I cringe whenever I hear of anyone paying high prices for their cell phone. It’s not uncommon for an individual plan to edge up close to the $100 mark and I’ve heard of families with multiple teens paying more than $400 monthly for a family plan. In fact, recent research shows that the average phone bill across all plans comes in at a hefty $148 per month! There are ways to save money on mobile plans and use that money for other expenses!

There are options other than the standard plans offered by the large carriers who do all the advertising (we’re looking at you Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and T-mobile!). Read on to learn about how you can save money on mobile plans painlessly.

Consider Pre-paid or No-contract plans

These days, there are far more options for low-cost, pre-paid or no-contract plans than ever before. The concept is simple: you purchase a phone that is compatible with the service and then choose either a monthly plan  or a pre-paid plan from a provider.

With pre-paid plans, you pay a certain amount of money and you get some combination of talk minutes, text messaging, and data for that amount. You pay up front (hence the “prepaid” term) but that doesn’t really feel any different than paying at the end of the billing period. You can also find “pay as you go” plans that function exactly like a pre-paid plan, but instead of paying each month, you purchase a pool of minutes or data only as you need them.

Here are a few details to be aware of with these budget-friendly options:

• The extras included in each plan will vary from carrier to carrier and phone to phone. It’s important, as always to read the fine print and understand exactly what you are getting as well as any exclusions and limitations that exist so you aren’t caught by surprise.
• Each carrier has its own list of phones that you can use with their prepaid plans – expect that you will have a limited supply of phones to choose from so you won’t be disappointed!
• The phones you can use for a monthly plan may be different than what you can use for a pay-as-you-go plan (pay-as-you-go plans often dont include smartphones).
• You may not have 5 star service or network capability.
• You may or may not be able to keep your existing phone number. Ask the carrier you select for their specific limitations on this issue.
• You will need to pay for the full cost of the phone you purchase up front instead of bundling it into the price of your contract as some of the larger carriers can allow.
• Family plans are not available with these services – each individual will need to have their own plan.

For those of you who feel like you’re spending way too much on your phone bill – jump on the no-contract phone service bandwagon! It’s so easy to cut your cell phone bill with no-contract phone service, and you’ll be shocked with how much you can save each month. You may not get all the same bells and whistles as you will get with a large phone carrier under a contract plan, but you will get the peace of mind of knowing that your mobile phone isn’t going to dictate your budget.