5 Cheapskate Tips On Cell Phones

By: Lane French

Break Studios Contributing Writer

Looking for 5 cheapskate tips on cell phones? Cell phones today are more of a necessity than a luxury. People are more mobile for both business and pleasure, and having a cell phone provides a measure of comfort should an emergency arise. Having a cell phone doesn’t always mean having a big bill each month. Here are 5 tips for cheapskate ways to have a cell phone without blowing the budget each month.

  1. Keep track of the minutes you use each month and adjust your plan according to your use. Going over your minutes can result in huge bills for overage minutes, but if you're a cheapskate you don’t want to pay for a larger package than you need, either.
  2. Look at refurbished phones. Refurbished cell phones are just as good as brand-new phones for the cheapskate, and include a warranty. They come at a much cheaper price than a brand-new cell phone.
  3. Check and see if your carrier offers the ability for you to specify certain numbers that you can call for free. These plans have various names depending on the carrier but all let you specify a set amount of phone numbers that you can call for free at any time.
  4. Go with a pre-paid plan. Many of the carriers now offer pre-paid plans that offer unlimited talk, text and web for one set monthly price. Going pre-paid helps you stick to a budget as you can’t run up any overage charges and your monthly payment stays the same.
  5. Don’t upgrade your cell phone just because you can. Unless you need new features or your current cell phone is starting to not work correctly, there is no need to upgrade.

Following these 5 cheapskate tips will help you to keep your cell phone expenses down while still enjoying the security of having a phone when you need it.

Posted on: Jun. 25, 2010