Ways to ease the squeeze

If you are just coming off a phone plan, you'll be thrilled with how much more you can get for your money. Fierce competition is great news for consumers - there are even deals that give you unlimited calls and texts for a set fee.

How much you're spending

Get pre-paid or post-paid right - if it's important to know how much you're spending, consider pre-paid. This is as well appealing if you already own a phone. However if you don't want to pay for a phone upfront and are willing to commit for a year or two, look at a monthly plan. Be aware if you go over this, bills will rack up fast. And costs are coming down so quickly you may in the near future be locked in an uncompetitive deal.

Call within your network - phone companies routinely offer free calls to mobiles on the same network. See if you can get friends and family to follow you to a provider and you'll all save. Dial via the internet - research known as Voice over Internet Protocol allows you to call computer to computer for free, or computer to phone cheaply, even overseas.

Start "cocooning". Re-create the restaurant experience with a home-made, cooking-show-inspired meal and your favourite cleanskin or internet-purchased wine. And big-screen TVs make for great movie nights.