If you’re looking for a budget-friendly way to stay connected, all you need is to buddy up your smartphone with Prepaid. One of the perks of taking this route is that you never have to worry about commitment: You don’t need to deal with contracts that may lock you down (and charge you later on to terminate). More importantly, going Prepaid costs you less and you get to enjoy complete control over how much you spend.

With the pros, of course, come the cons: and one obvious downside to this is staying connected to all things online becomes a lot tougher to do. It burns through your Prepaid load, too. In addition, network calls and SMS texts are more expensive on average when using prepaid compared to doing just the same with a Postpaid or Platinum account.

But if you’re set on sticking to good ol’ trusty prepaid and merely having problems cutting back on your expenses, we have some nifty tricks for you to try:

Make the most out of your prepaid load by subscribing to a promo that supports your communication needs. With Globe, users can enjoy a multitude of prepaid promos that fit their needs, whether they prefer making voice calls or would rather go on Facetime to chat with friends. Here are some of the options that you can shop for:

• GoSURF: This one is made for users who need to be constantly online with its added promos such as the free use of an app of your choice or unlimited all-net texts. All you have to do is to specify the amount of data and duration you need. One great thing to know about GoSURF, though, is that it fits all budgets—whether it’s ₱30 or goes all the way up to ₱2,499.
• GoUNLI: Subscribe to score unlimited calls and texts (for all-net or Globe/TM only) with free data just for you and your favorite apps. This promo, meanwhile, goes for as low as ₱20 per day.

Unless you’re one of the lucky users who can afford an unlimited data plan, chances are you’ll need to monitor your monthly data use. Incurring charges from going over your limit? Not a great experience.

Several mobile network providers conveniently allow users to track their data usage in real time. In this case, they get notified should they begin to approach their allocated limit (or in the off chance they’ve already gone over the limit). Either way, you can always find an alternative app on the trusty Play Store or App Store.

Some data management apps even monitor which programs and apps drain out your mobile data the most.

Running on data saving mode will limit the number of apps and services that can use up background data. It will only resume powering through your data once it detects that you’re connected to 4G, 5G, or LTE or found a secure Wi-Fi connection.

Other steps that you can take to save on data is to turn off push notifications or to opt to download files only when you’re connected to Wi-Fi.

Another nifty thing that you can do via Wi-Fi is send messages through apps instead of SMS. This one can work to cut those texts to other people by more than half, preserving your load in the process. Messaging apps like Viber, Skype, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, or WhatsApp allow you to send not just text messages but photos, videos and other forms of media as well. You can also use it to make voice or video calls without putting a dent on your prepaid load.

One thing these data saving tips have in common is Wi-Fi and let’s admit it: it’s everyone’s best friend. Thankfully, a lot of the establishments in the city offer complimentary Wi-Fi to their guests, so you can go right ahead and you know, maximize.

With these tips, you can bet you’ll soon live your way into making better use of that prepaid budget. Save more, but stay connected!

Looking to learn more about Globe’s amazing Prepaid promos? Check out the GlobeOne app, which you can easily download from the Apple App Store and Google Play.