Having a cell phone was a luxury years ago, but it’s now considered by many as a must-have. I bet most people would probably admit that they couldn’t live without their phones. The privilege doesn’t come cheap though.
Aside from buying the phone itself (which can cost hundred of dollars), you’re also paying a monthly bill that’s far from cheap. At more than $100 each month, that cellphone bill could be a huge drag to your wallet.
Luckily, you don’t have to pay a lot to get what you need. Let’s take a look at four simple ways you can save on your cell phone bill:
1. Analyze Your Monthly Usage
Many pay for cell phone services they don’t need or use. For instance, you might be paying for 5GB of data but you’re on average using 3GB a month. Analyze your monthly usage every time you get the bill.
If you’re not using all the data, text, and minutes you’re paying for, consider downgrading your plan so that you’re not wasting money on services you don’t use. It’s also a good idea to speak to a customer service representative, who can help you analyze your usage and find the right plan for you.
2. Always Connect to WiFi
Why pay for data when you can connect to WiFi for free? Free WiFi can be readily found all around us, from public parks to your local Starbucks. Whenever you’re spending a significant time browsing on your phone in a public place, look for a WiFi network to connect to. This will cut down on your data usage significantly.
3. Forget Your Texting Plan
Many cell phone users text and have a texting plan, but why pay for texts when you can get it for free? There are plenty of messaging apps available these days, such as WhatsApp, WeChat, and Google Hangouts. There’s even chat functionality on Facebook. Your friends and family are bound to use at least one of these free services. So ditch your texting plan, as there’s really no need for it.
4. Shop the Competition
Don’t forget to shop the competition even if you are happy with your plan now. Plans, promotions and offers are constantly changing. Plus, there is always healthy competition among cell phone carriers.
They are always looking to gain new customers and many will pay for your termination fee to get out of any existing contracts. If you see an enticing offer at another company, reach out to them and see what they can offer you. Often times, their incentives can make the move to a new provider well worth it.
How much do you pay monthly for your cell phone? What have you done to reduce your bill? Tell us in the comments below!
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T-mobile charged me 60 dollars per month for two phones. I switched over to boost mobile for two phones @ 20 dollars a month total. This includes unlimited talk and text, and 1 gig of data for each phone at 4g speeds. My wife and I are very happy with boost mobile, don’t be fooled by higher priced carriers.
We utilize TracFone. After buying a unlocked Moto G6 Play for $200 and a $1 TracFone Sim chip, we were able to get a one year TracFone plan which included 1500 minutes, 1500 texts, and 1.5 GB data for $75 ($50 off using a November promo code). We primarily use WIFI with an OOMA phone ($5.20/month) when home and normally use the cell for travel. The service is through AT&T and you can purchase extra data for $10/GB. I also have a similar cell plan for my wife. So for less than $15/month we have two cells, plus the unlimited home OOMA for about $63 annually, we have great, cheap phone service!
with the ability to make free phone calls online, that alone should inspire anyone to save money on their cell phone bill. All a person has to do is find a free website or use their e-mail to make free phone calls. And the beauty of that is you can make free phone calls across America. If you carry your laptop everywhere with you and you have Wi-Fi connections, what do you need a cell phone? You can set up a free online phone number where people call you and you can have conversations right from your computer. How cool is that? 🙂
We gave up our data plan, since we are retired and usually in a place with Wifi We don’t make a lot of calls so we switched to Chit-Chat mobile and reduced our $130/month cost to $22.
I pay $75/mo and when my contract needs to be renewed in Dec. I’m switching to prepaid for $45/mo. Includes unlimited text, talk and 1gb data in addition to being able to use my current phone and keep the same number.
Ca ching! Getting $30 extra for absolutely no changes in lifestyle is really awesome! Congrats!!
I honestly didn’t know companies still did text plans. Our plan comes with unlimited texts and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I text way more than I talk!
They sure do. I was on a pay-per-text plan until only recently, since I try to use all other messaging apps including iMessage. It was a bit of a hassle so I was quite happy when I switched to those unlimited plans 🙂
I pay $275 per month for four phones plus an iPad data plan.
Unfortunately, my bigger problem is that for nearly a year, I’ve been trying to get my provider to credit my account over $600 for a phone that was returned. It’s a very long story, but the company messed up an order, sent me an extra phone, and have been unable to refund me for the charge.
I am about at the end of my rope as no one seems to be able to resolve the problem.
It’s like dealing with the cable company.
That’s very strange. Can you still dispute the charge with the credit card company? If you can, then threaten the cell phone company that you will do that to get them to handle the situation properly.
It is a strange situation. As best I can tell, they closed the account before the phone was returned. Once that happened, there wasn’t anywhere to apply the credit.
But disputing with the credit card company is a great suggestion. I will definitely look into this.
Thanks for the suggestion.
You are welcome. Disputing the charge is like the last resort but if the cell phone company is being unreasonable, maybe a possibility of them not getting the money will prompt them to do something.
I use Google’s Project Fi – connects to home WiFi or free public WiFi when available. It automatically switches to Sprint or T-Mobile’s network when WiFi isn’t available. I pay $30 a month (granted it only supports Google Nexus phones). The best part? I get a ‘refund’ because there are times when I used less than 1GB of data. Another perk? FREE international data. Granted it’s 3G, but still usable for Yelp, Uber and Google Maps when you’re traveling aboard.
I’ve always been tempted to move to Google’s Project Fi. The only thing holding me back is the fact that many people I know still use iMessage and my mom only knows how to use FaceTime so we are a bit stuck on iPhones.
I am amazed at how much some people pay for cell service. I thought our old bill was high! We were paying $130 a month for three phones a few years ago. We switched to AT&T’s GoPhone plans and now spend $80. It was $60 but we recently got our son a different plan with unlimited talk and text. They have different plans to choose from. We don’t pay for data since we have wifi at home and if we are out we can use free wifi. You can use your own phone so you don’t have to buy a new one.
Good for you. $80 for 3 lines is still a very good deal these days. I can’t wait until the phone and carriers start coming out with data only plans though, because I really don’t use the phone much anymore.