How to Lower Your Cell Phone Bill

For some, cell phone bills can be a big expense after housing, transportation, and food. You might be wondering if you can spend less on your cell phone bill without having to change carriers. It is worth the effort to call your provider and find out how you can lower your cell phone bill.

First, it depends on the cell provider you have, phones are paid off, your current plan, data usage, number of phones on your plan, and any extras like paid apps and insurance payments. Secondly, find out if you’re under contract. And lastly, research to find out if other carriers are offering promotions in your area. This will help you during your discussion with your existing cell phone provider.

Ways to Lower Your Cell Phone Bill

1. Enrolling in autopay can quickly lower your bills by as much as $5 with some carriers.
2. Go green and enrolling in electronic statements can give you a discount.
3. Drop your phone insurance plan (but risk the chance of not having it insured). Ask yourself if you’ve ever filed an insurance claim, how you handle your phone, and the age and current condition of the phone? Also, find out if your car insurance, rental insurance, or home insurance have an insurance rider to include electronic gadgets.
4. Add someone else into your line. Most often having multiple lines can reduce your overall monthly cost. You can share the bill evenly.
5. Ask your current provider about group or affinity discounts. You can save money with military, credit union, and corporate discounts.
6. Reduce your plan. Find out how much data is used per month and ask the representative to do data usage analysis. They can give you options for lowering your bill by placing you on a reduced data usage plan.
7. Connect to wifi whenever you can to reduce your data usage. This is a good tip for anyone who does not have an unlimited data plan.
8. Payoff your smartphone. You might like the idea of “financing” your phone and making payments each month as opposed to the full retail price. Ask your service provider how much is left in your plan and if you can pay off the amount. This will require money upfront but will lower your total fixed monthly payments.
9. Buy your next phone on sites like Gazelle. A used smartphone can save you hundreds of dollars and will keep you from having to pay a larger monthly cell phone bill. Tip: Sell your phone to someone else on a buy/sell marketplace or through Gazelle and other like websites. You’re going to get more for your old phone than using it as a trade-in.
10. Choose a prepaid phone option or an MVNO. This can ensure your monthly bill is a fixed amount with no surprise charges. An MVNO is a mobile virtual network operator that is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. Visible, for instance, is an MVNO that uses the Verizon network.