I’m always looking for was to save and help our budget each month. Have you ever sat down and looked at the monthly charges you pay? Is there any room to work with like maybe cutting out that trial you never got around to cancelling? Can you move down to a lower priced package because you signed up for more than you need? I realized we were wasting a TON of our budget for our phone services. Here are some ways we cut phone costs and really helped save money each month.

1. Landline vs. Cell Phone vs. Both

It is very common these days for people to completely eliminate their landline phone and use a cell phone as their primary contact. If you still have both, think about how practical it really is. How often do you use your landline? Take a month and try to keep track of how many incoming and outgoing calls use your landline phone, do you really need both? I recently accepted this challenge. While I am “old school” and just feel better having my trusty old landline, the amount I was shelling out every month was SO not worth the actual use I got out of my landline. It boggles the mind what people pay for basic phone service these days and I just couldn’t do it any more. Again, my house phone was like my safety blanket, I’ve had that number for years, all my doctors, insurance agents, schools, employers, all had this number, how could I just let it go? Let me tell you, it totally CAN be done! Not by me, but I have several friends who have done just that and are no worse for the wear. I went a cheaper route that will save us a nice chunk of change each month and still keep me from having to update my primary contact number everywhere. I purchased an ooma telo! To read all about all the awesomeness I discovered with ooma, read my post, Ooma Gosh Now THAT’S Savings. Can you live with just your cell phone as your primary phone? If so, I say dump that landline now, but if not, check out ooma and see how little you could be spending each month compared to that crazy, tax-riddled, phone company.

2. Bundle

Do you pay for several services from one company? Check to see if you can bundle your services into a smaller priced monthly package. Most companies that offer multiple services want to sign you up for as many as possible. They will often offer a special bundle rate to keep customers on the hook. Do you have services such as cable, phone, or internet from a multiple companies? See if you can get comparable services from just one company in a bundle package and save money. Have you had your services for a long time and left the “special” price long ago? Not planning on getting rid of any services any time soon? See what new incentives they have if you sign up for another two year contract. Most people are “grandfathered” into their service plans even after those plans are no longer offered, check to see if a newer plan is a better fit for your budget.

3. Review your cell phone plan

Cellular companies are constantly at war for business. They will offer crazy sign-up or transfer deals aimed to entice customers to jump in or switch from their current carrier. There is no harm in checking out the competition and it can be as easy as mocking up a phone plan on their website or stopping in a store to ask questions. I have the habit of checking my carrier’s site every other month or so to see what kind of plan changes are being offered. Do you know if your company or your spouse’s place of employment offer a discount on cell phone service? You can usually ask a representative in a store if you aren’t sure and they should be able to look up if they have an agreement. My company offers a 20% monthly discount and 25% on all accessories, it is a nice little discount to add to our savings. We had the same cellular plan for years before I started to look into ways to help our budget. When I modeled a plan change on their website, I almost cried. The difference was so drastic that I actually went into the store to talk to a representative to make sure I wasn’t crazy or missing any fine print. By switching our plan we ended up with MORE data and our monthly bill for 3 smartphones and an iPad went from over $170/month to $95!!! It was insane the amount of money we were wasting each month because we couldn’t be bothered to look for better options. This little change alone is saving us $900 per year!!! $900!!!

4. Bring your own phone

All the major carriers offer deals like “free XX Phone with activation” or “Get your XX Phone for 1¢ with sign up” but pay attention to the fine print, are you really getting that deal? It is common to offer a deal like that but really charge you for the cost of your phone with a spread out fee each month. Some companies are up front and tell you that the phone cost will be broken up and added to your monthly service charges. Think about the phone you are getting, can you get a better deal on it somewhere else? Do you have a friend who is “phone crazy” and switches their cell phone every time a new model comes out? Maybe they want to sell or give you one, have you asked? Most people don’t know that you can buy a phone virtually anywhere and walk into a cellular carrier to get it activated and put on a plan. If you already have a phone and want to switch, there is no cost to change phones on most carrier websites, all you need is the phone serial number which is usually by the battery. When buying your phone, make sure it will work on the cellular carrier in your area. Most will have it big and bold on the package that it works for Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc. I have even purchased phones off of eBay to activate on our plan because the cost was so much better. Our current smart phones are fantastic, they were on sale at Target, offered a gift card back with purchase, AND were on 20% off on Target Cartwheel. We got excellent fancy phones for $30 each!

5. Just ASK

Has it ever occurred to you to just call up your current company and ask for a discount? Companies will do just about anything to keep your business and if you have been a customer of theirs for a while with an account in good standing, they will often work with you to keep you from switching to another company. After taking the plunge and calling customer service, I was able to get a $20/month discount for a year for our services! That’s a $240 savings on our service for the year! So really, what do you have to lose? The worst they can say is no and you keep paying the rate you are used to, but what if they say yes?

What have you tried to cut your monthly phone bills? Do you have any tips to pass along? Let me in on the “secret” below!