Yikes! Checked your cell bill lately?

You can monitor your minutes online -- by signing up for online access to your account -- and from your phone. Just ask your carrier how, or check its Web site. If you're hopeless about remembering to check, consider a service such as MinuteGuard, which will text or e-mail you when you're getting close to exhausting your minutes.

Another option if you think your life or usage will drastically change soon: Avoid contracts entirely and sign up for prepaid service. (More on that below.)

LUV2TXT? 5 ways to control the $

You occasionally see advice to lower cell bills by "eliminating unnecessary add-ons, like text messaging," and you instantly know the writer is over 30.

Texting is half the reason many people even have cell phones. There are smarter ways to keep costs contained:

Bundle up. Texts typically cost 10 to 15 cents to send or receive, so it's worth signing up for a text-messaging plan if you send or get more than a few dozen messages a month. But the details of carriers' bundles vary, which is why it's important to:

Shop the plan, part two. Sprint, for example, offers 300 text messages for $5 a month and unlimited texting for $15. Verizon charges $5 for 250 messages or $10 for 500, with unlimited texting to other Verizon users. AT&T charges $5 for 200 messages and $20 for unlimited messaging. T-Mobile charges $5 for 400 messages a month or $15 for unlimited texting.

Clearly, if you text a lot, or your kids do, you'll want to weigh these costs along with the other features of the carriers' plans.

Text smart. Text messages sent from your computer are free -- for you, anyway -- so use that option when you're online. Also, be choosy about premium text-messaging services that send you sports scores, horoscopes, etc., for sometimes-steep per-message or per-month rates. You can typically end these subscriptions by responding with the word STOP.

Make the kid pay. If you don't text but your kids do, let them absorb the cost of the messaging plan and any overages. Take it out of their allowance or put them to work in the yard. Soon enough, they'll be responsible for all of their own bills, so they might as well start getting used to it now.

Consider a block. If you don't text and can't imagine why anyone would, you can ask your carrier to block all text messages. Most will comply, with the exception of T-Mobile, which refuses to turn off this feature.

6 more ways to save

Buy a data plan. Data can cost a lot. Yes, it's handy to be able to use your cell to send e-mail or surf the Web, but it can also get expensive pretty fast, and some carriers are less than clear about how you're being charged. The default is by minute or by kilobyte; either way, you can quickly run up a three-figure bill if you're more than a sporadic user. Your options: Don't use those features, or buy a data plan, which typically starts at $25 to $30 a month and goes up from there.

Review the add-ons. As the price of cell-phone minutes plunges, carriers are keen to boost their profits by selling you lots of other services: music, video, games, ring tones, child locator services, broadband Internet connections, roadside assistance and more.

Any of these services can be worthwhile if you use them and can afford them. If money is tight or you're being billed for services you don't use, however, it's time to give them the ax.

Ditch the insurance. You may think $5 or $6 a month is a small price to pay for ensuring you can get a replacement phone if yours is lost or stolen. And that's what carriers want you to think, because insurance is a huge profit center for them.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Smart consumers use insurance to protect themselves against catastrophic expenses, not stuff they can pay for out of pocket. If losing your cell would be a catastrophic expense, then you're paying too much for your phone.

Continued: Check your bill

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