Getting a new plan and phone?

Firstly calculate the different in monthly fees you'll be paying with a contracted plan vs a non contracted plan (no phone), and the contract is usually 2 years.

Let's say the difference is $30, multiply that by 24, that will bring it to $720 of actually "paying" for the phone of your choice. If the phone cost $1000, you save $280 by actually getting the contracted plan. However, if the telco only gives you a phone which you can purchase for $600, then it obviously isn't worth it to get the contracted plan.

The other benefit of getting the contracted plan is also that you kind of split the cost of the phone over 24 months which gives you better cashflow instead of paying the lump sum upfront.