People try various tricks to reduce their expenditure, particularly in the current economic situation, which has been badly hit by the recession phenomenon. The most common things done by people to control their expenditure include putting a break on the food and fuel spending. Have you ever thought of limiting your spending by reducing your phone bill? If your answer is no, then it is high time that you think about it.
Experts from the financial planning and wealth management firms opine that since telephone charges are something completely under your control, you can certainly use them as a way to limit your expenditure.
This is particularly the case with long-distance charges which account for most of your phone bill. so here are four ways that will enable you to control your telephone expenditure.
Toll-free services and calling cards to reduce long-distance charges
Most often, long-distance calls are responsible for a lion’s share of your phone bill. Calling cards and their corresponding toll-free number plans allow you to make your long-distance calls at around 3 cents to 4 cents per minute, which is way too cheap considering the 5 cents to 10 cents per minute charged by traditional phone companies. When you consider the fee of around $5 or $10 levied by these traditional companies each month apart from the charge levied per minute, the significance of using toll-free services and calling cards increases further.
A special account number and a personal identification number are offered by the calling card companies, which needed to be dialed before making long distance calls. Authors of famous financial planning books also endorse using calling cards to bring down your telephone charges. Another advantage offered to you by calling cards is that you may have a chance to limit your monthly expenditure even further by choosing a suitable telephone package for your home phone.
Calling cards have got their negatives as well. Minimum usage times and monthly charges are among the negatives you may have to cope with while using calling cards. While recharging, you may also have to pay more than what you did before to acquire long-distance minutes. Other disadvantages of calling cards include the annoying experience of dialing two different numbers each time before making a long-distance call and an unanticipated end to a call due to the unavailability of calling time.
Toll-free services offer you another opportunity to save money on long-distance calls. In toll-free services, long-distance calls can be made utilizing a toll-free number, which will make you eligible to use the service. Traditional phone companies provide many features that can enrich the user experience as part of their toll-free service plans. The features they provide include provision for using directory assistance, making collect calls and keeping reserve calling cards for use in the future.
In toll-free services based on “dial around” or “10-10″ plans, callers make calls without disturbing the long-distance services of their traditional phone companies. Toll-free services can be tricky. They are perceived as an inexpensive option to calling cards. But, toll-free services can be sometimes more expensive than calling cards. They may look cheaper on the outside, but be careful with them. Develop a firm grip with the relevant terms and conditions. Also, check whether the low rates being advertised are on force from the start of a call rather that from a particular stage of call.
Replace your monthly plan with a prepaid cell phone
A prepaid cell phone gives you flexibility and a better ability to control your phone bill. As you are required to pay in advance, you are completely aware of how much calling time you have at your disposal. Prepaid cell phones charges are cheaper than traditional phone charges. Prepaid plan charges vary from about 10 cents to 20 cents per minute. You can also find providers offering promotional rates to gain more customers. However, calling cards and toll-free services charge lesser rates than prepaid cell phones. And, the chances of you missing calls increases with prepaid cell phones apart from the poor received sound quality.
There are more disadvantages for prepaid cell phones. There may be hidden charges that will burn out your balance faster than you thought. Daily usage fees and roaming charges are some of the charges that can eat out your balance in double quick time. Also, there are prepaid plans who charge more for calls made during day time. You will be barred from calling even if you have calling time, once you go past a pre-decided time period. You will also be required to keep the prepaid cell phone always alive, otherwise your cell phone number will not exist.
Make a bid to cut down on the costly services availed
The less services you avail, the less you need to pay. A traditional phone line is often a better option than availing the costly services provided by your phone company such as caller ID, call waiting and call forwarding. Phone companies charge for each use of these services, which will actually increase your spending when compared to availing these services as part of your monthly plan.
To avoid the penalty incurred for modifying your plan, try to make the modifications in a way so that penalty can be avoided. A bundled plan can be the only choice for those residing in regions where basic plans or minimum-service plans are not available. This is the case, despite the fact that a typical telephone package offers more features than a bundled plan.
Try Internet phone services
Internet phone services are fast gaining more and more acceptance across the world. Voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP transmit sound as data through the Internet to facilitate telephone communication. Apart from offering everything that a typical telephone package offers, many VoIP-based plans offer additional features like voice mail retrieval via e-mail, simultaneous ringing of home and cell phones.
Charges for different VoIP plans can vary extensively. A charge of around $20 per month is common among providers. There are providers charging $50 a year or even offering their service free under special conditions. Services offering any number of long-distance calls to be made within the United States and Canada as part of their basic fee are also common.
VoIP phone services also have several negatives. In addition to a telephone and landline, first-time users must possess a high-speed Internet connection. Some computer software may be needed as well apart from other components depending on the service provider. Inadequate quality of phone calls, inconsistent availability of provider’s technical support teams, denial of service access when Internet or electricity becomes unavailable are other major problems associated with VoIP phone services.
