There are a number of ways that you can lower your cell phone bill. Begin by reviewing your plan and making sure that you have enough minutes but not too many. Do not pay for any services monthly that you use only occasionally. Also avoid using your cell phone for live directory assistance and international calls.
The first step in lowering your cell phone bill is to review your plan to determine if it suits your needs. Begin by looking at the amount of minutes that are included in your plan every month. If you find that you regularly exceed this amount and commonly pay per-minute overage fees, you should immediately modify your plan to allow you a larger monthly allowance. On the contrary, if you have a plan that provides you with too many minutes, you should decrease the size of your monthly plan.
It is common for cell phone companies to deduct from their plan minutes for calls that are made to phones that are not in their network. To help reduce your cell phone bill, avoid making unnecessary billable calls during peak hours. Either wait until nighttime when all calls are free if you have this option or use a landline. By reducing your billable calls, you can save your plan minutes for the necessary calls, and you may even be able to reduce the size of your plan.
The second step is to assess the services that you pay for monthly. This includes items such as international calling plans, video messaging, and mobile Internet services. You should not continue to pay for anything monthly that you use only occasionally. It is likely to be more economical to pay the per usage rates.
Even if you use your cell phone for the Internet, consider whether doing so is a necessity or a luxury. If you have Internet service at work and at home and you use the service on your phone for leisure purposes only, you will likely experience significant savings if you eliminate it. If you do not currently have home Internet service, you should compare rates and discontinue the service on your cell phone if you can get it more cheaply in your home.
If you currently are in the habit of using directory assistance, you can lower your cell phone bill by finding an alternative method to search for telephone numbers. Directory assistance can be pricey and often unnecessary. There are often free options, such as downloadable applications, that serve the same purpose as a live representative. Also, using a calling card to make international calls can drastically reduce your cell phone bill. Although service providers commonly try to make their international rates sound attractive when compared to the rates offered by prepaid calling cards, you will realize that using your cell phone is very expensive.