Cell phones are extremely important devices in this day and age. Sometimes it can feel like our entire world revolves around our phones. Work, school, friends, and family are all readily available at the touch of your finger. This makes having a reasonably current phone pretty dang important. The struggle here, though, is that you are often forced to pay out the nose to get a new phone. So, how do we make sure your phone is current and wallet-friendly? Here are the best tips to make sure you never pay full price for a cell phone again.

Used Market

Just like any tech purchase, the used market is a great place to start. Oftentimes, you don’t need the newest phone to stay current, and you can absolutely land a very similar experience from a generation older. This opens the door to great prices on the used market, where you can easily save half the cost of a new phone. Make sure you buy from sellers with good reputations on whatever marketplace you use, and verify the phone works before sending any sort of payment. This will ensure you get the best  value without having to pay any installments on the phone itself. the best part about this one is you can always sell the phone for pretty close to the price you purchased it if you don’t like it.

Holiday Deals

Patience is a virtue, and you should use this to your advantage. Cell providers almost always have new-plan discounts around the holidays, and they can be very aggressive. So, if you are making your purchasing decision, and you have the ability to wait until the nearest holiday, definitely do so. This will allow you to roll the phone’s value into your cell payments if you don’t have the cash on hand. It also means you’ll have a brand-new phone, which matters a lot for some people.

Phone Leasing

Leasing is a touchy subject for most financially-inclined folk, but I think a phone is a perfect lease. It isn’t something people tend to hold onto for more than a couple of years, and the lease allows you to pay far less each month to own the phone for as long as 2 years before upgrading. The great news is, they don’t tend to require down payments. After your 2 years, you could easily find the next new phone for a similar payment, making the next update move a lot smoother.

At the end of the day, there are a lot of great ways to accomplish your goal here. With these tips, you definitely should never pay full price for a cell phone again. Just be smart, keep your eye out, and utilize patience when making any buying decisions. All of these together, as well as knowing what you need out of your phone, will ensure that you never pay more than you should.