If you are looking to save money on your phone service, call your cable or satellite service provider. You may be able to bundle your television service, internet service, and phone service for a low monthly payment. Companies like Qwest and DirecTV have created bundle packages that start around $60 a month. Bundling all your services can save you around $120 a year.

Another way to cut back on the costs of a home phone is to cancel your service altogether, especially if you have a cell phone. There isn't much sense to have two phone services, especially if you only use the cell phone. Plus, having a cell phone means you won't miss any calls when you are out running errands. Before you cancel your home phone, make sure you have enough call time on your cell phone plan. You may want to bump up your phone plan to the next package plan, just so you don't go over on minutes.

Take a look at all the additional services your home phone comes with. Do you really need call waiting or caller ID? You will easily save about $20 a month by canceling the additional services on your home phone line. If your provider isn't offering you a low-cost calling plan, tell them you are going to price shop. Most phone companies pay their employees on commission, and they don't want to lose you as a customer. Make them work for you by telling them you need a calling plan that fits your budget. There are several phone companies out there, don't just limit yourself to one or two.

When you are searching for a good phone company, you need to ask them about their long distance services. If you make several long distance calls each month, upgrade to an unlimited long distance plan. This can save you several hundred dollars each month from long distance fees. If the cost of unlimited long distance is too expensive, purchase calling cards. When you need to make a long distance call, you simply dial the number on the card and follow the instructions. You will only pay for the phone calls you make and you can use the card from any phone. Calling cards do have expiration dates, so you will need to use all the minutes before they expire. You also need to pay upfront for the cost of the card, which varies in price from $9.99 up.

Cell Phone
If you don't use your cell phone often because you have a home phone line, you can either consider cancelling the phone or switching to a prepaid phone plan or a disposable phone. A prepaid phone will allow you to purchase a phone with an allotted number of minutes that will expire in 2-3 months. Prepaid phones are a great way to give yourself the security of knowing you have access to a cell phone if you are in an emergency situation. The downside to the prepaid phone is that you only have so long to use the minutes. If you do not use all the minutes before the expiration date, you lose them and you simply paid for minutes you didn't use. If you want to add more minutes, you need to do so before the expiration date or else you will need to pay for a new activation fee. The per-minute cost of a prepaid phone can vary from $.50 cents per minute to $1 or more per minute. This can cause you to lose a lot of money if you don't use the minutes up.

Most cell phone companies will offer basic packages to individuals that don't use a lot of monthly minutes. You can purchase a cell phone plan that offers 60 anytime minutes and 500 weekend minutes for $19.99 a month. This will save you a ton of money over the prepaid phone and you can upgrade to a higher plan if you start using more minutes each month.

Another way to save yourself some money on cell phone costs is to purchase a disposable phone. Disposable cell phones give you the opportunity to avoid signing a contract with a cell phone company. The disposable cell phone offers around 60 minutes of call time and comes with a battery that will die after about 60 minutes. Once the battery is dead, the phone is done. Disposable cell phones are perfect if you are in an emergency and you don't want to pay for long-distance service. You also don't have an activation fee to worry about with a disposable phone.

Deciding which cell phone option is right for you will take some time on your part. Add up your monthly cell phone expenses and decide what additional features you can drop. Text messaging service, voicemail, and downloads all add up quickly. Consider trimming them off your cell phone bill before you drop the phone altogether and move on. Always talk to your cell phone provider to see if they offer new packages that are cheaper. Some cell phone companies, like Verizon Wireless, will offer discounts to employees of certain companies. Be sure to ask your company if they have employee discounts with phone providers before you sign a contract.

Take a look at the types of calls you make and when you make them. If you are going over your peak minute time, you probably want a plan that offers 700 or more minutes with unlimited nights and weekends. If you think you can push all of your phone time to the evening, look for a cell phone plan that offers fewer minutes. Paying just $10 more a month will save you a lot of money if you go over on your monthly minute amount. Do you make a lot of long-distance phone calls? Does your cell phone company charge you roaming services or are you on a nationwide plan? If you are traveling often and you use your cell phone a lot, consider selecting a different plan that doesn't charge roaming fees.

Do you share your cell phone plan with your children and your spouse? How quickly do you go through the monthly minute allotment? Can you control the minutes better? Maybe switching your child to a prepaid phone will save you money and it will help them to control their monthly minute amount.

When you are out phone shopping; pay attention to "introductory rates." Most phone companies will give you a month of service for free and then they will tack on the additional costs. Another thing to watch for is the promotional offers companies run. You may be told you are getting a free cell phone and you might end up paying for it through activation fees and other hidden charges.

With a lower-cost plan, you actually end up paying more money through additional fees. If someone sends you a text message and you read it, you are charged $0.05 or more. If you send a text message back, you will be charged around $0.10. Always read over the contract before you sign it. You may be told your monthly plan will be $19.99 when in fact this is only the plan for 6 months, and then it jumps up to $39.99 or more. When you are shopping for a new cell phone or home phone, always ask about discounts for prepayment or for paying your balance early.