Easy ways to cut the cost of your smartphone and save more money. Get the Money Girl book at http://MoneyGirlBook.com
Money Girl
343 MG 5 Ways to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill
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If you'd like more money tips that are not in the weekly podcast, be sure to sign up for the free Money Girl newsletter at quickanddirtytips.com. For many of us, cell phone bills are our largest monthly expense after housing and transportation. Not only are we talking a lot on our cell phones, but if we have a smartphone with a data plan, we're texting, sending photos, checking email, playing games, surfing the web, and much more. In this episode, I'll teach you five clever ways to cut the cost of your cell phone, without sacrificing any of the great features you've come to expect. If you rely on your cell phone for most of your communication, one way to cut costs is to simply get rid of your landline. I've gone without a traditional phone line for longer than I can remember. According to the Census Bureau, I'm one of the 28% of Americans who don't have a landline and rely exclusively on a cell phone. That stat is from 2011, so I'm sure it's higher than 28% by now. No matter your situation, it's smart to cut costs where you can. Here are five ways to save money on your cell phone bill. Savings tip number one, use free apps. Instead of using a cellular network every time you make a call, consider using free apps. Skype, Google Voice, and Apple's FaceTime app are internet-based, so they don't count against your valuable cell plan minutes. Other apps, like Apple's iMessage, Haywire, and TextPlus allow you to send or receive text messages for free. In some cases, the other person must use the app as well. However, these internet options are a great way to make sure you never exceed your monthly limit for cell minutes or texts. Savings tip number two, watch out for in-app fees. Have you ever used free apps or games and seen ads come up for things like ringtone subscriptions or other services that cost money? Maybe you've even clicked on them without realizing that you'd be charged a fee. These freemium apps or games may be free for a limited amount of time only. Often you have to upgrade after a while. These charges can add up quickly. If you have children, never hand over your cell phone or any mobile device before disabling in-game purchases altogether in the device's settings. Also, don't reveal your passwords to services like iTunes, where your kids could buy music or movies over and over and over. Otherwise, you could be shocked by a big bill at the end of the month. Savings tip number three, log on to Wi-Fi. Streaming videos and downloading large files over a cell network uses a large amount of data. If you have a smartphone or other mobile device without an unlimited data plan, you typically get charged extra when you exceed your monthly data cap. One way to avoid running out of data before the end of the month is to set up an alert that warns you when you get close to the limit. Another is to always use Wi-Fi when you're surfing the web at home or in a public place that has it. Wi-Fi doesn't use up your data allocation, so it's a safe and fast way to do the heavy lifting. Just make sure you don't use a public connection when it isn't safe. For more information about this, check out another Quick and Dirty Tips podcast from The Tech Talker who did a great episode called "The dangers of unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots." I'll put a link to it in the notes for this show on the Money Girl page at quickanddirtytips.com. Savings tip number four, turn off roaming. You might assume that if you don't make or receive cell phone calls while you're traveling outside of the country, that you won't be charged. However, your smartphone may still connect with other networks in foreign countries and use data automatically for things like checking email or the local weather. To make sure your phone isn't too smart for your own good, turn off data roaming in your device's settings before your trip starts. You'll still be able to get wireless internet where it's available in other countries, but you won't get charged extra for data roaming. Savings tip number five, ditch your contract. A growing number of consumers are choosing month-to-month cell phone plans instead of long-term contracts. This gives you more flexibility, often at a lower price. However, going without a contract usually means that you have to buy your own phone instead of getting one that's subsidized by your provider, but you might still come out ahead. Let's say your cell phone company sells you a brand new, shiny smartphone for $200 with a two-year contract. If your monthly rate is $60 for those two years, you've paid $1440 plus $200 for the phone for a grand total of $1640. On the other hand, you could buy your own smartphone for about $600 and get a monthly plan for around $40 a month. That means you'd pay $960 plus $600 for the phone or $1,560, which is less than a contract over a two-month period. And you wouldn't be locked into an agreement, so you'd have the ability to switch providers or phones if it doesn't work out. You might choose a low-cost wireless plan like TextNow that sends all calls and text over the internet. TextNow uses your Wi-Fi connection when it's available or sprints nationwide 3G and 4G network as a backup. TextNow plans start at $18.99 per month, have no contract, and you can cancel service at any time without a penalty. Another no-contract wireless service is ZACT mobile that only charges you for what you use. This innovative new service has nationwide coverage and actually gives you money back each month for unused services. Parents can even set allowances on their children's phone use to further cut costs. They say that the average ZACT bill is just $22 a month. If you're currently stuck in a contract and want to avoid paying an early termination fee to get out, consider using online marketplaces such as SellSwapper.com or TradeMyCellular.com. They match people who want to ditch contracts with people who want to start them. As you can see, there are ways to save money on your cell phone bill. Start with the five that I've recommended, but as we all know, technology changes almost daily, so stay vigilant for new options that may suit you or your family's needs. If you found a great way to save money on your mobile devices, share it on the MoneyGirl Facebook page on Google+ or tweet me at username @LaraAtoms. Now that we're in Q4, it's a good time to start thinking about making memories with the people you love most before the end of the year. 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