Trim the Cell Phone Bill

Last year we decided to reevaluate the $100/month we paid to our cell phone company for unlimited minutes and texts. It turned out that most of our minutes were to family, most of whom had the same carrier and thus wouldn’t count against minutes. So we called up our carrier and asked to be switched to the 750 minute plan, where we would share the 750 minutes between our two phones. They were obnoxiously persistent that we needed more minutes, even after I repeatedly pointed out that we always used less than the 750 after accounting for nights and weekends and the minutes with other customers of the same carrier. We were stubborn though and finally got switched to the cheaper plan. It has saved us about $30 a month.

It’s worth noting that there are certainly even cheaper options. We considered using MagicJack or other similar technology for a home phone, and then switching to prepaid cell phones. We also considered switching to google voice. For a variety of reasons (perhaps a topic for another post) we went the route we did. The point, though, is that the phone bill is often an expense ripe for restructuring.

More on Amazon

Patrick had a great post about Amazon last week, so this is building on his suggestions. I used to only use Amazon for books. Then it occurred to me that other items might be cheaper there as well. We've found great deals on Amazon for numerous items, including computer parts and other electronics, exercise equipment, and DVDs. It has also been great for items that were tough to find in a brick- and-mortar location, like a baby food grinder. One of the more recent finds was a cell phone. The screen on my old phone broke, and my first thought was that I would need to buy a new one from our carrier—an expensive option since I didn't have any kind of phone insurance and was not eligible for a new phone. I decided to check Amazon. It turns out that you can buy an "unlocked." cell phone off Amazon for way cheaper than what you'd pay from a carrier. I got a great phone for $30 (and free shipping). I didn't even need to contact the carrier—just switched the SIM card to the new phone and it works great.

Of course, as with any type of shopping, you have to be careful to not buy things you weren't planning to buy and don't need. But as long as I'm getting an item anyway, it's probably worth checking online to see if it's cheaper. 

This may sound obvious, but another huge benefit to Amazon and other online retailers is the convenience factor. Before having kids, I took for granted how easy it was to shop. It becomes exponentially more difficult with children. If I can price compare from my own home, order something that will arrive at my doorstep in a few days, AND is cheaper than in the store, that's an easy decision.