6 Ways To Save On Your Cell Phone Bill

Lately, I've been feeling pretty eager to find some places to save money in our monthly budget.  The difficulty is that we don't really have any nonessential categories.  While we could both stand to spend a little time and money on things just for ourselves, the truth is that we don't really have a manicure budget, or a coffee out budget.  We really tend to avoid lifestyle inflation and the unnecessary categories that go with it.  That being said, we don't have any obvious categories that we can take a chainsaw to...

...except maybe our cell phone plan...

1.  Check for Updated & Less Expensive Plans
In order to remain competitive, cell phone carriers change their plans on a semi-regular basis.  New plan offerings could provide a savings compared to what you currently have.

2.  Check for Employee Discounts
Cell phone carriers offer deals to a lot of companies to entice their employees to utilize that particular carriers services.  They even have deals with small companies.  So, don't assume because you don't work for a huge corporation that there's no discount until you've asked.  Either your carrier or your HR department should be able to tell you if their is a discount available.

3.  Don't Upgrade Your Phone
If you still have the kind of plan that offers a free phone (or highly discounted one) once your contract is up, find out what happens if you don't order a new phone right away.  I was credited $15 per month that I didn't upgrade my phone.  That being said, I went an extra year without upgrading, and saved a ton!

4.  Share A Family Plan
Find a friend (or multiple people) that are responsible and share a plan.  Plenty of people save a lot of money by having a shared plan rather than one for only their household.

5.  Ask for a Discount
I literally just did this.  I put the pressure on them.  I told them that if I couldn't find a savings with their company, I would let another company buy out my contract so that I could find the savings I needed.  Needless to say, they found me a discount.  In fact, I think they might have just created one for me, but that's neither here nor there.

6.  Don't Be Afraid To Walk
If they can't or won't get your costs down, go somewhere that will.  Carriers offer to buy out contracts all the time. Either look for an offer that will do just that, or make your move when your contract is up.

What have you done to save money on your cell phone bill?