If you want to lower your mobile phone bill, a good place to start is by watching for discounts and comparing providers. Beyond that, however, you can also use these five methods to cut down on your monthly phone-related expenses:
1. Don’t Buy A Bigger Plan Than You Need
Unlimited plans for mobile phones are usually quite expensive, often costing upwards of £50 per month. If you are currently paying for one of these plans, ask yourself if you could get by with a smaller plan. If you are like most people, you probably use your phone for everything from accessing the Internet to checking your social media accounts. Naturally, it seems like you would need a plan with unlimited data. If you look at the actual figures for your account, however, you may find that you are using less data than you think.
Today, free Wi-Fi is available almost everywhere, whether you are going out for a cup of coffee, working, or spending time at home. If you regularly use Wi-Fi, your data usage may actually be quite low.
The only way to know for sure is by checking your bill to see your actual data usage. For instance, you might be using just 5 GB of data every month even though you are paying for a plan with unlimited data. If you find that you can get by with less, try downgrading your plan to one with lower data limits. This can significantly cut your mobile phone bills.
2. Don’t Insure Your Phone
For most people, mobile phone insurance is an unnecessary expense. If you break your phone, you still have to pay money out of your own pocket to have it fixed, even if you have an insurance plan.
When you add up the total cost of the insurance over time and the money that you have to pay toward repairs, you may find that you are wasting a lot of money.
If you frequently drop or damage your phone, you might benefit from an insurance plan. On the other hand, if you take good care of your phone, you probably can get rid of the insurance and save a lot of money.
3. Sign Up For Automatic Payments And Go Paperless
Most phone providers give their customers discounts when they sign up for automatic payments. Opting to receive your bills electronically could also save you money. In most cases, signing up for the auto-pay feature will usually cut your bill by about five dollars per month. As a bonus, it also ensures that your bill is always paid on time.
Even though five pounds per month doesn’t seem like a lot of money, it can add up to more than £100 in savings over a couple of years.
4. Look For A Plan With Freebies
Many of today’s mobile phone providers offer their customers free services or bonuses for signing up. For instance, you may be able to get a free subscription to your favorite streaming services like Netflix, or Amazon Prime.
When you register for your phone service, check to see what extras you get. That way, you won’t wind up paying for a streaming service like Netflix when you could be getting it for free.
Another thing you may want to look into is finding a plan that has a high mobile hotspot allowance. This could allow you to get rid of your Internet service at home by making it possible to turn your phone into a mobile hotspot. This can dramatically lower your monthly expenses.
5. See If You Can Save By Switching
Long-term contracts are pretty much a thing of the past. That means that you can easily switch from one carrier to another, taking your phone number along with you. Even though switching may seem like a hassle, there are a lot of great reasons to consider it. When you sign up as a new customer, you may qualify for a special discount. You also might be able to get additional bonuses that your current provider doesn’t offer.
Examples of some of the benefits that you could enjoy by switching include:
- Free or discounted mobile phones
- Lower monthly fees for leasing a handset
- Lower monthly service costs
- Cheaper rates for everyone in your family
Typically, you don’t have to worry about your current provider charging any extra fees if you switch. The only exception is if you have a contract. Today, however, contracts are quite rare, which means that you probably don’t need to worry about it. Another thing to think about is if you have a mobile phone that you are still paying off. In many cases, your current provider’s competitors may help you finish paying off the phone if you are willing to switch to their service.