I’m always amazed how many people think that the fact they are “only” spending $100 a month for cell phone service is a great deal. I’ll preface my comments by saying that if the cell phone is your home phone and/or you use your cell phone for business and emails quite often, then maybe you need a powerful do everything plan that costs something like that. On the other hand, I believe there are quite a few people who are paying far more for their cell phone service than they really would have to.

Cell phone companies are far from immune to the horrible downturn the economy has taken in the last few months, so there are clearly some special offers out there right now. Several of the major cell phone carriers are trying to offer special introductory rates to keep their subscribers on board in these tough times. Sprint is offering special plans for those who love to send text messages as well as those who typically receive incoming calls rather than calling out to others. T*Mobile is still offering the MyFaves plan that allows you to have unlimited minutes to 5 of your closest friends.

Are you paying for things that you could be getting cheaper? A prime example is text messaging services. Companies like Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, all offer plans that give you a certain amount of text messages for a reasonable amount monthly. The amazing thing to me is that there continue to be so many users who simply pay 20 or 25 cents for every text message sent and received.

I urge consumers to check their credit card bill and see if there is anything you could cut back on. Even if you are only paying $50 a month, if you could get a similar plan for $40 you could save yourself $120 in a year. Every little bit matters in today’s economy!