Pay As You Go Phone
National News
by
Bob Hansen
last edited on
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Are you ready to dump your cell phone contract? A new study claims as the economy gets worse, nearly 40 percent of us are likely to cut back on our wireless service. One way to save, go from expensive plans to pay as you go. Behind every cell phone is a bill. For many people, it's a monthly bill backed by a costly contract. So as times get tough, are people looking for an escape? One way is to cancel a phone. Another is to shop for a cheaper contract. But today, a growing number of people are going from monthly commitments to prepaid plans. "It can cost you as little as a dollar a day. It can cost you a dollar a month depending on what your usage is," said Stephanie Fortuna of Cricket Wireless. San Diego-based Cricket Wireless sees the number of people going with pay as you go plans steadily climbing. With prepaid plans you only pay for the minutes or the days that you use the phone. A lower daily rate for calls only, more for texting or online connections. Estella Cervantes says with pay as you go, it's easier to budget your minutes and your money. "You know how much you're going to pay and you don't have to worry about, 'oh, my minutes. I went overboard and then I wonder how much my bill is?' so I already know," said Cervantes. Now Cricket's plan allows you to pay one, two, or three dollars a day depending on what sort of features you want. But if you don't use your phone that day you don't pay a penny." "Now if you don't use your service on that day, let's say any day, we don't charge you for it. That dollar a day actually rolls over," said Fortuna.Only about 17 percent of us cell phone consumers use prepaid plans. But as more people look for ways to keep connected on a budget, it's just one more option worth dialing up.