How To Save A Fortune On Your Phone Bill - Get Smart With A Smartphone
Don´t Just Stick to What You Have Always Known - It Could Be Costing You A Fortune
Until a few years ago, I presume like many people of my age (60´s) I had a landline phone and also a basic mobile. The landline gave me accessibility to cheaper international calls from my home in Spain to relatives in the UK, and also provided internet access, the mobile alerted me to enquirers from people wishing to rent my villa for their holiday, and also gave me a false sense of security in case my car should break down in the wilds, which is where my home is situated. In reality I would be unlikely to be able to ring anyone should this happen as there would be no coverage to the network my old phone used.
In those days, despite the cheaper international calls from my landline phone, when I used the internet I had an expensive dial up connection so paid for every second of usage and had to limit myself to short bursts at a time on my PC. That changed when satellite internet became available where I live and I was able to negotiate a better deal. Some years later WIFI came to my area at half the cost and with no restrictions. I could use my internet 24 hours a day if I wished, and could download whatever I liked without my bandwidth ( speed) being reduced so I signed up for that and also got rid of the expensive landline knowing that I could contact for free my relatives and friends using Skype on my PC, and those that weren´t using Skype could ring me, or occasionally I could ring them. Of course I could also send text messages from my mobile, but those are still quite costly here in Spain.
Having upgraded to cheaper unrestricted WiFi internet connection and having got rid of a landline phone connection I was still getting ridiculously high mobile phone bills though. I opted for a contract with my provider as I feared I might run out of credit without realising and be left in a position where I was unable to make a call, specifically an emergency call if I really needed to. Looking at my monthly bills I could see at a glance that most of the cost was for the contract charges and very little to do with actual use. The charges were beyond a joke, and despite choosing what I thought was the best deal, not easy when faced with so many choices, the cost was really beyond my pocket.
Being a self confessed techno-phoebe it took a long time for my daughter in the UK to persuade me into using Skype, and I had quite a time getting used to how to work it all out, but honestly it was one of the best things I was ever pushed into and I now use it daily to keep in touch and see my latest grandchild growing up right in front of my eyes. All this for free which is amazing don´t you think?
My leap of Faith Into The World Of Smartphone
Despite now having half priced unrestricted internet access, thanks to my new wifi connection, I still had ridiculously expensive mobile phone bills, and as the network coverage from my mobile network hasn´t been upgraded in years it was getting to the point where I often couldn´t make a phone call, or if I did manage a connection either my conversation or the person ringing me was often so garbled neither of us could make head nor tail of what was being said, and I often lost the mobile signal which cut short any conversation and meant the caller or I had to keep ringing each other back. You can only do that so many times before you are ready to explode with frustration! Sending text messages was costing a fortune, and often they didn´t "Send" immediately, or I didn´t receive important alerts that someone had emailed me about renting my villa until hours or even the next day in some case´s, meaning I was missing out on bookings too. It was beyond a joke.
Bemoaning the mobile coverage one day to a friend and showing him my latest mobile phone bill, he almost fell off his chair when he saw how much I was spending per month on this rubbish service, and suggested I get a smartphone. In his words I was the only person he knew who still used a mobile and actually paid for texting or messaging anyone when you could use Whatsapp and skype for free with a wifi internet connection. He further explained that I would no longer miss alerts from people wishing to rent my villa either, as those came via email and would show up on my phone as soon as they came in, as long as I was in reach of WiFi or had data access set up. Personally I just use free WiFi whilst at home or visiting friends and family who have it. All you need to do to get that is look on your phone for available WIFI connections, find theirs on the list and get them to put in their code number which allows you to connect.
Being the terrible Technophobe I am, and unsure of buying anything when I don´t understand the concept of how it works, the thought of buying and using something that seemed so difficult to get the hang of freaked me out, but I knew my friends who had been using smartphones for years could be called upon to help me get to grips with the technology, and the thought of the savings and all the things I could get for free finally got me off to the nearest shop to purchase a cheap smartphone, and I have to confess that it´s been one of the best purchases I ever made. I can now understand why everywhere you go people are spending so much time using them.
The Last Word
Now I have a smartphone, the days of paying up to and over 50€ per month which was mainly in charge fees and not actual usage are gone. I elected to have a pay as you go Orange Mundo card put into my smartphone , and some months I use nothing of my credit because I only send whatsapp or skype messages and sometimes free video calls, and also you can make free phone calls via whatsapp too. I can also read emails on my phone and now never miss an alert from the holiday site my villa is advertised on. In my view the smartphone is the best invention since sliced bread, and again I´m so thankful that despite my fear of the technology, I was once again gently shoved into the world of new fangled inventions.
I did have to learn how to use it, and friends set it up for me and showed me the basics.. A number of times LOL. But I can now set things up myself with help from the internet. It´s handy to look things up on my PC, smartphone in hand, and follow the instructions given on screen in front of me.
I do hope this hub has helped anyone like me who is scared of new technology but dissatisfied with high phone bills, to go for it and change to a smartphone. You can buy one very cheaply and also get a pay as you go option that you think is the best fit for you, thereby avoiding getting tied into a contract that might cost you to get out of if it doesn´t meet your needs, or like me with the old mobile contract ends up costing you more in charges than actual usage.
I can almost guarantee you will be so glad you changed from the old to the new, and even better, be quids in. :-)
A Little About bac2basics The Author Of This Hub.
Hi I am Anne, better know as bac2basics here on Hubpages.com.
I write on many varied topics, anything that grabs my attention from time to time, and that could range from money saving hints and tips, to gardening, or even the spirit world.
I hope you enjoyed this hub and will read more of my ramblings sometime.