Ways to Lower your Cell Phone Bill

This post is in partnership with Verizon, however, as always opinions are 100% my own.

Ways to Lower your Cell Phone Bill

One of the best ways to save money is to cut your cell phone bill. An average family of four could see their cell phone bill run as high as $200 a month, including data and texting packages. The cost doesn’t have to be so great, and here are some of the tips and tricks to lowering your cell phone bill.

Stay under your minutes

Nothing is more angering than finding huge charges from going over your minutes. If this happens regularly, you should consider changing cell phone plans or finding ways to cut your talk time. Just this last month Brady and I were over on our minutes, and a quick call to Verizon we were able to up our minutes to cover the few days we had left in our plan.

Use Verizon’s Mix and Match Plan

Their Mix and Match Plan is designed with you the user in mind and allows you to get the plan you need without adding an arm and a leg to the bill.

• With this new ability to mix and match, buying unlimited is simple.
• First choose the number of lines you need, then pick from three unlimited plans.

Each one has it’s own benefits and can be personalized for you and your family.

“All of our unlimited plans come with unlimited data, so we’ve moved beyond that and are focused on where, when and how families want to use things like HD video, high-speed international access and mobile hotspot – and that varies depending on the individual family member,” Dunne added. “That’s why we introduced the ability to mix and match, so you pay for what each member of your family needs and nothing they don’t.”

Use a prepaid cell service

Prepaid cell phones are becoming more and more popular as prices continue to drop. As the name suggests, you pay for a certain amount of minutes with no contract to sign. Most of the major cell phone carriers now offer prepaid cell phone options. Verizon has pre-paid plans starting at $30 a month, just be prepared to have to purchase your phone outright if you decide to go this way. We tried them when they first came out and it was cheaper for us to have our own plan. Do what works best for your family!!

Reconsider insurance

Forking out several hundred dollars for a new phone if you break you current one is no fun, but do you really need to insure a $200 to $500 item? At a cost of around $7 per phone a month, insurance fees can quickly add up. Insurance should be for those things we can’t afford to replace such as home, auto, health, and life. I still keep the insurance because I’ve had to fork over a few hundred dollars for a new phone. To me it is easier to come up with the $7 a month than it is the $200-$500 price tag. Again you have to use your own judgement on this one!!

Employee discounts

Some companies offer discounts to their employees. In addition, some state and city employees also qualify for discounts. So check with your employer and/or your cell phone carrier to see what discounts are available to you. I know Liz was able to get discounts because she is a college student.

Skip the Ringtones

Ringtones are another waste of money. Children especially tend to change ringtones often, at an added cost to you. Save yourself some money and use a default ring tone that came with your phone. If you’re set on having a custom ringtone, most phones have the capability of recording sound. Simply play your favorite music and record it with your phone, then save the recording as your ringtone. There are also LOTS of places you can get free ringtones, and one of my favorites is Zedge.

Upgrade to Save

Yes, I know it sounds counter productive, but the newer your phone is the better you are able to manage your time. I’ve recently tried the Apple iPhone 8 Plus and was amazed at how much time it saves me. Since I’ve upgraded to a MacBook Air, everything syncs perfectly and I no longer have to mess with manually uploading my images I take, they are all synced to the cloud. But the quality has me speechless.

Check online

Almost all cell phone carriers offer discounts when you shop for cell phones and plans online. Don’t forget you can also add new lines to save on your cell phone plans, so it might be cheaper to have two phones instead of just the one. Applying this information to your monthly cell phone usage can save you a bundle over a year. And we all know how much I love to save where I can, so I can splurge where I want.