Question-can people call you on that cell phone that you own? Do you get a charge for calls made to you when you buy the minutes as you do?
Yes, I get charged for any connect time, rather I instigate the call or someone calls me.
Obviously my phone use is much less than many people, so what I do won't necessarily work for others. A salesman, for instance, lives and dies by their contacts...they're going to need an unlimited type account. But if you don't use your phone for more than calling to order a pizza on occasion and to arrange to meet for coffee or set up a doctor appointment...well, I just don't use the phone all that much.
There has been a few occasions where I had a friend who was going through life difficulties and in those cases I just figure it's worth the cost if I have to stay on the phone...but those are rare and often better dealt with personally anyway.
A teen who lives on the phone would also probably chafe at paying attention...so as I said, not for everyone, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than the alternatives in my case.