Tips for saving money on your cell phone bill
Source: http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/966153/tips-for-saving-money-on-your-cell-phone-bill
SAVE MONEY WHILE YOU TALK
Are you eating Ramen noodles every night just to afford your cell phone bill? Never fear. Shrink your cell phone bill down to size with these simple tips that will save you money.
Say goodbye to overage charges
Capped data plans can be great for saving money, but not if you regularly incur hefty overage charges. Not sure how to track your minutes, texts and data usage? Just download DataMan or VoiceMan apps for iPhones or DroidStats for Android phones and you can track your usage with the touch of a button. Need a little more handholding? You can also set up helpful alerts to warn you when you are getting close to reaching your max.
Talk for free
They say you can’t get something for nothing, but, believe it or not, in some cases you can. Many major cell phone companies offer family and friends plans that allow you to talk to anyone on the same cell phone carrier for free. That means if you can round up enough of your family and friends to get the same carrier as you have, everyone saves money.
Bundle up
It always pays to negotiate when you are working out a new plan with your phone company. Oftentimes, you can get a better deal than what you find advertised on the internet. Even better? Try bundling your internet, home phone, cable, cell phone and any other services together and you can get deeper savings by using the same company for all your communication needs.
Try prepaid
Got a teenager in the house who can’t seem to stay within reasonable limits? A prepaid phone could work wonders on your monthly bill. The perfect combination of freedom and control, a prepaid cell phone simply doesn’t make calls after prepaid amount is used up. This is a great way to teach teens how to budget their time and money.
Keep it in the family
On the other hand, it often pays to keep all the cell phones in the family on the same plan. Family plans offer significant discounts for having multiple phones on the same bill. Adding additional lines is cheaper and you can even share minutes and data plans.
Go unlimited
Do you have trouble sticking within your monthly limit for minutes, texts or data? An unlimited plan might be the answer for you. Sure, it might cost a few extra bucks a month, but overall you’ll still save money by avoiding overage charges.
Renegotiate
If it’s been a while since you’ve chatted with a representative from your phone company, now’s the time to give them a call. Plans change fairly often and you might just have an outdated plan that costs more than what’s currently being offered now. Feel like you’re getting the shaft? Don’t be afraid to shop around and check out what other companies have to offer.
