Once upon a time,
your family plan didn’t cost a fortune. Try these tactics to bring it back to
bearable.
By Zain Asher-Ejiofor
You knew joining the smartphone revolution would
have repercussions for your monthly budget. Now that your whole household is
hooked up, however, the sum total of overages, surcharges and usage fees has
probably caught you by surprise. The average individual’s mobile bill is up by
31% since 2009, to $71 a month, reports J.D. Power & Associates. And for a
family of four who all have smartphones, the tab can easily top $200. Get your
clan—and costs—in line with these tricks:
Put Your Kids On Hold
Teenagers in particular can bulk up the bill: A
2010 Nielsen survey found that the average U.S. teen sends or receives 3,339
texts a month. An unlimited texting plan can solve that particular problem. But
if your child goes over on other allowances too, ask your carrier about
parental controls. You can cap texts, minutes, megabytes of data, even the
amount spent on apps. Once your child exceeds the limits, he or she is cut off
until next month. You can also have phones blocked at certain times—say, during
school hours. (Settings can be tweaked so your kid can call home or 911.) Most
carriers charge $5 a month per line for controls, but if you pay more in
overages, it may be worth the cost.
Don’t want to be so rigid? Set up text alerts to
keep tabs on your teen’s usage, says Sascha Segan, cell-phone analyst at
pcmag.com. When your kid’s near the limit, impose restrictions.
Dial Down Your Data Usage
Going over your data allowance on your own
phone? Each megabyte of overage can add $10 to $30 per line. Avoid streaming
content—think YouTube or online radio—over the cellular network, as this hogs
bandwidth. Also, program your phone to switch from 3G to Wi-Fi when a hotspot
is available (in the settings menu). And, when Web browsing on the go, use a
site’s mobile version instead of the full version (type “m” in place of “www”).
Finally, change e-mail settings from “push” to “manual” so you get new messages
only when you refresh your inbox.
Call (or Text) for Free
Some 17% of cell-phone users go over their
monthly minutes, reports validas.com, a site that helps consumers cut their
mobile bills. Extend your talk time by using apps like Google+ Hangouts or
Skype. “These video chats can use Wi-Fi to make calls, and they’re typically
free when you call someone with the same app,” says Jessica Dolcort of tech
site cnet.com. (Apple’s FaceTime works the same way, but only with other
iPhone, iPad or Mac users.)
Similarly, for texting, WhatsApp and GroupMe
allow you to transmit free messages across devices. You’ll have to get friends
to install the app too—but once you do, your bill will be better for it.
Adapted from the April 2012 issue of Money. © 2012 Time Inc. All rights reserved.
Susan S. Lewis, a Naperville financial services guru can help with all your financial concerns, take advantage of her expertise today.
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