One of the first, in my opinion best places where you can start to save a lot of money using your technology bill(s).
Let’s name just two “basic” ones: a land line (regular telephone line) and the mobile phone. Right area are talking about an absolute minimum of $40-$80 and more a month. I remember, this is basic stuff; no voice mail, caller ID, etc. etc.
In order to save money on your technology bills you don’t need to go without any technology either. But you might want to prune and be selective with the ones that you have and keep.
Here’s some advice from Kevin Brand, EarthLink’s SVP of product marketing.
Assess your Needs.
Downgrade: Once you assess your needs, get rid of services that you aren’t fully using.
Avoid Bundles: Advertisers may create a “need” that might not really exist for you. If you’re a cost- conscious consumer, look closely at how much you’re paying for popular, but often pricey, bundle packages that include phone, cable and Internet. It may be easier to pay all-on-one bill, but it doesn’t allow you the flexibility to choose the best individual services that fit your lifestyle.
Study your Bill: Read the small print. Know what you are paying for and make sure you’re only paying for services that you actually use.
I left some of Kevin’s advice out; shopping around for freebies and “paying smart” by taking advantage of special deals and incentives in my opinion gets people to move their services around a lot, whereas a steady regular bill is much easier to maintain.
My own experience is that an Internet subscription gives the best dollar for dollar value. Especially in the USA there is a lot of free online television featuring complete episodes, even complete movies. You can rent movies over the Internet, watch them on deamnd, and even download them (legally!).
You have access to tons of reading material, tons of entertainment, games, e-books, “social” contact and so forth.
For a couple of bucks you can even have telephone online, including an incoming regular telephone number (Skype).
To me that means that, especially in times of need, you can easily let go of your telephone and Cable television subscription.
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