Right now a lot of people are tightening belts concerning money and one way to save cash is by using a pre-paid cell phone instead of post-paid. Here are some tips to maximize minutes and minimize hassle.

1. Check voicemail from another number

On many pre-paid phones it chews up minutes checking your voicemail. Solution: Check it from another line. Call your cell phone number, wait for the greeting, press star (*), enter your voicemail password then press pound (#). You’ll be able to log right in and take all the time you want without using any minutes at all. And you can keep your phone free for use while checking voicemail.

2. Do not register the phone with the provider’s web site

Pre-paid phone companies strongly urge you to register the phone with their web site for one reason – to spam you. Don’t fall for the convenience of buying minutes online if you can. Buy your minutes with cards from local retailers instead.

And no, you don’t save any cash buying online compared to retail because you still have to pay the tax no matter what method you use, so you might as well buy the card(s) in the store.

3. Avoid using text alerts from other providers

You lose either time or "text allowance" each time you receive a text message alert. Don’t bother with these.

4. Do not "tie in" your phone with your instant messenger.

Many instant messenger services allow you to "tie in" or "link" your IM account with your cell phone. For those with unlimited messaging this may be fine, but for pre-paid, not so much. Sure, it may be convenient but it will chew up time/allowance for text messages fast.

5. Buy an identical phone just for the battery.

Your pre-paid phone was most likely inexpensive. If it was a Motorola W175g for example, the phone probably cost you only ten dollars.

Buy a second phone just for the battery. When you get it, don’t bother activating it. Just plug it in to the wall and keep it on charge for a fresh battery. When the battery in your primary phone runs out, swap out the batteries and ta-da, extra battery when you need it.

STRANGE BUT TRUE: If you were to buy a battery outright for that same 10-dollar phone, it can cost up to 30 dollars. Why bother when the entire phone is 10 and you get the same battery with an extra "charger" (the other phone)?

Dave (owner of PCMech) has a ritzy/glitzy/sexy/super-cool Apple iPhone. And he really likes it. Furthermore he uses it a lot so he’s getting his money’s worth. He uses apps, he texts, he talks on it (obviously), uses Twitter on it, browses the web, etc.

I on the other hand am very anti-cell phone. The only reason I own one is to have some means of mobile telephone communications. As far as what I choose, I go for nothing but basic. To say it another way, whatever is the cheapest thing I can get is what I will usually go for.

Recently I switched off of a post-paid plan with Verizon and decided to go with TracFone, a pre-paid cell phone service.

The purchasing process

I purposely went to Radio Shack on an early Saturday morning figuring there wouldn’t be too many people in the store at that time of the day – and I was right. The store was basically empty.

Why Radio Shack? It’s because RS employees will actually set the phone up for you right at the counter so you don’t have to do it yourself – which they did. In case you weren’t aware, RS is still to this day one of the better places to buy a cell phone (it’s the #1 thing they sell).

Cost of the phone: $10.00 (a little over $11 after tax).

The phone itself: It’s a Motorola W175g. And THANK GOD it’s actually a one-piece phone instead of a this-will-break-in-a-year flip style. I’ll speak more on the phone in a moment.

The pre-paid TracFone service comes with 20 "bonus" minutes to start with. This is great because it means I had a phone ready-to-use for just over $10 that I could add minutes to later on, so I didn’t have to buy extra minutes up front. Very nice.

If you are the type who is big penny pincher, the absolute cheapest way to run a TracFone is to buy one 60-minute card every 90 days. You need to buy at least 60 minutes for it to be at a 90-day span between purchases. The 60-minute card costs $19.99 + tax.

If you do the math, the phone service will cost you just over $7 per month (assuming you don’t go over the minute allowance). You could opt for a 365-day instead of a 90-day, but 90-day will suit most people.

The phone itself

The Motorola W175g is a "candy bar" style phone. It’s not exactly thin but fits in the pocket easily. And – thankfully – it’s charged via a mini-USB connector. This connector is solid and not like those asinine funky-shaped power connectors Motorola used to have.

The screen is readable in daylight. The sound is just fine. Speakerphone could be a little bit better, but then again what do you expect for 10 bucks? Battery life is decent.

I will say this: This phone – which is notably inferior compared to a Motorola RAZR – sounds better and is much easier to navigate as far as the menu system is concerned. Furthermore it feels better in the hand when talking on it.

The TracFone service

I really like the fact TracFone makes it stupidly easy to know exactly what you’re spending.

The phone itself will tell you up front how many minutes you have left and how many days you have left for your current minute allowance – so you’re never out of the loop concerning that.

Minutes can be bought online at TracFone.com or by going anywhere that sells TracFone-enabled phones (Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, etc.) and pick up a card.

The service itself is fine. Reception is good; calls stay connected. The service does the job it’s supposed to do.

You would like TracFone if…

• You hate cell phones and only want one for basic communications or just for emergencies.
• You’re a parent and want to give your kid(s) a cell phone but also want something basic that can take a pounding – TracFone definitely fits the bill there.
• You want more control over your cell phone use/bill/etc. It doesn’t get any easier than TracFone.

I would not recommend TracFone for heavy-use cell phone users because you’d run out of minutes fast and it would cost you more in the long run.

However if you’re a light user, TracFone suits just fine. It’s basic, it works, it’s cheap.

This is also cheap enough where you could give it as a gift. If you’ve got someone in the family that needs a cell phone, TracFone makes it easy enough where you can get it set up and let the recipient of the gift know that to add minutes they just have to buy a card every 90 days.

I do understand that TracFone service isn’t the best in all areas. It works fine in Tampa Bay Florida but that’s just my experience. Seeing that you can test the service for just 10 dollars (the purchase of the phone), it’s not like you’ll be in the poorhouse in case the service doesn’t work for whatever reason.