Pay as You Go Phones Instead of Pay Monthly for Emergencies or General Use

The Pay As You Go idea sounds like a plan only for the phone that sits in a drawer, on a boat, or in a book bag in case things go wrong and a phone call home or to the emergency services is required. In truth, the price per minute and data prices for this type of non-plan phone have gone down a lot. We are now at the point where more people are sticking with the pay as you go phone even while contracts have become increasingly affordable as well.

Patterns of Phone Use have Changed

It would be a different world were parents purchasing inexpensive pay as you go mobile phones, charging the batteries, adding a few minutes in credit, then telling their young ones to call if needed, but not to use the phone for anything else such as for text messaging friends or prank calling the Chinese restaurant asking for lost neighbourhood felines.

Times have changed from when mobiles first came out, and a child with a cell phone is no longer a unique proposition but rather the rule. In case of emergency, those armed with a phone are able to call for emergency responders, parents, or some other useful entity. The phone can be used to avoid going to a pay phone, if those still exist, at night or in some unsavoury area. Equally importantly, being able to call or text message whereabouts brings a sense of calm and security to parents and other loved ones who would tend to worry otherwise. “Call when you get there,” has become an unstated, “Keep in touch with me always.”

Now that the phone is being seen as a way to avoid dangerous situations as well as keep in regular touch with home, we can let go of the idea that the pay as you go phone might be a good idea for emergencies only. Sure, pay monthly phones have some excellent options out there and are somewhat flexible, but nothing so stretchy as the pay as you go phone.

Costs of Pay as You Go Vs. Pay Monthly Deals

How expensive would a pay as you go phone be? If you are one of those who sends text messages with every breath of air, the credits put on a pay to play phone will disappear rather more quickly than for those who use a phone less as a means of constant contact and more to stay connected on a regular, but less frequent, basis.

The cost of the pay as you go handset is going to be the full retail value of the phone, no questions there. Retailers have to make what they can when you are not signing a contract as you have the ability to switch carriers at any point in time, leaving them holding the bag should they offer freebies or benefits. Thus, the perks of pay as you go phones do not reveal themselves at the initial transaction, where dropping up to £300 on a smart phone may feel a bit like cruel and unusual punishment.

The pay as you go plans are aimed at giving customers control over what they spend. You are able to put as few credits on at a time as you like, allowing control via data deprivation, if you like. With only as much talking, texting and browsing as you pay for in advance, the pay as you go phone can be useful for those who like to watch what they spend and limit their overall exposure. Should you travel for a month and leave the phone at home, the credits will still be there when you return. No bills to pay means not having to worry about making a late payment and being shut off. So long as you have added credits to the phone, it will be there for you.

Phones for the Thrifty

Not every pay as you go phone has to cost a fortune. There are phones for as little as £25, such as Samsung’s Monte Slider phone, and of course all the way up to and beyond £300. If saving money is the object, there is no absolute need for the most expensive iPhone, as there are plenty of smartphone options for much less. In fact, the more expensive the handset, the more intrusive it becomes in day to day routines, meaning more time spent using it which equals more credits vanquished. Being thrifty is a balancing act, as the fewer pounds put on the phone at a clip, the pricier minutes become.

There are ways to save more as well as ways to spend less, but these two can be mutually exclusive in the pay as you go arena. For those who want to spend as little as £5 at a time, the cost of one minute of talk time is going to be around 16 pence a minute. Spend more at once, get more, that is what is great about the pay as you go phones. There are bulk deals for data, text and talk that rival those deals available with contract phones.

For £10, customers can send and receive 400 text messages and talk for 100 minutes, as well as use up to 1 GB of data.

At the £15 mark, customers have one month to use 600 text messages, 200 talk time minutes and 2 GB of data. The talk and text limits are lower here than for £15 contracts, but with no obligation to renew, customers can decide for themselves each month how heavily invested in their phone they would like to remain.

A bulk buying plan of £25 gives pay as you go customers unlimited text messaging capability, 500 talk time minutes and 3 GB of data allowance.

For those not purchasing bulk lots of data, minutes and text, the price of sending text messages remains constant at 5 pence per text, and minutes can cost as much as 20 pence per minute.

In Conclusion

Whether the pay as you go phone is going to be a back-up phone or a regular use phone, it has its advantages over contract phones, as seen here. For those who cannot or will not tie themselves down to a two year obligation with a mobile network, there is recourse in the pay as you go plan.

uSwitch was helpful when Sam Jones was looking for the most affordable pay monthly deals. Online price comparison sites had a range of offers that fit right into his budget