It's hard to look back and imagine what we did before we had cell phones! If you were out and about, and needed to call someone quickly - you would find yourself driving around looking for a pay phone to use and hoping you had change in your pocket to make the call. My how technology has changed over the years; not only are cell phones an everyday must for most people, but there are hundreds of cell phone models and service packages to choose from.

My son is thirteen he has been nagging me for over a year to get him a cell phone. My first reaction was "No!" I can't afford to have another cell phone bill and what happens if he runs up the bill and it goes over his minutes? Well, of course I would then be stuck paying for it since he isn't of the age to work yet. While he persisted and kept explaining why he just had to have his cell phone I finally started to do some research to find out if there were any packages that would suit our needs and that's when I found out about prepaid cell phone plans and now I am hooked and he's a happy teenager!

Depending on how you look at the situation there are both positives and negatives to choosing a prepaid cell phone. However, this has been the perfect solution for our family. Below I have shared some of my own thoughts and pros and cons to help you make your decision hopefully easier.

Pros to using a prepaid cell phone

- With a prepaid cell phone plan, there is no contract involved.

- Prepaid means you pay for your minutes before you use them, but now you have no monthly bill to pay!

- Prepaid cell phones are helpful for those families on a tight budget or that may have poor credit history. Most prepaid cell phone plans don't do a credit check, it's not needed.

- There are no hidden fees or unexpected bills arriving in the mailbox!

- Prepaid cell phones help you keep in touch with your kids so you can call them all times and know where they are or what they are doing.

Cons to using a prepaid cell phone

- The cell phone will only work for the exact amount of prepaid minutes purchased. It is essential to keep track of how many minutes you have left so you don't find yourself with a cell phone you can't use when most needed.

- Prepaid cell phones are very basic they don't offer all the nifty little extras that you would get if you were in a contract with a major cell phone provider. This may or may not affect you.

- If a certain amount of time passes and you haven't poor more money on your prepaid cell phone you may lose your phone number and have to get another. This may or may not be hassle for you.

- Shop around and make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck. The minutes are going to be higher than a paid service but, there are companies that will have better rates per minute of talk time.

- All incoming calls and calls to check your voice mail will most likely come off your allotted minutes. Ask the provider to make sure.

We recommend TracFone as the best prepaid cell phone provider! After doing extensive research and cost comparing they offer the best plan minutes with the lowest talk per minute fees. Stop by and check TracFone out today, you can have your new cell phone in your hand in no time!

TracFone is your source for finding the cheapest, most reliable prepaid cell phone plans on the internet. Visit TracFone today and you will be on your way to talking to friends and family while still staying in your budget!