We’ve been getting lots of inquiries about BillShrink, the free online website that analyzes credit cards and phone bills to find the best deal for your specific needs.  So after giving a couple of thorough overviews of the services, we decided to go straight to the source and get some information about the site firsthand about what spurred these guys on, what to expect from the service, and most importantly, where they plan to expand to in the future.  Keep on reading for our Q&A with BillShrink CEO, Peter Pham.

The concept of BillShrink is great.  What prompted you to develop this service?

It started out of frustration that [Co-founder] Schwark had when trying to find a cell phone plan for his family and after a complicated and frustrating experience calculating the most optimal plan for his usage, he realized that millions of other people must have the same frustration. The same complicated choices exist for many other bills that everyone gets and then keeping up with the changes of the market would be next to impossible.

Has there been a big increase in users on the site due to more people actively looking to find as many ways as possible to cut costs?

Yes, definitely there has been an increase of traffic to the site over the last few months. Given the current economy it’s important to make sure you aren’t overpaying on your cell phone and making sure you are on the right credit card for your lifestyle.

How many credit cards and phone plans are currently represented on the website?

There are over 200 credit cards on the site today, and every plan from the 4 major carriers which make up over 10 million combinations.

How often are the plans updated?

The plans are updated on a constant basis, always with the most current plans, options, and phones available in the market.

Once people are signed up with the service, do users get periodic updates on new plans that have more to offer than their current ones?

Yes, carriers come out with new add-ons, data plans, combinations, and plans every month and we keep track of those to changes to continually make sure consumers are on the right one that matches their usage.  It’s not always about switching carriers, but many times just optimizing which plan and addons that fit your calling pattern.  For credit cards, new promotion, earning bonuses for points, interest rates, penalty fees etc are always changing and we keep track of those as well.

What is Bill Shrink’s user demographic?

Pretty evenly split between male and female but over 75% over the age of 35.

Wow, I’m surprised there aren’t more users in the 20-30 year old age range given the level of comfort they have with web 2.0 technology and managing their lives online.  Do you think this is due to a lack of financial awareness in the younger generations?

I think because most of our buzz has been in main stream media, but also that yes, 20-year-olds aren’t as financially aware.

On average, how much money do customers typically save when signing up with the service?

The free service we provide for consumers on average can save consumers $300/year for cell phone plans and over $1,000/year for credit cards.

Do you have any plans for the company to branch out into other industries – maybe internet providers or cable companies?

Absolutely, we are looking to aggressively expand to many  different industries that cover everyday services for the average American and internet/cable is on that list

Editor’s Note:  BillShrink also has a great financial blog — Shrinkage is Good — on their website with great tips on saving money, raising your credit score, and lots of other vital financial advice.  Check it out!

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