Canadians pay an obscene amount for cellphone and internet plans and while that’s not going to change in the coming months, there are steps you can take today to save some money on your monthly telecommunication bills. 

Call and ask

If you don’t ask, you don’t get. That’s been my approach through most of my life and it’s worked the majority of the time.
I make this call to my provider every three months (once a quarter) and most times, there’s something offered to me.
Whether it’s a short X-month promo of a few dollars off or a long-term X-dollar reduction, every dollar counts.
The crucial point her is the approach. Do not call with a sense of “you owe me this!” or any sense of entitlement. Be honest, up front, kind and calm during the call.
Simply explain that you’re looking to save money on your monthly bill and ask what options are available to you.
It helps if you’ve got longevity with the company as you can gently leverage that by saying “I’ve been a loyal customer for X years and hoping that can be acknowledged and rewarded by a reduction in my monthly bill.”

Examine your usage

The majority of cell phone plans have unlimited talking minutes and unlimited text messages, so there’s no risk of racking up overage fees there.
Data usage is where things can get expensive, with monstrous charges for going over your plan.
Examine your past six months of bills and if you’re consistently under your allotted amount of data, strongly consider changing your plan to the next lowest tier of data, which will come with a lower monthly cost.
If you’re constantly over, jump up a tier and pay a small amount more per month for the plan and save a lot by eliminating over usage fees.
Plenty of public places in most cities have free wifi, as do restaurants, retail stores, entertainment complexes/locations and of course, in your home, so closely review what your true non-wifi usage is and save some money.

Consider other providers

Cell phone companies thrive off getting new customers and in many cases, there’s a strong incentive provided to join them.
The benefit is that you’ll probably be given a plan lower than your existing one cost-wise, you’ll get a device at a lower cost and or you’ll be given some kind of sign-up gift (screen protector, cleaner, case, cable, etc.)
The drawback is that you lose the history with your current provider, you’ll have zero bargaining power with the new company, and while you can go back to the previous provider, you won’t have the same history as you’ll be seen as an entirely new customer.
Before you make the change, weigh your financial options, both short and long-term, very carefully.

Bundle your services

I feel almost everyone who’s eligible for this has done this but for those that haven’t, read on.
If you have your cell phone, internet, TV and home security (or any combination) with different companies, call around and see who can provide the best price if you move all your services to one provider. Chances are there’s a discount available for bundling all your services with them.
They win by increasing their monthly revenue from you and you win by seeing a reduction in your bill that could be a few dollars or a few percentage points.

Telus is the asterisk here as they don’t offer internet services in Ontario yet.
In my case, I’ve been with Telus since they were ClearNet in the late 90’s, so with over 25 years of loyalty, I’m not giving that up to anyone, especially Rogers, who provides my internet.
If I was with Bell or Rogers for my phone plan, I’d pick the better option for me and bundle my services.
This option isn’t for everyone but it’s still one worth exploring.

Cancel cable TV

The amount of streaming services and programming available via websites makes a helluva case for cancelling cable TV.
Yes, in select cases, you’re better off paying for cable monthly instead of paying to access something via a website weekly. These are specialty programs, like racing, special events, kids shows, etc.
There are channel bundles available so consider tossing the cable TV and picking specialty channels that specialize in your viewing needs.