Everyone is trying to cut costs these days, downsizing on everything from day-to-day expenses, such as food shopping and utility bills, to luxury items and activities - like holidays or retail splurges. Yet many people still find that no matter how hard they try, they're always met with a steep mobile phone bill at the end of the month.

Did they perhaps misread their contracts when purchasing a mobile phone? Or are they actually going over their allotted minutes, resulting in much higher bills than they had originally anticipated? While the latter is most likely the case, there's no need to sacrifice your social life or the convenience of having a mobile phone because of high mobile phone service costs.

There are a number of things you can do to lower your monthly mobile phones bills. For starters, it's worth asking yourself the obvious: do you keep track of how many minutes you speak on your phone throughout the month, or do you allow yourself unlimited mobile use, disregarding your minutes until your expensive bill arrives? A lot of people don't realise just how frequently they use their phones until they see that bill. But the truth is, those minutes add up - so it's worth keeping a close eye on your usage. It's also a good idea to reconsider how many ‘free' minutes your contract allows, and where you might be able to make adjustments to your usage to get yourself closer to that allowance.

Secondly, do you send text messages or photos through your phone? These actions can also add up on a phone bill, so they're important aspects to consider. Another question to ask is whether your phone service provider can extend any offers on free texting. Service providers usually have a number of deals on offer at any given time, so they're not likely to advertise all of them to every single customer. However, if you ask and if any such offer is available, you'll be sure to hear about it.

Another option to lower your phone bills is to purchase calling credit or a subscription through an online software application. Such applications offer minutes at pre-determined, affordable prices; enabling you to make cheap calls to destinations all over the world.

Moreover, buying credit before making your calls means you'll increase your awareness of your phone usage - which can help to lower your phone bills significantly. So, it can prove worthwhile to make a few adjustments to your usage. That way, you can enjoy all the benefits of having a mobile phone for less.

Andrew Regan writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.