Boost Mobile, the Australian based pre-paid cell phone company, is now spreading its wings in America. Previously, we had Tracfone in the pre-paid market and that was it. Then Virgin Mobile came along. And now, Boost is here. Boost’s prices are better than Tracfone’s and similar to Virgin Mobile’s. It’s 25 cents a minute to use the phone with no monthly fee. If you go beyond a certain number of minutes in a day, the rate drops to 10 cents a minute. No roaming charges apply, and that includes long distance. So, it’s a great deal for anyone, including older people who just want a phone for emergency purposes. Boost was formerly only in Nevada and California, but they have expanded to Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, Washington D.C., and New York. There is one wrinkle in the Boost plan that makes it different than the others. It comes with “push-to-talk” technology, which can get very expensive at about $45 a month. So, stay away from that capability if you go with Boost. Every once in a while, Virgin Mobile discounts its time cards. You may find them at 10 to 20 percent off in some electronics stores and often in warehouse clubs. This means that the peak calls go from 25 cents a minute to 20 cents a minute, and the off-peak calls go from 10 cents to 8 cents a minute. Good to know!