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Tips For Lowering Your Cell Phone Bill
By Ron Chamberlain, Sat Dec 10th
Even though you are charged a monthly fee, additional chargescould drive your bill much higher. If you are keeping your billon a budget, here are a few tips that will help.
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- If you are on a tight budget, choose a plan with low monthlyfee and low minutes. You can still use a landline phone orpayphone for the majority of your calls.
- Limit the use of your cellular phone to check voicemail. Youwill be charged airtime. Use your home or work phone to checkit. Check with your carrier on how to access your voicemailusing a landline. Usually you just have to push # when yourgreeting plays then put in your password.
- Use free calls offered by local businesses - Many times localcompanies like TV stations, auto towing, radio stations, etc.may contract with your cellular provider to offer free calls totheir companies. If you need to call these companies, takeadvantage of these special numbers.
- Do you really need the additional features like call waiting,text messaging and call forwarding? Unless they are included inyour plan, you will be charged extra for these. If you arepaying for a feature but do not use it, contact your carrier anddrop it. Do not keep paying for a feature you don�t use.
- Caller ID might pay for itself if you have a minimum plan. Youcan use it to screen out calls that you do not wish to receive.This will reduce your airtime usage.
- Since incoming calls counts against your airtime, be cautiousabout giving out your cell phone number and NEVER post your cellphone number online.
- Unless you get a really good promotional offer, stick to a1-year contract. Your usage needs may change or you may find abetter deal after the contract expires.
- If you do not have a nationwide or network plan, be carefulabout calling outside your home coverage area. The roaming andlarge distance charges will really add up fast. You will also becharged for roaming and long distance with incoming callsreceived out of your coverage area. In some areas, you may payroaming charges even if you have a nationwide plan.
- Pay attention to the clock when you call during the week. Theweekday off-peak hours are limited, often 9 pm to 5:59 am(varies by carrier, check your plan for details).
- Choose the right plan. If you are overpaying for more planthan you actually need, you are also overpaying in taxes, whichcan be 15-20% of your total bill.
- If you need to make a change in your plan, do it during thefirst month of your plan. If
you wait, you will be locked intothe contract. Carriers have deadlines for changes. If you makechanges afterwards, they add months to your contract.
- Re-evaluate your usage every couple of months - Go over 2-3months of your cellular bill. If you find that the package planyou are paying for includes too many, or worse, not enoughminutes, call and change to a different plan.You may have toextend your contract as stated above.
- Ask for a bill analysis - If you are not sure if another planwould be better, call customer service and ask them to do a billanalysis. They will examine your bill for you and compare otherplans to see if they can save you money. They can do this at anytime, but this is especially important when getting ready torenew a contract.
- When selecting a phone, start with your budget. There areusually rebates and promotions that result in a free basic phonewith service. You can pay much more for a phone loaded withfeatures. Features to consider: weight, size, if you can readthe numbers on the screen, paging service, two-way radioservice, customized ring tones.
- Keep an eye on all the charges on your bill. Sometimes you maybe charged for a feature or service you did not request.
- If you sign up for a plan with a rebate, do not forget to mailin the rebate card. This is how you get your cellular phone forfree from many carriers.
- Call in late payments - If you are going to be late payingyour bill, call them and tell them exactly when you will sendit. This may save you from late fees, being suspended and payingreconnect fees.
- Suspend the cell phone if you're not using it - If you are notgoing to be using your phone for a while. If you do seasonalwork and are done until next year, or you're on a trip withoutthe phone, you can call the company and request servicesuspension for a period of time. Make sure to request a specifictime frame. (Voluntary suspension may be limited to a month orso. Check with your customer service rep.) Remember that you arestill locked into a contract and suspension stops the clock.
- Find out how to call toll-free calls on your cell phone. Mosttimes 1-800 is not a free call on cell phones. Many times youmust dial #-800, or something similar. Ask your customer serviceagent.
About the author:Ron Chamberlain is the owner and webmaster of
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