The Internet has given consumers so many options, and made customization very easy. But with so many choices to make, we can easily get overwhelmed, and be left with a smartphone or PDA phone, and a service contract that hardly suits our needs. Purchasing putting all your eggs in one basket (life's simpler with an all-in-one gadget), but not all of us can shell out serious moolah for these kind of devices, not to mention the potentially service plans a service provider would love for you to commit to.

So how are you sure you'll only spend for what you need? Well, like in anything else, it makes sense to ask yourself a bunch of questions before spending, so that it's clear exactly what you want. The News-Sentinel has a great article on making the right choices, and for your convenience, I've listed the questions it asks below:

• Who will be using the phone and why?


• Will the phone be used primarily for business?


• Where will you be calling to and from?


• Will you mainly be making local calls, long-distance calls, international calls or a combination?


• Do you anticipate many calls on the road?


• When will you be using the phone?


• What time of day and which days of the week will see the heaviest usage?


• How many minutes a month do you estimate using the phone?


• Will family members call one another primarily on their cell phones?


• What type of plan meets your budget?


• Does a local, regional, national or family plan make the most sense?


• What are the monthly fees based on?


• How does the carrier define "peak" calling times and "local" calling areas?


• What types of minutes are included in the monthly fee, and can you "roll over" extra minutes to the next month?


• What are the surcharges (activation fee; roaming charges; rates for extra minutes; fees for voicemail, text-messaging, Caller ID features, etc.)?


• How can you take advantage of advertised offers?


• If a rebate is offered, what are the exact terms?


• If extra phones are included in the package, what additional fees apply?


• Does the contract permit you to switch plans or upgrade phones in the middle of your contract period?

Giving Credit Where It's Due: These questions actually represent a summary of the article; feel free to check it out. Apparently, the questions come from a Better Business Bureau report.