Saturday, Jul. 19, 2008

How to dial down your cell phone costs

If you have ever incurred cell phone fees, you know that they can sting. Depending on your plan, the penalty for going over your minutes can range from 5 cents a minute to 45 cents.

If you’ve regularly been getting slapped with fees regularly, it’s probably time to change your behavior /— or change your calling plan./ Amy Bickers, associate editor at Kiplinger.com, offers three ways to avoid cell phone fees:

Keep track of your minutes

Keeping track of your minutes is not hard, and it is certainly worthwhile. You can check how many minutes you have used on the Internet by setting up an online account with your phone carrier. You can also can check them on your phone, typically by calling into the phone company’s automated system.

Buy text messages in bulk

If you don’t yet have a bulk plan for text messages, it may be time to look into one. If you text frequently without a bulk plan, those text messages add up. Phone companies can charge up to 20 cents a message to send or receive.

Look into prepaid services

One way to avoid coverage charges and cancellation fees for sure is to sign up for a prepaid service. With a prepaid service, you can cancel your service without penalties.

The added benefit of this service is you aren’t locking yourself into a contract. If you want to switch to another service, it is easy and won’t involve any fees. fee-less to do.

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