How high is your cell phone bill these days? Are you paying more for your phone than you have to pay for other things you need like water and electricity? I’ve had friends and family complain to me that their cell phone bills have gotten way too high and then they wonder when I tell them I have nothing to really complain about at the moment. Then they start digging into what I’ve done and I tell them a few things.
The thing is that if you have a high cell phone bill these days you have nobody to blame but yourself. These days you have tons of options to lower that bill. You just have to know where to look. How do you save money on your cell phone bill? Just take a look at my best tips and tricks below.
1- Stay away from anything that costs you too much in data
If you’re not on an unlimited plan the thing that’s costing you the most money is your data. Data costs lots of money, and you need to tone it down if you want to save money. Anything that has to do with video is a drainer, like video calls, streaming videos etc. Really anything that uses real time data can cost you data, like maps, streaming music, or some video games. If you can avoid this stuff while you’re on a cell network you’ll save yourself some money.
If you just can’t seem to do it on your own you should trying searching and downloading a free than that can help you with managing your data usage. A quick google search and you’ll find tons of them to choose from.
2- Bundle your plans together for a discount
Is your family taking advantage of a bundled discount? Sometimes you can even bundle with friends and save. If you have a bunch of different people in your household on different plane then you might need to sit down and do some math to figure out what’s best for your family. A lot of the times you’ll find sales when you put more lines together.
Don’t stop at lines thought. Maybe you can bundle that cell phone bill with your cable bill for more savings. If you’re getting your tv service from a provider that also has cell service (like ATT or Verizon and Direct TV) then you should look into bundling that way for more savings. Even if you’re already with that same company you’d be surprised what a phone call to them can do.
3- Call them and ask to lower your bill
I’ve done this numerous times and it always seems to work. Just call them up and ask them to lower your bill. Tell them that you’re thinking of switching to another carrier because you can’t afford to stay with them. They should take you to the retention department where they will do their best to keep your business.
If they don’t offer you anything, then you should straight up ask them if there are any better, and more competitive rates that they can offer you to keep your business. If, for some reason, they tell you no then you can just tell them you’ll have to think about it a bit and don’t go through with your cancellation. More than likely they’ll came back at you with a discounted rate to keep your business.
If threatening to leave is not your thing you can also call and ask about any discounts they may have. You’d be surprised what they might offer you. Just tell them that you’ve been seeing lots of ads from other companies that are offering discounts and that you were wondering if they were offering anything. Sometimes you can get discounts for working with a certain company. I know that was the case for me when I was using ATT. I just had to ask about it, and then all of a sudden I was getting a discount.
4- Use wifi whenever possible
Remember all that data that you need for streaming things? You should try to use free wifi wherever it’s available. These days it’s hard to go anywhere that doesn’t have free wifi. You’re going to find it almost everywhere you go. Using the free wifi will save you money on your data bill.
If you’re worried about insecure wifi spots then spring for a VPN (virtual private network). If you don’t know what it is look it up. The good VPN’s will not be free so it will cost you some money each month, but you’ll get that money back plus some in cell data savings.
5- Take your business elsewhere
If all else fails then take your business some place else. You have lots of choices these days. If you’re worried about early termination fees then you can try to find a provider that will buyout your old contract and help you pay off the fees. You’d be surprised what some companies might offer you to move over your business to them. Some of these things might not even be advertised, and you just need to ask them to find out what they will offer you. Even if it’s advertised it won’t hurt you to call and ask.
This is what I eventually did with my cell phone service. I was sick and tired of paying almost $100 a month for a cell phone so I did a bit of research and switched over to Republic Wireless where I’m now paying less than $20 per month for my cell service. The key is figuring out how much data you use each month and finding the service that offers you the best deal for what you use. The best deal isn’t always going to be the “unlimited” deals.
I calculated that I am using less than 1GB of data per month so it made sense for me to go with Republic Wireless. It would make sense for other people too, but you’d have to figure out your data usage and then cross check that with your current cell service options. The best thing you can do is shop around for the best deal. You don’t need to be paying too much for your cell phone.