Times are tough and expensive cell phone bills sure don’t help. But one thing that can help is doing a little research on the many money-saving Android and iTunes apps that are available.
These are some of the applications that I use on a daily basis. I blame them for my obsession of checking my phone every minute! In my case when you have friends or relatives living abroad, these are the best apps to save money on calls and texts.

VIBER– Call and text anyone, anywhere.Viber lets everyone in the world connect. (description from Android). This is my experience with Viber: After a long time using the app I can say that its a great app…..if you are patient. You can talk for free with people around the world but be prepared for your call to cut out every 5 minutes. It doesn’t matter if you are using your wi-fi or you are on your 4G LTE network……Your call will drop either way. But its free!! so…call that person again and problem resolved. I barely use the texting option because it seems like its slow and its not really clear to me, for those purposes I use the app below called Whatsapp. 

WHATSAPP– WhatsApp Messenger is a smartphone messenger available for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Phone and Nokia phones. WhatsApp uses your 3G or WiFi (when available) to message with friends and family. Switch from SMS to WhatsApp to send and receive messages, pictures, audio notes, and video messages. My favorite thing about this app, besides that it works great with texts, is that you can send pictures and videos to everybody really fast and for free. You can also see when the receiver reads your text (its more like a live chat than a regular text) and even share your location through google maps and any contacts from your list. You don’t need to pay for texts anymore and you can get them instantly. I know it’s stupid but I also love that you can personalize the background of your conversations and don’t forget the group conversations!! The best way to make plans with your friends.

TiKL- Touch to Talk– Instantly talk or text to one or a group of friends at once with the touch of a button. No setup needed, just have them in your phone contacts or as Facebook friends. Fast, simple and free – TiKL turns your phone into the ultimate Push To Talk (PTT) Walkie Talkie with instant messenger capability.

TANGO- Free Voice and Video Calls.Tango allows you to make free phone calls and free video calls over 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi. Make calls to any other person who has Tango installed on their PC, phone or tablet. Start a Tango call with just voice, and easily move into a video call when you have something to share. It’s easy to use, it’s fun, and it works. Now you can leave your friends video messages when they don’t pick up your call! To send a video message without calling, press and hold on your friends name and follow the prompts. Watch your video messages by tapping the Messages tab in Tango.