Q & A

Q: How can I lower the costs of my kid’s text messaging? Cingular charges 10 cents per message.

A: Sign up for a separate text messaging plan. Cingular has different plans for 50, 200, 1,000 or 2,500 text messages. The prices on these plans are $2.99, $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99, respectively. For 1,000 text messages, the cost amounts to only about a penny per message. Be sure to read the fine print. Cingular will handle overly long messages in segments and count each as a separate message. Other carriers offer similar text messaging plans.