3 Tips For Finding Your Perfect Cell Phone and Plan

Having a cell phone is a necessity for most people in today’s busy world. You need a way to keep in touch with loved ones, business associates, and friends.  With a massive market for cell phones, there is no shortage of models to choose from, but choosing the right cellpho

ne for you can be challenging if you’re not sure where to start. The last thing that you want is to buy a phone that has a bunch of bells and whistles that you don’t use, but lacks in some features that you would love to familiarize yourself with. That’s why it’s important to consider your needs and how they will be met before making a final decision.

Narrow Down Your Options

Cell phones are designed with different people and needs in mind. That leaves you with ample options as a consumer, which can be extremely overwhelming when walking into a store to buy a new phone.

That’s why your best bet is to write down all of the things you expect your cell phone to be able to do. Sure, you want your phone to place calls, but are you the type of person who is going to want to use your phone as a music device, or are your needs more focused on Social Media and internet access? How many voice calls are you realistically going to make? What kind of keyboard do you find easiest to use for texting? These are all important questions to ask yourself before you even head into the store.

Consider a Term Plan

All cell phone service providers have long term plans designed to keep their customers on for more time, rather than less. In this vein, you will usually be able to lower the price of your favourite model of phone by signing on to a contract for two years or more. Keep in mind that in order to get a great cell phone plan at a decent monthly price, you’re going to need to let the company check your credit score. If you’ve got a poor credit score, you may have to buy your phone outright and work on a prepaid model.

Try Before You Buy

It’s easy to imagine the things that you may need in a cell phone, but in practice it can be a lot different when you’ve got to use it. Make sure that you have a great handle on exactly where you can expect to have service from any particular service provider before you sign on with them, especially if you’ll be travelling often. Some companies will give you a few weeks with a trial phone to decide if that model is the one for you, but if this isn’t possible, see if you can find a friend or family member with the phone that you’d like and find out if you can test it for a day for two. This hands-on experience will give you a better idea as to whether the phone will work for your needs.

This guest post is from Allison with CreditScore.net.