Having a cell phone with unlimited minutes is great. There's simply no way to beat it. However, if you can't afford an unlimited plan, that does not mean you must stop talking with the people you care about.

With some careful planning, just about any cell phone plan can be used for unlimited minutes at no extra fee. Most plans include some period of time when all calls are free, usually late at night or during weekends. The trick is simple. Calculate how many anytime minutes you can use each day without exceeding your monthly limit. Then, think about which phone calls can wait until evenings or weekends. Make your calls accordingly, and you will rarely go over your limit.

You can also find out which of your friends and family members subscribe to the same cell phone provider as you. Cell companies often offer free mobile-to-mobile calling for phones under their coverage plans. So if you're in college in Washington but your girlfriend lives in Oregon, you can still talk as much as you want, for free, as long as each of you have the same cell phone carrier.

Chances are, at least some of your friends have the same cell phone carrier as you. Call them during the daytime, when you'd normally be using anytime minutes to talk to anyone else. Then call your other friends at night, when calling is free. If you follow these steps while rationing out your anytime minutes, you'll likely be able to talk as much as you want without seeing an increase in your phone bill.