Remember back in the day when we had our home phone bill and that was it?  Those days are long past, my friends. Now we have cell phones, internet, and sometimes even a home phone (do you still have one?).  These can all get pretty pricey, but they don’t have to break the bank. I know for me the key was to get my cell phone bill under control in order to save money. If you are in the same boat, then here are 5 tips for saving money on your cell phone each month that will help  you get your budget under control:

1. Pay off your phone.  Do you have a phone that you are paying for each month?  Can you afford to pay if off? If so, do it now. Depending on the type of phone you have, you may save up to $40 each and every month.
2. Skip the smartphone.  Could you handle life without a smartphone?  That was a joke. Of course you can (unless you use it for work, etc.).  Why not go back to the old flip phone. I know quite a few people who do this and they have really reasonable bills each month.
3. Go pre-paid.  I have been learning a lot about savings in these areas and I am finding that pre-paid services are FAR cheaper than contracts.  Why is this? I don’t know, but I like the idea of it! You can often find unlimited everything plans for $40 per month!
4. Try a different company.  Where I live, the only service that works is Verizon, so I have no choice but to use them.  If you don’t have those same restrictions, shop around! See what companies will work for you and what you can save the most money on.
5. Skip the insurance.  Other than Apple Care which I only recently learned about (my daughter is the only one with an iPhone though), I typically skip the insurance.  This may not be true for high dollar new phones, but once you have a phone that is a little bit older you don’t need it. These plans are expensive ($5-$10 per phone, each month) and even if your phone breaks and you submit it to insurance to get a new phone you will have to pay a high deductible ($50-$100).  You can almost always find a used phone for the price of the deductible and whatever you have been paying monthly.