Buying Cell Phones...
Choose between a plan contract or Pay-as-you-go

If you are eligible to upgrade your phone because you have almost fulfilled your one or two year contract obligation, there are many fun phones that are under $200 or even under $100. Buying a cool phone without the contract’s discount is costly. A Sony phone that costs $60 with a plan will run about $230 without one.

If you are not interested in getting into a long obligation, there are GO PHONES or PAY AS YOU GO. You activate the phones by paying for certain denominations ($10, $20) and are charged at around .10 to .25 per minute and possibly charged by the day too. When the amount runs out, you put more money in (typically with a phone call). many parents like this option for kids who tend to go over their free minutes ending in a phone bill of a couple hudred dollars.

Go phones usually run under $150 and some even as low as $20 (Plus minutes). This is a great option if you must buy a phone between plans. The cingular phones actually work with a regular smart card and will save you if you have lost or broken a phone that isn’t covered by insurance.