Be Telecom Hip

You've got your own cell phone bill, plus those of your family members, your home phone bill, your long distance bill, your internet bill...the list gets long in a hurry when it comes to paying for what are now considered "basic" telecom needs. And paying this stack of bills can be not only time consuming, but costly. This month, take a few minutes to try out these simple ideas to see if you are getting the best deal on your telecom...your savings can add up in a real hurry.

In the fast moving telecom industry, loyalty pays. Call up your current provider, and ask what benefits you might be able to gain the longer you stay their client, by locking in a longer contract, or bundling several services or lines into their company. But at the same time, watch for getting too "bundled up"...although packaged deals can simplify life and consolidate the monthly bills, convenience could be costly. Be sure to research both individually packaged telecom services and bundled packages, and then make the best cost decision.

Plus, new deals are rolled out almost every single day, so it's worthwhile to make a quick call to see if another plan has become available that might more closely suit your needs. Take a good look at the plan you are on, and make sure that it makes sense based on your actual usage patterns. Many flat fee plans seem like a good deal, but if you are routinely not using a good percentage of those minutes, another plan might make more sense. In fact - did you know the average cell phone customer only uses 25% of the minutes they have paid for on their flat fee plan? If this is you...consider changing to a smaller package. Additionally, if your package allows for unlimited local and long-distance calls for a flat fee and you use less than 300 long-distance minutes per month, a per-minute plan may actually be less expensive than a flat fee plan. And don't worry about dragging out all your old bills to analyze it - it takes only a quick phone call to your current provider, and they can help you quickly and easily review your usage patterns.

Being "telecom-hip" can also come with a steep price tag for all the extra bells and whistles...so make sure you really need them. Determine what features you have on your landlines and cell phones, and see what you can shave off. For example, if you select caller ID but opt out of *69, you could save a few bucks a month. And if your package has caller ID, you probably don't need *69 anyways, which simply lets you dial back the number that just called you. With a cell phone it can be pretty cool to use the internet, send and receive pictures and video...but how much is cool costing you? This service alone could be costing as much as $20 per month, so if you're not using it regularly, consider scratching that feature.

Telecom services are now a part of our everyday lives and expenses...so taking just a few minutes to do some research could save you big bucks every single month!