Ways To Save on Your Cell Phone Bill

If you are looking to lower your monthly expenses, these ways to save on your cell phone bill are a great place to begin. This is especially helpful if you have teens or tweens that are clamoring for a cell phone of their own. To afford this often necessary communication expense, take a look at these simple ways to save.

Ways To Save On Your Cell Phone Bill

Skip the contract and go pre-paid. More and more people are choosing a pre-paid phone over a contract plan. For some features, this may not be the best choice, but if you are looking at adding a phone for your kids to use, a Tracphone, Straight Talk or Cingular Go Phone are all great options.

Lower your talk minutes. Sometimes you are paying a premium for a lot of minutes. For many of us, talking on the phone is something of the past. Texting, messaging and social media take precedence these days. Evaluate the number of minutes you use on average, and lower your plan accordingly to save money.

Limit data and use free wi-fi instead. A data plan can easily make your cell phone service bill creep up. For kids especially, you can turn off or limit their data usage and allow them to only use online services on their phone where there is free wi-fi. This can be a huge difference in costs, and help control your kids habit of simply playing on their phone instead of talking, sharing or being a part of family conversations. (JUst be sure you understand the risks associated with using public wi-fi.)

Go with a family plan for multiple phones. Compare the various companies and their current family plan options. A lot of times this can actually help if you are using more than one company in a household. Looking into the different company plans will help you to stay on track financially, and make a leap toward better or different plans.

Skip the upgraded phones. One of the largest cell phone expenses isn’t the plan, but the phone itself. Instead of upgrading every year, invest in a quality phone and use it for multiple years. When it is time to upgrade, buy an unlocked phone through a reputable dealer for less. If you are worried about needing to buy through the company for insurance purposes, save up for the phone and buy it outright rather than taking the “discount” offered with a contract renewal.

Evaluate your charges. As with any service, there are often hidden fees and charges you may be overlooking that could be removed. From insurance on a phone that is no longer in use, to the extra fees to hold a number or even games and apps that are charging a monthly fee, you need to double check your cell phone statements each month to make sure you aren’t being overcharged for things you don’t need or want.

Ask about special discounts. We recently went to reevaluate our family plan and the clerk we were working with asked if anyone in our house worked for Home Depot or Starbucks. It seemed like an odd question until he mentioned that employees there get a significant discount (like 20%!). My husband thought to ask if they offered a military discount and sure enough – they do. All the major plans offer active and retired military a discount, usually about 15%.

These ways to save money on your cell phone bill are easy for anyone to implement. A phone call or two, and a quick evaluation can easily tell you what are the best ways to drop your expenses on phone service for you and your family.