Auto-bill pay makes taking care of dreaded monthly bills a lot easier to manage. However, if it’s been a while since you’ve seen the full details of what your cell phone plan includes, then listen up! I’ve included some of the most obvious ways to save money, but also some insider tips to make sure you’re not overpaying.
Employer Discounts
Many employers offer monthly discounts on wireless bills with a particular provider. Even if you’re pretty sure yours doesn’t, double check. If the discount is with a different provider than what you currently have, it may be worth the switch if you’re nearing the end of your contract and can save 10-35% off of your monthly bill.
Minutes
Ah, good old minutes… At one point in time, they held all the power. However, with texting, email, and social networking around, minutes are less of a hot commodity and more of an afterthought. Granted, there’s still tons of people out there with the gift of gab that relish their bounty of rollover minutes, but chances are if you’re still on the same minutes plan from 3+ years ago, you probably underuse your monthly minutes.
Tip: Attention AT&T customers! Did you know that if you have unlimited texting on your plan, you also get free mobile to ANY mobile minutes? That means you can call any cell phone, on any provider, at any time and never have to worry about minutes. Double check with your provider or local Best Buy Mobile to see if you have the specific feature code required for this plan.
Shared Data
Finally, someone got the message. This is great news for folks with family plans and a bunch of smartphones. AT&T and Verizon now offer plans that come with unlimited minutes and texting already included, leaving data to be shared by all of the smartphones on the plan.
Tip: The shared data plans on AT&T and Verizon include using your device as a mobile hotspot! So if you’ve been paying extra to use your smartphone as a hotspot, converting your plan to shared data is a great way to save some extra money.
Prepaid/Pay-as-you-go/No Contract
No matter what you call it, these plans all add up to one thing: savings. With smartphones becoming such a dominant part of the wireless business, prepaid carrier plans have been adding some fantastic handset options to go with their unbeatable monthly rates. If you still think prepaid plans are for your grandma or people who want non-smartphones, think again.
The tradeoff here is that the cost of a new device is usually a bit higher than the deal you get when you sign a two-year contract. But while contract carriers charge between $70-$90+ per month for smartphones, prepaid options usually fall between $35-$60 per month. That equals a ton of savings over the course of two years.
Tip: What about the iPhone? Dreams do come true. The iPhone 4/4S is currently available on Virgin Mobile with no contract, whatsoever.
Extra (unused) Features
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at a customer’s plan, asked about a feature, and gotten the response, “That’s still on there?” There’s a lot of features that continue month-to-month that may not cost much, but really add up. Check monthly bills for things like:
- roadside assistance
- ringback tones
- early night and weekend minutes
- mobile insurance (on phones that may have Geek Squad Protection instead)
There you have it. Hopefully one (or more) of these methods can save you some money. For more details about any of the above, visit the AT&T, Sprint, Verizon or T-Mobile carrier sites, or if you have further questions, please visit our forums for quick, expert advice.