Even though you are charged a monthly fee, additional charges could drive your bill much higher. If you are keeping your bill on a budget, here are a few tips that will help. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - If you are on a tight budget, choose a plan with low monthly fee and low minutes. You can still use a landline phone or payphone for the majority of your calls. - Limit the use of your cellular phone to check voicemail. You will be charged airtime. Use your home or work phone to check it. Check with your carrier on how to access your voicemail using a landline. Usually you just have to push # when your greeting plays then put in your password. - Use free calls offered by local businesses - Many times local companies like TV stations, auto towing, radio stations, etc. may contract with your cellular provider to offer free calls to their companies. If you need to call these companies, take advantage of these special numbers. - Do you really need the additional features like call waiting, text messaging and call forwarding? Unless they are included in your plan, you will be charged extra for these. If you are paying for a feature but do not use it, contact your carrier and drop it. Do not keep paying for a feature you dont use. - Caller ID might pay for itself if you have a minimum plan. You can 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 cautious about giving out your cell phone number and NEVER post your cell phone number online. - Unless you get a really good promotional offer, stick to a 1-year contract. Your usage needs may change or you may find a better deal after the contract expires. - If you do not have a nationwide or network plan, be careful about calling outside your home coverage area. The roaming and large distance charges will really add up fast. You will also be charged for roaming and long distance with incoming calls received out of your coverage area. In some areas, you may pay roaming charges even if you have a nationwide plan. - Pay attention to the clock when you call during the week. The weekday 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 plan than you actually need, you are also overpaying in taxes, which can be 15-20% of your total bill. - If you need to make a change in your plan, do it during the first month of your plan. If you wait, you will be locked into the contract. Carriers have deadlines for changes. If you make changes afterwards, they add months to your contract. - Re-evaluate your usage every couple of months - Go over 2-3 months of your cellular bill. If you find that the package plan you are paying for includes too many, or worse, not enough minutes, call and change to a different plan.You may have to extend your contract as stated above. - Ask for a bill analysis - If you are not sure if another plan would be better, call customer service and ask them to do a bill analysis. They will examine your bill for you and compare other plans to see if they can save you money. They can do this at any time, but this is especially important when getting ready to renew a contract. - When selecting a phone, start with your budget. There are usually rebates and promotions that result in a free basic phone with service. You can pay much more for a phone loaded with features. Features to consider: weight, size, if you can read the numbers on the screen, paging service, two-way radio service, customized ring tones. - Keep an eye on all the charges on your bill. Sometimes you may be charged for a feature or service you did not request. - If you sign up for a plan with a rebate, do not forget to mail in the rebate card. This is how you get your cellular phone for free from many carriers. - Call in late payments - If you are going to be late paying your bill, call them and tell them exactly when you will send it. This may save you from late fees, being suspended and paying reconnect fees. - Suspend the cell phone if you're not using it - If you are not going to be using your phone for a while. If you do seasonal work and are done until next year, or you're on a trip without the phone, you can call the company and request service suspension for a period of time. Make sure to request a specific time frame. (Voluntary suspension may be limited to a month or so. Check with your customer service rep.) Remember that you are still locked into a contract and suspension stops the clock. - Find out how to call toll-free calls on your cell phone. Most times 1-800 is not a free call on cell phones. Many times you must dial #-800, or something similar. Ask your customer service agent. |
