It is up to you to make your free cell phone minutes last as long as possible.  If you have ever had a cell phone, you probably preferred unlimited talk and text; but that is not the case with government phones.  You use 250 minutes pretty quickly if your are not careful.  Here are some basic tips to help you get the most out of these free government phones.

 Tracking your Free Cell Phone Minutes

Your phone may have a feature that will let your know how many free cell minutes you have left.  If not, you will have to do this yourself, by taking notice of when your call began and when it end.  If you don’t do this you can easily use much of your time in 2 or 3 days.  Now you are left with no minutes for the rest of the week.  If you are on a strict budget, you may not have an extra 15 or 20 dollars to purchase more time.   Check out how to add more time to your Tracfone.

Making Business Calls

When making a business call, you can use a lot of time if you are not prepared when you make the call.  If you don’t have the information you need on hand, you can spend  unnecessary time looking for a pen, paper, credit card and account numbers.  Anticipate what information you will need to have available  before you make your business calls.  This seems  obvious, but you surprisingly, many people do not do this.  If you are not prepared, you can kiss your free cell phone minutes good-bye

Keep your Phone in One Place

Some  government phones are small and very easy to misplace.  If you in your purse, don’t drop it in the bottom of you bag, you will never find it.  Put it the slot allowed for cell phones, or in the change part of your purse.  That way when you get a call you will quickly be able to reach it.  When you are home, put your phone in the same place every time.

Be Selective in Giving out your New Number

Don’t give your number to ‘everyone!’  Only give your number to people you really need to communicate with on a regular basis.  If you give your number to everyone you know, you will use up your free cell phone minutes in no time.  Don’t forget, you use up minutes whether you call them or they call you!

When the keypad is too small

Let’s face it, if you had picked your own phone, you would have chosen the common bells and whistles. Your government cell phone may not have all the features you want, but this is not a problem.  You can always upgrade your phone, as long as the model is compatible with your government cell phone provider.  Some free cellular companies will allow you to use your old phone.  Check with cell phone provider.

 Using your Old Number

Some companies will allow you to switch over your previous phone number if it has not been assigned to someone else.  It will depend on your cell phone provider. You provider will have their rules in their FAQ section.

*In  The News*

Setting the record straight on the FCC Lifeline program (By Jessica J. González)

Much has been made in the media by the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline program, which helps make telephone service more affordable for poor families. Most of the media coverage, however, has been slanted and misleading.  Last month I testified at a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce’s subcommittee on (Read More)