Stay Connected Affordably

Hey everyone. This week I am going to talk about something that surely affects all of you: telecommunications services, and the cost associated with them. While not everyone has all the same services (or even the choice in providers), chances are you have a couple of them at least. Home phone, cell phone, television, Internet. No longer are these things luxuries. They have become ever-necessary in this crazy world of ours. Therefore, it’s important to make sure you’re getting the best value for your money. Here are a few things to consider:

Bundles/Packages

Check to see which is the best value: a bundle with the same provider or a mix and match among different providers.

One provider

Pros:

• You deal with one service provider (one phone number to call when you need help) – instead of multiple – and often there are financial (or other) benefits of choosing the same one for all your services.
• You get one bill and only have to put your money in that one direction, instead of worrying about multiple due dates. This could easily reduce the likelihood of missing payments and incurring late fees.

Cons:

• You may end up with services you don’t need, in order to take advantage of something else. For example, you may have full TV programming as part of a package when all you wanted was basic. And by mixing and matching providers you could have gotten what you really wanted for less money.
• It’s possible you won’t get the highest quality in one of the services. Maybe that company has great home phone service but their Internet is lacking. Sometimes it’s best to pick and choose from various providers to get the highest quality/consistency, which can be more important than monetary savings.

For cell phones, don’t just jump in to the least expensive package if you consistently go over minutes, make long distance calls, text message, etc. Check to see if those add-ons will save you money over the long-term. Also, it may be in your best interest to get a plan that has more minutes rather than stick with less minutes starting with earlier evenings – or vice versa.

Example: A plan may be $25 for 250 daytime minutes and evenings starting at 9pm. You may have an option for 100 more minutes for an extra $5, or you could choose to have evenings start at 6pm for an extra $7. Depending on your usage you may need to do BOTH, but it’s important to consider your own situation as picking just one of the two may be enough. Although $7 is more money, having that extra 3 hours/weekday x approximately 22 weekdays/month might save you more money than getting an extra 100 minutes.

With Internet, you may not need the fastest connection. High-speed is probably suitable for a majority of people and can save you $60 or more per year. Anything faster than the entry-level high-speed is beneficial if download/upload speed is of the utmost priority. Or, if you’re impatient. I will admit, however, with the type of content online (Flash animations, streaming videos, etc) it does help tremendously to have a faster connection. With that faster connection comes the ability to more effectively WASTE your time on these types of things, though.

Bite-Sized Considerations

• Are you paying for a home phone that you don’t necessarily need? The flipside is using a lot more cell phone daytime minutes for calling places that have you on hold for a while. Or, would it be wise to consider VOIP (Voice Over IP)?
• Conversely, are you paying for a cell phone plan you don’t need? Would a prepaid cell phone be as good for you, rather than spending too much on a cell phone bill every month?
• If you DO need the monthly plan, consider a data device/smartphone. You may think they’re only for business people but the convenience of receiving and sending emails on the move, having access to the Internet should you need it, and staying in touch with friends via Facebook, MySpace, and a host of popular messenger services (for example) can be helpful. Knowledge is power and sometimes knowing something while you’re out prevents timely and costly mistakes.
• Do you really need ALL those channels you’re paying for? Do you ever flip through dozens of them only to find yourself going back to the same few channels? Try dropping some of them (or get creative) and investing that money elsewhere. Maybe a faster Internet connection or more daytime cell minutes.

I could write a lot more about this subject, but I’ll leave it at this for now. If you have any of your own tips that you’d like to share, go ahead. Prices and providers vary by area so it’s difficult to talk specifics, but if you have any suggestions you are more than welcome to offer them. Until next time!

That's life as I know it.

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