Consider this: Your opportunity to haggle over cell-phone minutes and features isn’t when you’re signing up for a new plan. “You’ll start getting sales calls a couple of months before your contract runs out, but don’t bite,” says telecommunications attorney Art Neill.

Try this: Wait until your contract is about to run out, then call the company’s customer-service department. “Their job is to keep you in the fold, and they’ll probably throw some extras your way to do it,” says Neill. Tell them exactly what you want in terms of a new phone, minutes, and features, based on research you’ve done about what other companies are offering, and they may stretch the rules to get you to renew. It’s always worth talking to a supervisor if others can’t help.