Stay in touch for much less

Phone bills can throw the family budget into disarray. Long work calls and teenage dramas can cost way more than expected. Even though phone bills may not be your biggest monthly expense, they are one you can control.

Do i need a landline?
With line rental and minimum monthly spends, having one might not always suit. And most people primarily use their mobiles to be contactable 24 hours a day. But it is handy to separate your business from your personal calls. I turn my mobile off at 6pm every night
to stop work calls, whereas family and friends can still call me on the home phone.

The best Mobile deals
Mobile phone plans fall into three main categories: fixed term, pay as you go and prepaid. They all have their pros and cons and suit different people, so you need to think about what kind of user you are. How much do you spend each month? How many calls do you make a day and at what time? Do you use your phone for calls, texting or both? Compare flag fall or connection rates, call charges and the amount of free calls and texts per month.
Providers are constantly trying to outdo each other with the best deals, so customers benefit. This happens mostly with post-paid contracts, with readily available plans providing infinite calls and texts to numbers within Australia for a set cap price.

Bundling pays off
If you are able to connect to services using the same provider then do it. Bundling almost always comes out cheaper, and sometimes with extra benefits. With providers such as Telstra you can bundle your home phone, internet, and cable TV. Depending on the provider they may even give you a discount off your mobile phone as well, or if you have several members of your family using the same provider.

Calling overseas
The internet is making calling overseas cheap and easy. Skype is free computer to computer, and charges 3c/min from computerto landlines and mobiles in over 30 countries. Telstra, for example, charges minimum 21c/min to call landlines in the US and Europe with the prices going up for mobiles and non-Western nations.

Plan ahead

A word of caution to all those with smartphones. If you have one, treat it like a computer rather than a phone and focus on plans with the best value for your internet usage. If you sign up to the wrong plan you could end up paying hundreds or thousands for data you didn’t know you were using, or thought was included in the plan.