When considering a cell phone plans for senior citizens, it is often best to check their day to day usage of the cell phone. If the aged person is hooked on social media than a smartphone with enough ram and memory for full spectrum social media capability, as well as a 4G data connection, would be the ideal package. Conversely, if the cellphone is to be used only for day to day verbal activities then a smartphone will be a bit of an overkill.

If you are a senior citizen and want to opt for a plan for your own usage, you have to first and foremost check your daily use in terms of cell phone activity. If it’s a seldom used device, to be utilized only in case of the odd emergency or so, then of course data packages and high memory and great cameras will be nothing, but a waste of money. Especially, if you are on a shoestring budget and merely want the phone for making infrequent calls. For this purpose, there are a large number of otherwise inexpensive ‘no contract cell phone plans for senior citizens that you can easily acquire for your own personal use. Or alternatively depending entirely on your personal and disposable income levels, there are also many free cell phone deals as well as monthly airtime minutes that it might be possible for you to qualify for. Let us check out some of the less expensive options available today.

o ‘No Contract Phones’

This is one common way that infrequent (especially senior citizen) cell phone users can also save money. That is, by acquiring a ‘prepaid’ cell phone package as opposed to a postpaid one. These are also (somewhat colloquially) known as pay as you go phones.’The the core advantage of a prepaid phone is that there is no particular contract as such, and thereby no fixed monthly bills either. This means no credit checks as well and lastly, no hidden costs that are often the bane of the more traditional postpaid cell phone plans.

With this type of plan, it is possible to buy any specific prepaid phone, then just simply ‘pre-purchase’ aspecific number of minutes for either talking or even text messages (Both SMS as well as MMS, in case the phone has MMS capability.) These minutes or messages, however, must be used within the time limit duration of the package.

A large number of major phone carriers such as AT&T as well as Verizon also offer certain inexpensive prepaid plans, so do various smaller independent players like Cricket, Net10, and Virgin Mobile, as well as T-Mobile and even TracFone.

o TracFone

As a matter of fact, TracFone actually has phones that tend to start as low as $10 and these ultra-cheap phones come bundled with call plans that may well cost under $7 per month or so. Apart from that, T-Mobile also has a uniquely inexpensive 30-minute plan for as low as 10 dollars per month, while the overall minutes available in this plan do not expire for all of 90 days. This means that the total average comes out to around $3.33 per month or so. However, should you feel that you need a little more talk time, then you can effectively ‘upgrade’ your package since they also offer a 12-month plan where $100 easily gets you 1,000 minutes that will be good for a solid year, or so

T-Mobile also offers much the same kind of service. However, it does charge a ‘single time only’ activation fee of $35, that has to be paid up front.

o Consumer Cellular

However, if it is difficult for you to press the small buttons of a traditional cell phone then you also opt for a no-contract but ‘senior friendly’ phone that is suitably equipped with very large big buttons as well as simplified features. It is known as the Doro PhoneEasy 618’ and the good people at Consumer Cellular retail this phone for all of $60 for the actual phone itself, and with different calling plans being available starting at around $10 per month or so.

o Free Cell Phones

If your real income is deemed to be low enough, then it is also possible for to be eligible for the ‘lifeline Assistance Program.’ As far as best cell phone plans for senior citizens go, this is probably the best one around. The reason being that it is primarily, a government-sponsored program that effectively subsidizes both wireless as well as landline telecommunication companies who then in their turn, basically provide free cell phones as well as around 250 minutes of free airtime and texts every month. These services are provided to deserving people living below the poverty line. (The number of minutes and texts provided as well as the various cell phone models available vary from state to state).

There are literally millions of Americans who have been given a free cell phone via the lifeline program, but many more are deemed eligible, especially senior citizens who are not able to earn much, to begin with.

These free phones, as well as minutes and texts, are provided by various large scale national level prepaid wireless companies such as Safe Link and Assurance Wireless. Apart from these big companies many small-scale regional level telecommunications companies also provide such services, throughout the country.

Some states also have more than one wireless telecommunications service provider that doles free phones and minutes (as per state guidelines). However, these are essentially basic phones that come bundled with a certain number of minutes and texts that are refreshed every month.

We at Tommy’s Team help many such senior citizens living below the poverty line to find their bearings in a fast-paced society that they could continue to be productive and gainful members of our country. We are ever on the lookout for volunteers who will help us continue our mission to make this world a better place. We will be honored to have you on board with us. You can join us simply by registering at http://www.tommysteam.com/