You likely associate your smartphone and data plan as a hefty expense you have to deal with each month, but have you considered the number of ways your smartphone can save you money?
Not only are there dozens of ways your phone can reduce expenses through apps that provide coupons, gas station locators and comparison-shopping tools, but your smartphone and data plan can actually eliminate a few bills in your life.
Here are five bills that a smartphone and data plan can cut from your life, allowing you to keep more money in your pocket.
Landline. This is the most obvious cutback that you can make using your smartphone. Most of the features of a landline are duplicated with a cellphone, plus you have the portability that a cellphone provides. Today, even services like 911 work well with cellphones, leaving people with few reasons to keep a landline.
Another option to consider is voice over IP services like Skype that enable you to make free phone calls anywhere in the world. I have used Skype to keep in touch with friends in Japan and Australia without any additional cost, and it works quite well on a smartphone.
Home Internet. If you have a robust data plan and don’t have significant home Internet use needs (such as computer games that require a low latency), you can get most of your home Internet needs right from your data plan. Many phones can be attached to computers to provide data access. Others can be turned into a Wi-Fi access point (often for a small additional cost) so that other devices you own, like tablets, can access the Internet wherever your phone is.
If you live in an area with 4G or 3G coverage, the speed of Internet access is quite good. Again, this comes with a nice advantage if you’re a laptop or tablet user — your Internet access goes with you wherever you go.
Cable television. If you have a robust data plan, your phone can partially replace your cable television needs. If you add tools to the mix, like a digital antenna that can be installed in your home and attached to your television to receive free digital television signals, you can replace the vast majority of options for television viewing.
There are many ways to bridge your cellphone with your television using devices such as Apple TV and Chromecast, enabling you to share what you’re watching on your cellphone screen with your television if you so wish. This opens up a wide range of options like Netflix and YouTube, which, combined with your digital antenna, provide access to more content than you could ever watch.
Magazine subscriptions. There’s no need to pay for magazine subscriptions when most content for print publications can be found online. For example, Wired, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Vegetarian Times are print publications that offer a large portion of their content on their websites for free.
Many magazine articles are readable on a phone screen, particularly on the larger end of the smartphone size spectrum. I’ve actually found that my time spent reading magazines has increased over the last several years thanks to the prevalence of so much great content online.
Automobile payments and insurance. I have at least two friends who have sold their automobiles in the past year, switching entirely to mass transit, Uber and Lyft. The convenience of being able to board mass transit and get a ride from almost any point in their city from their smartphones made that transition easy for them.
If you live in a city near a mass transit line, it’s worth considering your options when it comes to transportation. You may just find that a life without a car is very possible, and your smartphone makes that life far easier than you might think.
Your smartphone — and the power of the Internet — provide unlimited opportunities to save money through the reduction and elimination of many expenses. Even if you don’t find all the options useful, it’s likely that between these bill elimination tips and tools for reducing spending, you can pay for your smartphone bill and more each month.
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5 Bills Your Smartphone Can Eliminate originally appeared on usnews.com
