6 Steps to save $1,875/yr in telecommunication costs and nab me an iPhone 4S FREE!

I made some big leaps today and I’m poised to save $1,875 in 2012.

It all started when the battery in my Sprint Overdrive device started to die.  I was just going to replace it, but I wasn’t to my upgrade eligibility date yet, so I waited.  During the wait, I called AT&T and started piecing together that I could review my plan and save a whole lot of money!!

1) I changed from 3000 shared minute to a 900 min per month
I originally had 5 phones on this plan, but over the past years, I got rid of 4 of them and went back to just me on the plan.
2) I got rid of my Sprint Overdrive and turned my iPhone into a hotspot
Even though I was grandfathered in with unlimited iPhone data ;-(, I was only using 2G/month on my phone, so 4G/month should be sufficient.
It was going to cost me $50 to upgrade my device, now I have a shot at selling it on eBay and getting money back.
In addition while I love Sprint and the Overdrive, the battery only lasted 3 hours and it was very slow to turn on, meaning it was off most of the time.
With the iPhone, it’s always on, it’s one less device to lug around so I’ll think it’ll be more functional.
3) I went from group unlimited texting to individual texting
I saved $10 here because I’m not longer on a group plan.
4) I changed from a business plan to a personal plan
You’ll see why in a moment.
5) I then took advantage of my Harley Davidson Owners Group Lifetime Membership benefit which has a 17% discount with AT&T
I had to do this to take advantange of my HOG discount which requires an individual account.
Because the 900 min is not unlimited I get 17% back of that too, if it’s unlimited then there’s no discount.  17% of $60 = $10.20 per month x 12 = $122.40 savings per year.
6) I’m ordering a sparkling new iPhone 4S for $400 and then I’ll put my prestine iPhone 4 up for sale on craigslist for $400, the current going rate, meaning FREE upgrade!

Before
$140 - 3000 shared minutes
$ 30 - unlimited data
$ 30 - unlimited group texting
$ 60 - Sprint Overdrive
—-
$260/month

After
$ 60 - 900 shared minute, with weekend and nightly calling
$ 20 - unlimited texting, also free cell to cell minutes
$ 45 - 4G data with 5 device hotspot
——————
$125
-$ 21.25    17% HOG Discount ($21.25 x 12 = $255/year savings for this discount alone!)
————–
$103.75/month

$260 - $103.75 = $156.25 x 12 months = $1,875.00

Even with $10/1G data overage and .40/min cell overage and I have rollover minutes, this should fit my lifestyle at the present moment and give me plenty of room to go over when I need to.

If you’re continuing to cost cut, have you reviewed your telecommunications plan and is there something you can do to save money?

I’ve been keeping up on the latest ideas for holiday parties and if you’re planning your now, here are some of the coolest ideas I’ve come across.

1. Ice Carving - Get a block of ice, light it from the bottom and get a drill to carve words into the ice. Interactive and fun, drilling ice is cool, Creative Ice in Seattle does this.

2. Ceviche Martini - I’ve been to two parties with this cool food, you choose the seafood and they shake it with your choice of sauce and serve in a martini glass, yum.

3. Giving Back - Times are tough, do a team building event you can feel good about by volunteering part of a day at a non-profit.

4. Food Truck Catering - Food Trucks are hot and they serve amazing food such as the Bacon Jam I’ve been eating from Skillet, many are for hire and will get you amazing food for your party. Also you can also use companies like Parties That Cook to help you make your own food.

5. Cell phone photo scavenger hunts - This is a new breaking trend, using your cell phone and camera to organize fun photo scavenger hunts during the holiday party. Always leads to some hilarious photos.

Speaking of which, this is the 3rd Annual Geotouring Holiday and this year we’re using the cell phone scavenger hunt with Facebook-like status updates, real time high score list and over 100 missions to complete in 2 hours. As a holiday gift and thank you for being a fan, I’m giving away the first 50 tickets away free, and all other tickets are 50% off. Where else are you going to get a cool holiday event for $13? Every day 4-6pm Nov 25th to Dec 24th.

http://tinyurl.com/gtholidayFREE - First 50 registrations are FREE!

http://tinyurl.com/gtholiday - 50% off all subsequent registrations

Happy Holidays and here’s to celebrating with your most important teams in your life.

-John Chen

CEO, Geoteaming

http://geoteaming.com

john@geoteaming.com

(206) 856-8491