13 ways to lower your cell phone bill

Although many mobile data plans are promoted as “unlimited,” they contain a data cap, after which your data speeds will be significantly slower.

Most smartphones allow you to change the data usage settings on your phone to set custom limits and receive alerts when you approach them or pass a certain threshold, giving you greater control over your mobile plan usage.

Monitoring the limits and alerts will help you avoid speed throttling, track your data usage more effectively and ensure you don’t pay extra charges for exceeding your data allotment.

If you’re not sure how to enable these settings, contact your carrier’s customer service team or online support tools to help you through the process.

To set a data limit on your Android phone:

• Go to Settings > Network & internet
• Tap SIMs and scroll to Data warning & limit
• Next, select Mobile data usage cycle, toggle the Set data warning icon and tap on Set data limit

When your phone exceeds the specified limit, it switches off mobile data.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a built-in feature on iOS to provide a data limit alert. Instead, you can install a third-party app on your iPhone to set data limits.

Before upgrading your phone, take time to weigh the pros and cons.

Buying a mobile phone through your carrier as part of a phone plan can lock you into a contract with an additional $20 to $40 in monthly installments, increasing your overall cell phone bill.

To lower your phone bill, hold on to your current device until you truly need to upgrade your phone. If you need to buy a new phone, consider paying for it upfront, buying a used one or taking advantage of a bring your own device option with your cell phone provider.

These approaches can save you money while giving you more flexibility to choose the plan that works best for you.

Many cell phone providers offer family plans allowing you to add additional lines to a single account at a discounted rate. By sharing a plan, you can significantly lower your monthly phone bill.

Adding lines to your cell phone plan allows you to take advantage of discounted rates, bundled services and special financing incentives for customers. Mobile carriers like Astound offer multi-line discounts on family plans when you bundle them with internet services, offering savings that can lower your overall cell phone bill.

Your service location determines the taxes and fees charged to your monthly payment. If you move, or if someone on your shared plan relocates to a different area with lower fees and taxes, updating your service address with your cell phone provider could result in significant savings.

In addition, updating your service address ensures billing accuracy, since an outdated address may lead to billing discrepancies, getting charged incorrect taxes and fees or facing service activation issues. Also, some services and features offered by your carrier may be location-specific.

Updating your service address ensures you have access to all plans, promotions or bundled features that are available in your location. This change can be done on your carrier’s website, mobile app or by contacting customer service.

Cellular carriers usually run promotions and discounts with specific businesses, schools or organizations with which they have partnerships.

These discounts include lowered rates or tailored features targeting particular audiences, including students, seniors, low-income earners and military service members. Your employer also may have discounts or offer reimbursements with certain cell providers.

Other types of carrier promotions and discounts you can consider lowering your cell phone bill include:

• Trade-in deals: These deals allow customers to exchange their old phones for a discount on a new phone’s price.
• Switching bonuses: Some carriers offer cash incentives, bill credits, unlimited lines or free phone accessories when you switch from one carrier to another.
• Seasonal and holiday promotions: Most mobile carriers offer discounts and special offers during holidays or special occasions such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday or Christmas.

Always review what discounts and promotions your existing provider offers and compare them with those of other providers to determine what best meets your needs and budget.

Using a rewards credit card to pay your mobile phone bill can turn the expense into an opportunity to save. Many cashback credit cards provide significant incentives, either in cash back, points, travel rewards or even cell phone protection plans, when you use the card to pay for your cell phone bills.

When managed effectively, using cashback credit cards is a great way to save and improve your personal finances. Just be sure to pay the balance in full each month to avoid interest charges that could hurt your credit score.

If your current plan is no longer the best fit for your needs or budget, compare cell phone carriers to find a plan that offers better prices, coverage and features and choose the one that meets your demands and provides the most value.

Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) are cheaper, smaller and lesser-known carriers that use larger cellular carriers’ network towers to transmit your phone signal. According to Grand View Research, the US MVNO market was valued at $27.96 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $46.31 billion by 2030 driven by demand for flexible, affordable mobile plans.

MVNOs are mobile carriers that don’t own their own network infrastructure. Instead, they lease access to major providers’ towers, which allows them to cut overhead costs and pass those savings on to customers through lower monthly rates and more flexible plan options.

MVNOs offer excellent coverage and flexible plans without long-term contracts at a fraction of the cost you would pay for larger carriers.

Astound Mobile is an MNVO, which allows us to pass our savings directly to customers. Sign up today and compare Astound’s plans with other carriers to see how much you can save monthly while enjoying reliable nationwide coverage.