How to Save on Your Bills: Cell Phone

Having a cell phone has become a basic part of life for everyone. It’s almost as important as a roof over your head for some people and it’s in your pocket all day long.

However, have you ever looked to trim the fat from your monthly budget and thought that cell phone line might have some fat on it? There’s a strong chance that it does.

Americans, aged 25–64, paid $114 a month on average for cell phone service in 2018, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s in a similar price range of cable bills, heating bills, and internet service fees.

That $114 bill can probably be trimmed back though. What if you could save $25, $30 even $50 on that monthly bill. It would go a long way toward providing you with greater stability.

The biggest question though is how can I save on my cell phone bill?

Here are four ways to save a few bucks on your cell phone bill:

1. Call Your Provider

It’s amazing how a 15 minute phone call to your cell phone service provider can turn into money back in your pocket.

Think of it this way: If you call your provider, let’s say AT&T. At the end of that 15 minute call, you save $40 per month on your cell phone bill. You effectively just paid yourself $160/hour for that call. That’s nothing to turn away from!

Give them a call though. Often times, you’ll find that you might be spending on things you don’t use or you could save money on things you do use, just by doing it a bit differently.

It’s never wrong to threaten departure from them either. That’s the leading tactic used to reduce costs, so they’ll be ready for it, but it never hurts to ask or, in this case, threaten to leave their company.

2. Company Incentives

Do you work for a company? I know that question sounds silly, but if you work for someone other than yourself, it’s possible that they have already worked out something with a cell phone provider that could turn into savings for you.

Check with your supervisor first and see if there is an incentive to use a specific provider. This alone has turned into 10–20% savings per month for me at three different workplaces.

These workplace incentives are becoming increasingly popular as a provided benefit and enrolling should take no more than 15–20 minutes.

Sometimes, a company will offer a stipend each money due to work -use for your personal equipment. Again, never hurts to ask!

3. Switch providers

Maybe you took step one and found that you can’t save any money with your current provider. You’re maxing out every incentive for being with them for 10 years, and still not able to save any money.

Well, it’s time to look elsewhere. There are a few major providers, such as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, but what about others. Have you considered StraightTalk from Walmart, Freedom Wireless or Patriot Mobile? It’s possible to have a high-quality experience from what many would consider a “second-rate provider.”

The secret is that the “second rate provider” is probably leasing a tower from a leading provider anyway. So you’ll have the same service quality, but at a fraction of the price.

4. Cut back on your service level

Do you really need to have 10GB of Personal Hotspot coverage per month? Does your watch really need its own line so you can feel like Dick Tracy and take calls on your watch?

If you’re in a situation where you want to save money, you’re probably willing to forego a few things that aren’t necessary to your daily life.

Cut that extra line, remove Visual Voicemail, cut your monthly data allotment back. Any of these are options to help cut back and save a few more dollars.

Check back with us later in the week for more handy advice on how to save on your monthly bills.