More tips on how to save money on a phone bill

My co-worker not too long ago shared with me that his online subscription for Wall Street Journal is almost $150 a year. He then pointed out that another co-worker pays $99 for online subscription and a daily newspaper. Not realizing that online subscription can cost so much, I quickly came to a conclusion that one co-worker is a new subscriber, while the other one is a returning subscriber.

Without hesitation I told my co-worker that he should call the publisher and ask for a new subscriber price matching. He nodded and walked away. Believe it or not but I love bargain calling because adrenaline rush that I receive from a reduction in our monthly bill is irreplaceable. When I started the tightwad journey, I realized that companies want my business and will do anything to keep me happy. In return I keep companies happy by using their service.

A while back I called our phone provider to negotiate our monthly rate. I couldn’t bargain too much with the rep, because this provider is the only one who covers our area. However, he did remove several charges that otherwise we would have had to pay. If I had another service to choose from, I am pretty sure that our monthly rate could have been reduced further. On the other hand my friend, who had the power of bargaining, was able to negotiate a lower rate on her land line. It never hurts to ask!

If bargaining makes you nervous, looking for other phone service alternative is always an option. Consider using Magic Jack or Skype online phone services. My in-laws recently canceled their land line and now use Magic Jack. Aside that getting in touch with my in-laws is like getting in touch with the president, Magic Jack allows them to save lots and lots of money. You have to have DSL and a functioning computer to receive incoming calls and place outgoing calls through Magic Jack. Instead of paying monthly for the service, subscribers pay one time $35 dollars fee that covers one year of service. The best part is there no contract or hidden fees.

Pay as you go phones may also be a great way to replace your current land line provider and save some money!!! If you want to try pay as you go option, this is how you do it. You can find pay as you go cell phones at almost any store. Minutes then can be purchased through a cell phone provider, such as T- Mobile. You can pay as little as $0.10 cents a minute and your minutes do not expire for a year. Virgin Mobile also offers pay as you go plans and in fact you can purchase unlimited minutes for about $50 a month and $10 for unlimited texting. No contracts are require and you can stop using pay as you go service any time.

This is just several more ways to help you save money on the phone service. Do you have a tip or a trick that allows you to save money? We would absolutely love to hear about it.