In this day and age, mobile phones are pretty much a necessity, most people have one now, from teenagers to the elderly. Some people don’t even use their landlines anymore in favour of a mobile phone. Mobile phones can be an expensive business, with newer and more advanced technology being launched on what seems like a monthly basis. The best models can cost over a thousand pounds, so it’s easy to be tempted into getting an expensive contract where you pay for the phone monthly, rather than paying the whole amount up front.
Sure, being on a mobile phone contract has its advantages, such as knowing exactly how much your bill will be each month, and having no upfront costs, but over time it can cost a lot more money. Today we are going to look at ways to save money on your phone contract, to help you make your money go further.
10 Easy Ways To Save Money On Your Mobile Phone Bill
Check What You’re Paying For
Check your mobile contract to see what’s included. If there is something that’s included that you are not using then call your mobile provider to see if it can be removed and your monthly bill can be lowered.
Use wifi whenever you can
The data on your phone can run out quickly depending on your allowance, so make sure you always login to wifi while you are at home and whenever it’s available while you are out and about. Most pubs, restaurants and shopping centres have free wifi now, and some trains and buses even have it too now! This means you can save your data for when you really need it.
Turn off background data usage in your apps
Did you know that some apps are using your data even when you’re not actually using the app? This is because they stay active in the background on your phone, so they can send you alerts and stay updated. You can turn off background data usage from your apps by going into the settings on your phone, and then going into ‘Mobile Data’, there you will see a list of apps and you can choose which ones you want to allow to use your mobile data. This has the added bonus of saving battery on your phone!
Switch to Pay As You Go
If you don’t use your phone very often, you could consider moving to a pay as you go sim card. You can still keep the same phone number, and you only need to pay for the calls, texts and data that you actually use.
If you seldom use your phone then this could save you a lot of money each month as a £10 top up should last you months. Just remember that you do need to use your phone every now again to keep the number active. As per this comparison table, Asda Mobile has the longest expiry time so it looks ideal for light users who use their phone once in a blue moon. You would still need to purchase a phone, but you could use an old one, buy a cheaper model or a second hand phone for a one-off payment.
Don’t be afraid to switch mobile providers
Lots of mobile providers will offer discounts to new customers, so you might be able to get yourself a great deal! Some of the smaller mobile providers have some really good packages, and their coverage is just as good as the bigger more well known companies because a lot of them share the same phone masts for their signal. It’s easy to switch once your current contract has ended, and you can take your old phone number with you.
Keep your old phone for longer
Many mobile contracts offer to ‘upgrade’ your phone every two years, but what they are really doing is selling you a new contract. Once your original contract ends you can let them know you do not want to upgrade your phone, but would like to continue with a ‘Sim Only’ contract, and you will see that your phone bill falls by £10-£30 per month. This is because you are no longer paying for the phone.
Use a free messaging service
When you are on wifi you can take advantage of using free internet messaging services, such as whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. There are lots to choose from and using them wont eat into your monthly text allowance. Using messaging apps can use your data if you’re not careful, so remember log into wifi whenever possible!
Make your calls over wifi
Like the free messaging services we were talking about above, you can also use wifi to make phone calls. This could potentially save you a lot of money, especially if you need to make calls to people in other countries. Just remember that the person you are calling needs to be using the same app as you. Some services you can use to make wifi calls include:
● Skype
● Viber
Switch to a family plan
If a lot of people in your household use a mobile phone then you could save money by switching to a family plan, and paying one amount for everything, this can work out a lot cheaper than paying for individual plans. BT Mobile are one to look out for here as they offer good discounts for households with multiple SIM’s with each SIM being 10% cheaper.
Cancel your phone insurance
Phone insurance can add another £8-£15 per month to your contract, but do you really need it? The cost of paying for phone insurance can come to over £100 a year, but many people never end up needing to use it. It might be a better option for you to put that money aside incase of an emergency phone breakage, and then if you don’t end up needing it you will have saved a chunk of money which you can either save or treat yourself with!
Final Thoughts On Saving Money On Your Mobile Phone Bill
There is no point in paying for things you don’t have to, and for a little effort you could reduce your mobile phone bill considerably. If you decide to take any of the above measures to reduce your phone bill, you could potentially save quite a chunk of money each month. You could keep the money you are saving aside to put towards a holiday, or simply put it in your savings and watch your balance grow. Whatever you decide to do, we hope you have found this guide useful!
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