Why Am I Using My Prepaid Cell Phone Minutes So Fast?

Does it seem like you use up your prepaid cell phone minutes faster than you are talking? Remember that every call is rounded up to the next minute on most plans. So if you talk one minute and five seconds, you will be billed for two full minutes. You may also be losing minutes by checking voice mail, so where possible, retrieve your messages from a regular phone.

Some carriers allow you to turn off your prepaid cellular phone, dial your cell phone number, and hit the star key; enter your voice mail pass code and get your messages. Another minute-killer happens when you put a caller on hold to take another call. Your minutes are being used on each line. If you keep two calls going at once for three minutes, six prepaid cell phone minutes are billed.