Understanding Your Phone Bill

Truth be told, dissecting a phone bill leads to a quagmire of charges and fees. But don't let that stop you from taking a serious look at your bill and determining if you are getting the most for your money. Use this article as a guide to get you oriented as to what you should be looking for. Thee are two basic types of phone service out there, landlines and cell phones.

The landline bill:

The landline bill begins with a basic monthly charge for unlimited local calling. Then comes the world of add-ons. Some of these may be included as part of your basic monthly charge and others will be available a la cart. Popular add-ons include caller ID, call waiting, voice mail, 3-way calling, last call return. call forwarding, call rejection, continuous redial, a security screen and 24/7 repairs to indoor phone wiring.

The a la cart charges are set up to encourage you to bundle as many features together as possible. The pricing of these extras is outrageous with an average cost of about $5 per feature per month for a la cart.

Landline long distance charges:

If you want to call outside of your local area you are going to need to pay for long distance service. Keep in mind that local service does not necessarily mean everyone inside your area code. Check with your phone provider to see just how far out local service extends.

Several main options for long distance service exist. The first is direct dialing where you just dial the phone number as normal. Long distance plans are available from many different providers so it pays to shop around. A variety of plans exist ranging from a flat fee for unlimited long distance calling to a minute-by-minute fee.

The other options you have for long distance dialing are calling cards and 10-10 numbers. With these plans you dial the number of the calling card or the 10-10 number and then dial the number you want to reach.

International calling is set up similar to long distance calling except the prices and plans vary widely based on what country you are trying to reach.

In the case of long distance and international calling it is advisable to shop around for the best deal for your calling habits.

The cell phone bill:

Like the landline bill, the cell phone bill begins with a monthly charge based on the plan you selected. Many of the extras that you pay for a la cart with the landline bill are included in the cell phone plan. Cell phones have their own extras such as text messaging, picture and video messaging, instant messaging, email and internet.

It is almost impossible to cover the entire variety of cell phone plans available but here are a few things to look for when selecting a plan:

Available minutes - Almost all plans include a certain number of minutes that you are allowed to use per month. If you use for more than that, you'll be charged extra for each additional minute. And the charges will be exorbitant.

Roaming charges - Roaming is where you pay extra to use cell phone service in places where your provider does not have a network established. In other words, paying to use someone else's network.

Long distance - Generally cell phones are more flexible with regard to long distance calling than landlines, but some plans do not offer included nationwide long distance.

Family/Friend/mobile-to-mobile/etc. free calling - This is kind of a catch all for plans that allow you to call certain people such as designated friends or others using the same network without using up your allotted minutes.

Unlimited talk time - Many plans offer unlimited talk time but only after certain hours of the day. Be sure you know what these times are.

Both cell phones and landlines include some common fees. Such as state, local and federal taxes, regulatory fees and other charges covering mandated programs such as 911 emergency calling.

After doing the research to write this I really think that cell phones are the better buy. By the time you add in all the services and long distance charges the landline costs way more than the cell. At best, they will break even. And the cell phone has the added advantage of being portable.