Consumers are all feeling the pinch of increasing prices. From the gas station to the grocery store, prices are leaping higher. But the telephone bill is one place where smart folks can still save. For most people, phone expenses are a not insubstantial line-item in the family budget. Even though telecom prices have fallen considerably in recent years, this remains an expense that can be reduced through careful planning. The following three techniques will help you accomplish this goal.
Tip 1: Switch over to a shared-use cell phone plan
According to the Kiplinger Letter, the average cell phone bill in the United States runs approximately $55 a month. You might ask how the average could be $55 with so many ads for cellular providers promoting $29 or $39 plans. Part of the reason is that a few power callers spend $79, $89 or more monthly. Part of the reason is taxes and miscellaneous charges such as directory assistance. But a key reason is the fact that cell phone companies hit you on "overage". Let’s say you have 1,000 peak minutes in your plan and this month you reach 1,099. At thirty or forty cents per minute on overage, your cell bill suddenly rockets up $20. Seem familiar? The next month you hit 900 minutes but there is no corresponding drop in your bill. Some providers claim to solve this problem for you by allowing you to rollover your. And the rollover does increase your peak minutes quota for the next month. But even then, you still get assessed overage if you exceed your increased peak minutes quota.
Shared use plans are the most elegant solution for this problem. Also called "family-plans", these plans allow you to aggregate the minutes of two or more users into a collective bucket. Since variability is typically a function of individual usage patterns, these variability quotients tend to cancel out. Think of it this way: if you and your spouse both had individual plans for 1,000 minutes and one month you hit 1,100 minutes and your spouse hits 900 minutes, you’re in for overage charges to the tune of 100 minutes. If you have a family plan, your total comes in at 2,000 minutes and there would be no overage!
Tip 2: Try not to use your regular long distance landline phone company to dial internationally
Most long distance providers offer excellent rates for domestic long distance. If you are a reasonably frequent user on a good plan you are most likely paying less than five cents on a per minute basis. The difficulty is that international rates are still comparably high. For example, fifty cents a minute to India is typical, even if you pay the four to five dollars a month many providers charge for the privilege of getting lower rates.
In recent years, there has definitely been an explosion of superior options. Sometimes called "PINLESS" dialing plans, these offerings enable you to call most anywhere in the world at rates 40% to 70% less from your landline or cell phone without needing to remember a pin code. If you type "cheap international calling" into a search engine you’ll see a lot of options. The basic way they work is that you register one or more phone numbers and input a credit card number. They offer you a toll-free number and when you call this number from a registered phone, you can call internationally without a PIN. Using the above example, one could cut the charge from 50 cents to 15 cents per minute.
Tip 3: Start using a free teleconferencing service
For a lot of families, phone bills escalate because of the need to have multiple phone discussions between family members on the same topics. It is inefficient but this is the way most people have learned to cope. In the last five years, there have been literally dozens of companies that have launched free conference calling services. All of them work on the same basic principle: they give you a PIN and a toll number to call. If all participants call the same number and enter the same Pin code, they are put into a group call. Apart from regular toll charges, there are no charges assessed by these providers. If you have a large extended family, one 30 minute call could easily substitute for 5 to 10 one-to-one discussions for planning a trip or family event.
Unfortunately, it is usually a bit of a hassle to arrange these calls in the first place; consumers often are reluctant to familiarize themselves with the mechanics of setting up a conference call. Rondee is an example of a free conference calling service which is trying to address this issue. It offers users a way to schedule the conference on-line, have the invitations emailed out and show all the responses tracked on the website. As with many corporate grade conference call companies, Rondee enables calls to be recorded.
With consumer prices rising, there’s not a lot most people can do to fight back. But telephone expense is an area where being smart can mean saving a lot. Applying these 3 ideas will save the typical user 30% to 50% on a monthly basis, or several hundred dollars a year.
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