How I Cut Our Cell Phone Costs by OVER 80%!
Saving money is often difficult to do. You have to learn better habits and it takes a lot of work and follow-through. It doesn't help that saving money usually means giving something up. for those of us who love to spend, it's even painful. It's especially hard to acknowledge wants as wants and not needs when they are very important to us. But needs can be pared down too. With a little fancy budgeting, shaving a few dollars per month of a need can help you manage the splurges you can't bear to part with. One thing everybody uses and could save a little bit of money on is cell phone service. If you are paying too much per month on your phone bill, try some of these tactics that will help you get a lower phone bill.
Use Surrounding Wi-Fi
One quick and easy way to get a lower phone bill is to use Wi-Fi wherever you go. When you switch your method of use to Wi-Fi it won't be such a drain on your service plan. It only takes a little bit of getting used to remembering to sign in for Wi-Fi every time you change location, but it's worth it to see the money that gets saved each month. You can get used to communicating through apps on your phone that uses the Wi-Fi rather than your service provider. For example, you can make a standard phone call on WhatsApp, or Facetime via Facebook.
Limit Data Use
One of the surefire ways to increase your phone bill is to use too much data. Try to stream and download less often if your phone bill is too high. When you watch fewer videos and download less online content you will potentially not have to pay for the data you no longer use. Change your plan to one with lower data usage limits if your habits fit within the parameters.
Opt Into Money Saving Sign Ups
On your mobile carrier's plan, you will most likely have the option to sign up for money-saving services such as automatic payments and e-billing. When you go paperless, there is usually a monetary advantage. Automatic payments sometimes have an incentive, too. If not, at least you can avoid late fees with regular on-time payments.
Watch Your Background Data
Another way data creeps up on you is with background apps that run when you really don't need them to. You can fix that in your phone's settings. Most of the time there are apps that continue running on your mobile device. Those continuously running apps consume valuable data and you can restrict that data usage on your iPhone for instance, with the simple steps found here.
Join a Family Plan
A Family plan could be the answer to your cell phone costs if you have people to go together on the plan with. A family plan is a much better option for some than individual plans. It's much cheaper and the data and minutes on the plan can be shared. Depending on the usage of those who join your plan. This method could be beneficial for everybody involved.
Get a Phone With No Contract
Try getting a phone with no contract to save money on your monthly bill. It's typically cheaper than getting a “free” phone from the provider when you sign a contract. No contract options are more common now than they used to be. Prepaid and no-contract plans save you from getting locked into your service agreements and just cost less.
Cancel the Insurance
If you are paying for insurance on the phone, then you can save money by canceling it. If you have a history of damaging your cell phone by breaking the glass or getting it wet, you should probably keep it. However, you may be throwing money away on a potential claim that will never happen. A claim on insurance provided by your carrier may be subject to a substantial deductible, and the amount you pay monthly can quickly add up to more than the phone is worth. If you take good care of your phone, you won't likely use the insurance.
Keep Your Phone After It's Paid For
One thing about the newest developments in mobile devices is that they tend to be pretty minuscule. It's far less important to keep up with the latest release because there isn't that much more to it than what you probably already have. Just like when you keep a car after paying it off, holding onto your cellphone for a couple of extra years can save you a good amount of money.
Shop for Promotions
Phone service carriers are frequently luring in new customers with deals and promotions. A great way to save is by shopping the best plans and taking advantage of special offers from different providers. Evaluate the promotions and compare them not just against other promotions, but other plans with the same carrier. Understand what you can save, and learn what you might lose with each promotion offered. Some deals are not as good as they seem.
Audit Your Bill
As with any other time you look to free up some money from your monthly expenses, you need to look at your statement and study it. See how much data you use, how many minutes you use, and how over or under you are on your plan. Compare the price you pay to the price of the plan. You can determine whether the plan you currently have is a good one for you. You may need to upgrade in order to stop paying overage fees or downgrade if you don't go anywhere near your limits.
How do YOU lower your phone bill? Tell us about it in the comments! And, if you found this post helpful we'd be so thankful if you shared it!