Smartphones are convenient. I still remember the old days when I had to find a pay phone when I was away from home and needed to make a call. Now I just reach into my purse or pocket to pull out my phone not only to make a call but to check email, take a picture, listen to music, watch a video, tweet about something, and so on. But there's a high price for that convenience.
Consumers spend, on average, more than
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to cut the cost of owning a smartphone, says
Stop paying for what you're not using. Consumers often don't use all of the minutes, messaging and data they pay for with a wireless plan, Trachsel says. But they don't realize it because they're either not scrutinizing their monthly bills or don't understand what they're seeing on those bills. The amount of data, messaging and minutes you use should be itemized on you bill. Considering the major carriers offer unlimited minutes and messaging, your savings will likely result by cutting your data if you're not using all of what you are allotted. My husband and I just shaved our monthly wireless bill by
Limit data consumption. Using too much data - rather than not using all that you pay for - might be your problem. If you're being hit with hefty overage charges each month, you might need to switch to a plan with more data, which could cost less than the fees you're incurring. For example, a
To avoid data overage charges, you can use an app such as the free My Data Manager to monitor your data usage and alert you when you reach certain thresholds. The app can also help you identify which other apps on your phone are consuming the most data so you can make sure they aren't running nonstop or delete them from your phone. You also can lower data use by connecting to Wi-Fi for Web access when possible and limiting music and video streaming.
Save with a family plan. The major wireless providers have some version of a family plan that lets you share minutes and data and can be more cost-effective than getting several individual plans, Trachsel says. For example, a
Bypass the major carriers. AT&T,
Cut the cost of a phone. If you're upgrading to a new model, look for offers from wireless carriers that allow you to trade in your old phone for a credit to lower the price of a new phone. Note that these offers usually require a two-year contract with the carrier. So if you don't want to be tied to a contract, you can trade in your old phone for cash at Web sites such as NextWorth, Gazelle, ecoATM and uSell.com. You also might find that you get a better price for your trade-in at these sites than the credit you would get from wireless carriers. For example, the trade-in value of an iPhone 5s with 32 GB of storage is
Another way to save on the cost of a phone is to opt for less storage. For example, an iPhone 6 with 16GB of storage space costs
Weigh warranties and protection plans carefully. Given the high cost of smartphones, you might assume that paying for an extended warranty or protection plan from a wireless provider is a smart move. If you have a good track record with phones, paying
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Cameron Huddleston is an online editor at Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. .