http://www.infobarrel.com/5_Ways_to_Reduce_your_Cell_Phone_Bill
published January 27, 2009
5 Ways to Reduce your Cell Phone Bill
by rizzle
We are in 2009 and nearly everybody has a cellular phone. Some people use their phones like crazy and rack up extremely large bills while other people are more conservative and only use their phones for emergencies. Even if you use your phone constantly, there are many things you can do to reduce your cell phone bill while still giving you the ability to chat your brains out. I will go over a few techniques you can use in this article to get your bill down.
Revise Your Plan
If you don’t use your phone frequently, chances are you could go with a more basic plan. There are many plans designed for those who use their phones for emergencies only; pay as you go is a great option for people who don’t chat frequently. With ‘Pay as you go’, you pre pay for a predetermined amount of minutes and only pay again once you’ve used them up. If you are constantly talking, texting or using data you may want to optimize your plan to include packages such as the top friends package where you can talk unlimited to five people with no restrictions for an additional $10 a month. A lot of companies also offer similar packages for email and texting; build your package to correspond with the features you use the most on your phone.
Get a Phone with WiFi Capabilities
If you have a wireless router at your home, you could save money on data by grabbing a phone that supports WiFi such as the Apple iPhone. Since many people write emails and text frequently from home, if you connect to your WiFi router you will not rack up any data charges. If you don’t have an all inclusive data plan, the costs add up pretty quickly and using your home internet in conjunction with your phone can save you big bucks.
Shut your Phone off at Home and Work
A lot of times people will use text messaging, email or even talk on their cell phone when they are at home or work. Why use your phone when you have a business phone, home phone and a personal computer that can do the same thing without driving up your bill. Instead of wasting your money texting on your phone, go login to a free chat room, or use an online text messaging service to send your friends text messages. The money you save will be ridiculous. Also consider forwarding your cell phone to your home phone or business phone while at home/work, this will stop you from burning through your phone minutes when a free alternative is available.
Talk More in the Evening
The free evening and weekend plan offered by most carriers is crucial if you spend a lot of time on your mobile phone. For as little as $5 most carriers will let you talk as much as you want after 7pm on weekdays as well as all day on the weekends. This is a great way to reduce your overall minute usage.
Switch Your Phone Plan if Travelling
This is something that is extremely important if you are travelling. Call your carrier before you leave and tell them where you are travelling. They can temporarily change your plan to a travelers’ plan that carries less roaming charges. The cost to switch will far outweigh all the roaming charges you will build up. I made about 20 short phone calls once on vacation and racked up $700 in roaming charges. The cost would have been under $50 had I been on a proper plan. When you return from your trip, make sure to switch your plan back to your local plan.