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Home > Changing Cell Phone plans saved serious cash today

Changing Cell Phone plans saved serious cash today

March 14th, 2009 at 10:53 pm

I have been trying to deal with my cell phone provider by phone or email, which sounds logical, but HAH it's not.

So I finally made it down to their store with DH (don't even ask, but two phones requires both of us). I've had the same provider for 15 years, back when Corporate paid the bills. I changed plans a few years ago, and hadn't really noticed that after the contract was up I didn't renegotiate a new contract, and the charges started moving way up. It was up to $70 a month for the two phones, which we really didn't need. I mean, yes, we used them, but NEED did not equal $70 a month.

We went for a prepaid pay-as-you-go, with 99c only on days it's used, and no minute charges for family members. We stayed with the same provider, so kept our activations etc, and the annual savings will be around $750 - $850!

The other problem with our current plan had been that the same provider was our internet provider, but not the line provider and local and long distance were separate, and there were little charges all over the place. I went nuts trying to track some of them down, but our DSL/internet/local calls/long distance was over $150 a month, and quite a bit was miscellaneous little charges that made no sense to me or DH.

We bundled all the services together into one bill, at $59 a month, still high but unlimited local and long distance and high speed DSL, lots of features, and -- Smile -- I got them to agree to clean up the mess of all the weird little charges. One simple bill and plan.

I also had to clean up AOL charges, which were supposed to be "free", but I hadn't quite realized that when my sister set up an account while she was staying here, she didn't cross over to the free account, and it was still linked to ours, and AOL had linked their charges into our phone company local provider and also into our long distance provider AND also into our DSL provider. Getting that cleaned up is still in progress.

Still, a good savings day.

I'm still working out the budget, trying to decrease these "line items" while figuring out the actual costs we have. One day at a time Smile

6 Responses to “Changing Cell Phone plans saved serious cash today”

  1. frugaltexan75 Says:
    1237075548

    Wow, it sure sounds like you had your work cut out for you. WTG on the savings!

  2. fern Says:
    1237122162

    A few years back i was debating whether or not to get a cell phone, mainly becus of its usefulness in the event of a car breakdown somewhere. I ended up choosing a prepaid cell plan, too, and never regretted it. I'm not one to gab a lot, in fact, i don't give out the number and wouldn't know it if you asked me. But i do use it occasionally to make outgoing calls.

    I have to buy a minimum of $100 worth of minutes, which gives me an average of 30 minutes a month, if i were to use it that much, which i don't. So it works out to $8 a month, which is fine.

  3. fern Says:
    1237122191

    A few years back i was debating whether or not to get a cell phone, mainly becus of its usefulness in the event of a car breakdown somewhere. I ended up choosing a prepaid cell plan, too, and never regretted it. I'm not one to gab a lot, in fact, i don't give out the number and wouldn't know it if you asked me. But i do use it occasionally to make outgoing calls.

    I have to buy a minimum of $100 worth of minutes a year, which gives me an average of 30 minutes a month, if i were to use it that much, which i don't. So it works out to $8 a month, which is fine.

  4. flash Says:
    1237230348

    DH actually brought the savings to my attention. He announced he was canceling our cell phones! Ack, I rarely use it, but it's definitely a "security blanket".

    I knew we didn't use our minutes each month, but I liked having the connection to my sister, who is never at home.

    Quite a few providers have unlimited calling to "in plan" numbers, which include my sisters plan, my home phone, etc., in our case. It's just 99c on days you use it, with no additional charges for "in plan" calls. And 10c a minute for other calls, which Fern, you are exactly right, are "emergency only".

  5. yvonne Says:
    1241735996

    hi just wanted you to know i did one better i get my DRL and i use magic jak. right now it $60.00 for 5 years call any in the USA and its NO LONG DISTINT FEES thats for my land line and internet.. we use my daughter old phone and charger in the car. it let me call 911 and i dont have to have service. then i got on my daughter phone plan and that 12.00 a month but that way i have weekends free to call my sister who is out of state and we talk 5 or 6 hrs. and it help my daughter feel better know she can call me any time. i never use it other wise. but she help me take care of husband so in case something happen there she can call.. but MAGIC JACK is so great. just wanted you to know.

  6. yvonne Says:
    1241736526

    hi just wanted you to know i did one better i get my DRL and i use magic jack. right now it $60.00 for 5 years after you buy the hook ups. call any were in the USA and its NO LONG DISTINT FEES and all in state are free too. thats for my land line. all you have to have is internet.. we use my daughter old phones and charger in the car. it let me call 911 and i dont have to have service. i do have a cell phone but its on my daughter phone plan and that 12.00 a month. but it help my daughter feel better to know she can call me any time. iwould never use it other wise. but she help me take care of husband so in case something happen with him she can call.. but MAGIC JACK is so great i love the way i can call for free to my sister who is out of state and we talk 5 or 6 hrs cost not one penny and i can sit and do my email at the same time. . just wanted you to know.

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