My MoneySaving mobile dilemma: contract or pay-as-you-go?

My MoneySaving mobile dilemma

I’ve had a pay-as-you-go mobile for some time now. But with so many new all-singing, all-dancing phones available, it’s easy to be tempted into buying a new contract phone.

So I have a bit of a dilemma – stick with what I’ve got or take the plunge into high phone-bill territory?

I’m lucky enough to get mobile hand-me-downs from my husband, who gets a new contract phone each year. So I’ve rarely bought myself a new one or paid for a contract.

This is why:

• I can easily email people by computer, and I rarely use my phone for outgoing calls.
• When I call, they only last a few minutes as I’m working or feeding the kids.
• I save longer calls for my landline, which I have to use a certain number of times a quarter for the £30 BT line installation offer.
• I keep texts to a minimum as I can easily email instead.
• I’m not the type of phone user who texts or rings someone if I’m seeing them in a couple of hours – unless it’s “we’re out of milk, can you bring some home”.

Until recently, my mobile bills have only been around £2 to £5 a month.

But now my eldest has started school and as her social life is busier than mine, I find I need to text a lot more often.

So in the last few months I’ve started a mental list of pros and cons for getting a new phone. Should I fork out much more per month for a snazzy new phone with all the bells and whistles?

Pros of spending on new phone

• Wouldn’t have to ring my other half to ask him to do a price comparison when I’m in the supermarket (he invariably doesn’t use MSE’s Megashopbot – grrr).
• I don’t have to stop myself texting someone if I just felt like it.

Cons

• Contracts are fixed monthly sums, while pay-as-you-go may be a lot less.
  I may not use my landline enough so may get charged extra under my current deal (that ends in May, though).
• I want to pay off my mortgage in 13 years.

So what’s the decision?

MoneySaving has won out over convenience. For the time being, I’m sticking with my trusted pay-as-you-go.

You can leave your feedback and suggestions in the comments section below or on the MSE forum.