Do you need an inexpensive phone for emergencies but don't want to sign up for 2 years with one of the big wireless companies? There is an alternative in prepaid plans. Almost every wireless company has a prepaid option, not to mention a few extra places are exclusively prepaid.

So your decision has been narrowed down to prepaid. Now what? You still have a plethora of pleasing prepaid phone possibilities! Let's break down each prepaid service and what they offer.

When choosing a prepaid plan, you can choose from either Pay as You Go (PAYG) or Monthly plans. PAYG acts like the phone cards of old; buy a card with a certain number of minutes on it, and when that balance gets low simply buy another card. Monthly plans act similar to the rate plans you get under contract, except you are not under any obligation or commitment.

First, the exclusives:

Tracfone - GSM Prepaid carrier offers both PAYG and Monthly Plans. You can buy cards of minutes, get a certain amount of minutes for a whole year, you can even get signed up for prepaid family plans.
The least expensive phone on Tracfone is 9.99. 30 day return policy.
Notes: minutes roll over each month as long as you consistently add minutes at least once each 2 months.
Get a FREE Motorola camera phone when you purchase a double minute prepaid card on Tracfone


Virgin Mobile - Works off of Sprint's network. PAYG: Go with a flat rate or discounted minutes for 6.99/mth. Monthly plans: there are several plans to choose from; starts as low as 14.99/mth for 100 minutes, and goes up to 99.99/mth for 1000 minutes and free nights/weekends starting at 7. (Note - unlike most prepaid services that cut your usage off at your limit, you are allowed to go over your minutes with Virgin Mobile.) Messaging: when you get a package the messages are a penny each, so a 9.99/mth package gets you 1000 messages. Additional are 5 cents each.
The least expensive phone on Virgin is 19.99. 30 day return policy.

To be continued...