Money expert Vicky Parry, editor at MoneyMagpie, shares her tips to help you save on your mobile phone costs – including how to get the best deals and all the sneaky fees to watch out for
Your mobile phone could be costing you more than it needs to.
When was the last time you shopped around for a good deal? Have you signed up to subscriptions and forgotten about them? Perhaps you pay with a digital wallet and find it easy to overspend without using physical cash or a card. These tips will help you reel in rising mobile phone costs to make sure you’re not accidentally going over budget every month.
Shop around for a deal
Do you know when your mobile phone contract is up? Rolling into a new monthly contract at the end of your old deal could land you with higher charges. While it’s tempting to stay with the same provider to keep your number, always shop around for a better deal. It’s easiest to look for deals and discounts online as you can discover the best options from every network that way.
If you find a better deal at another network, contact your current provider to see if they will match or better it. You can also switch networks and port your phone number over, which takes a few days, but means you can continue using the same number. When shopping for a deal, look at your home broadband at the same time. Virgin, EE, Sky, and Vodafone all offer combined mobile phone and broadband deals which could save you a wad of cash each year.
Don’t upgrade at every opportunity
It can be mighty tempting to get a new device every couple of years – but do you really need one? MoneyMagpie isn’t only about saving money, but we love to encourage sustainable living, too. Replacing your old device every two years creates a lot of waste!
Some networks even offer an incentive to stay with them by upgrading early during your contract. While this might seem you can lock in a great tariff, you’re still paying over the odds for your handset. Keeping your old device for even a year longer while moving to a SIM-only tariff could save you hundreds of pounds.
Take off your digital wallet
It’s so easy to pay for things now: swipe your phone by a PIN pad and voila: payment done. But this means it’s too easy to lose track of your payments, especially if you use this method of payment for nights out at the pub!
Samsung Pay and Apple Wallet make it so easy to lose track of what you’re spending that it means your phone could be the culprit when you come to the end of the month with less money than you expected. Take the digital wallet off your phone and change back to using a physical card or cash for payments for a few months – see if this helps reduce your spending.
Check your subscriptions
It’s so easy to sign up to subscriptions on your phone and then forget about them. Apps might have an annual fee, for example, which often comes in after a free trial period. If you forget to cancel the trial, you’re out of cash that would have been better left in your bank!
On your phone settings, look into your memberships and subscriptions. Make sure you cancel any unwanted ones, and make a note in your calendar to cancel any free trials you have that are due to expire.
Subscriptions also come with extra charges sometimes, such as in-app purchases in games. Set up two-factor authentication on every purchase to make it harder to ‘accidentally’ purchase things – taking the time to enter a password can be all you need to think twice about whether you really want to spend that cash.
Avoid hidden mobile phone charges
Finally, as summer holidays are upon us, make sure you’re not accidentally racking up hidden charges. Data roaming costs could impact your monthly bill if you go abroad, so check with your provider about your allowances.
If you want to send photos while you’re abroad, wait until you can connect to hotel WiFi to keep your costs down, too. If you’re going somewhere without internet access, restrict your mobile usage to the essentials (and keep text messages short to avoid MMS charges) and save the photo sharing until you get home. In fact, it’s a good home security tactic to not share that you’re going away or are away from home on your social media, until you return – otherwise you’re advertising to burglars that your home is empty.
For more moneysaving tips on everything from mobile phones to the latest food and drink discounts and deals, sign up to the MoneyMagpie newsletter.
