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Top Five Ways to Lower Your Cell Phone Bill
While few of us have actually received a cell phone bill as large as this poor fellow, we've all been privy to the occasional shockingly huge cell phone bill. It's no surprise, considering the ways in which carriers can hit us with hidden fees, exorbitant rates for going over our monthly minutes, or extra charges for seemingly innocuous extra feature such as call waiting. Fool us once, shame on us; fool us twice, and we find a way to cut those costs. So, take a look at our five top tips for lowering your phone bill.
1. Choose The Right Plan
The easiest solution to high cell phone bills is as simple as switching your plan. If you're not using all your monthly minutes, then downgrade to a cheaper plan with less talk time. If you're going over your minutes, then it's upgrade time. But there are other options: Whether or not you have a family, you should still consider a Family Plan, which lets you get extra cell phones and bulk minutes at reduced rates, and the best thing is that any calls to other phones on the plan don't use up any of your minutes. If you're a heavy caller, texter, and e-mailer, then consider one of the new unlimited plans, which let you do all of the above for around $99-$150 per month (again, it' s a savings if you're a power user). There are also alternatives to being stuck with a plan. Most carriers now offer a pay-as-you-go alternatives that allow you to pay for the calls you make, which is useful for those who rarely use their cell phones at all.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jennifer said 8:51AM on 7-01-2008
The BEST way to save on cell phone use? Get rid of it.
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Jacob said 9:47PM on 7-01-2008
good answer
leslie said 6:41PM on 7-01-2008
best way to use your cell is do not use t-mobile
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jared said 10:11AM on 1-23-2009
why do you say t-mobile?
annmarie said 9:48AM on 9-06-2008
You forgot one way to save...TOSS the cell phone in the trash.
Gee, I wonder how we ever survived before the cell phone ?? We never missed important events because we didn't have a cell phone glued to our ear, because we COMMUNICATED in person.
The rudeness that the cell phone has created is ridiculous, very apparent to service workers. Cell phone users hold up lines everywhere because they feel their personal conversation has priority over ALL the other people in line behind them waiting for assistance. The attitude of self importance prevails.
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gearjammn said 4:35PM on 10-01-2008
Try getting rid of your phone when you're on the road with kids at home that want to talk to you for anything from "hey dad, guess what i did today" to "how do I do this math problem" or one of them winds up in the emergency room and all you have to is turn the truck around and high-tail it home vs going another 3-4 or 500 miles away before you stop and call from a pay phone when you could've already been back.
helen ormesher said 10:59PM on 10-13-2008
You got that right AnnMarie!! get rid of cell phones, they cause accidents
or near accidents. get rid of phone costly bill, put the money where it will do most good for you, even a savings account or better yet try a stock.
It might even save you from getting brain cancer!!!
Me said 12:53AM on 12-20-2008
Yes, I agree..........and it just erks me when I see someone that I have to either pass around or who is driving way under the speed limit when to see that there on their cell phones just laughing away.................ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!! I yell out my window, "Get off the phone"!!!! Atleast it makes me feels abit better! :-)
d.p heilala said 5:57PM on 10-13-2008
I think that it is a b ig mistake to remove land lines- Might be needed for back-up
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deannashea said 3:06AM on 10-16-2008
One way of saving money is using 1-800-411-SAVE as your provider for directory assistance. Its an amazing experience to dial them and look for residential or business listings. They have live agents who are very friendly and generous. They give out phone numbers in a fast manner. Aside from these, the listings are very accurate that youd think that they are even better with other directory that charges us more than a dollar per call. Its absolutely free, so why not try it now?
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JacV said 11:12AM on 1-27-2009
Cellphones have become such a part of our lives that it is hard to imagine living without them. Most people fall into two groups: Those who think everybody is using them too much and is telling everybody to ditch the cell or those who love them and/or really need them. I say get rid of the fat cell contract and get a prepaid with a limited number of minutes every month. It helps the budget AND you stay in contact without using the thing too much. Everybody wins.
My Tracfone let's me do exactly this. Nothing more, nothing less.
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Sara said 12:35PM on 4-01-2009
This article is great. I went to onlinebillreview.com and they lowered my cell phone bill for me. I didn't have to do anything. I will save $400 this year alone. Hope this helps someone.
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Cathy said 10:51AM on 4-30-2009
A great way to lower cell phone costs is to switch to a prepaid plan. I used to be obsessed with my Blackberry, but as a college student, could no longer afford to spend all of that money on a contract phone. I decided to switch to prepaid and LOVE IT! I only spend only on the minutes that I use. I can also still text and make long distance calls.
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infanta said 10:33AM on 7-30-2009
Get a prepaid cell phone people. Check out celldefense.com
No contracts, less than $30 bucks and available at Wal-Mart, Target or dollar stores. Save money in these frugal times.
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winners.luck1@gmail.com said 3:51PM on 9-21-2009
My recommendation is to go with a prepaid provider.
Net10 for example offers a $30 package with a new phone and 300 minutes.
The bonus about this is that there are no contracts and no bills so you cant go over the limit and then you just top up. You choose how much airtime to put on the phone at varying amounts which is valid for 60days befor you have to recharge. Extra minutes do carry over so it is definatley worth it
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winners.luck1@gmail.com said 1:24PM on 9-23-2009
Net10 has got a very economic way to stay in touch with your loved ones internationally. Firstly their international rate is only 15cents perminute and then there is the Net10 International neighbors plan where family in Mexico and Canada can set up a local number to phone in the US. so great savings all round
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