Consumers are definitely feeling the pinch of increasing prices. From the gas station to the grocery store, prices are skyrocketing. Yet the phone bill is an area where smart folks can still save. For most people, phone expenses are a substantial line-item in the family budget. Notwithstanding the fact that telecom prices have fallen considerably in recent years, this is still a cost that can be cut through prudent planning. These tips will help you achieve this goal.
Tip 1: Change to a shared-use cell phone plan
According to data published by the Kiplinger Letter, the average cell phone bill in the US runs about $55 a month. You might wonder how the average could be $55 with so many ads for cellular providers promoting $29 or $39 plans. This is partly because a few power callers spend $79, $89 or more per month. This is also partly due to taxes and miscellaneous charges such as 411. But a major reason is the fact that cell phone companies hit you on "overage". Let’s say you have 1,000 peak minutes and this month you get to 1,099. At twenty five or forty cents per minute in overage, your phone bill suddenly shoots up twenty dollars. Sound familiar? The next month you get to 900 minutes but there is no corresponding drop in your bill. Some providers say they solve this problem by allowing you to rollover your. And the rollover does increase your peak minutes quota for the following. Yet even then, you still get assessed overage if you exceed the 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 all of the minutes of two or more users into a 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 have individual plans for 1,000 minutes and one month you get to 1,100 minutes and your spouse hits 900 minutes, you’re in for overage surcharges to the extent 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: Don’t use your regular long distance provider to make international calls
Most long distance phone companies offer very good 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 problem is that international rates are still relatively high. For example, fifty cents a minute to India is typical, even if you pay the four or five dollars a month many providers charge to get lower rates.
In recent years, there has been an explosion of superior options. Sometimes called "PINLESS" dialing plans, these offerings enable you to call most anywhere in the world at rates forty to seventy percent less from your landline or cell without needing to dial a pin code. If you type the phrase "cheap international calling" into a search engine you’ll see a plethora of options. The basic way these services work is that callers register one or more phone numbers with the service and provide a credit card number. They offer you a toll-free number and when you dial this number from a registered phone, you can call any country without needing a PIN code. Using the above example, one could reduce the charge from 50 cents to 15 cents per minute.
Tip 3: Begin using a free conference call service
For a lot of families, phone charges 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 of us cope. In the last five years, there have been literally dozens of companies that have launched free teleconferencing services. All of them work on the same underlying principle: they give you a PIN and a toll number to call. If all participants dial the same number and enter the same Pin code, they are put into a group call. Apart from normal toll charges, there are no charges assessed by the providers. If you have a large extended family, one thirty minute call could easily substitute for 5 to 10 one-to-one discussions for planning a trip or family event.
Unfortunately, it is usually somewhat of a hassle to actually arrange these calls in the first place; consumers often are reluctant to familiarize themselves with the mechanics of setting up a teleconference. Rondee is an example of a
free conference calling service which is working on addressing this challenge. It offers consumers a way to schedule the conference on the web, have the invitations emailed out and show the responses displayed on the website. As with many corporate grade
conference call companies, Rondee enables calls to be recorded.
With consumer prices escalating, there’s not a lot most of us can do to fight back. But phone expense is an area where being smart can mean substantial savings. Applying these three tips will save the typical user 30% to 50% monthly, or several hundred dollars a year.
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About the author:
Linda Rogers comments frequently about telecom related issues. She consults to a variety of organizations that use communication technologies involving conference calling. Her clients include
free conference calling companies such as Rondee.
