Women's Day Offers Out-of-The Box Ways to Reduce Cell Phone and Cable Bills in the November Issue

With the sluggish economy, families are looking to save money anywhere they can. Americans need to know that they don't have to sit by and pay those dreaded cell phone and television cable bills that take a chunk out of the budget. The November issue of Woman's Day (on newsstands October 12) provides solutions to only paying for what you need but eliminating unnecessary costs. So how can a family keep these bills in line? When it comes to the family cell phones, Woman's Day says the most important place to start is by reviewing your plan. Cell phone provider's customer service departments can design a plan that is specific to the kind of minutes and texts each person uses. Additional hints experts give include: -          Watch for unexpected charges for going over your minutes (add 10-15% more than you think to be safe) -          Add up your texting charges. They can be up to 25 cents for each sent and received text so inquire if it makes more sense to get even a basic texting plan -          Stay within a network. Try to get on the same providers as your friends and family since those calls are often free -          Use alternatives such as Skype and Google Voice -          Consider prepaid phones for light users For the rest of the bills there are creative options as well. Downgrading a landline phone to local service only (while using a cell phone for the long distance calls) or using phone cards can reduce bills to under $20. While using digital cable providers or an e-call service such as Skype or iCall can also significantly reduce rates.   Cable/Internet Woman's Day also addresses cable/satellite and internet bills. There are options that many people are not aware of such as calling to negotiate a lower rate that another company is offering, reducing their channels to just the ones they really need, or eliminating cable all together. Sites like Hulu.com are great solutions for people with no cable access. Internet is another necessity in today's world so finding different options is key. Some suggestions that Woman's Day have found successful are using free connections at the library or a local coffee shop or shopping around for the basic dial-up or DSL connection and broadband services. These unconventional options can lower bills as low as $15 or $20 a month.

Click here to read the Women's Wear Daily November article on cutting your cell and cable bills