These Tips Will Help You Save Money for Mobile Data Fees

With internet access in almost every corner of the world these days, it is easy to stay connected wherever you decide to travel. There are different ways for you to get internet access. Of course, you need to book a hotel that offers free Wi-Fi services. Although it is a good option, not all hotels have stable Wi-Fi. Another option is to buy a local sim that can let you use mobile data easily. This is perhaps the best and cheapest option, but you need to find a place to buy the sim first and register your personal information. The country’s local language is also usually required for registration so doing it on your own could be a challenge.

For a lot of travelers, the most convenient option is to just use their sim back home and connect using the roaming internet services. It is quite expensive, but it guarantees internet connection. There are ways though to lower the cost of mobile data use.

Using Google Maps

Obviously, you need Google Maps to locate places when you are overseas. The down side is that using the maps for just 10 minutes could blow your fees up to over $40. This is an amount you could not afford to waste. The best option is to stick with paper maps (like what most travelers used to do) or ask from locals on how to go from one place to another.

Disabling weather widgets

You might not necessarily notice the weather widget on your phone. You can check it when you need it, but you can live without it. However, what you don’t know is that the constant weather update actually spikes your mobile data fees. Turning it off helps save more money. It also helps save battery.

Use Facebook wisely

Uploading photos and videos actually cost more than just browsing the app. Wait until you get back to your hotel where there is free Wi-Fi before doing so. If not, you don’t have to keep posting updates. Once you return home, you can upload all photos you want to share at once. You may also switch off the AutoPlay function so you can decide when to update the newsfeed.

Never check emails

When you are on a vacation mode, make sure it is really a vacation. Leave all work-related activities behind. This includes responding to emails. To convince you to ditch your email, you have to understand that opening mails would cost a lot. You are just opening one mail but the entire volume of the mail plus the attachments downloaded to your phone. This is what spikes the cost.

Turn the notifications off

You can just push the notifications off since you don’t need all those updates anyway. Just go to the settings to instantly turn them off. They might just be short notices, but they consume huge data. If you can wait until you get better internet access before turning the notifications back on, it would be better.

With these tips on how to save money in getting internet access, it won’t be difficult for you anymore.

Photo Attribution:

Featured and 1^st image http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/10/technology/new-verizon-plans/index.html

2^nd image from http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/78444683/using-google-maps-may-reduce-the-amount-of-gray-matter-in-your-brain