© 2008-
Advertise With Us
“Electricity & Utilities Savings Advice & Tips On How To Reduce All Your Energy Costs”
Visit SavingsNut.com™
A free website that provides savings tips, deals and discounts to reduce virtually all your household expenses. Also visit:
For More Saving Tips
LONG DISTANCE PHONE
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE MONEY SAVING TIPS
While local telephone service is regulated, with limited competition in most parts of the country, long distance service is highly competitive and much more competitively priced. Shopping around for different ways to make long distance calls is definitely worth the time.
1. Long distance services offered by your local service provider are probably much more expensive than other alternatives that offer the same quality. This is true whether or not it is a monthly fee plan and/or includes charges by the minute. Although they may be convenient, unless an exceptional deal is being offered, avoid these plans.
2. When considering long distance options, the amount of long distance calling
you do is the first step to deciding how to save money. If you do a lot of long
distance calling, unlimited calling fixed-
3. When reviewing different ways to arrange for long distance calling services,
keep in mind that in-
4. Look at all the options and choose the least expensive one that meets your needs. And remember to review your decision once in a while. Competition changes pricing all the time. Here are some options to consider.
a. Consider using a smaller, less well known long distance company. They usually have lower rates and the quality is usually just as good. Also, most larger companies round up your call time to the nearest minute, while many small companies round up to the nearest six seconds.
b. If the majority of your calls are intrastate, look for a low intrastate calling plan.
c. Consider using long distance dial access codes to bypass the local phone company.
For instance, if you dial 10-
d. Keep in mind that many long distance services where you dial 1-
5. Pre-
a. Prepaid calling cards provide long distance service at a cost as low as three cents per minute. They are generally available in retail stores, although the best prices are probably available at discount clubs like Sam’s Club and Costco.
b. Check out the per minute cost for different prepaid cards for domestic long distance, international long distance and intrastate calling. With some cards, intrastate calling can be five times as expensive.
c. Sometimes cards, particularly those sold in convenience stores, have hidden fees. Check to make sure there are no monthly fees, expiration dates or minimum usage charges for each call, including uncompleted calls.
d. Make sure the card is “rechargeable” so you can just call up and add minutes by using your credit card. This allows you to avoid having to change access codes.
e. Many people feel that the need to dial an 800 number and use an access code is too much trouble. Much of this problem can be avoided if you have phones with memory dialing. Just program in the 800 number and the access code. To make a call, speed dial the 800 number and then speed dial the access code and then just dial the number you want to call. Some cards allow you to set up your commonly dialed phone numbers so they do not even require an access code. Just dial (or speed dial) the 800 number and then dial the number you are calling. You can set the speed dial option up on all of the phones in your house that have this capability.
6. Use your cell phone for long distance calling if you have plenty of minutes and long distance calling is included in your plan. If you are already paying for this service it does not cost anything additional.
