Western Bureau:
IN THE BEGINNING was the telephone, in the middle was the bill, near the end was the reminder to pay and, finally, there was disconnection.
Talk is not, contrary to what is popularly bandied about, cheap - and, the more you talk on the telephone the more it adds up to a hefty bill at the end of the month. So, if you are going to get that bill down, you will have to take serious steps.
And remember, every second really adds up. Even if we are talking about land lines here.
As in all savings efforts, the key is self-control and discipline - with the added factor that, if you are not the only person who is using the instrument, then you will have to impose discipline on others.
The first step is, naturally, to use the telephone less. How many phone calls do we really need to make and how much of them are just a matter off chatting away. It can be argued that it is a matter of keeping in touch. True, but if you really, really want to keep in touch then a visit every now and then would be nice.
It is much more personal and, if it is the area that you make local telephone calls to, a four-hour visit certainly costs less than a four-hour phone call.
Schedule calls. This is done in two ways, with savings on both sides. Schedule them by making a note of all the calls you plan to make and then doing them at one sitting. This way, you know ahead of time what you are going to do and, knowing that there are more to make, you automatically put a limit on each one.
Which is the other way scheduling works. Put a limit on the time you spend on the telephone with each call. If you do not, you will find that you go on and on - and the bill goes up and up.
Plus, it is like going to the supermarket without a definite idea of what you want. You just keep picking up more and more items and you don't know just where the money has gone.
Remove all unneeded features from your telephone. Sure, it may be 'only' $50, but it all adds up. Plus, it is a strong psychological restraint as well.
Lay down the law, especially when teenagers are involved. If you are unpopular, but you can put food on the table every day, it is well worth it. If they cannot control themselves, then get one of those excellent systems that restricts long-distance calls - or just get a telephone that requires a code.
Do not make cellular telephone calls from your land line. Repeat. Do not make cellular telephone calls from your land line. That is, unless it is an emergency. The rates are horrendously high and, unlike when you are using a cellular phone, you are not aware of just how much time you are spending nattering away - until the bill arrives.
Internet connections have a way of sending bills way, way up. Sure, the Internet is fast becoming a necessity - and using MSN Messenger does cost less than overseas calls - but spending hours upon hours in a chatroom will reflect in the bill.
Reading and responding to messages also takes up telephone time. If there are many - and many long - messages in your Inbox, then save the webpages, read them offline and compose your replies offline as well. Then you log on and send them off.
With these tips, you should be able to get those bills a bit lower - or much lower.
