Cut the cost of your mobile phone contract 

You’re doubtless paying a whole bunch of kilos an excessive amount of in your cell phone.

For the primary 12 years of getting a cellphone, I adopted the identical sample. A two 12 months contract with a shiny new handset, which was then renewed with an upgraded cellphone, after which repeated when every contract ended.

However a decade in the past I switched issues up. I moved my tariff to a brand new community, and acquired a brand new handset direct from Apple. Since then I’ve moved between networks frequently and acquired and bought new handsets. And saved a ton of money.

And you are able to do it too: from going SIM-only by to downsizing your knowledge, there’s no purpose you have to be paying greater than £8 to £10 a month. Right here’s how one can save in your cell phone contract.

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Cut up your handset and your tariff

Go SIM-only

The very best costs are sometimes with SIM-only offers. Right here you retain your previous handset or purchase a brand new one individually and pay simply to your minutes, texts and knowledge. Because you aren’t paying for a brand new cellphone, the month-to-month prices are additionally significantly much less. 

You will get contracts that run from 30 days to a 12 months, supplying you with much more flexibility than the 18, 24 and even 36-month offers you’re tied to with handsets (although longer SIM-only offers are nonetheless out there).

On the time of writing you need to have the ability to get a greater than ample knowledge allowance from the main networks for beneath £8, and probably as little as £5 for networks providing 5GB. And that’s earlier than you consider cashback or different gives.

Don’t get your handset through your community

When you go SIM-only you’re now not caught in that bi-annual cycle of getting a brand new cellphone whenever you don’t really want to. Ideally you’ll maintain your handset for extra three or 4 years. However with poor batteries, damaged screens and ‘depreciated’ working software program (when updates are now not supported on older telephones), all of us have to improve sooner or later.

Nonetheless, you need to typically keep away from getting one as a part of your contract. Most networks will cost you a premium on high of the handset value to get a brand new cellphone bundled along with your SIM.

It’s very uncommon for these offers to work out cheaper, notably for the most recent handsets. As a substitute, you’ll get monetary savings shopping for it outright from Apple, Samsung or the likes of John Lewis.

In fact, the excessive value of those handsets is usually a barrier, however even then you definately don’t have to resort to together with it in a contract. Apple and Samsung typically provide 0% finance for 2 years, when you might select a 0% buy bank card as an alternative. Do check your credit score first although.

Don’t neglect to promote your previous handset too. There are a variety of web sites that’ll offer you a set quantity, or you possibly can hope for a greater value through websites like eBay. Right here’s more on selling old phones.

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Selecting your new cellphone tariff

Whether or not you follow a mixed cellphone and SIM deal or cut up them up, you possibly can nonetheless convey down the associated fee.

Don’t pay for extra knowledge than you’ll really use

One of many largest methods we waste cash on our mobiles is through upselling, and now the networks are all about getting us to pay for extra knowledge than we want.

Just a few years in the past after I haggled a brand new SIM-only contract with Three, the salesperson stated “It’s solely £3 extra for 20GB”. Sounds good. Besides I didn’t want 20GB. I didn’t really want the 12GB I had (however that was bizarrely cheaper than the 5GB choice).

And I see this upselling on a regular basis. There are all the time quite a lot of promotions providing limitless knowledge at what appears to be like like improbable costs. However you actually don’t want limitless knowledge, so nevertheless good the value, you’re nonetheless overpaying.

Most of you can be wonderful with 5GB or 6GB, maybe much less, whereas heavier customers are nonetheless doubtless wonderful with beneath 12GB. And that’s assuming you possibly can’t hook up with wifi at dwelling or work to make use of knowledge even much less. It’s straightforward to test your utilization historical past through your account. Thus far this 12 months I’ve used between 5.3 and 6.57 GB every month – and the latter was after I was on vacation!

I’ve written right here about how you can work out exactly how much data you need.

Issue within the extras and freebies

I wouldn’t advocate selecting a brand new cellphone community primarily based purely on extras, but when costs are related it’s value seeing what you may get.

Ones to look out for embrace:

• Free streaming companies (e.g. Disney+, Netflix and so on)
• Loyalty apps (O2, Three and Vodafone)
• European or worldwide roaming

Keep in mind relating to O2 Precedence or Vodafone’s VeryMe rewards that both are still available if you’re with a different network for those who pay £10 – which may work out cheaper.

Saying that, those that additionally get broadband with Virgin Media ought to check out O2 as you’ll get double knowledge, worldwide roaming and double web speeds through a proposal known as Volt. Simply be sure you’re getting an honest value on every service.

Don’t simply follow the massive firms

You’ll have noticed that a lot of the low cost offers are with smaller networks. And I guess you’re warry of switching in case you possibly can’t get reception.

Properly, there are literally solely 4 completely different cellphone networks – O2, EE, Three and Vodafone. All of the others “piggyback” on one in every of these. So, for instance, Giffgaff runs on O2 and Lycamobile makes use of EE.

This implies you get precisely the identical reception as somebody on the host community however at a far cheaper price. The one actual distinction can be in customer support, although you’ll additionally lose network-specific advantages from the massive manufacturers, akin to O2 Precedence Moments.

I’ve written in additional element about these so-called ‘virtual mobile networks‘, together with which of them function on which foremost community.

It’s additionally comparatively straightforward to convey your quantity with you. My strikes throughout completely different networks all took lower than 24 hours although it would take longer if weekends or financial institution vacation get in the way in which. Simply ask for a PAC quantity, which you may get just by texting your network.

Discovering the most effective value

Verify for those who’re out of contract

Textual content INFO to 85075 and also you’ll obtain a message out of your community outlining for those who in our out of contract. If you’re nonetheless locked in you’ll even be instructed how a lot it’d value to finish the deal early.

Make an observation of this date, and you may often negotiate along with your community as much as 30 days earlier than the top of a contract. This offers you the prospect to see if you may get a greater take care of your present community, and if not begin the method of shifting to a less expensive one.

However for those who’re already handed that minimal time period, you’re free to hunt for a brand new deal.

Examine costs

Simply as you’d along with your gasoline or broadband, it’s essential to see what different networks are providing. MoneySupermarket or Uswitch are respectable value comparability websites, although they don’t embrace all of the SIM-only networks.

You’ll additionally typically discover decrease costs for the massive networks through these websites, permitting you to entry some (although not all) of the freebies out there by these firms.

Verify for cashback

If you happen to’re switching community or upgrading with no new handset there’s much less of an opportunity for cashback, nevertheless it’s value checking anyway. Attempt each Topcashback and Quidco for SIM solely too. And for those who’ve by no means used cashback websites don’t neglect the new member bonuses to get much more again!

You can even earn cashback to knock extra off your invoice utilizing the app Airtime, however solely with the main networks and a handful of others.

Name your community to see in the event that they’ll negotiate

It’s nonetheless value calling your community to see if they can match or beat the total savings you’ll discover from the information above. It helps to do a little analysis first so what you may get for those who swap.

Then ask to be put by to the ‘terminations’ or ‘disconnection’ group as they’ll often have extra sway. You may even do that over stay chat for those who want.

I did this probably the most years with Three. I both had my value knocked down or knowledge added for a similar value, beating what I’d get elsewhere. None of those offers have been out there on the Three web site, however got here from saying I wished my PAC.

A warning right here although. You may be beginning a brand new contract for those who do that, which can overwrite pre-existing gives akin to free roaming with some networks.