Want to save money on your mobile phone bill? Of course you do. Here’s how I cut my monthly bill in half!

First, take a look at your current usage. I find AT&T’s online portal much easier to digest than the monthly statement, which is clear as mud.

For the past year, my monthly averages look like this:

Most plans these days are unlimited talk and text – so it’s all about the first column.

How much data do you use?

This is your time spent on Facebook while sitting at the bus stop, or using Google maps to navigate on the road – generally any data consumed over cellular and not WiFi. Note that iMessages are counted towards data and not texts.

From there you can evaluate plans to see if they accommodate your needs for less.

Enter Cricket Wireless and my new 2 GB, $25/month plan. That’s fully half what I was paying AT&T, for way more data, although admittedly I’m on the low end of data consumption. (The plan is actually $30 but you get $5 off for using autopay and really, why wouldn’t you.)

Savings Add Up

$25 savings might not sound like much, but it’s $300 every year. Over ten years, it’s $3000 extra in my pocket. Which I will promptly spend on Jost Van Dyke. Meet me there. I call the hammock 🙂

It’s been about a month, and I haven’t noticed any difference in connectivity or quality of calls. It’s definitely been all upside so far and I wish I’d done it sooner.

Good to Know

• Don’t forget to cancel autopay on your old plan. My AT&T account was automatically closed, but that didn’t stop the autopay and they were happy to keep taking my money. Cost me a phone call to sort it out and get a refund.
• Don’t forget to setup your new voicemail greeting.