It’s no secret that mobile phone costs can quickly get out of hand. Ofcom found that the average mobile phone bill in the country is at around £45.60. That’s a significant sum of money for a large portion of the population. Not to mention that telecom companies are often not the most straightforward with their fee structure, which causes many to be hit with surprise bills at the end of each month. The good news is that there are tons of simple things that you can do to keep your mobile phone spending to a minimum. Let’s take a look at a few simple ways that you can reduce the cost of using your mobile handset.
Get a SIM Only Deal
There aren’t many reasons that would justify getting locked in to a deal for 2 or 3 years these days. Yes, you might get a spanking new phone, but at what price?
For one, you never know what might happen during that time. You might notice that you don’t actually like the phone. Or, you might find that a newer, better, and possibly even cheaper one may hit the market right after.
Phone deals make much more sense to the telecoms than they do to the customer, even if you’re tricked into thinking that you’re getting a good deal. The truth is that you will be paying for the phone throughout your plan, so that’s a win-win for them.
With a SIM only deal, you are free to do whatever you want. You can put the sim into a brand-new phone, or a cheap used one you found online. Most people don’t need the latest model, so if you’re a gadget chaser, think twice about it.
There are tons of phone suppliers these days focusing on the budget market, and most brands have upgraded the entry-level models they have to accommodate the market. There’s also the option of buying a used phone. There are tons of great phones on the aftermarket, and you could find a great phone, stick your SIM in it, and you’re good to go. Refurbished phones are another great option.
If you’re looking for the best SIM Only deals, it could be a good idea to compare SIM only deals from Lebara. They have SIM Only deals for all budgets and you can compare SIM only deals based on price and the number of data/minutes you need. They have a good middle of the road £10 per month plan that will get you unlimited minutes and texts in the UK and 100 international minutes to 41 countries. You’ll also get 10GB of data, which is more than enough for most people. There’s no need to worry about going over either, since all out of bundle usage is capped to zero.
Be Smart with Your Data
The first thing you have to do is make sure that you use Wi-Fi instead of your data if you have a capped deal. You also want to make sure that you use the data on your plan wisely.
This means that you should always block automatic updates and wait until you’re somewhere with Wi-Fi access. Try to download content you know you’re going to be checking before leaving. If you’re going to use Google Drive or another cloud service to check documents on your phone, make sure you make them available offline. It will download a copy of it on your phone and you won’t have to use your data to access them.
Only Get a New Phone if You Absolutely Have to
Let’s be real, phones haven’t changed much over the last few years, and some of the changes on the latest models are either slight aesthetic changes, or obscure upgrades most customers won’t have a use for or even notice.
You don’t need to have twelve cameras or even fingerprint sensors on your phone. Unless you’re severely limited by your recent phone, there’s rarely a need to replace it. The only time when you should change your phone is if the manufacturer has stopped releasing upgrades for it. While they might still work fine, there might be some very important vulnerabilities that could be taken advantage of.
Another case when it might be a better idea to switch is if the service provider requires it. This is because some SIMs will not be compatible with certain older models.
Time Your Purchases Correctly
Nothing is left to chance when it comes to mobile phone releases, and if you time your purchases correctly, you could take advantage of that to make some major savings.
For instance, Apple tends to release products around September, while Samsung prefers to do it in the spring. So, if you know that they have a new phone coming out, wait until a few months after it was released to buy the previous generation. The differences between two generations are often minimal, and you’ll know that you’ll still get service and updates for it for a long while.
Get Rid of Unused Apps
Another thing you should do is remove any unused apps on your phone. If you can’t, then limit them. These can end up consuming a lot of data in the background. You also want to turn off automatic app refresh on apps that have it on. This way, you’ll know that they won’t be consuming data (and energy) without you noticing.
Use Phone Comparison Sites
Another thing you should do is check phone comparison sites. GSM Arena is a great example. These will allow you to compare phones based on their specs.
You can then start looking at different budget-friendly phones on the market. While some of these phones might be able to give you an experience comparable to some of the high-end models on the market, others are very limited. Using a site like this will allow you to compare budget phones with each other, or with pricier models.
There are also tons of phones from lesser-known brands that people tend to overlook. You could use GSM Arena to check out how they stack up against the competition. You can also check reviews online and see what reviewers and commentators are saying about the phone.
At the end of the day, no one really cares if you have the latest Samsung or a Xiaomi. The most important thing is that you get decent internet and speed, and a serviceable camera. All the rest is extra.
Keep an Eye on International Calls
You also have to be very careful when using international minutes. Make sure that you know which countries are covered in any plan. Also, make sure that you know if you’ll need to pay fees to receive phone calls as many providers do. Bills can add up very quickly if you misuse your phone, and you might come home to an unpleasant surprise. Again, this is where something like going for a SIM only plan with a hard cap could help.
As you can see, there are tons of ways that you can save on your monthly mobile costs. If you follow these few tips, you’ll be able to make wiser buying decisions and have all the essentials covered.
