Buying data for icloud

My bf hears me mumble that I'm out of icloud storage and he doesn't understand what I'm talking about. Is this only an Apple customer issue, do android people not suffer 'storage costs' ? I don't even use that much but it seems that I'm always out of storage and now I'm in a real mess because I've forgotten my passcode, need to restore my phone, having backed up to icloud in a minute and...I'm just wondering if my cell phone is supposed to be this stressful and high maintenance. It's very possible that I'm not aware or knowledgeable about my options or the clear solutions however, are there any?