Ways to shrink your cell phone bill
Are you paying too much for your cell phone? There's a good chance you are, even if you think you're a good shopper.
But don't worry; there's an easy way to shrink that bill.
Saving money is the order of the day right now, so a lot of people are trying to figure out how to cut their cell phone bill. Thanks to the Internet, it may be possible to shrink you cell phone bill without sacrificing service.
Cell phones are a necessity in today's connected world, but they can be very expensive:
Figuring out how to save can be confusing. Consider that the four major carriers offer 210 plans and those plans have optional add-ons.
"Matter of fact, there is about 10 million combinations of add-ons and plans that you can come up with among just the four national carriers," said Schwark Satyavolu, creator of BillShrink.com.
Satyavolu said he created his Web site cut through the confusion.
Users can either import their cell phone bill or manually estimate the usage. Then the computer does its thing, analyzing your usage and comparing millions of plan combinations. It even takes into account signal strength. the result: this customer could save $830 over two years by switching plans.
Most people can save, Satyavolu said.
"On average, we find eight out of 10 people are paying too much for their wireless service, often by $300 or more," he said.
If you don't use a cell phone all that much, prepaid plans can be the best way to go. there's no contract and no early termination fee.
"With a prepaid plan, they could go with $20 a month if they chose to. They can save a lot of money," said Genaro Alvarado of Best Buy.
One more money-saving tip: you don't have to pay for directory assistance calls. Instead dial a free service such as 800-free-411, 800-goog-411, 800-bing-411 or 800-call-411. In some cases, you'll need to listen to a short commercial, but it won't cost you a dime.
But don't worry; there's an easy way to shrink that bill.
Saving money is the order of the day right now, so a lot of people are trying to figure out how to cut their cell phone bill. Thanks to the Internet, it may be possible to shrink you cell phone bill without sacrificing service.
Cell phones are a necessity in today's connected world, but they can be very expensive:
Figuring out how to save can be confusing. Consider that the four major carriers offer 210 plans and those plans have optional add-ons.
"Matter of fact, there is about 10 million combinations of add-ons and plans that you can come up with among just the four national carriers," said Schwark Satyavolu, creator of BillShrink.com.
Satyavolu said he created his Web site cut through the confusion.
Users can either import their cell phone bill or manually estimate the usage. Then the computer does its thing, analyzing your usage and comparing millions of plan combinations. It even takes into account signal strength. the result: this customer could save $830 over two years by switching plans.
Most people can save, Satyavolu said.
"On average, we find eight out of 10 people are paying too much for their wireless service, often by $300 or more," he said.
If you don't use a cell phone all that much, prepaid plans can be the best way to go. there's no contract and no early termination fee.
"With a prepaid plan, they could go with $20 a month if they chose to. They can save a lot of money," said Genaro Alvarado of Best Buy.
One more money-saving tip: you don't have to pay for directory assistance calls. Instead dial a free service such as 800-free-411, 800-goog-411, 800-bing-411 or 800-call-411. In some cases, you'll need to listen to a short commercial, but it won't cost you a dime.