I used to pay about $4,000 each year for telecommunications including internet. I also purchased a phone system back in 2005 when I hired employees. My telecommunication expenses were almost as much as my rent expense. My first Money Saving Idea for 2013 is cutting telecommunication expenses.
Do you really need landlines for phones or faxes? I cancelled by landlines and switched to Ooma for phone and Efax for faxes. I needed to buy the Ooma hardware for $99 and ported my phone number for $20. I pay $4 each month for the taxes on the service versus $60 per month for a landline. In two months, I recouped by initial investment. Efax costs $17 instead of $40 for an add on fax line. You will also need a scanner to send documents through Efax but my office printer already had one.
I also have a mobile phone. Wireless isn’t reliable enough in my area to only rely on my mobile phone. But I was able to reduce my monthly expense by $20 by negotiating the service.
I cancelled by 1-800 toll-free number as most of my clients don’t have to pay extra to call me.
I negotiated my internet service down to $50 per month from $70 by saying that I was leaving. Most internet providers will make a deal with you if you call them. You can also look into sharing internet with neighbors. It might not be ethical but it might be all you need.
So in 2012 I cut my telecommunications bill from $4,000 to about $1,700. I think $1,700 is still astronomical but I know that I made better use of the $2,300 in savings.
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