Don’t let bills drain your wallet

You might have noticed Aldi’s billboard message suggesting you ‘question your telco plan’.

This bit of valuable marketing is something we should all make plans to do.

I was with a client recently who wanted to swap over their home internet and mobile phone plan to different options, and we saved her $1000 per year in just two hours together.

This is equivalent to an extra trip away per year or that new couch you’ve been putting off. Why aren’t we all doing this?

Sticking with Telstra and Optus because that’s who we’ve always been with means these two giants can continue to charge high prices for their services. Most of the other services are run off the same lines. So, for a lower cost, you’re getting the same service.

The major cost in running technology is your connection to the internet. Getting online through your home internet and mobile phone is fairly essential.

Home internet provides services for your computer, allows you to stream channels on your TV and scroll on Facebook, and offers a home phone if you need one. In comparison, your mobile phone provides this outside the phone, as well as calling and texting.

For the average senior user who wants to stream a show every now and again, send emails and catch up on the news, fast, flashy, expensive plans are generally not the way to go.

For your home internet, 25Mbps (which is a measure of how much data can be received at once – megabits per second) will suit most. Paying more for services that provide higher rates than this is usually excessive for the average user.

Usually, the home internet plans are ‘unlimited’, which means that there is no cap on how much you can download or view over the month.

In order for the internet to run, you’ll need a modem/router. This is the black or white box that plugs into the wall. Most people use this word interchangeably, which is fine – often they are both a modem and a router.

Optus and Telstra usually provide this in their internet plans if you stay with them for a duration, and might make you pay for it if you cancel early.

Sometimes you have to pay upfront. With alternative service providers, it’s commonplace for them to sell you a name-brand modem that is pre-set up, or you can BYO and get it set up.

As long as the modem is compatible with your service and new, it should provide decent internet. There are not usually huge upsides to getting the more expensive one versus the cheaper one.

Some providers to look at are Flip, Aussie Broadband, Dodo and Tangerine. They often offer even cheaper deals for the first six months. My client went with a Flip plan for $55.90 per month, saving $30 per month compared with Telstra.

I’ve covered the mobile plan before, but here it is again: as far as I’m concerned, the most cost-efficient plan is Aldi’s 4G 10GB data with unlimited calls and texts for $19 – the SIM Only Plan. It’s got unlimited data rollover. So, if you don’t use your data, it rolls over to next month’s plan. Aldi’s plans are run on the Telstra network.

To put it in perspective, Optus’ cheapest SIM Only Plan is more than double at $49 per month, and Telstra’s is $62 per month (both with a few more benefits, including 5G and more data). You can also keep your number, and it’s not too complicated to set up. Plus, if you need more data, you can just upgrade your plan.

Take a moment to review your internet and mobile plans – it could lead to substantial savings each year. If you’re unsure where to start or find the process overwhelming, Greyology is here to help.

 Edin Read is founder and chief technician at Greyology Tech Support for Seniors. Visit greyology.com.au.