Everywhere you look these days, people are on their cellphones. On the bus, walking down the street, in your office building, and now, even people with ear buds that allow them to legally talk on a cellphone while driving. If you’re one of the few that don’t have a cellphone, it’s probably because you either can’t sign up for a service contract (due to things such as bad credit,) or you don’t want to pay the costly contract fees (good reason, some of them can be pretty expensive.) But avoiding service contracts and signup fees doesn’t mean that you can’t have a cellphone. It just means you’ll need to get a prepaid cellphone. That is, if you want to get in on the conversation.
Prepaid cellphones are just that – cellphones that you pay for in advance, and use only after you’ve put money on the account. No contracts, no sign-up fees, just get a cellphone and then whenever you need to add minutes to it, pick up one of the activation cards, available just about anywhere, to do so. While prepaid cell phones come with many advantages, they have some disadvantages too.
The biggest advantage that comes with a prepaid cell phone is that there are no contracts. This in itself has many benefits because you won’t be required to pay a certain amount every month; you can simply pay for what you can afford, and what you need, at the time. And, because there’s no contract, there’s also no credit check. The company selling you the phone isn’t placing any risk in you because you’re paying for your minutes before you actually use them – so there’s no reason for them to check your credit.
And, there’s also no reason for you to give them a deposit. With a contract often comes a deposit because the company needs to protect themselves if you default on payments. Because that’s impossible with a prepaid cellphone, you don’t need to fork over the deposit before using your phone.
Prepaid cellphones are not only great for those who don’t have credit or the means to pay a monthly contract, they’re also great options for parents who want their kids to have a cellphone for emergencies, but also want to place a limit on the spending that’s done with the phone.
The biggest disadvantage to prepaid cellphones is that they’re expensive. Not only is the initial investment of the phone more expensive, but the minutes are more expensive too. While a contracted cellphone will generally include the phone free as part of the contract, you’ll have to purchase the phone, and then the minutes, with a prepaid phone. In addition to that, the cost per minute on prepaid phones is generally two or three times more than you’ll pay when using a contract.
Prepaid cellphones can be the answer for those who want to join the 3G and 4G world but don’t have the means, or desire, to pay the contract fees. Before putting down the money for a prepaid phone though, it’s important to know what it will cost you and whether or not it’s worth it for you.