How to avoid roaming fees and international roaming charges on your cell phone.

Most cell phone companies now offer some sort of free roaming. Some may charge a small flat fee, while other cell phone companies still use good ole expensive roaming charges.

But all is not lost. Not all roaming fees and charges can be totally eliminated, but here are a few ways to help keep them down.

The biggest mistake people make when using their cell phones is to dial a "1" before the number when they call someone. Most cell phone companies will automatically charge a roaming fee when you dial "1" before a number. Dialing a "1" before the number is not necessary if you are calling anywhere in the U.S. from anywhere in the U.S. All U.S. phone numbers, even cell numbers, start with a "1" at the beginning of the area code so, the phones are already programmed to assume you are dialing a U.S. phone number. Dial only the three digit area code and phone number when calling within the U.S.

Another way some cell phone companies charge roaming fees is to charge you when you leave your home area. For instance, if you live in Florida and make your calls from Florida, many cell companies will not charge you a roaming fee. However, if you travel to say California and make calls, they may charge a roaming fee because you have technically "roamed: out of your area. Check with your phone service company to see if these fees apply. Many have discontinued this crazy cost, but if your's has not, keep your calls to minimum. Also, you can help keep that roaming fee down by calling within your carriers service. Like if you are with Verizon and call another Verizon phone, they usually will not charge a roaming fee no matter where you are in the U.S. At&t and Sprint offer these free services as well on many of their plans.

When you travel out of the country and know you will need to make several calls while there, you can still escape some or all of the roaming charges. Most phones still use Sim cards. If you are traveling out of the country, when you get to your destination, go to a local phone store and purchase a Sim card that matches your phone. The new Sim card is programmed for that country and will allow you to make calls within that area without adding on roaming charges. Just with calls in the U.S., you will not need to dial that country's version of our "1" before dialing the number.

If you only plan to make one or two calls on your cell phone while there, then buying the new Sim card may not be beneficial. But do your research before leaving. Those one or two calls may end up costing you as much as $5.00 per minute and still make the cost of the sim card well worth it.

Remember, when using your U.S. purchased cell phone in other countries, you are being charged in U.S. dollars. Since U.S. currency tends to be worth more than other currency, the cost of that country's sim card may only be a few dollars in American money.

Another way to avoid roaming fees and roaming charges is to check with your service carrier before going on your trip. Some carriers may offer you to add a short term plan to your exisitng plan that will allow you to make calls to other countries or from other countries without roaming fees.

Some prepaid cell phones are still usable in other countries and do not charge any roaming fees or very minimal roaming fees. You can also buy a cheap prepaid phone when you arrive in that country. Here in the U.S. you can pick up a prepaid cell phone with 300 minutes for about $30.00 - 40.00.

Depending on the country you go to and the currency exchange rate, you may be able to pick up one of their prepaid cell phones for under $20.00 in U.S. currency. This would allow you escape roaming charges within that country.

Where ever you live or where ever you go, there are ways to save on phone charges. do a bit of research before you leave and you can minimize, if not eliminate roaming fees altogether.