Looking for a dollar amount? Shopping for a low price in cell phone service, or any service for that matter is human nature. The problem with this ideology is dismissing the dynamics of what's included in a cellular plan. Stop thinking about price alone for a minute, and consider your habits instead.

Before you take price into consideration you need to think about how you'll use your cell phone plan. Just because one company offers the cheapest cell phone providers, doesn't mean they'll provide the cheapest cell phone plan for you as an individual. So what about you? What is the cheapest cell phone service for you?

Ask yourself this. How much will I use my cell phone? If the answer is rarely, you'll want a pay as you go plan. A pay as you go cell phone plan is very much like a calling card. You add money to it only when you need it. Pay as you go cell phone plans are perfect to keep around for emergency type situations.

Pre paid cell phone plans are not the same as pay as you go plans. The difference is you get billed monthly for pre paid. With a pre paid cell phone plan you cannot go over your paid monthly minutes, so pre paid is best if you plan to use your cell phone on a regular basis but need to be on a budget, or if you have bad credit.

Monthly cell phone plans are reserved for those with good credit, or people who can pay a large deposit. If you travel, need a way for people to contact you any time, or have disabled your landline phone, a monthly cell phone plan is going to be your cheapest cell phone service plan.

Now ask yourself this. What cell phone providers are available in my area? If company A has the cheapest cell phone rates anywhere, but it isn't available in your area, it's not going to do you much good is it? You'll want to find out which cellular providers are available where you live, then you can start to put together a plan.

Here is a tip that can save you, your family, and even your friends allot of money. Before selecting a plan, think about who your friends and family are using for cell phone service. Many monthly, and pre paid cell phone providers offer free mobile to mobile calling, also known as in network calling.

Mobile to mobile calling allows you to call other people with the same cell phone service provider for free. Now here's the kicker! Take a look at Cingular and Verizon Wireless. Both companies offer monthly and pre paid cell phone plans with free mobile to mobile on both plan types. See where I'm going with this?

For example, you could get Cingular for "Mom and Dad", and GoPhone by Cingular for the kids. This way your kids are on a budgeted pre paid plan and you all can call each other for free any time. You can also call friends and family members in your network who have Cingular, or GoPhone without using your anytime minutes and without having to wait until night or the weekend to make free calls. Great tip huh? The same works with Verizon.

OK, so there you have it. If you follow these guidelines you'll get your cheapest cell phone service. There's no way you can't. There are many places online where you can get free rate quotes for cell phone providers, and they'll show you who is available in your area. One more tip. Don't waste time searching. All carries have the same offer at any given time, even if from different websites.