Started

Getting setup with a prepaid wireless service plan is pretty simple and can be done online or at a local store where they sell prepaid phones. Just let them know you would like to set up a prepaid wireless service plan, and they will walk you through the steps including purchasing your cell phone and initially installing the SIM card and activating the account. After that, you are ready to go, and you will just need to add a time card occasionally to keep the account open, and additional cards if you run out of minutes, texts, or data.

Now that you know how a prepaid wireless service plan works, you are ready to start shopping around for the one that is best for you.

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By David

As you shop for cell phones, you will likely encounter many companies offering family plans that look like they would be easy on the budget for a family, but not so much for an individual. Often times, it is hard to figure out what is available to individuals by just browsing the main pages of a carrier. While it may take a little extra digging, you can usually find a great individual plan that meets your needs once you understand how these plans work.

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Here are a few things you should know about cell phone plans:

Basic Plans

The first type of individual plan that you can look for is the basic plan. These plans are quite simple and have a fixed rate for a number of minutes every month with texting and data being setup by default on a “pay per” or pay-as-you-go system. Typically, these types of plans are best for those individuals who would like to have a phone just for emergencies but do not really use it, or for those that only use their phones for calling and almost never for texting or data.

Bundled Plans

The other major type of individual plan is the bundled plan. These cellular plans are comprised of several different features and typically provide a better value for each included feature, but include enough features that it makes them more expensive than basic plans. For instance, where a basic plan may only include 500 minutes a month, a bundled plan would have the same 500 minutes as well as 500 domestic messages (text messages) and 500 MB of data use all wrapped up into one plan. These are great options if you intend to use all that is being included, but if you have no need for the extra features, you will find that they typically cost more money than they are worth. Even worse is the recent trend to only have bundles with unlimited minutes and texts, allowing you to choose only the amount of data included with the plan. These types of bundles are trying to force potential customers to pay for a level of service that they just do not need. While it is certainly nice to not need to consider your minute or text limit, is the extra peace of mind really worth $10 to $20 a month?

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Services and Features

While not actually an individual plan all on their own, services and features are little extras that can be added onto other plans to help bridge the gap between what you actually need and what bundles are offering. These are best combined with a basic plan to add an additional feature (like a number of texts or an amount of data) to a basic plan for a fixed rate each month instead of on a “pay per” plan. These are great for those individuals who find that they talk a little and text a lot, but never use their phones for data, and other similar situations.

Now that you know what kind of plans are available out there for individuals, you can find or build the perfect plan for your situation.

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By David

If you have a smart phone, you have probably realized that in order to get the most from it you will need to get an individual data plan. While these plans are not difficult to find, it can be a challenge to know which would be the best for you. To help you learn what types of plans are available and what situations each are best for you, here is a short guide that will help you find the right individual data plan for you.

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Pay Per Plan

The first type of individual data plan you will likely encounter is the “pay per” or pay-as-you-go type of plan. These plans actually come with phone plans that do not include another type of plan and as such, if you do not know if you have a data plan, you are likely on a “pay per” plan. This type of plan will charge users a small amount for each MB (Megabyte) of data used, making it very affordable if you never use data, or very expensive if you use a lot of it. These types of plans are best for those that almost never use large quantities of data or who do the large majority of their data use when connected to a Wi-Fi signal.

Limited Data Plan

A limited data plan is a type of individual data plan that will cost a certain amount each month and in exchange provide you with a certain amount of data use for your phone. There are several different limits to choose from increasing in expense as you go up and allowing customers to choose a plan that covers their needs without paying for more than they need. Limited data plans offer a better value per MB than a “pay per” plan and will revert to a “pay per” system if exceeded. These plans are best for those who use a moderate amount of data on their phone or those who do only some of their browsing within a Wi-Fi area. If you are currently paying more in data charges than the lowest cost of a limited plan, you may want to consider switching.

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Unlimited Data Plan

An unlimited plan is the most open-ended type of individual data plan, allowing its users to use any amount of data over the course of a month. These types of plans are great for those who use a large amount of data outside a Wi-Fi area on a regular basis. These plans are typically the most expensive, but offer the best value. The one downside to unlimited plans is that once you have used a certain amount of data over the course of a month, your data speed will be throttled back and so your connection will become more sluggish.

Now that you are familiar with all the different types of data plans and what situations they are best used for, you can shop around for the best prices as an informed customer who knows exactly what they need, and thus exactly what it is they are looking for.

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By David

If you have just gotten your first smartphone or just started using one for more than talking and texting, you have probably discovered that there are a few different options to go with as far as data plans are concerned. To help you sort through the options, we have created a simple guide to show you what is available and what it is for.

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Pay Per Plans

The “pay per” or pay-as-you-go types of data plans are set up in such a way that you pay an extra amount on your monthly bill based upon how much data you use over the course of the month. These plans will typically charge a few cents for each MB (megabyte) that you use. The best way to use these types of data plans is to have them if you do not ever use data on your phone or you almost never use data on your phone outside of a Wi-Fi area. Most companies allow you to stream data through a wireless connection rather than the cell phone network allowing you to avoid data charges because you are not using their equipment to access said data. If however you use a moderate level or more data outside a Wi-Fi area on a regular basis, you will want to look at the other types of data plans

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Limited Data Plans

Unlike the “pay per” data plans, a limited data plan will charge you a fixed amount each month for so many MB of data usage. If you exceed your data cap, these plans use a “pay per” system to calculate the overage costs. These types of plans are great if you use a moderate amount of data without the benefit of a Wi-Fi area as they are far cheaper per MB than a “pay per” plan from the same company would be. These types of data plans also come in tiered levels, allowing you to choose a data cap that is appropriate to your level of usage.

Unlimited Data Plans

The final types of data plans are your unlimited data plans. These types of data plans provide users with an unlimited amount of data usage for a consistent monthly fee. While it seems like these plans are the best deal for everyone, they do have a couple drawbacks; first of which is that for those who do not use a great deal of data outside of a Wi-Fi area, they cost more than a limited plan that would more than cover their needs. Secondly, even though the data is unlimited the speed is not. After a certain data cap has been reached speed is throttled (slowed) from the fastest speed possible (3 or 4 G) down to a lower level (2 or 3 G respectively). Still, despite these drawbacks, if you use a large amount of data on your phone consistently than this could be the best valued plan for you.

Now that you know what is available as far as data plans are concerned, you can find the best one for your particular situation.

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By David

When shopping around for new cell phone service, many are unsure of how to go about making a comparison of wireless carriers. This is usually a result of the non-standard presentation and generally confusing nature of each company’s plans and rates. One company may have lower rates on a particular plan, but others might offer more with their own special plans. To help you figure out which cellular carriers are offering the best deals for your particular needs, here is a simple three step guide to making a comparison of wireless carriers.

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Compare Coverage

The first step to completing a thorough comparison of wireless carriers is to take a look at the coverage area of every carrier you can find. This could include small carriers and large ones, but the size of the network is not nearly as important as where it covers. What you are looking for is carriers who have native coverage (meaning not through roaming towers) of your home, your place of employment, and any places you frequent during leisure time. If you find that a company, no matter what they are offering, is not covering all these areas, remove them from your list of potential carriers and head to the next step.

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Build a Plan

The next method for the comparison of wireless carriers is to build a plan with each one that made it through step one. Before you start building your plans, decide what you need out of it (number of minutes, number or texts, amount of data, etc.) and then build your plans to be as close to these numbers as possible without going under. If you intend to use a great deal of everything, you will probably want to take a look at bundles as they have a better overall value, but if you only need certain things (like minutes, but not data) then you should see if they have basic plans available that you can add services to so you do not have to pay for things you do not need. Once you have the least expensive plan for each carrier ready, head to the last step.

Compare Prices

The final comparison of wireless carriers to make is the prices of the plans you built in the previous step. Knowing that each carrier has coverage for your area and that each plan has what you need, all that is left for you to do is find the one with the lowest price. If you happen to find that two or more of the plans have the same price, compare the features and extras they are offering and go with the plan that is offering the most. After all, it only makes sense to get as much as you can with the money you are planning to spend.

Now, you are aware of the methods necessary to make a comparison of wireless carriers and get the very best plan for you and or your family using only the amount of money you intend to spend.

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By David

As you probably already know, if you have been attempting to find the best wireless cell service there are many options available to you as a consumer. The challenging thing these days is not so much finding a wireless cell service, but rather, finding the one that is right for you. To help you do this, here is a short 3 step guide for choosing a wireless cell service:

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Coverage Area

When you are checking out a wireless cell service, you will first want to examine their coverage areas and make sure that you fall within them. A wireless cell services coverage area is essentially the combination of all its cell towers and their combined range. If there are not any towers near where you live or areas you frequent, that means you will likely not be covered there and may thus wish to look at other carriers. Additionally, you will find that some carriers will represent their coverage areas as being larger than they are by including roaming towers (towers rented from other carriers). Using these towers can result in roaming fees being added to your bill and so if you are covered only by roaming towers, you might want to look at other options.

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Available Plan and Service Options

Next, you will want to take a look at the plans and services available through the remaining wireless cell services. Keep in mind you are going to find that there are two types of plans: bundles which will typically offer the best value and basic plans plus services which are better only if you do not need everything offered in a bundle. Search through the different options of each wireless cell service and build the best plan for your needs from each company. As you search, remember to decide early on what you need and build plans that provide that. Remember to try and keep what the plans are providing about the same so your final comparison can be a fair one.

Compare Prices

Using your best plans from above compare the prices of the plans from each wireless cell service and find the one that is the lowest. Because you have built it yourself and it is a carrier you know has coverage for you, you can expect that it is going to do quite well for you. If you find that there are two or more plans that are the same price, you will have to decide between them. Try looking to see which is offering more features or perks for the amount you plan to spend; choosing this one would be a good option as it will give you the most for your money. Once you have decided on a plan it is simply a matter of signing up for it through the wireless cell services website and awaiting the materials.

Now you have an idea of how one goes about deciding between the numerous wireless cell services that are available today. Using this guide help you find the service that is right for you.

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By David

If you have been trying to find the right cell phone company to meet your needs, then you already know just how many options are out there. While it may seem easy to compare prices, often times packages will come with different options making their advertised prices deceptively low. To help you find the right service for you, we’ll walk you through three easy steps for choosing between US mobile carriers.

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Coverage

When looking at what each of the US mobile carriers offers, the first thing to check out is their coverage area. This is the fastest easiest way of weeding out plans that are not right for you. If the native coverage map (the one without roaming towers included) does not cover where you live or the places you frequent, then that company’s not going to be the right one for you. Most of the large carriers have their own nationwide networks, so this is an issue that you will be more likely to run into with the smaller carriers. So whichever companies do not cover where you live, work and play, remove from your list of potential companies and head to the next step.

Plans & Services

Now to determine the right US mobile carrier for you, you will want to take a look at each one’s plans and services. Many companies will offer a package with unlimited minutes and texts, with a basic level of data which you can upgrade all the way up to unlimited as well if you like. This basically allows you to do whatever you want on your phone without the need to worry about limits. However, if you do not use your minutes that often, never text or go through some sort of app to do so, or if you do most of your web browsing, streaming, and downloading inside a Wi-Fi area, you may want to look at other plans. Many companies also offer basic plans that have around 500 minutes or so which you can then add services to in order to get the levels of coverage that you need. It is almost always cheaper to go with these types of plans if you are only using one of your three categories (minutes, texts, and data) heavily. Play around with the options and find the best plan that meets all your needs for each remaining company. Try to keep services at even levels for a fair comparison.

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Compare Prices

The final step is of course to take a look at the prices of each of the plans you have put together and see which one is the most affordable. This process generally does not take long, but if you do have a few plans with around the same price, you may wish to consider picking the one with slightly more minutes, texts, or data, or some sort of extra feature as you will want to get the most out of your money.

Once you have found the plan to go with, simply contact the selected US mobile carrier to sign up and get started.

By David

If you have been shopping around for a new cell phone, you have likely noticed a significant difference in mobile price. It seems almost as though the phones are arbitrarily priced higher and lower. While there are some marketing and aesthetic considerations, they are not the major determining factors of a phone’s final price-mark. Below we’ll take a look at 3 key factors to help you understand how mobile price is determined.

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Type of phone

The first and likely the most important factor in determining mobile price is the type of phone being evaluated. Mobile phones typically come in two types; cell phones and Smartphones. A cell phone is good for talking and texting and maybe a couple other simple functions, but otherwise is not asked to do a great deal. As this is the case most cell phones have low-end hardware and cost less. Smartphones on the other hand are expected to do everything and people get very frustrated if they cannot deliver. For this reason, a Smartphone will use much more high-end hardware so that it runs faster and smoother, but ultimately ends up costing more because of it.

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Hardware and features

The second factor in determining mobile price is the hardware included in the phone and the features that go with it. The faster the processor, the more internal storage space it has, and the better the camera the more the phone is going to cost. If you want wireless connectivity, expandable memory, GPS navigation, and a host of other diverse features, you will end up paying extra for those as well. Still, the fact of the matter is if you need a phone, personal organizer, camera, portable music player, and handheld GPS unit than paying for the extras on your phone will end up being cheaper overall than buying all those things individually, not to mention a lot easier to carry around.

Popularity

Though it is an unfortunate truth, a phone’s popularity will have a decided effect on determining mobile price. Everyone wants the latest and greatest piece of technology on the market so that they can use all the cool new things coming out specifically to use it and so that they can fulfill that instinctive need to “keep up with the Jones’.” This increases demand by a large margin, spurred on by advertising, and typically, the factory just can’t keep up, especially when something’s just come out. This high demand combined with a low supply makes prices shoot up for the phone that is the new hot thing, but also will result in a bit of a price drop for those phones sitting otherwise ignored on the shelves gathering dust.

While there are other factors that play a role in determining mobile price these are the key factors. The benefit to this knowledge is that you not only will not be surprised when you hear the price of the phone that you would like to get, but you may even be able to find it for less, while everyone’s grabbing up a newer version.

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