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For those of you who own a smartphone, you already know how much more convenient it is to keep up with your social networking,... How to Reduce Smartphone Expenses

For those of you who own a smartphone, you already know how much more convenient it is to keep up with your social networking, emails, and net surfing, especially when compared to using your old, basic flip-phone. Most likely, you are also well aware of how quickly your monthly bill can skyrocket, due to the massive amount of texts that you send out monthly, and all of those addicting 99 cent game apps that you just can’t pass up. After all, it’s only 99 cents, right?

How to Reduce Smartphone Expenses

But after a month of trying out a string of useful and entertaining apps, you could find yourself feeling quite overwhelmed with the pile of additional fees that will be tacked to the end of your bill. Some of you may have even considered going back to an old school phone to avoid the outrageous costs.

Before you do anything that drastic, consider reining in your cell phone spending by following a few tips that could help you noticeably cut your phone expense.

Reduce Your Monthly Plan

Chances are you are not even using a fraction of the unlimited data that you were convinced you need. To find out how much of this data you actually use, check your phone’s statistics. If you do use less than you pay for, you could save yourself a heap of cash by downgrading your data plan. However, you may have to show a little restraint in order to not exceed your plans limit.

Utilize Voice and Text Apps

Calls and texts can eat up your minutes and add hefty fees if you are not mindful of your usage, especially when you have family or acquaintances living outside of the country. By using apps like Viber, Whatsapp, and Skype you will have free calling and texting to anywhere, without ever needing to pay extra or worry about your dwindling minutes.

Search for Free Apps First

When browsing for new apps, or even if you have a specific one in mind, alway check for available free apps first. You may find that the $3.99 app you’ve been wanting offers a free version, with only a few limited features that you could surely live without.

Disable In-App Purchases

It’s not hard to get sucked in by the app store, with it’s multitude of  games and entertainment all available at the touch of your finger.If you find yourself, or more likely, your children, racking up a string of charges for coins to spend on Candy Crush Saga or Farmville 2, check your phones settings and simply turn off the option of in-app purchases.

Use Wi-Fi Whenever Possible

Anytime you can connect your phone to Wi-Fi, you stop paying for data, which is an ideal way to cope if you have a limited data plan. Not to mention the added speed to your connection which allows for easy video streaming and song downloads.

[Image via pro.truliablog]