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    8 ways to cut your cell phone bill

    By Dory Devlin, Shine staff | Work + Money – Mon, Feb 8, 2010 11:20 PM EST

    Getty Images: 8 ways to cut your cell phone billGetty Images: 8 ways to cut your cell phone billWhen you read stories about how the cost of everything is not keeping pace with the money people earn, the facts that health care costs are rising and college tuition is completely out of whack with reality typically get mentioned. For good reason, of course. But it's also important to acknowledge that families are spending money on budget items that were not found in our parents' checkbooks.

    Think: Big TVs and the big service contracts that come with them. Computers and the monthly Internet service they require.

    And: cell phones.

    We're just about to make the switch to one provider for TV/Internet/phone service for our house to save some money. But the fact is what we're paying for phone service alone as a family is pretty alarming. We still have a land line, which, even though we have a pretty basic package, easily costs about $60 a month with taxes and fees. And, now that four out of five of us have cell phones and a family cell phone plan with text messaging, we're paying close to $100 a month for that bill. No small change.

    So this fairly new expense for families deserves some attention to make sure you are not paying any more than you need to pay. Consumer Reports' ShopSmart has a few good tips to help us do just that, starting with the important task of studying your bill, your usage, and your calling and texting habits to make sure you have the right plan for your family. Here are ShopSmart's 8 tips:

    ShopSmart, March 2010ShopSmart, March 20101. Check your minutes.     Take a look at your bills over the past six months to see how many minutes you actually use and if you have minutes left over every month. (Or, of course, if you go over the minutes allotment.) As this New York Times story notes, unlimited calling plans may not be the best deals for most families, even as major providers like AT&T and Verizon have cut their monthly unlimited calls option from $100 to $70. An analysis by Validas LLC found that unlimited calling plans are the most cost-effective for only 7 percent of mobile phone users. Most teens rarely make calls on their phones--to friends at least; they text.

    2. Make good use of the family cell plan. If you've got a multi-line family plan, use it. Don't call your spouse or kids using the home phone. Stick to your cell phones because your calls are included in your monthly bill.

    3. Use freebies well. If your carrier offers unlimited free minutes to designated phone numbers, register your most-called numbers but be sure to make the most of this money-saving feature by limiting your list to land lines and cell numbers outside your network.

    4. Choose the right text package.     Paying for individual text messages quickly becomes ridiculously expensive, and if you've got a teen in your plan, you probably wouldn't even think of trying an a la carte approach. Unless you plan to block all texting, take an honest look at your (and family members') texting habits so you choose the right bundle of text messages (or unlimited) so there are no surprises when your bill arrives.

    5. Pick up the phone. If you happen to get one of those shockingly high bills because habits are out of line with your payment plan, call your carrier, discuss the changes, and be a squeaky wheel to get a break on that month's bill while you change your plan to accommodate your family's true habits.

    6. Think about a data plan. If you end up emailing and surfing the Web more than you anticipated, consider adding a data plan to your monthly bill so you don't incur expensive per-use charges that add up to more than a monthly data plan. Or: save your Web-surfing for your computer and use your phone to call and text only.

    7. Shop around.     Spend some time comparing plans on the Web sites of the major cell phone carriers. You can also use a service like billshrink.com for free or pay for one, such as myvalidas.com (starting at $5) to sort through the major plans based on your usage and needs to recommend phones and plans to go with them.

    8. Avoid termination fees. Make an informed decision and stick to the contract time limit to avoid paying up to $350 per line if you switch carriers mid-contract. A few months before your contract is up is a good time to do some serious soul-searching and shopping to find the best phone and service plan to fit your budget.

    We've all stared at our cell phone bills in disbelief at one time or another. How have you managed to cut yours to a manageable size to fit your needs and budget?

     

    237 comments

    • Jane Austen
      Jane Austen  •  1 year 0 months ago
      I actually know a lot of people that have been getting unlimited plans for their cellphones, and then using them as their landlines too. I do think that family plans are a lot better sometimes than personal plans. Then it allows me more money to buy nice android phones instead of a "brick".
    • Nina
      Nina  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Straight Talk is great! I have the unlimted plan for $45 a month...which adds up to $600 saving a year from my previous carrier. Plus now the min. is unlimited so no more having to check up on min.usage which was quite annoying. Finally a product offered by Walmart that works for me - what a pleasant surprise!
    • HeyHay
      HeyHay  •  1 year 4 months ago
      It's nice to see so many other satisfied Straight Talk users. I have the $30 plan which includes 1000 minutes, texts, and 30mb of data. It's all I need for a fraction of what I was paying with my old contract. The coverage has been just as good if not better, too!
    • ole rooster
      ole rooster  •  2 years 3 months ago
      Straight Talk is the only way for me, $45 for unlimited talk, text, data and 411. Straight Talk is using Verizon's infrastructure to do it's business. Go to Walmart and get a great prepaid account. If you don't use over 1000 minutes or 1000 texts per month you can get service at a very reasonable $30 per 30 day period, it's your choice. My bill as dropped $46 per month from my old plan with Verizon. Can't wait for those annoying AT&T vs Verizon commercials to go away. Both are ripoffs.
    • EDDY
      EDDY  •  2 years 3 months ago
      metro pcs #1 unlimited all ....internet,text,text w/ photo,GPS,AOL,MSN TEXTING only on smartphones.$50 month.......8 YEARS AND STILL CUSTOMER
    • JK
      JK  •  2 years 3 months ago
      BillShrink is one of those "you get what you pay for" free things. With 5,400 minutes/mo, it told me to switch off of unlimited at $70/mo (AT&T) to "pay by the minute" using my most called numbers and I'd save $9/mo. It doesn't count WEEKENDS in though! (Didn't ask what the weekday vs weekday minutes were... just assumed I use less on weekends.) Be careful or you may end up paying more.
    • kelekous
      kelekous  •  2 years 3 months ago
      all i can say is avoid metro pcs like the plague,pay as you go is fine reception is dismal to say the least .clue comes when this telephone co. does not have a 'phone number on their invoices,they just don't want to hear from you.
    • funutation
      funutation  •  2 years 3 months ago
      has anyone tried using ICall, Fring, or Skype to lower their cellphone bills? You would need a cell phone with 3G
    • A Yahoo! User  •  2 years 3 months ago
      I have checked my bill and all of what i said above cost about $80 but ive also dont have unlimited talk so i get 1000 min with roll over so yhea at&t ftw
    • web_bee
      web_bee  •  2 years 3 months ago
      Pretty common sense stuff. Nothing new..
    • DownedEMT-P
      DownedEMT-P  •  2 years 3 months ago
      I went for 4 without a "contract phone" then went with a "brand name" when my teen ager got in on the situation.
      I went to billshrink.com and entered my info and wow! It seems that for me 1000-1300 min a month with 2 data plans and unlimited texting, Verizon,who I am now with, is the best deal. I love the friends and family and with the phones we carry (you can FaceBook,you tube etc) the data pack was a no brainer.
      I have NEVER been WITHOUT a signal and get messages in and out in places my friends are reaching for my phone for help reaching home when we are out!
      Made me feel good that I did make the correct move whrn I went with Verizon.
      So maps or apps or rollover minutes out aside..........VERIZON won hands down.
    • no pay!
      no pay!  •  2 years 3 months ago
      True buy straight talk fuck all the other shit
    • Maverick
      Maverick  •  2 years 3 months ago
      i had a virgin mobile phone for 2 years and i paid typically $20 a month for either a few hundred minutes i barely used or an additional $10 for text then i got with at&t and i cant wait to go back to prepaid cause its ridiculous. In essence im at the mercy of a huge company who like to charge up the ass and im tired of it. Ughh prepaid all the way!
    • catherinet
      catherinet  •  2 years 3 months ago
      Get rid of your home phone line. I was paying close to $60.00 a month. I purchased the Majik jack and it works just fine. You do have to leave your computer on although I weighed the cost of that it is small compared to my phone bill. You can call all over the United States and stay on the phone as long as you want for $19.95 plus tax. If you have family or friends overseas you can mail them one.
    • Kristi B
      Kristi B  •  2 years 3 months ago
      You should have thought of this before you had such a large family. If you're truthful with yourself, you'll realize the kids really don't need phones until they are teenagers. By then they can get jobs to pay for them or simply learn they don't need to be connected to something 24 hrs a day.
    • ole rooster
      ole rooster  •  2 years 3 months ago
      Yes dynamite 360, Straight Talk is prepaid. You can do it over the phone, or over the internet. You can buy a prepaid card at Walmart. Have it automatically deducted from your checking or credit card account, which ever way is best for you. I do the card, just personal prefference...Good luck.
    • DCA
      DCA  •  2 years 3 months ago
      If you have a TracFone you can sign up for the value added minute plan. If you have a double minute phone you can get 100 minutes a month for $10.00. The catch is you have to sign up to pay the $10.00 every month. You can also sign up for a $20.00 a month minute program which will give you 200 minutes a month if you have a double minute phone, or 100 minutes if you don't have double minutes. Minutes roll over every month and your service date updates and stays current so you don't loose your phone number. If you have a land line or computer access this could be a good deal.
    • armando
      armando  •  2 years 3 months ago
      THANKS I WILL TRY IT.
    • Change2008
      Change2008  •  2 years 3 months ago
      How 'bout leave AT&T and switch to Cricket Wireless! Best thing I EVER did!!!!!
    • Amy
      Amy  •  2 years 3 months ago
      And last but not least don't get an iPhone
     Post a comment

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