With the myriad of cell phone plans that are available through the various carriers today, it can be a
bit of a challenge to muddle through it all, trying to find the best package for your family. Each has
their own special set of perks that are offered, in order to entice potential customers to purchase a
contract and commit themselves to a particular amount of time with the company. Although you’d be hard-pressed to find a carrier that locks you in for more than two years - those days are gone - you’re
still committing your patronage for a designated amount of time, and - that being the case - will have
a bit of research to do before settling on a specific package. Where do you begin?

Work the Room

One of the best ways to gather information on any product is to solicit the opinions of others who have
used it at one time or another. Since cell phones are such a hot commodity today, and everyone who uses one must purchase some type of cell phone plan in order to use it, then there’s a lot of information
that’s available to you in virtually any place where you’ll be exposed to others - in other words,
everywhere.

Extended Family - Since family members often chat with each other at some point during the day via cell
phone, check with other family members who are outside your home to see which plan they use and how well it works for them. Depending upon their circumstances, of course, the plan that they have might not be tailored to the needs of your family, but it’s a good starting point.

Friends - Although many folks have a very limited number of extended family members in their immediate area, most have a wide variety of friends from which to gather information. It’s in your best
interests, therefore, to find out what works best for them. If their families’ needs are similar to
yours, you can get a gold mine of information that might help you to select the best family cell phone
plan from among the many that are offered in your particular area.

Neighbors - If you’re the type that doesn’t barricade yourself from the neighbors with tall hedges that
serve to discourage communication, then you’re probably in the position to check with those who are
living around you about which local carriers offer good family plans. Since most people today carry
this type of device, then the chances are good that you’ll come up with something worthwhile.

Co-Workers - One of the main reasons that adults invest in cell phones today is to keep in touch with
family members during the time when they’re at work or are traveling on work-related business.
Therefore, finding a great family cell phone plan is a real priority for them, and you can cash in on
the research that they’ve already done. Keep in mind that their particular carrier may not be available
in your area, but chances are good that they are, since most people don’t have an overly long commute
to and from work each day.

Clubs/Organizations/Extracurricular Activities - Whether you work out at the gym twice each week,
attend an art class or belong to a bridge club, you have the potential to meet a large number of people
who use cellular phones and can speak to you about their options packages. Keep in mind that learning
about what they use is only half of the research - getting information about what plans didn’t work for
them is the other half. Sometimes, carriers make a product look great but, when put to practical use,
it’s found to be failing.

Online Community - Lots of information can be found online regarding cell phone service plans, and one
of the best ways to find information about specific carriers and their plans is to search for cell
phone reviews. These are easily found - by simply typing "cell phone review" into the keyword area of
your favorite search engine - and offer the added benefit of being up-to-date and usually fairly
specific regarding the assets and liabilities of the packages’ particulars.

Compiling the Data

It’s important to keep in mind that there are lots of different types of plans that are available, so
there’s a lot more research to do be done than may be immediately apparent. For instance, the term
"cell phone plan" is very generic, since there are various types of service; so when it’s time to
compare cell phone plans, you’ll have to consider each type of service that’s offered through each
carrier. Among the many things that you’ll have to examine are prepaid cell phone plans, "no contract"
cell phone plans, "pay as you go" mobile phones and internet phone service. Once you’ve narrowed it
down to the specific type of cell phone service that you prefer, then you’ll have to take the
particular features into consideration. These may include long distance plans, multiple phone options,
"free minutes" packages and mobile-to-mobile options, to name a few.

In order to weave your way through all of the information that you’ve collected, it’s best to list the
cellular phone carriers that you’ve examined, listing each option and its specifics. Once this list has
been compiled, then it’s time to decide what type of cell phone coverage is necessary in order to meet
your particular needs. Through the good old-fashioned process of elimination, most of your work will be
done before you make the attempt to contact any of the cellular phone companies. When you get to that point, you might also be surprised by a few specials that are being offered at the time, which will end up saving you even more on your monthly cell phone bill.

Taking the Shortest Route

Since finding a solid cell phone plan for your family can require a good deal of time and effort, you
may wish to consider taking a bit of a shortcut when it comes to information gathering. Rather than
approaching everyone on an individual basis, for instance, you might think of having a get-together -
maybe even a "cell phone party"! - so that you can bring most of your contacts directly to you, rather
than seeking each of them out at different times and places. Doing effective research is time-consuming
enough, so take the shortest route to your investigative destination and get a good deal of it over
with at once.