Most of us have cell phones and most of us are paying way too much money for them! How much are you paying for your cell phone each month? My wife and I are ashamedly paying nearly $150 per month with our plan at Verizon. I know, I?m sitting here hanging my head in shame as it?s a ridiculous cost that grinds on my nerves every month when I see the payment hit our account.
When we first got cell phones years ago there weren?t the options there are today. Thankfully those options make plans much easier for us to swallow and plan on choosing from one of those options once we?re able to early next year. If you?re like us and looking for?simple ways to?save money on your cell phone bill here are five areas to take a look at.
1) Keep an Eye on Your Usage
A number of years ago the only usage you had to watch was your voice minutes as that was all there was. Today, if you do not have unlimited voice, text or data you have to keep an eye on each one of them to make sure you do not go over your monthly allotment. In the case of data, which is the most common one to go over, you can really jack up your bill if you don?t watch it.
In our case, we?re largely on Wi-Fi so it?s easy to keep that usage down. However, if you?re a heavy user of data then you?ll want to look for ways to cut back on that in order to save money on your cell phone bill.
2) Call Your Cell Phone Service Provider
If you think your bill is too high, then why not call your cell phone service provider and let them know your dissatisfaction? Simply ask them if there is anything that they can do to reduce your bill each month and they might just find something.
My wife did this a few months ago for us and we were able to get rid of a few features we didn?t use plus cut our data allotment. A ten minute call resulted in us lowering our cell phone bill by just over $20 per month. You may not always have luck, but it?s worth the effort.
3) Reduce Your Plan
If your plan allows you 900 voice minutes and you use an average of 57, then you are severely overpaying for your service. This same advice applies to your text and data minutes as well. Check online and see if there are any plans that suit your usage and cost much less. Chances are there is a much better plan for you that is cheaper than your current one.
4) Make the Switch
If you find a service provider that has a much cheaper monthly plan, then I would encourage you to look at switching. Many of the no-contract cell phone service providers, like?Republic Wireless?or?Straight Talk, do not depend on their own network but those of providers like Verizon,?Sprint or AT&T. They actually use the network of the bigger, well known service providers and therefore provide good coverage, just significantly cheaper.
If you find that you are not satisfied with the new service provider then you can always switch to another provider. That is really one of the things that sets the low-cost cell phone providers apart. You can move from provider to provider as most don?t require contracts.
5) Ditch All Service Providers
I have a friend that has actually said ?Adios? to his service provider and has not picked up another provider, but yet he is still able to use his cell phone. You might be wondering, ?How is this possible?? and to be honest, it had me stumped at first as well.
You see, he kept his phone and signed up with a free Google Voice account. So, wherever he has an internet connection he is able to use his phone. So, his phone is functional at work, at home, as well as at any retailer that offers free Wi-Fi. As more and more businesses offer free Wi-Fi, it’s possible we’ll see more follow his method. Now, instead of paying $150 a month for his wife?s and his cell phone service, he pays $0. It might not be a seamless transition, but it could be worth the savings if it fits your needs.
How are you saving money on your cell phone bill each month? What do you pay per month for your coverage? If you?re in a contract, will you be looking to change when it?s up?
Photo courtesy of: daryl_mitchell
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I definitely recommend getting quotes from cheaper service providers then calling up your CSR and ask them to price match. You need to be willing to call the cancellation line (and make good on your promise too!) to reap the most benefits. The last time I did this I ended up getting around $500 in discounts and merchandise, but of course your mileage may vary.
Wow, $500? Not bad at all!
Knowing your needs defines the plan for your cell phone. When I got my plan, I talked to a service provider and asked whatever questions I had until I reached to my decisions. No regrets as I am maximizing my money. Thus, it boils down to “your needs”.
Nice work Jayson!
I have Republic Wireless and love it! My bill is always $25 and I never have to worry about any ups or downs.
I spoke with the RW reps at FinCon and will most definitely be looking at them when we switch in a few months. I’m all for saving $100+/month on our stupid plan.
Calling your provider is a huge one for me. We did this a few months ago and got our bill dropped by $30 a month. It’s a nuisance and sometimes you can’t get them on the phone, but I tell my clients that if I told you you could make over $300 for an hour of your time would you do it? That’s what can happen with time on the phone with both your phone and cable providers. Time well spent in my mind.
Nice work Shannon and completely agreed. It only makes sense to do it, especially if you’re stuck paying some crazy amount each month.
These are some good ideas. My cell phone bill (for me alone) is about $100/month! It’s crazy, but there’s not a lot of choices out here in my very rural area. The other, cheaper, companies rarely have good signal here and as I’m not in the city limits alot of the time, I kind of need a reliable signal… 🙁
Sorry to hear that Kayla. I’ve lived in more rural places in the past and dealt with the same issue. It can be a catch 22 unfortunately.
I just have an unlocked phone and jump to different plans when I want. I like the freedom.
We very well may go that route. I love the idea of being able to switch whenever we want and keep the same phone.
My hubs just switched to another service provider with lesser monthly payment BUT the same service. He told me that he is not happy with his old service provider.
Glad to hear that it works out to saving more money. 🙂
If I could get on board with my husband, we have talked about ditching the cell phones and just getting a phone with texting and calling without the data.
I think the data would be the challenge for me. I need to have access to it while out in the event I can’t pick up Wi-Fi to get business work done. But, if you can do it, then it’s definitely a way to consider.