First Person: I Cut My Cell Phone Bill in Half
Recently, I left active duty to start my career as a freelance writer. My husband also retired from active-duty and had to find a job in the civilian sector. As a result, we have been looking for creative ways to save money on our monthly bills and every day expenses. With just a few minutes of work, I was able to cut our cell phone bill in half, saving us almost $100 per month.
Military Discount
Our cell phone provider offers a substantial discount to military members, veterans and employees of the federal government. I called and spoke to a representative, and was able to get this discount applied to our account. It saved us about 19% on the base portion of our phone bill, and was well worth the call.
Text Package
The next thing I did was get rid of the texting packages on our phones, and went down to the $5.00 per month texting package. We both have Smart Phones, and do more emailing than texting, so we don't need a lot of texts.
Canceled an Extra Line
Our kids shared a cell phone on our plan, but they ended up never using it, because they are either at school, home or with me or my husband. And they would always forget to charge it, anyway, making it useless to any of us. So, I canceled that extra line and saved $10 per month.
Bundle
I was able to bundle our cell phone and landline together and basically got the landline for free. We don't make any long distance calls from this line, it is basically in the house for any emergency that my 9mm pistol can't solve, so there are no extra costs with that.
Data Packages
In addition, since we have two Smart Phones, we chose the cheapest data plans for each phone, which saved us quite a bit on our bill. My husband has a Blackberry and I have the iPhone 4, so there is no way we could do without the data packages for our phones. After buying my first iPhone 3G in September 2008, I can't live without an iPhone attached to me at all times!
Long Distance & Minutes
We get free long distance on our cell phones, but we try to limit our daytime usage to only those of our friends and family members that have the same cell phone provider, so we get free minutes. We call those we know on other providers during the evening hours, so we never have to pay for overages.
There are several ways to shave money off of each of your bills. Cell phone bills are one the easiest bills to trim, with just a phone call or a few clicks of your mouse!
More from this contributor:
Common Retirement Mistakes I've Seen as a Retirement Advisor
Tips For Paying Off Your Holiday Bills
How to Get Great Deals When Shopping Online During the Holidays
Published by Maggie OLeary - Featured Contributor in Lifestyle
Maggie O Leary served on active-duty in the United States Military from 1997 to 2010, before joining the Reserves. She is currently attending college full-time, pursuing a Bachelor s Degree in History. In ad... View profile
Should You Take a Free Cell Phone from that Cell Phone Provider?What might happen if you where to sign up to get a free cell phone? A must read for anyone who is thinking of getting a free promotional cell phone. 
How to Choose the Right Cell Phone ProviderShopping around for a cellphone providers can sometimes be as of a hassle as shopping for a cellphone. There are a lot of factors that you need to take into consideration when s...- Choosing a Cell Phone ProviderFor years the only decision to make in reference to a telephone provider was between the behemoths of the industry "Ma Bell", or eventually, AT&T and ... well ... nobody.
- Paying Less for Your Cell Phone BillEver look at your bill and see charges you didn't expect?
- How to Use a Cell Phone AbroadWith roaming agreements between cell phone service providers, quad-band phones and cell phone network access nearly everywhere, your cell phone can be used nearly everywhere you travel.
- Synchronica: A Stolen Cell Phone that Screams for Help
- How I Cut My Cell Phone Bill in Half
- Verizon Basic Prepaid Cell Phone Plan: New Option for Infrequent Users
- Reducing Your Cell Phone Bill
- What You Need to Know Before You Choose a Cell Phone Provider
- How to Get the Best Deal from a Cell Phone Provider
- 5 Ways to Minimize Your Child's Cell Phone Bill