I am currently trying unravel the complexities of telecommunications services – home home, mobile phone, home and portable internet services.
What do we really need? Are we getting value for money from our current setup?
I don’t believe we are getting the services we need at the best available price so I am reviewing our choices. I am guilty of delaying this assessment because it just seemed too complicated. There are different providers all offering different levels of service, bundled options and inclusions/exclusions so trying to work out what suits our needs best can be tricky.
Last night I finally bit the bullet and worked out what we are spending each month. That was a wake-up call! $210/month for our landline, 2 mobile phones, home broadband and mobile broadband services. These are spread across 3 different providers.
My research so far indicates that we should be able to get services we need from a single provider and with some minor changes to the way we use the services we can possibly save $90/month. That is over $1,000 /year that we have been ‘wasting’. This is possibly still not the very cheapest but there are other things such as network coverage, service and reliability that are important to us. It is up to you to work out your priorities but it has definitely been worth making the effort to sort out the best deals for us.
I still need to ring the provider and confirm a couple of details before we go ahead with the new arrangement but so fat it is looking good.
In conjunction with my new plan we are considering buying iPhones. We plan to buy them outright and are looking at the 5C model. I have never used a ‘smartphone’ and The Duke has had an HTC which he has not used to its full potential. So, to all of you techno wizards out there, I would love it if you could shed some light on any of the questions below.
What is your monthly data allowance and how do you use it?What is Facetime and how does it work?
iPhone vs Android? Your experiences and thoughts?
Must have Apps?
Anything else I should keep in mind?
Have you reviewed your telecommunications expenses lately? What about other expenses like car, utilities or insurances?
organised castle 
Haggle! I spent 2 hours discussing a iPhone with my provider via msg on the computer (4am to 6am quiet time) and after 2 hours of refusing all the offers I was given a inexpensive plan I was already on, a reduction in the phone cost and a $50 credit for my 1st 2 bills.
Well done on the haggling and the outcome. It certainly pays to take your time and not necessarily accept the first offer.
What is your monthly data allowance and how do you use it? I have 2.5GB by AldiMobile, which is really rebranded Telstra, meaning great coverage for phone calls.
What is Facetime and how does it work? It’s calling with a video connection. Like skype. It’s a apple/iphone thing, and I’ve yet to use it
iPhone vs Android? Your experiences and thoughts? I have always had a android phone, never top of the line, one was a friend’s hand me down, one I bought outright, but gave up with last week as it ran slow, and I couldn’t answer phone calls (OFTEN) which is it’s main purpose really. Moved to a iphone 4 (the BF’s old phone) and it’s also a little slow, but can always answer calls.
Must have Apps? Googlemaps (will be part of a android, not part of an apple phone, applemaps are very bad!), runkeeper (as I run), MyFitnessPal (calorie tracking), Units converter (for baking etc), Freecell (for keeping busy on public transport). I wouldn’t say I’m a huge apps user, honestly, and the two food/fitness ones go through periods of regular use and no use later!
Anything else I should keep in mind? You’ll need to charge nightly, if not more often (if you use navigation it chews battery), so multiple charges – one at work that charges through USB and one at home, and even on in the handbag. Put it on airplane mode overnight to save getting any calls/texts/noises/notifications, and generally save battery. learn how to close apps/programs (different for different phones) so it chews less battery too
Have you reviewed your telecommunications expenses lately? What about other expenses like car, utilities or insurances? I pay $35 per month to have the 2.5GB of data, pluc phone calls and texts (there’s a limit, but I never reach it). It’s cheaper for more data than anyone else, and I’m with Aldi because I was sick of Vodafone’s poor coverage previously, and their promises to improve it were too slow. I always buy the phone outright, no plan, so I have maximum flexibility. We don’t have a home phone. The BF had a package for his mobile & tablet ($90 per month or thereabouts) which he pays for, the amount is about to drop as I think he’s ‘paid off’ his tablet component of the plan. He also manages our internet, and the cost comes out of our shared account. I have a very low interest in the variable options for internet service, and am happy to split costs on what I know he’d otherwise get. When I lived alone, my phone’s interest was enough (thus my focus on data usage figures).
And to your other question, just reviewed contents insurance, saved money AGAIN, and less AGAIN than every other year – incredible!
Sarah, Thank you for your carefully thought out and detailed response. I will definitely be referring to some of your answers as I work on unravelling the mysteries of my phone and data plans. Much appreciated. 🙂