What phone do you have? And what are you looking to get when your contract expires?

For millions of people the end of their two-year contract means time to read reviews and work out what you'll be moving to.

Except, perhaps you shouldn't. Because choosing to take an upgrade from your current network is about the most expensive way to get a new phone we've found.

Depending on what you move yo you could be paying as much as £732 more for your new handset than you would be able to – on a deal that still lets you keep your network, number and get a shiny new smartphone too.

That's because networks charge really rather large amounts extra on your handset that's hidden in the monthly bills.

The first question to ask yourself is do you need a new phone? Because if, instead of taking your upgrade, you switch to a SIM-only deal you can save vast amounts on your contract.

A SIM-only deal for unlimited minutes and texts with 2GB of data costs just £17 a month with EE, £15 with O2 (although 1,000 minutes), £10 with Three (200 mins), and £15 a month for 5GB with Vodafone.

Considering a phone+contract deal for the latest handsets cost around £40 a month, that means you're saving hundreds and hundreds of pounds over the course of the deal.

Better, a 30-day SIM-only plan doesn't cost a lot more. That means that if you do feel like upgrading, you can move to a new handset with little notice if your existing handset dies.

If you're happy to switch network, the savings are even bigger – with the likes of FreedomPop offering 2.25GB of data and unlimited texts and minutes for just £6.99 a month.

Of course, that means you're stuck with your existing phone.

To save serious (and we mean that) money on your deal and still get a new phone, there are two basic methods.

First, break the link between your handset and your network. This means switching to a SIM-only deal, and getting your handset somewhere else.

For example, upgrading to an iPhone 7 (32GB) and taking out a 2GB, unlimited minutes and texts deal with EE will cost you £99 up front and £50.99 a month. That adds up to an astonishing £1,323.25 over the course of the deal.

Buying the phone outright, and signing up to the same data plan from the same provider costs £292 less.

Of course, the latest handsets cost hundreds – and not many of us have that sort of money kicking about – the good news is there are ways to still pay monthly.

On the same basis as above, getting the phone on a 24-month Apple Finance deal saves you £200, while going to phone site Unshackled to buy it saves you £235 and taking out a 0% purchase card saves you the full £292 (provided you remember to set up a standing order to clear the balance in full).

The second way to get a new handset and save money is to tell your network provider you're leaving them.

It's an incredibly simple way to get them to offer you a new deal – and you might even get your new handset at a discount to the retail price.

You can read about how Sara managed exactly that below.

Five-inch screen, finger-print reader, ability to pay with contactless, fast 4G, aluminium body and Gorilla Glass HD screen, good selfie and rear cameras. Along with plenty of or memory and a snappy processor.

You don't need to pay hundreds to get this.

There's been a recent explosion in budget and mid-price handsets from the likes of Wileyfox, OnePlus, Moto, LG and Huawei.

We've recently been trialling the Wilefox Swift2 to see if it can replace a top-of-the-range handset and have been impressed.

The phone not only looks premium – made of aircraft-grade aluminium and Gorilla Glass – it also performs incredibly well in terms of speed, smoothness, has a good camera, finger-print reader, dual SIM, expandable memory, good screen and speakers and costs £159.

Switching between it and my high-end Android handset I increasingly found myself choosing the Swift2,with it's bright screen and smooth interface.

Also, when friends in the pub, family and colleagues at work were asked their opinion, they consistently thought it was a premium handset and were largely impressed with the looks, screen, build quality and speed.

Obviously, it's not quite as high spec as the latest Samsung, iPhone or Pixel – but considering they retail at £550+ for the base models, the minor trade off in camera, processor and screen quality for a phone £400 cheaper that can still do everything I need of it well seems like a price well worth paying.

And it's far from alone in being a cheaper phone that punches far above its weight in terms of specification and increasingly design. Our reviewers have been incredibly impressed by the £169 Moto G4, the £329 OnePlus 3 and the £349 Huawei P9.

So the question you need to ask is whether you'd prefer the big brand names, or get something that looks good and performs very nearly as well - and have a holiday too.