Prepaid Phones

Phones were made for talking. Problem is some people have a bit more of the chatty-Kathy in them than others. Nothing is free in life, so the chatty-Kathys need to either pay for their chatty nature or keep it under wraps. If the funds aren’t there, that’s where a good prepaid plan comes into play. A prepaid phone plan is for those seeking a no-frills phone for occasional use, or if you need a phone but don’t want to get locked into a long-term contract. It is also an option for those who have a less than stellar credit record, which can hinder the ability to qualify for a regular phone plan.

More on the latter, because as there are no long-term contract requirements with prepaid phones, signing up for one might be one of the easiest things you can do. They are available everywhere (local retail outlets, some grocery stores, we’ve seen them in gas stations, convenience stores, etc). Major carriers like ATT, Verizon and T-Mobile handle them and the goal is simple – calling with a very fixed amount of time to talk. This also works with texting or sending picture messages, everything is “minutized” and once the minutes run out you can buy more obviously or simply stop using the phone. It’s really that simple.

A short aside, prepaid phones became rather infamous in the early 2000s with drug dealers. They referred to them as “burners,” phones one could buy, conduct drug deals on, and then throw them away, literally, in the trash can. They were burners because one could just burn right through them and then pick up another a couple days later. These were preferred over standard cell phones as the police had a hard-time wire tracing the burners because they appeared and then disappeared quickly. Now back to the story …

As a percent of the population, roughly 10 percent of cell phone users are using a prepaid plan. Most have an annual income of less than $44,000 and nearly one-third subscribe to text services. The advantages of a prepaid phone work the best with kids. Listen up if you’re the parent of a teenager. This group tends to engage in things in a more haphazard manner. They will tear through a phone’s minutes in no time, talking or texting about things that have no consequence to anyone or anything. They are cell phone junkies, love, love, love them so limiting the minutes they can charge on to your plan is not a bad route to take.  

Next, getting locked into a long-term contract as we previously touched on can be discomforting. Some people would rather test the market out a bit, see what works and what doesn’t, and then decide for that long-term deal. As the numbers suggest, most of the population ends up locked into some long-term deal, but the prudent thing to do prior to getting locked in is really shop around. While you’re shopping around however, you need something to talk on, and the prepaid phone is your friend in this instance.

As you can see there are lots of options here. Parents of teens especially, keep this one in your back pocket so the other item that inhabits your pocket (wallet) doesn’t end up negatively affected.