My Cellphone My Terms

Many of us have been there. We hear the great sales pitch or online offering and we get excited about a plan that comes with tons of features. There are so many to choose when customizing our cellphone plans but which ones can we add that will ensure our bills remain as low as possible? How do we know the features we are adding actually make a difference? Each feature we add, increases our monthly plan price. Let’s look at everything from unlimited incoming minutes, evenings and weekends, to data and more.  Some plans come bundled with features but many are created and presented as bundled with those extra prices already built in, so what features do you need:

• Daytime minutes – this is the time of day when most business is done. MAKE sure you know what your monthly calling patterns are during the day because the second you go over, and I mean the second, the meter starts running. If you have more than one user on your plan, make sure you get a business share plan.  Also, remember all the cell phone companies round your usage up to the minute.
• Unlimited Incoming – this is great feature to have if you receive a lot of calls. Whatever the amount of daytime minutes you select, make sure you account for calls made and received to see what your total minutes used would be. The Carriers love people that go over their allotted minutes, because that means more money for them.
• Evenings/ Weekends (EW) from 6pm – great feature to have but how many business people are using their phone between 6pm and 9pm (Standard E/W start time). If you use your phone a lot during those 3 hours, make sure your E/W start at 6pm or 5pm if possible.
• Text messaging –  Most business people communicate via email. Most times, a package of 250 text messages is more than enough but if you are a heavy texter, look at the unlimited bundle. The per text charge can be anywhere from $0.20-$0.50
• Data – most of us do not come even close to using 0.5GB of data per month but we have it in our head that the extra $5 to $10 is worth it to have Unlimited or 6GB of data. Especially if you have a blackberry as they compress the data. Take a look at your current wireless bill and see what your usage is like. If you want to see how much data you need, take a quick read.
• Long Distance – if you call long distance within Canada to Canada/US, you must know how much you are paying per minute. It can range anywhere from $0.15-$0.35/minute. If you talk more than 100 minutes, make sure you get a bundle that fits your calling habits. You will get value from a bundle. Unlimited long distance bundles range from $15 to $20 per month.
• Roaming to the US – check out one of our more popular blogs that gives a few tips to Canadian travelers roaming in US.
• Carrier to Carrier – great feature to have when you call a person that has the same carrier but most of times not even a factor.

Look at your bills and understand your calling patterns and cell phone usage. The better you understand each feature you are paying for, the less you will end up over paying.  Of course, if you need any help to optimize your business cell phone bills we can assist you as well.