We have heard a lot of horror stories about people racking up unbelievable phone bills (the highest phone bill ever was 201K. It may be because of not minding their mobile phone usage and/or not thinking about their plan coverage or inclusions. Most incur huge phone bills because of unchecked international roaming services and mistaken mobile data allowance and usage.
Mobile phone carriers will usually entice you to upgrade your plan or add an option to your plan. The offers may seem quite reasonable and useful but don’t be easily swayed. Always put to mind how you use your phone and how much the upgrades and add-ons will cost you at the end of the day.
To make sure you keep your phone bill to a minimum, here are some quick tips for you.
Check your plan
It is wise to check your plan’s coverage; what is included, what is not, what are the charges in excess of the allowed usage. For example, if you exceed your data allowance, how much do they charge you per kilobyte? Same goes for calls and SMS. How much does your carrier charge for every SMS you send or for every call minute in excess of your allowance?
Know your limits
Be mindful when calling people using a different carrier. Calls made to different carriers cost more than those of the same provider. You might want to keep the frequency and duration low and short, if your plan does not include free calls or free X number of minutes to other carriers. If you have unlimited data allowance, yet need to call or send SMS often, send online messages or place online calls instead. You can use Viber, WeChat, Skype, and other apps for this purpose. Just install the app, which is usually free on iOS and Android.
Watch out for paid apps and in-app purchases
While there are a lot of free apps around, there are some with a one-time payment while others may require a small monthly subscription fee. Just remember that a two-dollar recurring monthly fee for 10 apps can easily be USD 240 per year. A lot of free apps also offer enticing upgrades for a minimal fee of XX dollars. This is quite common in mobile games. Be sensible about other mobile purchases. Try to practice better self-control to manage your expenses. Also realise that more and more things can be purchased via the phone online, like in a mobile billing casino.
Learn how to negotiate
When your contract is almost over, that is the best time to negotiate the terms of renewing your contract. You can shop around and ask your provider to offer the same thing or something better.
At the end of the day, don’t be duped into buying or paying for something that you rarely or hardly use. Think of your needs and preferences and choose what will get you more bang for your buck.
