If you find yourself paying through the nose each month for your internet service, it might be time to figure out how you can save more without totally sacrificing the quality of your internet. Especially now, with more people working from home than ever, it’s important to have internet services that help you complete the tasks you need to do. However, you should not have to empty your wallet just so you can stream movies or pay your bills online without buffering or interruptions.
To guide you through, we’ve given you some tips and tricks below that you can test out to lower your internet service rates.
2. Get a Lower Plan – If you have a large family who is constantly streaming music and shows, playing video games, and browsing online, you might need a higher plan. If you don’t have many people in your home, then you probably don’t. Take a look at the details of your current internet plan and see how many Mbps you are getting with your service and how much you’re paying for your speeds. If it’s more than you need or more than you’re even using, consider dropping down to a lower plan.
Often, you can save anywhere from $20-40 a month just by switching to a more basic plan, and if you don’t need those speeds anyway, you definitely won’t notice a difference. As a general guide, if you have 1-3 people in your house who use the internet for gaming, streaming, and browsing, you need about 30 Mbps, whereas a household of 4-7 people may need 70 Mbps.
3. Bundle Your Entertainment Services – Often, internet service providers give lower rates or deals to customers who bundle with other services that they offer such as phone or TV service. If you’re paying a lot for TV or phone service already, switching these services to a provider where you already get your internet service from may be in your best interest because:
4. Inquire About Other Deals/Discounts – Though you might feel awkward asking, it can never hurt to inquire about other deals or discounts you could take advantage of to save on your monthly bill. Many providers have discounts for students or seniors, and providers like DISH Network even have discounts for active duty/veteran military members.
5. Research Government Subsidies – If you fall between or below a particular income threshold, you may be eligible to use government subsidies to get broadband internet at your home. You can learn more about the Lifeline Program for Low-Income Consumers on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website. Many internet providers do this including the good ones like MetroNet.
6. Negotiate Your Bill – If you’re hesitant to switch providers just yet but still want to find a way to save money, try negotiating your bill with your current provider. You can do this by finding other rates from competitors and broaching the topic that way when you call your ISP. If you’re going to do this, you should be prepared to cancel your service at that moment if you feel that they’re not offering any means to save. Additionally, keep in mind that you should stay calm, cool, and polite: some providers do not allow reps to give discounts to customers who become angry and aggressive on the phone, so keeping your composure is important (plus, it’s the nice thing to do anyway).
7. Shop Around For Other Providers – As we said in #6, you should be prepared to cancel your service if your current provider cannot meet your needs, but that means that beforehand you should conduct some research to find an alternative internet provider. Some details/specs to look out for in an alternative provide are:
8. Get Rid of Your Unlimited Data Plan – Though we already mentioned dropping your service down to a lower plan, another way to save is by getting rid of your unlimited data. The truth is that most users barely even scratch the service of their monthly data allotments, which means you’re spending money on a service you’re not fully utilizing. Choosing a mobile plan instead that gives you a data cap might be a better plan. Before downgrading, check your past bills/invoices or call your provider so you can see how much data you actually used each month prior.