By John
Most Americans love the benefits that cell phones bring. Apparently cell phone ownership is somewhere north of 80%. They don’t much like what they have to pay for all those benefits, however – the average monthly bill is around $70, and the priciest phone/plan package is around $120 – and would love to see this reduced. It’s not all that hard, actually. There are a few conventional ways of achieving it – bundling and so on which we will get to later – but also a couple of little-appreciated tricks which you should try first to reduce your monthly cell phone bill.
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How Do You Use Your Cell Phone?
You can’t really pinpoint the areas where you can reduce your cell phone bill until you know how you use your phone. What proportion of the bill goes on calling, texting, and data? You should analyze your bills for a couple of months and note the averages.
Try These
Next you should try these:
- Calling. Use the free apps on all the major OS platforms that allow you to call and video-call for free over the internet, thus avoiding the cellular network. Of course, this only works if the person you are calling also has the app installed, but this tip can help them reduce their bills too!
- Texting. Again, use the free apps that provide instant messaging outside of the cellular network.
- Data. There is an app available for the major OS platforms that promises to reduce the amount of data you download by means of compression. You could learn how it works and see if you want to try it.
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After you have tried these for a couple of months, analyze your phone bill again and see what differences there are in the amounts you are paying for each element. Now you have a new usage profile, and can look at the conventional ways to reduce your bill further.
Bundle
You can get a substantial reduction by bundling your cell phone, landline and cable, internet and TV services with one provider. You can also get cheaper cell phone plans for a family ‘bundle’.
Find The Right Plan
Look for a cheaper plan that better fits your new usage profile.
Get Rid Of The Extras
You should ask yourself if you really need the special call waiting, caller ID, visual voicemail and other services. Cut them out for further reductions.
Switch To A Different Carrier
Smaller carriers, if available in your area, often have lower rates than the big ones.
Do You Need A Contract?
Providing the phone yourself and going with a reduced monthly plan can work out cheaper than taking a phone plus plan package, depending on the amounts of overage billing you incur. You will need to do your sums.
Click here to compare cell phone plans and save hundreds
Go With Wi-Fi
Unless you are a compulsive news junkie or live by email, you should be able to exist on wi-fi alone for your data needs. There are smartphone apps which automatically connect with public wi-fi when available, and all modern smartphones will remember hotspots that they have connected to before. Cutting or reducing the data element of your plan will reduce your bill considerably.
Reducing your monthly phone bill is comparatively easy, and the beauty is that, unlike making savings in other areas of your life, once it’s done, it’s done!
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