Nice post, but I wanted to add that as many people know, SMS charges due to activity on social networking sites like Twitter can seriously add up. We often tend to think of wireless costs as fixed, but you can tinker with your plan to optimize its features to best suit your usage and often generate significant savings in the process. I know this firsthand because I work in the consumer advocacy division of the company Validas, where we electronically audit and subsequently reduce the average cell bill by 22 percent through our website, http://www.fixmycellbill.com (and I'll add that 22 percent equates to over $450 per year for the average user). Put simply, Validas guards against frivolous and unnecessary charges that over-inflate a cell bill. You can find out for free if fixmycellbill.com can modify your plan to better suit your individual needs by going to the website.

For more info, check out Validas in the national news media, most recently on Fox News at http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/consumer/conlaw/lower_cell_phone_bills_072409 .

Good luck to everyone reading on cutting cellular costs, especially in light of this unforgiving economy.

Dylan
Consumer Advocacy, fixmycellbill.com

My apologies; that first link I posted has a typo: the correct link is http://www.fixmycellbill.com

Herb, nice article. The main thing I would mention to anyone considering switching completely to pre-paid cell phones, however, is that you should figure out first whether you can reduce your current cell bills down to acceptable levels--thereby saving often significant "early termination fees." Not to blatantly plug, but I work for the consumer advocacy website http://www.fixmycellbill.com, powered by a company called Validas, where we slash the average cell bill by 22 percent. It costs five bucks to implement our suggested changes to your plan but we will analyze your bill for free without any commitment of purchase, just to let you know exactly how many dollars your carrier is ripping you off by.

For more info, check out Validas on Fox News at http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/consumer/conlaw/... .

Good luck to everyone reading on cutting your wireless costs, especially in this tough economy.

Dylan
Consumer Advocacy, fixmycellbill.com

Kutty, the main thing I would mention to anyone considering switching to pre-paid cell phones, however, is that you should figure out first whether you can reduce your current cell bills down to acceptable levels--thereby saving often significant "early termination fees." Not to blatantly plug, but I work for the consumer advocacy website http://www.fixmycellbill.com, powered by a company called Validas, where we slash the average cell bill by 22 percent. It costs five bucks to implement our suggested changes to your plan but we will analyze your bill for free without any commitment of purchase, just to let you know exactly how many dollars your carrier is ripping you off by.

For more info, check out Validas on Fox News at http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/consumer/conlaw/... .

Good luck to everyone reading on cutting your wireless costs, especially in this tough economy.

Dylan
Consumer Advocacy, fixmycellbill.com