ATLANTA , Georgia ( CNN ) -- Are you looking for an easy way to reduce your monthly budget ? Look no further than your cell phone bill . Clark Howard says consider switching to a less known cell provider to save money and avoid signing contracts . If you 're with one of the four big providers -- AT & T , Sprint , Verizon or T-Mobile -- you 're almost certainly overpaying for service . In addition , all four have a business model that 's based on cowardice . They 've developed lousy , stinking , rotten two-year contracts because they 're afraid to compete in the marketplace . Thankfully , there are a variety of smaller players in the market who offer nationwide coverage for less money with no contracts . Before considering any adjustment to your cell phone plan , you 'll need to start by assessing how much you talk , text and surf the Web on your phone . Watch Clark discuss the pros and cons of bundling services . If you use less than 300 minutes per month , you 'd probably do much better with a prepaid plan where you buy minutes as you need them . Net10.com is one service I usually recommend -- no roaming charges , no long distance charges , no monthly fees and a flat 10 cents per minute for calls . If you use more than 300 minutes per month and you travel from time to time , you might want to consider either Metro PCS or Cricket . Both have plans ranging from $ 25 to $ 50 and offer unlimited calling . The difference in price points is based on how many other features you want -- texting , Web surfing and so on . But there are never any contracts or overages . For heavy cell phone users , there are Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile . Both are engaged in an all-out price war that can directly benefit you . Virgin Mobile is offering $ 49.99 per month unlimited calling -- no roaming charges and no contract . If you want texting , you 'll pay an additional $ 10 per month for unlimited service . If you want high-speed Internet , you 'll pay another $ 10 per month on top of that for a 50MB plan . Boost Mobile 's $ 50 per month plan already includes unlimited calling , texting and Web access . And that $ 50 even includes junk fees ! One caveat here : Remember , my definition of `` cheap '' means that I 'm willing to accept lower quality for a lower price . So consider this caveat carefully and do your own research before making any final decisions about your cell provider . Speaking of cheap , a new competitor in the marketplace may have both Boost and Virgin beat . Straight Talk offers a cellular plan for $ 30 per month . You get 1,000 minutes , 1,000 text messages and 30MB of data for that price . It 's important to remember that very few people use more than 1,000 minutes per month . The typical person clocks in at 790 minutes and pays an average monthly contract bill of $ 67 , according to Nielsen Mobile studies of U.S. adults on individual cell phone contract plans . So , what are you waiting for ? Consider firing your `` Big 4 '' cell provider and going with one of the smaller guys . The savings are there for the taking . Finally , CellTradeUSA.com can help you get out of your existing contract by trading it away to someone else . This tends to work particularly well if you have a hot phone that everybody wants .
Smaller players in cellular market can offer nationwide coverage for less . Nielsen Mobile says typical customer uses 790 minutes , pays average $ 67 a month . Comment: