Most people have at least one phone, if not two or more, that they have access to and that they pay monthly bills for. Having a phone is a must-have for emergencies and for being able to contact friends, family or coworkers, but having an expensive phone, but having an expensive phone bill is definitely not required. By following a few simple tips to save on your telephone costs, you can enjoy savings month after month.

Drop the Landline

One of the best ways to save money on your phone service is to drop your landline. Dropping your landline is a no-brainer if you already have cell phone service, since your cell phone provides you with lower cost long distance than your home phone and since you already have a phone that you can take with you anywhere.

If you don’t have a cell phone, though, dropping your landline can still be a wise financial choice. There are a number of options out there for free or very low cost calling, from MagicJack to Skype to Vonage or another VOIP service. With some of these costing as low as a few dollars a month (or nothing at all), there’s no reason to pay a traditional telephone service provider any more. Options like Google Voice will even let you forward your calls to any number and will give you great features like voicemail to email so you can always be connected. More features for less money just makes sense.

Drop the Home Long Distance

If you aren’t convinced that it’s time to drop your landline, at a minimum you should look into dropping long distance on your home phone. Even if you aren’t making long distance calls, you are probably still paying something just for the privilege of being able to make long distance calls, and there’s no reason to pay for something you aren’t using.

Optimize Your Cell Service

Your home phone isn’t the only way to save- you can also lower costs on your cell phone service as well. One way to do this is to get only the features you need. If you don’t text or don’t access the Internet on your phone, be sure you aren’t paying for a texting package. If you aren’t using your minutes each month, then cut back to a plan that allows you less minutes for less money. By looking at your actual usage and comparing it to the plans available, you can make sure you are paying only for the things you really need.

If you aren’t a big phone user, you can also consider using a pay-as-you go phone. These phones allow you to buy minutes only when you need them and you can roll the minutes over from month to month as long as you never let them expire. These phones also give you the major benefit of not being tied to a telephone contract, so you can change your usage as your needs change.