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3 Steps to a Cheaper Cell Phone Bill

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Every few months I suggest taking the time to check your cell phone plan to make sure it fits your needs.

Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile lock users into two-year contracts, but that doesn’t mean the monthly bill is locked. Users can change most plan options, features and add-ons without extending the contract.

Saving just $10 a month on a cell phone plan can cover the cost of a new phone at the end of a two-year contract, so don’t ignore small monthly savings.

It’s easy to make these changes online in a matter of minutes.

Find A Better Plan

Cell phone plans revolve around minutes and text messages. BillShrink provides a free service that identifies average monthly cell phone usage to find the best plan. Users can import their most recent cell phone bill from Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint to compare plans and prices.

BillShrink can help find better fitting plans on the same carrier or on a new carrier. The service includes pre-paid and month-to-month options for users who are looking to cut back further. BillShrink will not recommend a switch to a carrier that doesn’t offer service in your area.

clean up cell phone plan

BillShrink's cell phone usage analysis.

BillShrink provides a detailed analysis of minutes used, text messaging, most popular contacts, most called carriers and much more. BillShrink’s analysis is easier to understand than a standard cell phone bill.

Billshrink can find a better plan, but falters at helping users switch to a plan on the same carrier. Users must note the plan name and make the change on their own account or by calling the carrier.

find a cheaper cell phone plan

BillShrink can recommend a new carrier or a better plan on the current carrier.

For users willing to switch, the service walks you through a purchase at partner LetsTalk, and includes the cost of canceling a current plan in the estimated savings section.

Dump Features

For subscribers who don’t need a new cell phone plan, it’s time to take a look at features.

Subscribers can add or remove features at will, which makes them a great place to look for savings. Some of the most popular places to look for savings are insurance, hotspot service and subscriptions.

This is a good time to make sure you’re using the features you pay for. Check the following features to find savings on your cell phone plan.

  • Mobile Hotspot – Save $30 a month turning this off when it is not needed.
  • Ringback Tones – Is this feature really worth $12 per year?
  • Roadside Assistance – Users with AAA don’t need this added service.
  • Visual Voice Mail – Try Google Voice for a better voicemail experience at no extra charge.
remove features to save

Remove small features for added savings.

Another place to look for savings is insurance and warranty programs. Cell phone insurance is important for new devices, but as devices get older it consider dropping  the $8 a month charge as long as a backup phone is available in the house.

Dropping insurance for the last 6 months of a cell phone contact is an easy way to save $50 towards a new phone.

Take Advantage of Features

Many cell phone plans include extras features that help save money, but users need to turn them on.

Most called numbers

BillShrink made it easy to find the numbers I call the most.

I discovered that I had never set up friends and family numbers on my cell phone plan. By adding 10 numbers, all of which get unlimited calls, I can switch to a cheaper monthly plan. The BillShrink service made finding these top ten callers easy.

It’s a good idea to check cell phone plans for savings every 3 months, and anytime life circumstances change. In 15 minutes I was able to save $30 a month by remove a rarely used hotspot feature, and after a month of using Friends and Family numbers I expect to switch to a cheaper plan for bigger savings.

Remember not to cut back too far. Cell phone minute and text overages can wipe out months of savings.

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. HildyJ

    04/05/2012 at 2:20 pm

    How 20th century. I don’t call people much and I’m too verbose to text, feeling that anything which can be said in 160 characters is either a well known saying which doesn’t need repeating or just plain isn’t worth saying (203 characters, I’m already over). What I want is data. Lots of data. Gigabytes of data.

    I wish that BillShrink would compare data plans but with their data choices starting at 20kb (I get ads that would use that up), they just don’t seem to get it either.

  2. Michael

    06/13/2012 at 2:31 pm

    You need to up date your information. All the major carriers will charge you for any changes to your plan. New phone, new 2 year contract with activation fees. Increase or decrease your minutes, new contrat with activation fees, add data new contract with activation fee. And it cost them a little bit of nothing to make these changes. Cell phones have become the biggest rip off to the public.

  3. Brandon Smith

    06/16/2012 at 3:50 am

    Of course the idea is well plan for reduce the budget of expenditure on mobile phone. We can plan for most recent cell phone bill from Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint to compare plans and prices from other is different.

  4. TJ Mitch

    10/20/2013 at 7:03 pm

    Thanks for your site, I think its great. Check out Ting mobile if you want to save money on your cell phone. They only charge you for minutes you use. Its the cheapest plan around. You can save $25 if you use a referral link . Feel free to use link https://zbq0ep1b1e4.ting.com/

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