Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Personal Finance News Tuesday 7/24

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Struggling to pay your cell phone bill?
By Clark Howard

Are you like two-thirds of Americans who, by their own telling, are struggling to pay their cell phone bill each month? I've got solutions for you.

A new poll finds that 68% of Americans have trouble making their monthly cell phone bill because it's so high, according to what I read in The Orange County Register. The survey, done by CouponCodes4U.com, took into account the responses of 1,623 Americans from the age of 18 to 35.

Wow! That's a real wake-up call, particularly for those with AT&T and Verizon. I hear all the time from people who say they can't leave their cell phone carrier because they're "under contract" or "have a family plan."

The reality is you have to start planning your exit strategy now, regardless of where you are in your contract. If you have a fancy smart phone, especially an iPhone, you can sell it on eBay and probably get enough money to cover your early termination fees.

Leave AT&T and Verizon to the big fat cats in corporate America! If you need to watch your wallet, you need to migrate away from them. (Sprint and T-Mobile are in their own orbit and can in fact offer some deals for families.)

In general, you'll get a better deal from any of the Big 5 discounters: Straight Talk, Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Cricket, and Metro PCS. They offer smartphone service that's effectively less than half the cost per line than AT&T or Verizon.

If you're still using AT&T or Verizon, you are throwing away maybe $1,000 a year. Check out these other companies and you'll have a great shot of saving big dough.

Please listen to the Clark Howard show live from 1-3 EST daily:
http://www.clarkhoward.com/

Scripture of the Day from Dave Ramsey.com:
Psalm 9:12 — Blessed is he man you discipline, O Lord, he man you teach from your law.

Please listen to the Dave Ramsey show live on WOR 710 from 2-4 PM EST. You can also listen to the 3rd hour 4-5 PM EST. at Dave Ramsey.com.

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