Three good methods to reduce your phone expense

Consumers are definitely feeling the pinch of escalating costs. From the gas pump to the grocery market, costs are leaping higher. But the phone bill is an area where savvy consumers can still save. For most people, phone expenses are a not insubstantial element in the typical household budget. Notwithstanding the fact that telecom costs have dropped considerably in recent years, this is still an expense that can be cut through careful planning. The following three techniques will help you accomplish this goal.

Tip 1: Switch over to a shared-use cell phone plan

According to the Kiplinger Letter, the typical cell phone bill in the United States runs about $55 per month. You might ask how the average could be $55 with so many ads for cell phone providers promoting $29 or $35 plans. This is partly because a few power users spend $79, $89 or more per month. Part of the reason is taxes and miscellaneous charges such as 411. But a crucial reason is the fact that cell phone companies zap you on "overage". Let???s say you???ve got 1,000 peak minutes in your plan and this month you get to 1,099. At twenty five or forty cents per minute on overage, your cell bill suddenly shoots up $20. Sound familiar? The next month you get to 900 minutes but there is no corresponding drop in your bill. Some providers claim to solve this problem by allowing you to rollover minutes. And it is true that the rollover does increase your peak minutes quota for the next month. But even then, you still get hit with overage if you exceed your increased peak minutes quota.

Shared use plans are the best solution for this problem. Also known as "family-plans", these plans enable you to aggregate the minutes of two or more users into a bucket. Since variability is typically a function of individual usage patterns, these factors tend to cancel out. Think of it this way: if you and your spouse both have individual plans for 1,000 minutes and in one month you get to 1,100 minutes and your spouse reaches 900 minutes, you???re in for overage charges to the extent of 100 minutes. If you have a family plan, your total comes in at 2,000 minutes and there would be no overage!

Tip 2: Don???t use your regular long distance landline phone company to call internationally

Most long distance providers offer very good rates for domestic long distance. If you are a reasonably frequent user on a good plan you are probably paying less than five cents on a per minute basis. The difficulty is that international rates are still relatively high. For example, fifty cents a minute to India is typical, even if you pay the four to five dollars a month many providers charge to get lower rates.

In recent years, there has been an explosion of superior offerings. Sometimes known as "PINLESS" dialing plans, these offerings enable you to call anywhere in the world at rates forty to seventy percent less from your landline or cell without needing to remember a pin code. If you type the phrase "cheap international calling" into a search engine you???ll see a plethora of options. The basic way they work is that you register one or more phone numbers and provide a credit card number. They give you a toll-free number and when you call this number from a registered phone, you can call internationally without a PIN. Using the above example, you could reduce the charge from 50 cents to 15 cents per minute.

Tip 3: Find a free conference call service

For many families, phone charges escalate due to the need to have multiple phone discussions between family members on the same topics. It is not efficient but this is the way most of us have learned to cope. In the last few years, there have been dozens of companies that have launched free conference calling services. All of them work on the same basic principle: they give you a PIN and a toll number to dial. If all participants call the same number and enter the same PIN, they are put into a group call. Apart from normal toll charges, there are no charges assessed by these providers. If you have a large extended family, one 30 minute call could easily replace five to ten one-to-one discussions for planning a trip or family event.

Unfortunately, it is usually somewhat of a chore to actually arrange these calls in the first place; consumers often are therefore reluctant to familiarize themselves with the mechanics of setting up a conference call. Rondee is an example of a free conference calling service which is working on addressing this issue. It offers users a way to schedule the conference on the web, have the invites emailed and show all the responses displayed on the website. As with many corporate grade conference call companies, Rondee allows calls to be recorded.

With consumer prices rising, there???s not a lot most of us can do to fight back. But phone expense is an area where being smart can mean substantial savings. Applying these three tips will save the typical consumer 30% to 50% monthly, or several hundred dollars a year.

Mindy Carpenter talks and writes often about technology matters. Mindy consults to a variety of firms that use communication technologies involving conferencing. Her clients include free conference calling companies such as Rondee.