Mobile Phone help needed - contract or PAYG?

[jofeb04]

Hiya
Looking at buying a new phone on the weekend, but not sure whether to go for contract (again) or PAYG. Contract caused bigg bills, but it's good to know that it can always be used for urgent phone calls and the phone comes free.

Or, to a buy a good phone with a large cost outlay, but then have control over my credit etc?

Thanks

have youu thought about getting an online sim? I have an O2 online sim card, I have to put £10 on each month to activate my free texts and minutes, I get 300 free texts, 300 free off-peak any network minutes, and the £10 is still there for me to use! it does mean buying the phone yourself, but i do get a discount every 6-12 months off a new phone, dependent on how much i've topped up.

i payg otherwise it'll spiral out of control!

How much do you use it? I have 500 anytime mins and 200 texts and it works out at £7 per month (but I have to claim cash back), I think there are some really good contract deals out there if you shop around. Are you tempted to use it that much though?