In the aftermath of the flood, many people who lost land lines but still had to communicate are finding themselves way, way over their cel phone's maximum minutes and well into the .40¢-.50¢(!) per minute territory that comes with "overages." I ended up 200+ minutes past my limit even after expending a pretty good supply of the "rollover" minutes I had banked.
The expenses are piling up, so this is one you can and should nip in the bud.
Tip: Call your cel phone company and let them know you are in an area declared a Federal Disaster Area. Often they will forgive the extra minutes. In my case, AT&T (the only company you can use with an iPhone) agreed to backdate a plan upgrade for me so I'm billed for the next-higher service plan this month, which keeps me out of overage trouble. That'll cost me $20 more on one bill (I can switch back immediately, and there's no charge for plan-switching); much better than the $80-$100 I'd get socked for if I paid the per-minute overage rates.
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