An alternative to agreeing to a lengthy contract is to purchase a prepaid phone. Prepaid phones have come a long way from the way they used to be. In the past, people often stayed way from prepaid phones because it usually meant buying pricey cards to add minutes to the phone, which were often quickly depleted. Nowadays, there are prepaid mobile phone plans that work just like contracts, yet without the commitments. The phone choices are equivalent to those included in contracts as well, but the only downside is that you are responsible for paying for your own phone, as opposed to getting a free one when agreeing to a contract.

Prepaid phones are also a great way to control costs when getting a phone for a preteen or teenager. Children usually love to talk and send text messages to their friends, but are totally oblivious to how quickly the fees add up, making it easy for them to create huge cell phone bills. A prepaid plan can teach the child or teen how to use their phone sensibly by managing their minutes and making their phone unavailable for use after they've exhausted the month's minutes. Not only does this option teach children responsibility, but it also saves you a great deal of money as well.

Another way to save money on your cellular phone services it to refrain from wasting money by paying for plans month after month but failing to use all or most of the minutes. If you are signed up for a monthly cell phone plan with a certain amount of minutes, yet you realize that at the end of the month that you haven't used even close to the amount of minutes provided, then perhaps you need to consider a plan change. Unless you have a plan that allows rollover minutes then you are paying unnecessary fees. You could probably downgrade to a plan with less minutes and a lower monthly price.

If your problem is that you're spending a great deal on the actual cell phone unit, then one option is to buy the phone of your choice from EBay, Craigslist or Amazon, instead of purchasing it from your mobile phone provider. You can save up to fifty percent or more by purchasing the phone of your choice this way. Another way to get your new phone at a drastic reduction or even free is to enter into a contract with the provider of your choice. As long as you use your minutes reasonably without going over, a contract can be a great way for you to get a new phone without overpaying for the handset.

Many cell phone owners are notorious for allowing young children to play with their cell phones. Unfortunately, most mobile phones provide easy access to the Internet, and oftentimes only one button needs to be pressed in order to be connected. This is often purposely done by the provider, as most charge fees each time the internet is accessed. By allowing young children to play with your cell phone, you can quickly rack up hefty fees in which most mobile phone providers will not reimburse you for. If your small child cries to play with your cell phone every time he or she sees you using yours, why not buy the child a toy cell phone to play with? It will certainly save you from paying unnecessarily high mobile phone bills for service that you haven't used.

If you are frequently going over your allowed monthly minutes and are creating bills that you can't afford by paying the huge overage fees, a good option is to try using your home or office phone to make a majority of your calls. If using a landline phone is not an option, there are many creative mobile phone plans that are meant to save you money. Depending on the area you live in, there are some plans that allow unlimited everything: minutes, messages, web browsing, etc. Taking advantage of such a plan, if available, can save you a great deal of money. If there are no cellular phone companies that offer unlimited plans in your area, then another option is to seek companies that offer free incoming phone calls. Many providers offer free mobile to mobile, and if your friends, family and colleagues are on the same network it would work out well for you. Other providers even allow you to choose five people that you talk to most often and all of your calls to and from those five people are free. You simply have to check to see what's available in your area.

There is absolutely no reason why you have to pay astronomical fees in order to enjoy the convenience of having a cellular phone. All you have to do is figure out ahead of time how many minutes you think you'll be using on a regular basis, as well as how much you can comfortably afford to pay each month. If you don't need extras for your phone like internet service, Bluetooth devices, and text messaging, then eliminating them can help to reduce your costs significantly. If your credit is shaky or you for some reason don't want to enter into a contract, then one of the many prepaid phone plans will not only save you from the embarrassment of a credit check, but will also save you a great deal of money in the long run.