Bailing out my Phone and Internet budget Pt 2
I started to tell you in my last post (HERE) how i helped bail out my phone and Internet budget. I decided that if I would cancel my home phone (@$35 + a month) i could afford High Speed Internet again so i started researching. I knew using my cell phone instead wasn't an option because 5 of us were sharing 800 min and 3 of "us" were teens! I found a Beta test of a Google product called "GrandCentral" ( soon to be unveiled as "Google Voice".) You could get a local number for free with voice mail and it would route it to my computer through a Gizmo number. I know, I know ,it's getting complicated, but it worked for me. There are better solutions though ( though i am loving Google voice and it is one of "My Favs" now so i can pick up on my cell phone without using my minutes ( and yes i checked with T Mobile and asked if i could do this and they said it wasn't one of the numbers that couldn't be a Fave), one newer one that my friend Alan wrote and told me about is Magic Jack . I had already heard of it cuz my Mom has one but he even took his to Columbia with him and said it worked fine! ( He is with Wycliffe Bible Translators-not working for a drug cartel- i just didn't want there to be any confusion , Alan , about your frequent trips to Columbia) It costs $40 for the device and the first year of service ($20 a year thereafter- yes A YEAR ). It plugs into a USB port on your computer and your regular phone plugs into that. You down load some software and set it up with step by step instructions and even video on YouTube to help.I set my Mom's up for her. You have to have High Speed Internet and the downside is that your computer has to be on for you to receive calls but it comes with free voice mail so you aren't missing calls. I hope this helps you think through some creative solutions for bailing out your budget.
Bailing out my Phone and Internet budget Pt 1
When i had to quit working and our income was cut about 40% we obviously needed to find ways to cut expenses. One of the first things i felt i had to do was cancel my cable Internet-at $42+ a month it was a luxury we couldn't afford. I found an ISP called "Expert.net" that was $95 a year, yes i said a year. They were fine but oh how i missed my high speed Internet. Being an Internet junkie i was on several times a day and waiting for the dial up process was tedious, but i worked on counting my blessings of having Internet at all instead of complaining. After about 1 1/2 -2 years i started wondering if there was something else i could do to be able to afford High speed again. I looked at our phone bill that was about $35 a month and the internet that was about $8 a month and thought if i could get rid of the landline and the dial up i could afford the $33 a month / 12 months special Comcast was having. In fact i would actually be saving around $10 a month. But,what would i do without a home phone? So i started looking into possibilities. I learned by trial and error....
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