If you've got a large family that includes teenagers, the chances are you have a fairly large monthly landline telephone bill too. That's because, even though most adults and children in the 21st century have their own mobile phones, using a landline is an easy option if you're out of credit, have a dead cell phone battery or you know someone else will foot the bill.
However, while it can be hard to monitor telephone use if there are multiple people in your home, it is still possible to lower your landline bills if you enforce a few simple rules upon your family.
Restricting call times and avoiding premium rate numbers
First, write up a list of rules and stick them on a wall near the telephone. The exact rules you include will depend on your individual household, but one of the most important is to restrict calls to evenings and weekends. Phone call charges are higher during the day as this is the peak time for phone usage. Instead, make sure your family makes calls only after 6pm or on a Saturday and Sunday. This is easy enough during term time but can become a particular problem during the school holidays.
Another bill-lowering solution is to ban your family from calling mobile numbers from your landline, except in an emergency. Mobile numbers can cost significantly more to call than landlines and extended calls to mobile phones often account for the bulk of a high telephone bill. Premium rate numbers - such as those than begin with 0870, 0871 or 0844 - should also be included in this ban, unless phoning them is absolutely necessary.
Changing your provider and looking for alternatives
If the rules you have enforced don't seem to be working, it might be time to think about switching your provider instead. Some landline telephone providers offer customers a bundle of free minutes at weekends and evenings or half-price monthly fees for the first few months of your contract. Don't be completely taken in by these offers, however, as the price per minute for phone calls is important too. And if you want to lower all your household bills, a new phone package that includes broadband or a digital TV subscription could offer a handy solution.
Another alternative is to stick with your current provider but turn to phone cards or an access number. These options are particularly beneficial to households that regularly call friends or family overseas as they provide cheap international calls at considerably lower cost than is standard on a BT phone line. Calls to Australia, for instance could be made for as little as one or two pence per minute, saving you over 20 pence per minute on the usual BT rate.
Harvey McEwan writes to offer information and advice on a variety of areas, from technology to holiday destinations. Read through Harvey's other articles here to find out more.
By Harvey McEwan
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Harvey_McEwan