Over the last ten years, cell phone rates have dropped drastically. Competition has forced prices to constantly decrease. Clark says that if you are not under contract, now is the time to shop the market. You can look at the rates various companies offer and pick the best one, and you don’t even have to lose your phone number. Kiplinger just put out a new list of websites that compares the rates of different cell phone companies. If you buy your phone from the company websites, it ends up being cheaper then buying it at the actual store. The best part of this story is that the companies with the best rates do not even require contracts.