subject: 15 Ways To Slash Your Cell Phone Bill [print this page] One of the all time best ways to save money is to cut your cell phone bill. If youre like me, my cell phone bill goes through what I call scope creep. Scope creep is a term in the consulting business to describe a project that slowly grows out of control, and that can describe a cell phone bill as lines and features slowly get added over the years.
So we put together this list of tips and tricks to lower your cell phone bill. If you know of other ways to cut your cellular bill, leave a comment and let us know.
Save Money on Cell Phones
Stay Under Your Minutes: Nothing drives me more crazy then to see a big fat charge on my cell phone bill because we went over our minutes. If this is an habitual problem, youll want to either change cell phone plans or cut your talk time. One great tool to help monitor your usage is OverMyMinutes (Hat Tip: Lazy Man and Money), a free tool that sends you a text message or e-mail when you are about to run over your limit. Another free tool is this Firefox add-on (Hat Tip: Cash Money Life).
Use Prepaid Cell Service: Prepaid cell phone are becoming more and more popular as prices come down. As the name suggests, you pay for a certain amount of minutes with no contract to sign. Most of the major cell phone carriers now offer prepaid cell phone options. You can find great deals on prepaid phones from Tracfone Prepaid Wireless Airtime
Reconsider Insurance: Shelling out several hundred dollars for a new phone if you break you current one is no fun, but do you really need to insure a $200 to $500 item? Insurance should be for those things we cant afford to replace (e.g., home, auto, health, and life).
Employee Discounts: My company recently began offering a discount on AT&T Wireless service. Since thats what I use for my iPhone and the cell phones my wife and children use, it saved us some money. Check with your employer to see what discounts they offer.
Examine Your Cell Phone Bill: For just $5, you can upload your cell phone bill at Validas and find out if you could be saving money. The service lets you see how much youll save before you buy the full report. According to the website, the average annual savings per phone is $415.
Play the Switcharoo: If you have a cell phone break before your contract expires, you could end up paying the full price of a replacement phone. If you have multiple cell phones with the same carrier, however, there may be a better option. If one of your cell phones has been under contract long enough to qualify for a discounted cell phone, replace the phone for that line. Youll need to extend your contract, but youll get the phone at a discount. You can then use the SIM card for your broken phone in the new phone. Been there, done that.
Re-negotiate: When an existing contract expires, always renegotiate for a better deal. The prices of cell phone contracts tend to go down over time for the same service. So make sure you take advantage of current deals when you contract is up.
Ringtones? Really?: I suppose if the Ringtone is important to you, by all means spend the dough to get what you want. But Id save the money and put it to better use.
Unlimited PlansThink Twice: While an unlimited plan (whether for phone or texting) relieves you of the burden of worrying about your minutes, most people dont take full advantage of these costly programs. Examine your cell phone usage to see if you can get by with a less expensive plan
Shop Online: Almost all cell phone carriers offer discounts when you shop for cell phones and plans online. Weve put together a list of discounts and promo codes for some of the major carriers and providers:
Verizon Wireless Promo Codes
LetsTalk Promo Codes
Never Cancel a Cell Phone Contract Again: When you cancel a cell phone contract, you can get hit with some outrageous fees. Fortunately, there are a couple of websites that can save you a bundle if you need out of a contract. Basically, these sites help bring together folks who want out of a contract with those looking for a cell phone contract. If you need to get out of a cell phone contract or are looking for a good deal and want to help out somebody in a bind, check out CellSwapper or CellTradeUSA.
TextingA Parents Nightmare: When I was a kid, there was no way to talk with friends while at home but to use the one telephone we had in the house. If I was on the phone, my parents knew (usually because they were yelling at me to get off the phone). Today, kids have cell phones with texting, not to mention e-mail and Facebook. Anyway, the key is to either control texting (good luck) or go with an unlimited plan. The unlimited plan will obviously cost more, but it may be a much better deal than having your child (or spouse) blow by the texting limit.
Combine Plans: As you add new lines to the same plan, the price goes down. For a while, we had two different cell phone plans, and we saved a bundle by combining them.
Avoid Calling 411: Directory assistance can be really expensive with cell phones, and its unnecessary. Instead, try 800-FREE-411, 800-411-METRO or 800-GOOG-411, all of which give you listings for free.
Use FireFox Plug-Ins To Track Time: Each of the major cell phone carriers have Firefox plugins to help you track your minutes. Its an easy way to keep from going over your limit. You can check out these time-saving plugins here.
