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I have been on the pay-as-you-go tariff for the past 2 years. Before that I had always been on a monthly contract tariff. I am now in a good position to make comparison of both tariffs.

The pay-as-you-go is hassle free in the sense that I only need top-up when I need to. Otherwise I can save as much as I want. It has also made me become more aware of my usage and I regularly check my balance. I did not do this when I was on the contract phone and some months I have gone over the inclusive free minutes and paid quite a lot. another good thing about pay-as-go phone tariffs is you don't have to worry too much if your phone is stolen as the amount available is all the thief can use. I had the unfortunate experience of losing my contract phone overseas and over 24 hours the bill had gone into the hundreds. I was fortunate because I informed my provider immediately on realizing my phone was missing however due to some technical error the sim card was not blocked immediately. Therefore I wasn't liable to make the payment for the use of the phone after it was stolen.

One major disadvantage of owning a pay-as-you-go phone is that my credit tends to run out when I most need it. It can be frustrating and stressful. This has happened to me several times. So I have now set up topping-up using text message. It is quick and simple. I can also monitor my monthly usage as I now have a online account.

On the other hand a monthly contract phone package relieves you of the need to top up regularly. You also get a new phone (in the UK) each time you sign up for a new contract. Most packages also come with extras like bluetooth headphones, free broadband and cashbacks.

In the last two months my usage has gone over twenty pounds. I am now looking into alternative tariffs and have now discovered the sim only package. This is similar to a monthly contract package except that you don't get a new phone. However you get double the free inclusive minutes and texts compared to the normal contract phone. As my usage is usually less than twenty pounds a month, I might just opt for the sim only package and hope I don't exceed my inclusive minutes like I use to.

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