Money Saving Guide to Getting the Most from Your Prepaid Cell Phone

Prepaid cell phones provide the convenience of a cell phone without the recurring cost of a long-term cell phone contract. That being said, it is clear that prepaid cell phones are not for everyone, especially those that expect to spend long periods on the phone or make multiple calls during the course of a day. On the other hand there are people who find them useful for the occasional call, coordinating the pickup of someone arriving on a plane, for potential emergencies, etc. The emerging popularity of prepaid cell phones means multiple plans are available including some major carriers such as Alltel, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T Go Phone, Verizon and US Cellular Prepaid. Other companies include Net 10, Virgin Mobile, Tracfone, Xtreme Mobile and Boost Mobile. Tracfone was one of the first to offer prepaid cell phones on a non-contract basis.

First a short primer may be useful to people not familiar with the prepaid cell phone process. First you need to get a cell phone. Typically when you chose a prepaid service you will find only their enabled cell phones will work with their program. Also be aware that not all models offered by the vendor will work in all parts of the U.S. With many of the cell phone companies if you go to their web site and enter the ZIP code where you will be using the phone in primarily, it will show what phone models are available.

For purposes of discussing specific money saving tips it is convenient to discuss a specific company. In this case we will use Tracfone since it is one of the pioneers in prepaid cell phones. You will find many of these money saving tips will apply to other prepaid cell phone vendors programs.