It seems that everyone's tied to a telephone these days. There's no need to go broke just so you can stay in touch. Try some of the ways listed below to save money on your telephone bill:

• Change your level of service
• Call your phone company, and find out exactly what's included in your basic service plan, and see if there's a way to lower the plan and save money. Maybe you can substitute higher priced, unlimited calling for a less expensive plan that has a set number of calls you can make each month.
• Shop around for better telephone rates
• When you set up your telephone service, you may not have known about all your options. Make sure you are getting the best price for your service.
• Limit your long-distance calls
• While long-distance fees have come down over the years, they can still add up to a lot of money if you're not careful. Most plans have special rates for evenings or weekends, so you might want to limit your calls to those times. Better yet, write letters or e-mail instead of long-distance calling.
• Drop extra services such as caller ID and call waiting
• Extra telephone services are nice to have, but they're also costly. If you have any of them, take a look at your phone bill to see how much you're really spending.
• Use the phone book instead of directory assistance
• It's so easy to pick up the phone and dial directory assistance, but it may be costing you money each time you do it. Keep your phone book handy, so you can look up the number yourself and avoid the extra cost on your phone bill.

For more suggestions on lowering phone expenses, see the State of Maine's articleThe Anatomy of a Phone Bill and How to Save Money and tips for saving on phone bills. Also, read tips 53 through 58 of 66 Ways to Save Money.

Another alternative is to drop landline telephone service and use a cell phone instead. See the blog articleWould you cut the cord on your landline phone service? For advice on acquiring telephone service based on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), see the articleSwitching to VoIP.

Take control of your finances with our debt help tools. Use our calculators and budget planner to help you manage your money.

For more information about telephone and Internet expenses, search the CareOne Credit Knowledge Center Articles.

To learn about our debt management program, see the CareOne Credit Quick Answer Guide.

• Selecting a Local Phone Provider - Phone service is an ever changing industry. There are several different types of providers available. Discover which one fits your plan.
  
  
• Long Distance Services - If you are considering long distance for you local phone you may not realize that you have many options. Learn the difference between flat and variable rates and which plan fits your calling pattern.
  
  
• Making the Switch in Long Distance Service - Not satisfied with your current provider or just looking for better rates? Follow these steps to a better plan for your long distance service.