Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill

In this economy, cutting back has become a fact of life. However, by looking for ways to cut back because of the recession, I've discovered ways that I could have been saving big money all along. One big savings area I've discovered it my cell phone.

I love to have the latest gadgets, so when the iPhone came out about two years ago I had one within the first week.... And I loved it! However, I didn't love the monthly bill of around $80 minimum. I also didn't love it when I took it with me to Amsterdam for a few days and come home to a $700 bill from AT&T (but that's a whole different story). Not being a huge phone talker, I had a hard time justifying paying so much per month when my old cell phone was $29.95 per month. My two year contract with AT&T just came to an end which helped me make my first cell phone savings choice.

If you talk less than 200 minutes per month, get a prepaid phone

I had heard this advice before but never gave much thought to a prepaid cell phone. After all, aren't prepaid cell phones for kids or those who can't get a contract phones because of poor credit? That may have been the case in the past, but as more cost savvy consumers demand no contracts, cell phone companies are responding. In the past, the phones available for prepaid plans tended to be older models and usually not as feature-rich as the current contract phones. Not anymore. When I made the switch last week, I was surprised at the phones available for prepaid plans. I settled on a phone from Virgin Mobile which only cost me $14.95. I went with a lower-end phone just to make sure prepaid was for me before swinging $100 into a "Blackberry" type phone from Virgin. I selected Virgin Mobile because they seem to have the best rates, as low as $0.05 per minute and no monthly maintenance fee. I only pay for what I use.

Sure, the downside is I can't use my iPhone as a cell phone, but I can use the iPod function and all of the applications, including those that require internet such as email and web browsing when I'm in a Wi-Fi hotspot,

And if you are going to stay with a contract cell phone plan (or you can't yet go prepaid because you're still under contract, here are some tips for you).

Travel out of the US? Make sure you have a passport and an international cell phone plan

I mentioned earlier that I once had a $700 phone bill from a trip to Amsterdam. I didn't use the phone for calls, but I didn't turn off the iPhone's data feature so my phone still connected to the local cellular network looking for new emails and texts. Regardless if you have an iPhone or another cell phone, ask your provider about an international plan. These plans will provide for dramatically cheaper calls and data usage will out of the country.

Cancel your cell phone insurance... Now!

Cell phone insurance usually costs several dollars a month and which can add up over the years to hundreds of dollars. These insurance plans are almost pure profit for the phone companies because if you phone is damaged or lost, you'll still have to pay a deductable and then you'll only be getting a refurbished phone as a replacement. You're better off to cancel the insurance and just buy a new or refurbished phone yourself if the need arises.

Text? Make sure your plans knows that

I'm not much on using texting on my cell phone, but I have a friend who loves to text me. Call me old fashioned, but I'd usually rather talk to someone than text. Anyway, you pay for incoming and outgoing text. Sometimes as much as $0.25 per text! If you get or receive more than 10 text messages per month, make sure you're signed up for a texting plan with your cell phone provider. These plans usually start at $5.00 per month and include about 100 texts messages per month and a reduced rate for text messages over the plan's limits.