Hagaon Hacham Mordechai Eliyahu z.s.l.

About one of every four American homes (24.5%) had only wireless telephones according to a December 2009 National Health Interview Survey. Among the 25- to 29-year-old age bracket, 48.6% live in wireless-only households. Though wireless phone service has traditionally been more expensive that its land line counterpart, there are ways to keep those costs down.

• Upgrade your cell phone sooner:Turn a two-year Verizon Wireless phone contract into a one-year deal, and get upgraded sooner. Just have the phone line transferred to someone else’s family share account, and, in addition to the cost savings of the family share plan, the contract is automatically reduced to one year.
• Find the best plan: Sites like MyRatePlan.com and BillShrink.com allow you to compare plans from different carriers. Just provide information about your usage needs and the sites will show how much other carriers charge for the same usage.
• Ask about new deals: Cell phone companies change their plans all the time and may even readjust the price for the same plan you are currently using. But they won’t retroactively change the price for you... unless you ask. Call your provider periodically and find out the best available plans and rates.
• Don’t hesitate to switch: When your contract is up and you are negotiating a new plan, let your current provider know that you are considering switching carriers. It costs major cell phone carriers several hundred dollars to acquire a new customer and so most have dedicated customer retention departments that are specifically charged with getting customers to stay. Sometimes, they can offer you a plan that may not be available to the public.
• Lower minute usage. With the arrival of family plans, mobile-to-mobile and favorite numbers, in-plan cell phone minute usage is dwindling. According to Peter Pham, CEO of Billshrink.com, most people use only 25-40 percent of their minutes. Analyze your real usage and see if you can go with a cheaper plan with fewer minutes. Even if you go over once or twice, you may still be saving in the long run.