Five Ways To Slash Your Phone Bill

Has your phone bill gotten to the point where you hate to open it? It’s easy for that to happen these days It can be even worse if you have a cell phone because then, there are two bills to worry about

Hare are five ways you can reduce that bill

Tip 1: Check out your phone bill the next time it arrives You may have one of these packages with a lot of features that you either don’t need or don’t use For example, your package might include features such as three-way calling, call forwarding, unlimited long distance or continuous dialing Ask yourself the question, “am I really using these features on a regular basis?” If the answer is “no,” I suggest you contact your phone company and ask what other plans they have that offer fewer features, and cost less For that matter, you might consider switching to your phone company’s most basic plan It won’t have any features outside of a dial tone but could save you a bunch For example, our local phone service provider has a basic plant that costs just $2195 a month, plus all applicable taxes and surcharges

Tip 2: Shop for your service Depending on where you live, there might be as many as three or four different phone service providers competing for your business Do a little research Find out if there are competing service providers in your area If so, contact each and ask about its various plans You might find you can get as many or even more features for $10 to $20 a month less than what you’re currently paying

Tip 3: Consider dropping that conventional service entirely Most of the cellular service providers offer family-oriented packages with 1,000 or more minutes a month for as little as $4995 a month Many of them will even let you add family members for around $600 a month They may even give you the additional phones free Suppose you’re now paying $3400 a month for your conventional service and $3995 for your cellular service That’s a total of $7395 a month Drop that conventional service and switch to a family plan at, say, $4995 a month, plus $12 for two additional phones and viola! You’ve just cut your total phone bill by at least $1200 a month

Tip 4: Dial a few extra numbers and save big Are you familiar with the 10-10 services, also known as dial-around plans? They are simple to use and requires no advance payment, no contract and no calling card A 10-10 number works by routing your call around your existing phone company You just dial 10-10 and then usually a three-digit number followed by the phone number of the person you’re calling This coding dials around your existing long distance carrier to give you cheaper rates For more information on these rates, go to www 10-10phoneratescom

Tip 5: VoIP If you want to save money and aren’t afraid to try a new technology, check out VoIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol Now available from more than a dozen different companies, VoIP requires a computer, a high-speed Internet connection (DSL or cable), a special adapter and an ordinary telephone VoIP is cheaper than than conventional phone service, plus it is not subject to all it taxes and surcharges – which can almost double the cost of your service VoIP service can cost as little as $1995 a month (including calls to Western Europe) and often includes features like call forwarding and voice mail that the conventional phone companies charge extra for Be aware that all is not perfect with VoIP as voice quality may not be as good as a traditional landline Also, since the service is computer dependent, when your power goes out, so does your phone service

Have you heard about HD radio technology? It makes AM sound as good as FM and FM sound almost like you were listening to a CD and its free! To learn more about this amazing new technology, just go my Web site, http://wwwhd-radio-homecom, to get all the buzz Douglas Hanna is a retired marketing executive and the author of numerous articles on HD radio and family finances

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