Today I finally succeeded at lowering my phone bill. Hooray!! Yes, I am celebrating - and wildly so. This is quite an accomplishment and it has taken time and effort.
Technology is constantly changing. To keep up will cost you time, but could save you money. If you don't keep up, it could cost you both time and money. A lot of money. And sadly, you won't really notice, because we are consumers who buy new things and we are not use to getting rid of things we are not using. We tend to just put them in storage or let them sit where they are until.... well, until we notice we didn't get rid of them I guess.
The bills for basic services for phone, internet and television - or rather 'media' continue to just soar every year. Bundling is chaos as far as I am concerned. I don't really want 300 television channels and I want internet connection with me - where I am - whether I am at home or not. My gadgets go with me, my internet should too.
All I really wanted to do was lower my home phone and internet bill since I rarely use them any more. I had not planned on completely canceling them, just lowering their luxury items that I not only don't use any more, I can't recall if I ever used them in the first place. I traveled with my job for a couple of years, so I had added internet Wi-Fi on the go at hotspots. This was before mobile broadband and the wide availability of free Wi-Fi at Panera Bread and McDonald's. I wonder if I could just buy a membership at McDonald's for Premier service that would include unlimited, private wi-fi, and 1 $1 drink a week. After all, as McDonald's knows, it's about distribution. The phone company still thinks it's about bundling services. Even at McDonald's, I order a la carte.
Let's get back to the phone bill. After 5 phone calls, 3 of which I was put on hold for over 1 hour each, I was able to remove the traveling Wi-Fi from my home phone. After all, it's now included in your home internet service anyway according to their commercials. If that's true, then why didn't they take it off my bill themselves? That's a whole different issue I'd like to discuss later.
My phone bill with home phone, internet of 6mps speed, unlimited long distance, and television was costing me $169 a month. I don't remember the last time I answered or made a call on my home phone service. I watch very little television anymore. I don't travel with my job to need the traveling Wi-Fi, where most airports were not accessible anyway.
Removing unlimited long distance saved me $37 a month and I still maintained a basic phone service with no benefits. That means I can still dial 911, I can still make local calls. I can still answer if you call me. However, I no longer have caller-ID, call forwarding, voicemail, or anything else they listed I had and never used before. Caller-ID would be missed if I actually answered my home phone. Since I don't, that just won't be a problem.
Removing the traveling Wi-Fi, saved me $9.99 a month. The total of $47 a month adds up very quickly. The savings on the home phone, partially including a savings on the list of taxes on the unused services. Again, that's another subject for us to discuss at another time.
At the time I purchased my home phone bundle, this was the best deal for my usage and local area. However, with FIOS and U-Verse and mobile broadband, this is no longer the best deal. I have more Wi-Fi gadgets, but all my wireless connectivity is tied to being at home. That simply doesn't make sense anymore. So I replaced traveling Wi-Fi with a T-Mobile mobile broadband for $33 a month.
That does not however reduce my savings to $17 a month. You see, I added a smartphone a year ago and I was spending an extra $20 to $60 a month on my phone for data downloads to play Games with Friends. Not a very smartphone. They should call it a Funphone or a FriendPhone instead. I will concede however, that I spent $33 a month to save $30 a month. I gained the ability to use my mobile broadband for my phone data, iPad, Kindle Fire, Tablet PC, and share my connection with a friend. I can connect up to 5 devices at once and there are no overage charges. If I go over my usage amount, the speed does slow down, but I have not had that happen yet.
Keys to success:
1. Review bundles, gadgets and technology once a year and adjust.
2. If you get put on hold when you want to cancel a previous service, hold your ground. You should not pay for what you do not use. There are other companies out there to do business with.
3. Don't bundle unless it's the best option for the price and the lifestyle.
4. Family plan bundling is not always a savings. It might just keep you locked in longer that you should be to a bad plan when things change.
Money Management is ongoing every day, and you can be good at it.
Reduce the Debt.
Reduce expenses by reducing overpaying for unused services.
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