Smartphones can be an expensive thing to purchase. They’re often considered a luxury, with many people pacing their payments through a plan just to own one.

However, there are many money-saving opportunities to take advantage of here. These measures include purchasing the phone, managing its running, and using it to your advantage as a financial tool. There’s plenty to take stock of, and if you’re proactive, a significant amount of money to save, too.

What are the types of things to keep in mind here? How can you use a smartphone in a way that complicates your financial well-being rather than subtracts from it?

If you want to lead a money-saving lifestyle, but don’t quite know how to factor a smartphone into these goals, then you’ll find some guidance below to help you.

Look for a Cheaper Model

If you’re in the process of purchasing a new smartphone, know that the costs don’t always reflect the level of quality you can expect. You’d even be forgiven for thinking that iPhones are priced so extortionately due to the Apple brand image and not because of what they offer technologically.

Should you care about which brand made which phone, know that there are many budget smartphones that prove that you don’t have to spend a fortune for quality today. Therefore, you can save money as a smartphone user right from the beginning. Shop around sellers, field recommendations from your network, and browse customer reviews of each phone you’re interested in online.

Remember, the longer you spend researching here, the more likely you’ll find an excellent smartphone for an incredible price. Try not to buy into media hype around the newest iPhones being released. Recognise each new model is released annually with very few discernible differences to the one preceding it. Instead of following the crowd, put in some effort, and a cost-effective bargain will surely await you.

Delve into Review Sites

Every business that sells a product should have a presence on a review site. If they’re noticeably absent, it likely means that the service they’re running is not legitimate.

Browse these review sites and find the business that sells the smartphone you’re interested in. What do other people have to say about them? Did the product meet their expectations? Have any unexpected costs been incurred?

Try to authenticate the reviews you see, too. If each contributor has a user profile, investigate it to ensure they’re a real person offering legitimate critiques and not just a spam bot publishing one line verdicts.

If you want the latest and most expensive smartphones, you need to make sure the purchase you make is the right one. Otherwise, you could be stuck with a phone you do not wish for on a tariff you likely don’t want. Eye-watering amounts of money can be wasted here. Of course, you’ll also need to buy the device you do want, which will add to your expenses significantly too.

Consider SIM Only Plans

A SIM only plan allows you to choose the number of minutes, data, and texts you’d like to use. You won’t need to purchase a new mobile phone here, which is the main money-saving aspect of this potential upgrade.

Investigate the Lebara SIM only plans for further insights into what’s possible. You are not locked into the plan you choose at all, which means you can cancel at any time for any reason. There are no credit checks, bill shocks, or strings attached either, giving you an accessible and affordable way of using your device. The service is rated excellently on Trustpilot as well, giving you true peace of mind.

Of course, similar agreements might mean that you are stuck with a phone with tariffs and providers you don’t like. However, because Lebara’s plans roll over after 30 days, you always have the option to cancel your arrangement and look for better deals that suit you. That flexibility is crucial, particularly if your money management practices require more sensitivity under challenging times.

Purchase a Case

You’re likely proud of the design of your smartphone, especially if it’s instantly recognisable as the latest and greatest iteration. If you feel that pride, you may not wish to suppress your style with a case for your phone.

However, cases are an essential investment and will undoubtedly help you dodge repair fees in future. They may make the holding of your phone slightly clunkier, but the amount of protection they provide for your device is second to none. Without them, you will live in fear of dropping your phone and tallying massive feeds and phoneless periods while you wait for fixes.

Additionally, cases can come in different designs too. Some can possess your favourite colour schemes, while others can be decorated with logos and characters from your most-cherished TV show. Others can even be custom-designed, depending on who you shop from. Shop around without worrying about cramping your style.

It’s also worth mentioning that smartphone cases can be exceedingly cheap. You’ll rarely pay more than a few pounds for them, so there are no drawbacks to their inclusion.

Download Money Management Apps

Your smartphone can be a reliable financial tool. If you’ve ever been unsatisfied with the way you manage your money, your device could make a profound difference in your life.

Each device likely comes with a calculator already installed, helping you do your figures smoothly and efficiently. However, you can obviously go beyond this with the best money management apps available and mobile banking apps. You can track your spending, manage your pension, control your investments, and engage with various other financial services.

Of course, everything is in one place here. Managing your finances exclusively through your brick-and-mortar bank may cause you to have various folders and paperwork scattered around your home. Staying on top of all the relevant data can be tricky, but through your phone, everything is there at the swipe of a screen. This can make leading a money-saving lifestyle far less complicated.

The best money management apps can also adjust your budget in real-time too. If you are an impulsive spender, the software could help you to change your behaviour and slowly lead a more frugal lifestyle. Ultimately, used wisely, your phone can be a massive contributor to your money-saving tendencies in your daily life.

Abandon Your Landline

If you have a smartphone, there’s no real need to own a landline. If someone else in your home is using one anyway, their activities will tally up additional phone bills, which are wholly unnecessary.

Remember that there’s recently been talk of phasing landlines out of use by 2025 anyway. Therefore, now is a good time to abandon yours entirely if you haven’t done so already. If you’d like to call someone from your home without using your mobile phone, you could use video calling software like Skype and Zoom for a more interpersonal (and free) chat. These arrangements can cut costs more significantly when it comes to long-distance calls.

Depending on the landline setup you have, you might even be able to sell it online for some extra cash. It would help if you manage your expectations here, but still, every penny counts.

You may also find that disposing of your landline simplifies your lifestyle somewhat, too, even if the ways it does so are only subtle. For example, you won’t need to waste time pouring through paperwork and considering deals that you don’t care for.