I got my first “Car” phone in 1988 for $1799.00 plus tax. Alls it offered was phone service. Nothing else! No camera. No searching. It was as big as my size 8 shoe 👠. It had to stay plugged in the car to work. It could not leave the car. Wow, 2K for this! What a rip off.
At the time, It was a new Luxury item and very expensive. Hardly any one had one in 1988 so I felt very cool.
Zoom to 2018. Everyone and their 👵🏼 grandmother has a “Car” phone. But now it comes out of the car so it is called a “Cell or Mobile” phone.
Now, its no longer a luxury item but an essential need. Our phones are used for talking, as a camera, calculator, radio, for shopping, news, weather, banking, videos and much more! I also had a VHS video recorder 🎥 as big as a newborn baby.
So just like anything else that gets saturated, the prices have come down. The Carriers know this but wont let you know, that they know.
One Fantastic Carrier uses a Combination of WiFi and a Cell service to save customers money. Some save up to 33% off their phone bills!
The Company is Republic Wireless. Click here to read more about these tremendous savings.
9 HACKS
1) DO SOME RESEARCH
Do a little research & get some prices from the competition. Take pictures of Billboard Ads. Talk to friends, Call a few places or go online & check some out. Better yet Grab your bill and visit “Myrateplan” or “WhistleOut”. This is a great service and they may offer a better plan through your current carrier or even a lower one through another carrier. Now your ready for this…
2) RENEGOTIATE YOUR PLAN
It is best to do this when your contract is up and they know you are free to go. Competition between these carriers is real.
Just be honest with them. Call and Speak to Retention Services. Say, hey, I’ve really enjoyed your service but the monthly bill is really too expensive. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and I don’t wan’t to pay any more than I have to. I’ve done some research and there are other companies offering us a way better deal.
Mention other ads you’ve seen like, “ABC is offering to cut my bill in half”. They may say that their service is better. Just tell them you’re a bottom line person and only care about the Price.
Tell them the times when you have no service or horrible service. And why should you pay the entire month when you have bad service ¼ of the time.
Say hey unless you can give me a better deal, I am going to switch Carriers.
They will probably say they have to talk to a manager and put you on hold. Just wait it out patiently. I have has friends who did this & they received a discount.
3) GO ON A DATA DIET
It’s Healthy! Look Around! Enjoy your surroundings! Be in the Moment! Stop and Smell the 🌹🌹! Make eye Contact! Smile at People 😁!
Use the Lowest Data plan Available and just USE AS MUCH FREE PUBLIC WIFI as possible. Keeping it real. We all need to Be more Healthy (not just physically). One way is to engage more with the people around us, little and big and cut back the amount of time were staring at our phones like Zombies 🧟♀️.
Check out Republic Wireless to really save money. They use a Combination of WiFi whenever possible and a Cell service. They may save you up to 33% off your phone Bill.
Click here to read more about these great savings with Republic Wireless
Best Hack! Park 🚗 close to a Starbucks, Wendy’s or Pollo Loco entrance & use their WIFI. It works best in the first 2 parking spots right in front of the door, haha. I’ve done this on occasion just waiting in my car for someone.
4) KNOW YOUR DATA RESET DATE
Find the exact date that Your DATA resets every month and let your whole Family know. This saves a lot of stress on every one. Ours is the 11th of every month. So our kids know that if they are running low on the 8th, they are ok with it because they know they will get a full refill in 3 days. They wont complain because they know its temporary.
You can use an app like My Data Manager to track your data usage and alert you when you are getting close to your monthly limit. Tell your kids that once you reach the limit, that’s it. Stop using it. This avoids those super expensive overage fees.
5) USE AN IPAD MORE OFTEN
I pads are great! They save your Cell Phone Battery and do not use expensive Cellular data. I have 2 iPads, a mini (which i bought 4 years ago) and a medium 9.7″ one. I cannot live without these. I keep my mini iPad in my 👜 purse. I connect to the Free local WIFI and check my emails, search stuff, facebook, instagram, banking, messaging etc… all without using data. I Love My mini iPad.
Every time I go into a restaurant, Mall, church, school or coffee shop, i whip out my lovely iPad, I TAP into THEIR WIFI and Away I go. If its not readily available, ask for the PASSWORD, they will give it to you. If not, oh well, its Ok.
Then I use my phone only in none wifi areas.
6) AVOID DATA OVER EATERS
Watching videos or even playing online games on your phone uses a Lot of Data. Instead, make sure you are connected to Free WiFi when you want to do this.. Some other good tips are:
** DISABLE AUTOMATIC UPDATES. Only update when you are connected to your HOME WiFi versus out shopping and the update suddenly Zaps away a chunk of your Data.
** ⬇️ Video Streams: Watching just one 4 minute video daily on YouTube, you may consume up to 700MB of data every single month! High quality videos can use 6 MB per minute. Ouch!
** ⬇️ Video Calls: Face to face calls can use up to 3 MB per minute! Is this really necessary?
** ⬇️ High Action On-Line Games: These can use 1MB of data for every minute of play.
7) Get the Otterbox phone case.
Period. Its worth it. Yes I am the proud owner of an iphone 5s and I love it! I received it as a birthday gift 5 years ago. It is my first i phone. I have had this same phone and Otterbox cover for 5 years! I have dropped my phone all over the place! On hard cement, wood, the street, you name it. I have Never had to take my phone in to be repaired or for Anything! How amazing in this?
8) Employee Discounts.
Ask you HR department if they offer this. Lots of places do. You’ll get 10%-20% off your monthly bill.
9) Get a family plan.
If your single, ask your siblings, mom or any other close family. Family plans cost less than an individual plan. Make sure they are responsible and not Over Eaters.
Just change a few things and your on your way to a Lower Cell Phone bill that’s not as much as a monthly car payment.