- Every few months, comparison shop to see if you’re paying too much for your telephone calling plan. If you find a better deal, contact your phone company and negotiate — or switch.
- Cancel all the extra services you don’t use such as call waiting, caller ID, voicemail, call forwarding and three-way calling.
- Switch to a smaller, lower profile company for long-distance service. Not only is the service cheaper, but usually there are fewer fees.
- Check your long-distance carrier’s call-rounding policy. Many smaller long-distance companies offer six-second call rounding, rather than rounding up to the next minute. The more short calls made or faxes you send, the more you save with six-second rounding.
- Some low-cost carriers may charge a fee if you receive a paper bill. Sidestep this fee by paying your bills online.
- If you make a lot of long-distance calls within your state, choose a calling plan with a low intrastate rate.
- Drop your long-distance carrier altogether if you make infrequent long-distance phone calls. Instead, use a prepaid phone card, a dial-around service or even your cell phone if you’ve got the minutes.
- If you’re always on the run, consider swapping a land line for a cell phone. You’ll save on the monthly service fee, taxes and long-distance fees for a land phone that’s rarely used.
- Don’t exceed your allotted monthly cell phone minutes. Zero in on your calling needs to find the best plan for you.
- Cell phones can be expensive, especially if you’re footing the bill for a houseful of users. Do a “needs analysis.” Dump the phones that aren’t absolutely necessary.
- Go wireless at your weekend or vacation home. Occasional but pricey cell phone calls may still be cheaper than the cost of installing and maintaining a bare-bones land line.
This entry was posted
on Friday, April 1st, 2005 at 3:25 pm and is filed under Cost Cutting.
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