GasBuddy

This popular application was first designed as a website, GasBuddy.com, but with the invention of smartphones it has gone mobile. This app will help you find the cheapest gas prices wherever you are in the United States or Canada. All you have to do is download the application and use your current location to give you a list of gas station prices nearby. One great feature of this application is the interaction between users; all the gas station prices are updated from commuters and include a time stamp, so you know when the price was entered. The application also allows for comments, so if you are dealing with a storm, like Hurricane Sandy, and need to know where the shortest line is, check out GasBuddy. You can GasBuddy for free from the iTunes store and through the Android market.

SmartFuel

Although this application is a little newer than GasBuddy, it claims that it has “the most accurate prices” of any other mobile application. Instead of using commentary from commuters, SmartFuel pulls its data from gas price databases. Some find that this information is more accurate than user submissions. The application lets you find the nearest gas stations by ZIP code or current location. All the results will show you prices of regular gas, with the option of seeing additional information. The first month of the application is free, but there’s a charge of $2.99 for full functionality. You can download this application from the iTunes store for your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

Cheap Gas!

A convenient feature of this app is that when you are presented with a list of stations, the results are sorted in order from the lowest price first. So if you are in an area that has a bunch of gas stations all close by, this application will give you the cheapest one without the need of having to scroll through the entire list. Additionally, when you click on the station you might be interested in going to, the application will give you the price of all the different gases from regular to diesel. Although the application doesn’t give you directions to the gas station, it will allow you to open the address in Maps, which can provide that information. This application is available for iPhone and Android users.

If you are looking for a way to find cheap gas at the pump, it can’t hurt to spend some time browsing the free applications on iTunes or in the Android market. There are plenty of applications available willing to direct you to the cheapest gas of the day. Although it might only seem like pennies, it really does add up.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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Keep Calm and Prepare

One of the most important things to do is prepare yourself for a mishap. Preperation will help you to keep calm in an emergency. For starters, write down your phone’s IMEI, MEID, or ESN number (it’s on a sticker under the battery, and which one you have varies by phone) and put it somewhere safe. That’s a unique identifier you can give to the police or your wireless carrier if your phone gets lost. That number can also be used to virtually wipe the phone and disable SIM card use from any carrier, making the phone useless.

If you have AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon you can also sign up for a locator service. It’s a subscription-based service that lets your phone carrier keep tabs on your phone, monitor its usage, and locate it. By keeping the important information such as the IMEI number in a safe location, the carriers can also use that to send a text message to the phone letting the user know it has been flagged as lost and/or stolen, informing them where they can call to return it.

Install a GPS-Enabled Application

Nothing is better than logging in to a computer and seeing a virtual map with a pinpoint showing the exact location of your phone. Take a second to browse through your application store (such as iTunes and/or the Android market). You will find hundreds of applications devoted to tracking your device in the case of a mishap. Many of them are free and will give you access to a website to track, wipe, send an alert, and/or take photos of the thief using your phone. It’s easy and free and could save you a lot of hassle.

Call Your Mobile Provider

Did you forget to set up a precautionary measure, and now your phone is gone? Well, call up your mobile provider right away. Your provider might be able to deactivate your device. A lot of times providers can offer you additional services to find your phone, tell you if it’s activated somewhere else, and take the phone off of your account before someone starts making costly calls on your dime. If your device is new, some mobile providers even offer a warranty option that they may replace your lost or stolen phone free of charge.

Calls should also be made to your insurance carrier and of course the police department. Your insurance provider might be able to cover some or all of the cost of a replacement device.

Additionally, filing a police report is a must so that you are putting a claim on record. Police officers also have difference resources than you and might be able to locate the thief, file charges, and possibly even get your phone returned to you.

Losing a phone can be traumatic enough, but, hopefully, if you consider some of these precautions you won’t find yourself asking, “Now how do you find a lost phone?”

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Most standard contracts for mobile providers run for two years. When your contract is about to expire, this is the time you want to discuss issues you have with pricing, features, and capabilities. Many mobile companies will do anything to keep you on as a customer. Usually, when your contract is about to expire, you have the chance to upgrade to a nicer device if you accept a new contract locking you in for another two years. This time, take the opportunity to discuss your options with the provider before you sign a new contract. They may offer you a discount on your monthly bill, or offer additional features for free, just to keep you on their plan.

Customer Retention

A lot of people will call customer service and complain to the representative, saying “I am going to switch providers if you don’t give me a discount.” Sound familiar? The problem with this is that customer service agents are only allowed to go so far. You’re probably not going to get the best phone plan speaking with them. Most providers have a lesser-known department called Customer Retention that has more leeway when it comes to giving discounts. These are the people you want to speak with.

Don’t Accept the First Answer

Some agents are more flexible than others. Some are more willing to help you more than others. So, if you call and are told “no,” hang up and call back to speak to another agent. Sometimes, just explaining your situation to someone else might get you further along in your quest. Don’t agree to anything you don’t want. Be calm and patient. If you keep calling, eventually you will find an agent who will work with you.

Do Your Research

Some companies might be willing to lower their prices if you have hard data about other providers. Check out other providers’ advertisements and see what they’re offering, then ask your current provider how you could get the service for the same price. Also, make sure you check out when the next set of deals are happening with your current provider. Don’t make the mistake of buying a new phone or signing up for a new contract when, in two weeks, the company will be offering 15% off.

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So what can you do when traveling? Well, there are a few tricks to keep your bill low while still remaining connected to your family in the United States.

First, look into international plans through your mobile provider. It might be more cost-efficient to add international calling access to your service a month before you leave. Adding an international plan can save you on the cost per minute when making international calls. If you are worried about coverage areas, don’t be. If you look online before you leave, I am sure you will be impressed with the extent of coverage areas available around the globe.

For example, AT&T offers a World Traveler plan that offers discounts on most roaming rates in almost 200 countries. The cost is $5.99 per month and you can cancel the service when you return from your trip. Without the service, you fall under the roaming category and could be charged as much as $0.59 cents per minute – huge difference. So it’s worth looking up what your phone provider can offer.

Another option that doesn’t even include your cell phone is the use of a prepaid mobile cards. There are tons of these on the market, and they allow you to load the card with as much money as you want and to then use that balance to make calls. It’s very simple to use: From your international phone, you would dial the number on the back of the calling card. The calling card service will most likely ask you for your unique card number (similar to that of a credit card number when you are placing an order online or over the phone). After you enter that number, an automotive service will tell you how much money and time you have left on the card. Then you can dial the number of the person you want to call and use the money on the card as payment. These cards are nice because you can control how much you are spending, and they are not connected to your mobile bill at all; this helps take care of the uncertainly factor.

Mobile providers have made it easy to stay in touch when using your phone abroad. But if you prefer not to incur the additional expense, it might be worth looking into a prepaid calling card — or consider not using the phone at all, and instead indulging in some good old-fashioned picture postcards.

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