Five ways to reduce your mobile phone bill

Mobile phones have evolved into a pocket-sized computer capable of email, web surfing, video calling, gaming, photography, GPS, social networking and handling work documents, too.

As such, to take advantage of all it can do, you'll need to ensure you're signing up for the right kind of data plan with your preferred carrier. (While you might think it would count towards data, texting usually falls in with your voice plan).

Here are a handful of tips to help keep your wireless bill in check.

What's your usage pattern?

Choose a plan that best suits your habits. Many of us are either paying too much for what little we're using or we're not paying enough for usage - and thus paying overage fees. Review your invoice to shed light on your voice and data usage. Then call, click or visit your carrier to match your usage with the best plan. You'll often get a "bundle" deal if you use the same company for your home-based services, such as Internet, television and landline.

Buy a roaming package

Carriers understand we want to roam with our phones in other countries — without coming home to a surprise on our bill. Before you travel over the boarder or overseas, contact your carrier to sign up for a roaming package as these can save you a lot of money and aggravation. You should also use free Wi-Fi in the destination country -- as opposed to cellular connectivity -- wherever possible. Some travelers buy a SIM card or prepaid phone card in the country they're visiting (or online ahead of time) or rent a prepaid phone upon arriving in the new country.

Track usage during the month

All the major mobile phone providers let you see how much data you're using at any time throughout the month, usually via a password-protected website or on the phone itself (the iPhone, for instance, offers this information in Settings>General>Usage>Cellular Usage). This way, if you see you you're already at, say, 400MB out your monthly 500MB data limit — and it's only the 15th of the month - you might need a bigger data plan. You might also get a free text message when you're getting close to going over your monthly data usage. There are also some apps that can help you manage your data usage, such as Consume for iOS.

Call and ask for a better deal

If you think you're paying too much for your monthly voice or data plan, call your carrier and ask them to lower your bill. Customer service reps know what they can trim or wave, such as applying a new promo code to save you some money or perhaps add more minutes or data to your existing plan. Or they might suggest to move to a plan better suited to your usage patterns (see tip no. 1). Your phone company doesn't want to lose you to a rival provider, so you might just be surprised at what they'll do to keep you. In short: It doesn't hurt to ask.

Try a sharing plan

Many providers allow you to share voice plans between people or devices. Unlimited family plans exist for multiple people in the same household — in other words, you're buying in bulk. This might make sense for your family. Some providers have also introduced data sharing plans, where one account covers multiple devices at a reduced rate — for gadgets like tablets, smartphones, netbooks or mobile Internet sticks. This also might be a more affordable solution than purchasing individual data plans for each device.