Five Techniques That Allow Me to Have a $34 Cell Phone Bill
After doing countless budgets with clients, I realize that most cell phone plans can account for a major chunk of change in your budget. The average cell phone expense that we see when completing budgets with clients can be from $100-$200 a month. Long gone are the days where your phone expense was less than $20. Therefore, with rising costs, and many looking to find ways to save anywhere they can, here are five tips that can save you big on your cell phone bill.
Use FREE Directory Assistance Rather Than Dialing 411
Many people, out of habit, dial 411 when they need to find a phone number. However, when you do this, your cell phone company charges you an additional fee. A simple way to avoid this fee is to dial 1-800-FREE-411. You do have to listen to a simple commercial, but in my opinion, it’s worth two minutes of my time to save $1 or more.
Call Toll Free Numbers from Landline Phones, Work Phones, or Pay Phones
Typically, when you are calling a company’s 1-800 number, they will keep you on hold for an indefinite amount of time. This goes for calling your credit card companies! So, instead of using your cell phone and using up those precious minutes that you have paid for, try using landline phones for these calls. It will reserve your anytime minutes for more important calls like Papa Johns.
Sign Up For a Minute Monitoring Service
There is a web site called www.overmyminutes.com that will monitor how many minutes you have used so far on your cell phone. The service is free. They will send you an alert via email or text when you are about to incur overage charges for going over your minute plan on your phone.
Take Advantage of Free Nights and Weekends
I buy the lowest minute plan for my prepaid cell phone, but the plan includes unlimited nights and weekend minutes. Therefore, if I need to make phone call and it is not urgent, I will wait to make the call after 7pm. This preserves my anytime minutes so I do not have overage charges or have to buy extra minutes before my monthly plan renews.
Use Your Texting Abilities
I have my cell phone service with Virgin Mobile. So, I always include a text package with my minute plan each month. I pay a flat fee of $5 for 1000 texts, which incidentally, I have never reached! If I need to contact a friend during the day, before my free nights and weekends kick in, I will opt for texting first. This limits long conversations which can eat up your anytime minutes and allows me to continue using the cheapest call plan possible.
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About the Author
SelenaSelena Ray has more than 2 years experience in the debt management industry and more than 10 years of personal experience with credit and debt. She has tested her financial advice and educational tips in her own personal experiences of managing a budget and tackling debt. She provides insights and education in the fields of debt, money management, and credit reports. Selena holds a bachelors degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and counselor certification from the Center for Financial Certifications.
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