Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Ambassadors SE Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.
We’ve been Verizon Wireless customers as long as we’ve had cell phones. We’ve gone through a lot of account changes (two accounts, one account, family plan, shared plan, etc) as Verizon has made changes.
For several years now, we had a plan that allowed us to have unlimited data on our cell phones. Now, it’s pretty much unheard of to have unlimited data (and I don’t know if it truly was in the first place). But, we were grandfathered in, and as long as we didn’t get a new phone with a discount, we could keep our unlimited data.
But guess what? We weren’t even using that much data. On a recent visit to Verizon Wireless store, they pulled up our account. I was reluctant to even discuss it…I didn’t want to give up my unlimited data, after all bloggers need their data for their online socializing. I went along with it, though. And, it turns out, neither one of us got remotely close to 2GB of data in the course of having a data plan.
They pulled up our bill and showed me what we were paying each month for two phones!
The nice associate suggested we change to an unlimited call/text plan with 4GB between our phones. When changing to that plan, we save almost $20/month. That’s about $240/year. And, on the off chance that we do go over our data (I have alerts set up), it’s only $10 for every additional 2GB as long as we change our plan that month.
Part of our budgeting is to reassess our bills and make sure we are being good stewards of our money. Looking at what we are paying for and what we are actually using is important (same thing applies to cable bills, etc). When looking at our account further, I also realized that we were eligible for a 20% discount (we were previously getting 18% with my old employer) through Mr. Serious’ employer. It literally took like 5 minutes (probably really less) to set up. So, make sure you check with your and your spouse’s employers to see if you are eligible for a discount with your cellular provider.
It may not seem like much, or a lot of work, but just take a little time to look over your bill and make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck!
Krystyn has been blogging since 2005. She is a sarcasm-loving, straight-shooting, jeans and t-shirts wearing, wife and mom of four girls (ages 13, 11, 8 and 6). She blogs about life as a mom and wife and includes funny stories, family travel, fitness, recipes, STEM and more. She currently resides in the Atlanta, Georgia suburbs.
Christine says
We weren’t using our 2GB a month either — until Josh got a 4G phone. Now he’s streaming constantly and getting close to that 2GB limit – only reason he doesn’t go over is because he watches it very closely.
Because we have 2 non-smart phones on our plan, it’s cheaper for us to pay for individual data plans. If those non-smart phones leave our plan or get upgraded, we’ll likely switch to shared. But that would require sharing data with our niece – and I think I’d rather she have her own data.
Chelsea Nicole says
Thanks for the heads up. I know I need to go really look at my cell bill. I’d like to cut the cost if we can.
Samantha K says
Thanks for the reminder to look over our cell phone bill. We have had the same one for a long time and who knows if it still fits our needs or if there are any other plans that are better.
Emily says
A couple of years ago before unlmited plans were so low priced we were on a plan that had a set number of texts ad minutes. I knew we were always under it but after looking, I realized we weren’t even using half of what we were paying for. Crazy! It definitely “pays” to keep an eye on usage.
OurFamilyWorld says
Thanks for these tips! Cell phone bills can really get out of control if you’re not careful!
Karen - DCR says
We are Verizon customers too – I love how they worked with you to find a better plan that helped your bottom line. I will go in and have our account evaluated too. I’d love to save a few bucks each month!