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With more and more children owning mobile phones, they should be a great way to teach kids about managing money responsibly - but how do you explain all the costs involved when you don’t even understand them yourself?

Research from low cost mobile service provider amaysim shows that Aussies are scratching their heads when it comes to understanding mobile phone costs. Eight in 10 mobile cap users don’t know what their call rate is while only 1 in 10 know what their call charges are if they go over their cap. It seems kind of strange that we don’t know what these costs are but we keep paying them.

As a parent you have enough to worry about without the pain in the neck of complex mobile price plans, contracts and hidden costs like flagfalls (who even knows what flagfall is or why most telcos still charge it?).

The key to understanding your mobile phone bill is knowing where your money is going and what you’re paying for... and you shouldn’t need a degree in finance to figure this out.

To help parents understand mobile phone costs so that families can manage their money better and children can help keep a lid on the household budget, amaysim provides us with What parents need to know:

• Hidden costs: Some mobile providers charge administration costs. This means unexpected charges can be incurred for everything from the sign up and termination of a contract to changing roaming settings and receiving paper bills. Do your research and don’t be afraid to ask your mobile provider upfront about these costs.
• Flagfall: Flagfall is a connection fee that is charged every time a call is made; this is an additional cost on top of the call rate. Find out how much you’re being charged so you don’t get caught out, and look for providers that don’t charge flagfall. amaysim is one of the few mobile providers that doesn’t charge flagfall.
• Call and text rate: Many service providers’ rates vary depending on what time a call or message is made and what network it’s going to. amaysim offers a straightforward price structure, low rates for standard calls, SMS and data Australia wide, any network, anytime – no confusion, no traps.
• Premium numbers and services: Premium services provide access to a variety of content or payment services that are charged at a much higher rate - these include government services and some businesses and are often characterised as 1300 and 1800 numbers. Be aware of the additional costs - many of the same services are available online free of charge. Also watch out for premium costs like ringtones and horoscopes, where hefty charges can be racked up pretty quickly.
• Data: Outside calling and texting, people are getting online using their phone in droves – and this means data is being chewed through. To avoid bill shock, it’s important for you and your child to understand the amount of data needed for various online activities, especially those that are data intensive.

Make sure your family is aware of what the charges are if they go over their sometimes not-so-generous data allowances, where the excess usage charges can make a pretty big dent in your budget. Mobile phone spending should be monitored and budgeted like any other household cost.

About amaysim

Founded in November 2010 in Australia by a team of Australian and European entrepreneurs, amaysim is Australia’s first low cost mobile service provider. Supported by a high quality, 100% Australian customer service centre and a state-of-the-art consumer website, amaysim is delivered over the Optus 3G Mobile network. It is distributed via www.amaysim.com.au

With amaysim, users can be kept informed and in control through a single online portal that displays itemised billing, real time usage and recharge history. The personal, secured site also lets you change your data settings and recharge credit instantly, so there are no administration charges. Moreover, you can manage different SIM cards within the same login – perfect for families.