As a business owner, your phone helps you to contact your customers and clients for important business transactions, but many businesspeople nowadays are scratching their heads because of their expensive cell phone bills.
With a myriad of phone providers and mobile plans to choose from today, make sure to go for one that can save you money. In addition to this, you have to know the ways to reduce the costs of your mobile phone or mobile plan. Read on to learn more.
Don’t Buy Contract Phones
Mobile phone companies are smart when it comes to finding ways to making money. One tactic for generating more profits is tying customers to fixed-period contracts. For example, if you’re buying a phone through company A, there will be a one-year contract that you need to sign to use company A’s network for a period of, say, two years.
The terrible part of such an agreement is that you’ll get charged if you cancel the contract or switch carriers. So, if you don’t want to pay for extra fees, you should choose a no-contract mobile phone for your business. No-contract cell phones allow you to use any SIM card or network carrier. Since there’s no contract, you won’t have an obligation to pay for one costly network for the next two or three years, and you can also get a discount when you purchase an older model mobile phone.
Cut Mobile Phone Insurance
Another cost that adds up is your cell phone insurance. Imagine having to pay $10 every month for it! That’s not a small amount of money, and you can already use that amount to cover other business expenses.
So, instead of paying for your cell phone insurance every month, save money for a replacement phone in case the phone you’re using now gets lost or damaged. You can find phones right now that you can surely afford to pay for with cash if ever you want to replace your old one. Again, there’s no need for you to get phone insurance!
Stop Paying for Things You Never Use
It’s a must that you take account of the things you pay for in your monthly mobile phone bill as many phone subscribers are paying for stuff that they don’t even use. For example, emergency assistance, unlimited data, extra minutes, and upgraded voicemail can increase the cell phone bill you pay for every month. You can discuss with your phone or network provider to cut the features you’re not using in your mobile plan. If you’re not allowed to cut such features, it’s time to change your plan or provider.
Estimate the Long-Term Costs
Are you looking for a carrier that can give you the best mobile plan offer? Well, before you pick one, make sure to estimate the cost of the mobile phone and the cost of the network service for the long-term. By doing this, you can clearly see how much you will pay in one year and not just in one month.
Avoid the Freebies
Many phone carriers offer freebies to attract you to take out a contract. For example, if you buy a phone from such a company, you will get a new tablet as a freebie. For people who are new to such offers, they might take it as a win-win deal.
However, such freebies are not really for free; you still have to pay for it in your monthly cell phone bill. So, it’s advised that you don’t fall easily for freebies because they can only rack up your expenses. If you need to buy a phone and subscribe to a mobile network plan, just stick to what you need.
Sign Up for Paperless Billing or Auto-Pay
Although signing up for automated payment or paperless billing won’t save you a lot of money, it’s still one helpful tactic to lower your mobile phone bill. So, make sure to go for paperless billing or auto-pay right now.
Switch Roaming Off
If you don’t want to increase your mobile phone bills while you’re overseas, you should turn off your mobile data roaming. You can also disable the mobile data feature completely to avoid incurring data charges. Many people have stories of running up a huge bill sending Snapchats from abroad. Moreover, if you’re overseas and you want to send mobile credits to your loved ones at home, you can make use of the mobile top-up service online.
Check Your Background Data Use
You might not know it, but some apps use background data even if you aren’t connected to the internet. That’s why you should disable background data use by going to the settings on your mobile phone and turning off the background data usage for each app.
Aside from eating up your mobile data, these mobile applications can also drain the battery of your phone.
Use Wi-Fi
Use your Wi-Fi if you want to connect to the internet or if you want to stream or download huge loads of data, such as movies and songs. By doing this, you can avoid using mobile data on your phone, and you can save money on your monthly phone bill.
Keep Using Your Phone If It Still Works
The problem that most people face is that we get easily tempted to buy new smartphones as soon as they come out. If you have the money for it, go purchase a new one, but if you can barely afford it and you want to save money for more important expenses, just say don’t. Be content with the phone you’re currently using, especially if it’s still working and in good condition.
Takeaway
Now you know the various ways to save money on your cell phone bills. If you’re running a business and you’re using a mobile phone to contact your clients or customers, make sure to keep your monthly phone bill low by following the tips mentioned above.
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