How to Get the Best Deal on Your Cell Phone Plan
In today’s modern world, cellphones have become almost a necessity for everyone. Unfortunately cellphone plans are often confusing and seem to always have extra fees that come out of nowhere. Luckily, there are some steps you can take to help lower your monthly bill and get the most gab for your tab.
Avoid A La Carte
Many cell plans offer unlimited minutes, at least to a certain number of your most common numbers. However, text messages are often a different story. Some plans will charge ten cents or more for each message you send or receive. If you send more than one text message a day or have a shared plan, ask about unlimited text for your plan. Many younger users send dozens or even hundreds of messages a day. At ten cents a message, that can add up in a hurry.
Never Take Sides Against the Family
Many new plans will limit a user to a certain number of minutes for general calls, but will give unlimited calls to anyone that’s on the same network. In other words, if a user has Verizon, they can call anyone on Verizon for free. At the very least, families should try to stay on the same network, as studies show that typically fifty percent of phone calls are made to immediate family members.
Consider Your Actual Needs
Everyone wants to get the newest and greatest iPhone or Droid, but in actuality most people never take advantage of all the extras anyway. In many cases, people are never far from a computer, so they don’t really need a multimedia phone. However, if you do decide to get a multimedia plan, make sure to check out all the options. Some plans cost as little as six dollars a month, while others may cost more than sixty.
Go Prepaid
Many users never get close to their monthly minute limit. If you use your cell phone less than two hundred minutes a month, you can save almost fifty percent by switching to a pre-paid plan. For example, two-hundred anytime minutes costs twenty-five dollars, as compared to a full plan which may cost forty or fifty dollars a month.
Ask
Finally, you can straight out ask a carrier about available discounts. In many cases, a new user may qualify for a discount and not be aware of it. For instance, many carriers will give discounts to government workers. This is usually pretty loosely defined, and it may include librarians, teachers, city employees, or other jobs not typically considered government. Non-profit groups may also qualify for discounts.
Britney Baker is a freelance blogger who normally ranks prepaid phones for PrepaidCellphones.net.
©2010 Copyright by Everything Finance
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I’m one of those cell phone users that never used up even the minimum minutes allotment. I figured it out 6 months into my contract, then I went to a prepaid service. I went to Tracfone and am now paying about $15 a month. I’m using the same amount of minutes I did previously, the only thing is that I pay per text but it still stays under $20.