SAVE MONEY ON YOUR CELL PHONE BILL

Do you dread your monthly phone bills arriving every month because you never truly know what to expect? Are you noticing hidden fees and changes in your bills almost every time you receive a new bill? You are not alone my friends, this has been happening for years to most consumers. Once we have a contract with a company it is hard to break the cycle and get out of a tough expensive downward spiral effecting our finances monthly. I can offer some solutions to either help prevent this from happening or to help you resolve some of these issues. Some of my solutions may not be the most popular ideas because lets' face it what is popular involves a lot of debt. Smart phones and mobile technology are extremely popular today and for good reasons too. We have become a very well-connected society which helps with so many things, business is so much more connected, we are more connected with our friends and family and all of this is great. It does not have to cost as much as we are spending though and we do not have to keep making the cell phone providers wealthy.

1) Smart Phones are not necessary...... I can guarantee you are thinking I cannot do without my smart phone this lady must be nuts. You are wrong and let me tell you why. I have a good reason for saying you need to ditch you smart phone and get a basic cell phone to replace it. The reason I say this is the high costs of data charges and smart phone related charges are ridiculous and unnecessary. I have personally never owned and used a smart phone. I have looked at them but I have chosen not to buy one and my biggest reason is I can get the same or similar benefits from my current devices as I get from a smart phone with far less to pay every month.  Have you heard of an IPod Touch? IPod touch offers the same apps and capabilities and even looks just like an IPhone only with no monthly fees. I spend approximately $200 on an Ipod every few years while others are spending the same or similar on their phones and still paying a monthly fee. The one difference between the two devices is my IPod touch needs to have WiFi to connect to the Internet but guess what, most places have WiFi these days. Coffee shops, airports, hospitals, restaurants and businesses of all sorts tend to have free WiFi available for their customers or employees to use. Why pay for WiFi capabilities when it is free all around you everyday and sometimes you really should take a break occasionally from being connected anyways. I personally own an IPod Touch, Casio G-zone 2 phone, IPad and Kindle Fire HD 8. The Kindle HD 8 was given to me as a gift, the IPad and IPod touch were purchased mostly with gift cards and the Casio Gzone 2 cell phone is about 6 years old now and still works great. I have no true limit to my ability to connect to others and accomplish the same tasks that most do with a smart phone and I pay $0 extra every month for it.

2) Why you should consider a basic phone again.....My husband and I both own the same cell phones that were purchased together at our local Verizon store about 6 years ago. We have yet to upgrade to a new device because these work perfectly for what we need them to do. Our current monthly cell phone bill is approximately $70 a month for 2 lines and does not include anything extra because we choose to pay minimal monthly for this bill. I can still use Internet, text, take pictures and use all sorts of great Apps from my IPad or IPod touch just the same. No one else even knows the difference between my IPod Touch and an IPhone unless I tell them because they look so similar.  Basic phones do not have as many options available these days as they used to because so many phone companies are encouraging smart phones but you can find them and you can often purchase online and take them to the store to be activated. Make sure if you do this that you make sure that they for your phone carrier because each carrier is different and a lot of phones only work for specific carriers. Warren Buffett is one of the wealthiest men alive and he actually has stated that he prefers a basic flip phone to a smart phone as well. Warren Buffett cell phone

3) You can save on your current phone bill.... One of the easiest ways to save on your phone bill is to call around or visit various providers, then you can be more informed before choosing who to go with. If you do not commit to anyone and let retailers know what you are looking for and that you are shopping around, they will be more likely to offer you their best deals to get you as a customer. Make sure no matter who you decide to go with that you understand any additional fees that may accompany the plans you choose. You can often find deals for different Internet or phone providers as well for new customers as well as though your current employer. Another way that people end up overspending on their bills is by not paying close attention to their minutes and data allowed and by going over and incurring additional charges. This can be a costly mistake and can quickly add up every month if you do not keep track and do not correct the problem. If you find you are constantly going over every month you can look at additional plans and see if maybe another plan would work better for you,  the more fees you have can result in spending far more than the more expensive plan anyways.

4) Employer Discounts and Military discounts..... I work for a large Ohio based healthcare company and they offer deals on both Cell phone plans through various carries and also deals through Internet providers. Make sure you check with your HR department or on your company website if they have one to see what sort of partnerships they have with these types of companies, you may be pleasantly surprised. Many also offer Military discounts as well as student discounts as well so check with you phone company regarding any of these discounts as well or check my links below for a few I have found with the major phone companies.  Verizon wireless discounts Sprint discounts  AT&T Discounts

5) Free Texting Apps........I am not a fan of texting personally and I think it is funny because I am only 36 and a lot of people my age prefer texting over phone conversations. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong generation however I love other aspects of technology and have adapted well to all of these but texting is not my thing. Texting can be an additional expense too that is sometimes included in phone plans now but is not always included and can be another additional monthly expense. You can get a texting number completely free and use this to text and even make phone calls at times to people using this phone number attached to the apps. I am Including a few of these Apps so you can check them out for yourselves. They even offer discounted phone plans which I have absolutely zero experience with but they appear to be reasonable if you Insist on keeping your smart phone this may help save money.  Text Now free texting Text now phones and plans Pinger Send a text Text Free 

6) Paperless statement discounts.....Some phone carriers also offer paperless statement discounts if you sign up to receive your bill online instead of by mail. Check with your carrier to see if they offer this and if so you can save an easy amount monthly and save the extra trash.

The best way to cut your expenses in both of these areas to research various discounts offered and to understand what they have available. Never ever sign a contract without understanding what it entails and how long you will be held to the contract. Always make sure that you choose the most minimal plan you can because the more features offered the more that plan will cost you in the long run unnecessarily.