My Favorite Utility Freeware Programs

After the computer is bought and up and running, the never ending need for one more program never seems to end. I never stop looking for freeware options to accomplish the needed tasks. Many people use shareware programs. However, shareware programs are only for trial purposes. Legally, you are expected to pay for the program if you decide to use it past a certain trial period. Shareware often also has limited functionality unless it is purchased. Freeware programs, on the other hand, are designed to be distributed completely free of charge, with full functionality. I've found a lot of freeware programs that are extremely useful. The following are my favorite utility freeware programs.

1. Mozilla Firefox
Firefox is a wonderful and free alternative to Internet Explorer. Firefox featured tabbed browsing long before IE did, and also features Add-on extensions, which enable you to customize and add additional features to your browser. I recommend Adblock Plus; Download Status Bar; Last Tab; Nuke Anything Enhanced; and Print Preview. Firefox 3 is coming soon, and the current edition can always be downloaded from the Firefox website, here.

2. AVG Anti-Virus
AVG Anti-virus is freeware for home users, in its most basic edition. The free edition automatically updates itself and automatically scans for viruses daily. It is the second most popular download from Download.com. It can be downloaded from Grisoft here.

3. Ad-Aware 2007
This program is one of the best at removing spyware. I've found it to be unbeatable at cleaining up a spyware filled computer. It's the most popular download from Download.com. It can be downloaded here.

4. Zip Genius
Windows XP and Vista have built in capabilities of unzipping (uncompressing) archived files in the zip format. Zip Genius adds to these capabilities. It adds right-clicking (context menu) options to zip (compress) files. Additionally, self-unzipping files can be made with advanced options for distribution. It truly is a powerful program that adds a multitude of options to compressed files. I have found no better compression program, and this one is free! Available here.

5. SyncEXP
I use two computers regularly, and like to keep my files synchronized between the two computers. Unfortunately I have found that Windows Briefcase is not up to the task. I have frequently had the sad misfortune of Briefcase mistakenly deleting files. So I began looking for an alternative. SyncEXP is not quite as user friendly, but is more powerful and gets the job done. I have also been a little disappointed with its speed - it seems to transfer files more slowly than a normal copy. All in all though, I can trust it to make the proper transfers. It can be downloaded from here.

Well, those are my favorite utility freeware programs. Look for future posts about my favorite Audio, Video, and Graphics freeware programs! A wonderful freeware program is a diamond in the rough, but they're worth looking for!

Tax Tips for Students

I am really enjoying pursuing a master’s degree in counseling, however I don’t enjoy the loans that have to be taken out to pay for higher education. However, if I’m going to have to pay so much for education, the best thing to do is see how to minimize the cost of that education.

One way to reduce the cost of an education is through secondary means of taking advantage of education tax deductions and credits. First, the more popular education tax credits. The IRS makes available the Hope and Lifelong Learning Education Credits through form 8863. The Hope Credit can be taken for the first two years of higher education, gaining a credit of up to $1,650 per student. After those two years, the same form can be used for the Lifetime Learning Credit - which can also be used throughout graduate school. This credit is for up to 20% of the qualified educational expenses (maximum credit of $2,000 per student).

An alternative to the Education Credits is the Tuition and Fees Deduction which is submitted through form 8917. If eligible, this option makes it possible for an individual to gain an above the line deduction of up to $4,000.

One catch is that of the above three option (Hope Credit, Lifetime Learning Credit, Tuition and Fees Deduction), only one can be applied to each student. However, if you have multiple college students in your family a different option can be applied to each student. Since Stacey and I both had graduate classes in 2007, we will be able to take a Lifetime Learning Credit for Stacey’s classes, and a Tuition and Fees Deduction from my classes.

A final method of minimizing the cost of education through a tax advantage is available through the student loan interest deduction. This is also an above the line deduction, allowing you to deduct all the interest that was paid on qualified student loans before your adjusted gross income is computed. This deduction is taken as a line item, line 33 on form 1040, instructions can be found on page 30 of the form 1040 instruction manual.

Higher education is an investment. However, hopefully if you are making this investment you are also taking advantage of these tax tips to make the investment as small as possible! If you know of any more tax incentives for those in higher education, post comments!

State Income Taxes and Politics

NOTE: I am by NO MEANS a tax professional. Nor am I qualified to give tax advice. I am not a CPA, don't have a business degree, and am only mentioning some things I have found that might be helpful. Truly my only suggestion here is to do the research yourself to see if you qualify for this tax credit!

When I moved away from Tennessee, I knew one financial change would be moving from a state without an income tax, to one with a state income tax (Arkansas). This year I will end up paying over $1,000 in state income tax, and still have to pay a sales tax of 9.75%. It doesn't seem hardly fair! Since I do have to pay state income tax, I searched for ways to limit how much I have to pay. To my knowledge there isn't yet a deduction or credit for education expenses on Arkansas income taxes (without itemizing), though there is a deduction for interest paid on student loans (AR 1000 ADJ, line 4).

This year in the packet that I received, however, I paid more attention to the forms that I hadn't used before. AR 1800 - the Political Contributions Credit. Basically, I can donate up to $50 (or up to $100 as a married couple) to a candidate seeking public office (state level or lower - not federal), an approved PAC (Political Action Committee), or a political party, and receive a 100% tax credit. The donation must be made by April 15, 2008 to count as a credit for this year. This year we have decided to send $100 to the Arkansas Right for Life PAC. After filling out AR 1800, we will send in $100 less in state income taxes, making this donation cost us nothing more than we would be spending otherwise! Oregon and Virginia also have similar laws.

If you have to pay state income tax, check and ask around - see if you can make a contribution to a political organization and thereby become qualified for a tax credit! What a great way to quite easily make your voice heard!

NOTE: I am by NO MEANS a tax professional. Nor am I qualified to give tax advice. I am not a CPA, don't have a business degree, and am only mentioning some things I have found that might be helpful. Truly my only suggestion here is to do the research yourself to see if you qualify for this tax credit!

Taxes and Savings

Yes, I know it isn't April 14th yet, and you're probably waiting until then to start on taxes, but don't you think we might be able to get a jump start on taxes? After all, part of frugality involves planning ahead, and making wise financial decisions now for the future. I am by NO MEANS a tax professional. Nor am I qualified to give tax advice. I am not a CPA, don't have a business degree, and am only mentioning some things I have found that might be helpful. Truly my only suggestion here is to do the research yourself to see if you qualify for this tax credit! However, every year since I had my first job, I've filed my own taxes with only the help of my mother (thanks!). As I'm beginning to work on my 2007 taxes this month, I want to share a few things I've found this year, or in the past, that are really beneficial to me as I prepare my taxes. Most of you will probably already be aware of them, but in the event that you aren't, maybe what I share will encourage you to study the relevant tax laws yourself to see if they might apply to you, or to ask your tax preparer about these deductions and credits.

The first income tax 'discovery' I'd like to share is what I have found concerning retirement savings contributions. Most people are aware of the fact that if they make contributions to a traditional IRA, the contributions may be tax-deferred (see IRS Form 1040 Instructions for requirements). Many of you, like myself, however would rather pay the taxes today, and be able to withdraw those funds after retirement tax free, expecting to withdraw more than you put in, and so we choose Roth IRA's. Here's the great news - just because you don't get the above the line deduction for a Roth IRA contribution, doesn't mean there aren't any tax benefits! You may qualify for a tax credit for contributions to your retirement account (whether it is a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), or other plan). IRS Form 8880 should be consulted to see if you are qualified. Some specific requirements concern your Adjusted Gross Income. If you meet the other qualifications and have an AGI of $15,500 or less ($31,000 or less for married couples) you can receive a credit for 50% of your contributions to the retirement savings plan, up to $2,000. The credit phases out for those with a higher AGI, with a 10% credit for individuals with an AGI less than $26,000 ($52,000 for a married couple).

So then, supposing your income is as low as mine, and you work to deposit $2,000 into your Roth IRAs throughout the year, you will pay $1,000 less in taxes - essentially allowing the federal government to match your first $1,000 of contributions!

Don't pass up this great possibility at a tax credit that encourages you to save for retirement! And, if it is already too late for your 2007 taxes, work towards utilizing this credit in 2008 by beginning to make regular deposits into a qualified retirement account now!

NOTE: I am by NO MEANS a tax professional. Nor am I qualified to give tax advice. I am not a CPA, don't have a business degree, and am only mentioning some things I have found that might be helpful. Truly my only suggestion here is to do the research yourself to see if you qualify for this tax credit!

Don't Pass Up Free Referral Money

We've all seen the DirecTV commercial with the play on 'Speed Dating.' "Do you want to make 50 bucks the easy way?" While the commercial was annoying long before the 100th time I saw it, the point should not be forgotten. When I signed up for DirecTV I knew at least 10 families who had DirecTV service. Many of them knew I was planning to get DirecTV. It was only after I was a customer that I found out about the referral program. Had I simply stated when signing up for service that I was referred by my friends with account #: xxxxxx, we both would have received a total of $50 in bill credits. Instead, since no one mentioned this to me, we all passed up on free referral money. It is really quite sad to see how many companies offer free referral money, and then to know how many times service is obtained without anyone getting a referral bonus.

When you are planning to sign up for new service with a company that a friend or family member already has service with, check to see if the company offers referral bonuses. Some that definitely do:

• DirecTV as mentioned offers $50 to the referring customer and the new referred friend.
• Dish Network offers $50 for the referring customer, though I'm not sure if the new customer gets a credit.
• Charter Communications offers $25 for each person on new phone service.
• AT&T offers a variety of $25-50 referral bonuses to the referring friend on new phone service, or new features on phone service (ie. adding long distance or high speed internet).
• Earthlink offers one month of free service or $25 cards for the referring friend on new internet or cable packages.
  
• AT&T Wireless (formerly Cingular) offers $25 for the referring customer and the new referred friend on new wireless plans.
• Many Credit Cards (at least Citi cards) frequently offer referral bonuses to the new card member and the referring card member.
  

I have personally taken advantage of the offers through DirecTV, Cingular (now AT&T wireless) and a Citi card. So, using this frugality tip may benefit you, or at least a friend. Don't pass up free referral money!

Oh, and by the way, if you need someone to refer you to DirecTV, AT&T residential, or AT&T Wireless let me know, I'd be glad to give you the referral info needed to get the credit!

Photo: Sufi Nawaz via stock.xchng.

Life with Pets

I've had a dog since I was in 4th grade. Charcoal is now about 15 years old, half blind, mostly deaf, seems to have arthritis, and gets bad skin allergies. The last problem means several visits to the vet each summer. The summer after Stacey and I were married, we decided to get a pet, and decided on getting a cat. Along comes Dora (pictured). Then this past summer, Stacey called with a pitiful plea. In a home visit (she's a social worker) she found a stray kitten that was rubbing all against her legs, and would probably die if someone didn't take it in. We now have our third pet, Buster. Poor little Buster has had a hard life. The morning after taking him in, we found him near death in the bathroom he was in for the night. He couldn't stand up, wouldn't open his eyes, and was hardly breathing. We had to take him to a vet other than our usual one, because he was closed. Buster had to go back to the vet a couple weeks later because he was constipated. We've now had both cat's declawed due to getting new furniture. So we've spent about $300 on Buster...and still have to get him fixed.

Along with adopting Buster we received hundreds of extra pets....fleas. We tried everything. Flea collars, flea shampoo baths, carpet treatments, the liquid stuff from Wal-Mart that goes on their backs, etc. Finally, on my most recent trip to the vet, we purchased some flea medication from him. I would have gone to him first, but I was trying to save some money by not buying the prescription medication. In all, we've probably spent nearly $50 at this point on flea medication things...the treatment from the vet was $9 per tube that treats them for one month. We gave it to them, and within days saw an immediate difference.

The frugality moral of this whole ramble is twofold. 1) Call around to different vets. Our normal vet charges much less for seeing animals than the vet we went to in an emergency, which is why we have spent so much on Buster. And we don't care for him as much even! All vets do NOT charge the same! and 2) If your pet has fleas or needs some kind of treatment...you can probably save money in the long run by taking them to the vet immediately.

That's life with pets in the Dalton home!

ATM Blues

A couple weeks ago I was at school taking a Saturday class. My wife had come to town with me, and we were planning to meet some friends for lunch. So over my first break I called to see where they were planning to eat, and they had decided on Chinese food. Knowing that the Chinese restaurant in town didn't take any type of plastic or out of town checks, I went to the student center, and withdrew some cash. Usually I would have had enough cash for the meal, but it was near the end of a busy week. The ATM fee for withdrawing the $20 was $2...pretty steep, but I knew it would be that high. Yesterday as I checked my account balance, I noticed a ATM charge separate from the $22 ATM withdrawal for $1.75 for using a 'foreign' ATM. Since I rarely withdraw cash out of ATMs I had forgotten that our bank charges us if we don't use their ATMs, and of course the bank whose ATM I use charges us as well. So to get $20 in cash I paid fees of $3.75 - that's 18.75%!!! Those rates compare to cash advances on a credit card! Now in all fairness, if I had withdrawn $100 the fees would have been the same, working out to 3.75%, but all I needed was a $20. The lesson of frugality, of course, is to either carry enough cash to pay for the meal, skip a meal, or go where you can use the debit/credit card you intended to use in the first place. Oh, and after all of that....we ate at Subway where I could have used my card.

Just another example that shows frugality often requires planning ahead to avoid unnecessary fees and costs.

Reducing Expenditures on Books

The new semester started just a few weeks ago, and between my wife's books for her classes and my books for my classes, we spent about $510 on textbooks for the semester. If we had purchased all of the books from Amazon.com, we would have paid about $675. If we had paid the list price for the books (as would have from our respective schools' bookstores), it would have cost us about $760.

Purchasing textbooks from a school bookstore, religious books from a local Christian bookstore, or good reading material from a supermarket or local bookstore may be convenient, but it is far from cost effective. Most of our books were purchased from Half.com or from Amazon Marketplace. My sister-in-law purchased a textbook off eBay for this semester and saved over $100 on that one Chemistry textbook! Oh, and by the way, all but a couple of the books we purchased were new. There isn't a very high percentage of difference between most used and new books in online marketplaces.

For frugality's sake, next time you need/want a book, don't just go to the local store and buy it. Be willing to wait a couple of weeks on shipment (plan ahead if needed!), and purchase it online. I recommend using GetTextbooks.com. GetTextbooks is a search engine through which you can search by ISBN#, title, or author. Once you have selected the book you want to purchase it compares online stores and marketplaces (including Half.com, Alibris, Amazon Marketplace, Bookbyte, eCampus), and displays a listing of the prices at each store. The displayed list is in order of price (lowest to highest), and displays the seller, new/used, price, shipping price, and the total you would pay. It's a great tool to quickly search a large number of online book sellers. If I had found this tool sooner, I probably would have saved even more!

Happy reading!

Ministers - Save Money on Hospital Parking

This is a savings tip for you other ministers reading the blog. It isn't applicable to anyone else. As ministers, we end up visiting people at the hospital more than most people. In a small town like Blytheville, anyone can park in the hospital parking lot for free. However, in bigger places you have to pay to park at the hospital. St. Bernard's Hospital in Jonesboro, AR starts at $.50. Larger hospitals, like Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN, can cost several dollars to park each time (though at Vanderbilt anyone visiting a patient can have their parking ticket validated at a nursing station and park for free). Most of these hospitals which charge for parking will allow ministers to visit without paying for parking. By filling out a form, you can usually receive a Clergy pass, and flash it at the gate to get out for free. Alternatively, many times you can get out for free just by letting the parking attendant know you are a minister. The easiest way to do this is to take the parking ticket and on it write your name, your 'title' as a minister (minister, preacher, youth minister, senior minister, etc.), and the congregation you work with (including the city if you are out of town). When you hand the ticket to the attendant, hand it to them where they will see that information. The times I have done this or seen it done by a minister, there was no charge for the parking. Hospitals recognize that the ministers who visit are doing a service for the patients, and in turn extend this gesture of kindness.

NOTE: If you are not a minister it would be dishonest and inappropriate to take advantage of this gesture extended to ministers. Since it would be dishonest, it would also be sinful! As stated at the beginning this is only a tip for the ministers out there.

More Cell Phone Frugality

My last few posts were designed to help you cut your monthly cell phone bill. This one is a little different, as within it I consider other ways to be frugal or to save money in the realm of cell phones.

When your contract ends (or a few months before with some providers), you are given the option of renewing the contract which will enable you to get new phones. Everyone gets excited at that time of year, because it means you can trade in that trashy phone that wasn't even cool two years ago, for the coolest phone of the day. If you choose to upgrade, consider upgrading through a dealer rather than through the service provider! Through Wirefly AT&T customers can upgrade and get a Blackjack, Razr (pink, blue, black WITH free bluetooth headset), or a Samsung Sync, and many other phones free after rebates. Through AT&T these phones would cost $100, $50, and $50, respectively. There are some special terms though, check the site for those details.

If you are starting a new contract, sites such as Wirefly, Letstalk.com, Amazon, and others will give you an even better deal for getting the phones through them. You can also consider local dealers, as the face to face contact sometimes helps you to get the deal you want.

Finally, should you keep a cell phone contract, or should you try to get out of the contract and then just pay month to month? Here's my reasoned opinion. If you pay month to month, you are eventually going to need to replace your cell phone anyways. We all use the phones a lot, and they wear out. To keep paying month to month, you would have to buy an unlocked cell phone, which would mean you would pay $100 or more per phone. If instead you upgrade, and renew your contract, you can get the phone for free, and keep paying the same rate per month anyways. Basically, wireless providers charge such high monthly rates, because within your two year contract you are paying for the phone. If they give you a $250 phone for free, that means that just over $10 per month of your service plan is going to pay for the phone. If you provide your own phone in order to stay out of contract, that means you are still paying for a new phone (since that $10 per month is built into the contract price), but you aren't getting that phone. Therefore, unless you are wanting to go month to month for a few months until you change companies, or have some other reason, it seems to me to make sense to stay in a cell phone contract.

I hope these ideas help you be more frugal with setting up, upgrading, or choosing cell phone service!
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All Cell Phone Frugality Posts in this Series: Cell Phone Insurance: Is It REALLY Worth It?; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #1: Multiple Lines; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #2: Cutting the Minutes; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #3: Cut the Frills; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #4: TMTM - Too Many Text Messages; More Cell Phone Frugality
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Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill - #4TMTM - Too Many Text Messages

Teens today use text messaging like our generation used instant messenger and e-mail. Text messages are sent, saying "God is so Good. If you love God, forward this on to ten friends and the person who sent it to you. If you don't love God, you don't have to do anything." When I receive forwarded e-mails like this, I immediately delete them, before even reading them. If my life doesn't show people that I love God, don't want people to have cancer, value their friendship, etc., etc., then sending them an e-mail that says such won't convince them. So I find chain letters and mass forwards through e-mail to be useless wastes of my time. Many people are now sending these through text messages though! Now no one sends them to me, but if you have a teenager in your home, you probably have come to realize why they send/receive so MANY text messages!

A friend recently called me concerned about his text messages. A friend of his had begun texting him massively, running up a $200 bill in text messages! Not too difficult at $.15 per message - each way! Allow me to take a moment to say, that charging for text messages was a brilliant move on part of the wireless providers! I know it takes some of their bandwidth to move these messages, but there is no way receiving a message with "Hey! :)" in it is worth 15 cents to me! So, if your cell phone bill is massive, and you've already cut the frills, check the usage section to see how the text messages are treating you. At 15 cents to send and receive they add up quickly. Even if you can curb your own sending, you pay any time someone sends a message to you. If you send or receive more than 33 text messages a month on average, you ought to be considering a text message plan. For $4.99 (the cost of 32.6 text messages) you can get a starter plan from AT&T that allows up to 200 text messages (sent & received combined). Additional text messages then drop to 10 cents each! If you send/receive more than 300 text messages a month, you ought to be using the "Messaging Unlimited" plan from AT&T that allows you to send/receive unlimited text messages to anyone on any wireless carrier. If you have a family plan, and two of your teens have a problem, though, you have to get the family plan at $29.99/month to cover all of your lines with unlimited texting.

So, for an individual plan, to have unlimited texting, you'll spend $20/month, or $240 per year. Is there another way to handle TMTM? Yes...ask your wireless provider to disable this option on your lines. You won't ever be able to send/receive text messages, but neither will you pay $240 a year for your friends to be able to send you those annoying little forwards!

If you want to cut your cell phone bill, take care of TMTM (too many text messages)!

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All Cell Phone Frugality Posts in this Series: Cell Phone Insurance: Is It REALLY Worth It?; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #1: Multiple Lines; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #2: Cutting the Minutes; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #3: Cut the Frills; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #4: TMTM - Too Many Text Messages; More Cell Phone Frugality
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Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill - #3Cut the Frills

Many cell phone users today have an extremely large bill, which can be cut if some of the frills are cut. Wireless service providers sell all kinds of extra 'services,' knowing that the profit-margins from these extra services is much larger then the main wireless service.

As an AT&T customer, let me focus on their extra services, though I'm sure most wireless providers have similar services.

• AT&T Mobile Backup - gives you the ability to back up your phone numbers so that if your phone is lost/stolen or you upgrade you will not loose numbers. Price? $1.99/month ($24/year)
  
• Roadside Assistance - Towing, jump starts, flat tire changes, fuel delivery for when you run out of gas, lockout assistance, and key replacement services provided up to 4 times per year and up to $50 per event. Great service, but the price? $2.99/month ($36/year) This is like paying by the month for 1 service call every 1.5 years.
  
• TeleNav GPS Router - If your phone is GPS enabled, receive live routes and directions over the phone. Price? $9.99/month ($120/year)
• Enhanced Voice Mail - Increases maximum voice mail length by 1 minute (like I want that!), enables you to store 40 instead of 20 voice mails, gives an extra 7 days storage time, etc. Price? $1.99/month ($24/year)
• Voice Dial - Dial *8 or *08, and then speak the name you want to dial, and AT&T will automatically dial that person so that you don't have to look up the number while driving. Price? $4.99/month ($60/year) - and many phones include voice dial abilities!
• Push to Talk - Makes it possible to use the PTT (walkie-talkie like functionality) of some cell phones. Requires PTT phones on both ends. This makes the communication almost instantaneous. Price? $9.99/month or $19.99/month for family plans ($120, 240/year) Quite expensive when you could just wait the few seconds for the calls to connect.
• Early Nights and Weekends - Extends the period of 'night' calls that are unlimited to 7pm to 7am instead of 9pm to 6 am. Price? $8.99/month or $16.99/month for family plans ($108, 204/year). You have to be making a lot of calls in those three hours of the day.
• Data Connect Plans - Connect your smartphone ($9.99/month for 5MB or $19.99/mo for unlimited data) or PDA ($24.99/mo for 10MB or $39.99/mo for unlimited data) to the internet. Price? Between $120 and $480 per year. Quite expensive considering my DSL is about $20 per month, and I'm going to have that anyways!

There are a lot of options above, and a lot more available. My point here, is that all of these things are great, and may at times be helpful, but are for most of us unnecessary frills. I would love to be able to surf the internet and check my e-mail from my smartphone. But it just isn't worth $20 a month to me! Especially when I know it will be slower and more difficult to navigate than the computer. It is a convenience, a frill.

If you want to cut your cell phone bill, cut the frills, many of which you might not even be using!

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All Cell Phone Frugality Posts in this Series: Cell Phone Insurance: Is It REALLY Worth It?; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #1: Multiple Lines; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #2: Cutting the Minutes; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #3: Cut the Frills; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #4: TMTM - Too Many Text Messages; More Cell Phone Frugality
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Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill - #2Cut the Minutes

Many cell phone users are afraid of getting too few minutes, and end up with many more minutes a month than they need. If you have had a cell phone for several months you should be able to look over past bills, and determine how many minutes you actually need. Cutting the anytime minutes will cut your cost. In keeping with the first Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill post, I'll be comparing family plans.


AT&T, Nextel/Sprint, and Verizon Wireless have the following family rate plans:

• 700 Minutes: 69.99 (9.99 each additional line); .45 for each additional minute
• 1400 Minutes: 89.99 (9.99 each additional line); .40 for each additional minute
• 2100 Minutes: 109.99 (9.99 each additional line); .35 for each additional minutes
• 3000 Minutes: 149.99 (9.99 each additional line); .25 for each additional minute
• There are other higher plans. Sprint/Nextel has a different method of calculating additional minutes - if you go over every block of 30 minutes is $5, up to 300 additional minutes, and then .20/minute.

Alltel has similar rate plans, but more minutes at each price level. Click here to see Alltel's family rate plans. With all of these companies, the plans now being sold include free nights and weekends and free mobile-to-mobile calling.

With the high cost of additional minutes, you can't afford to be going over your monthly allotment. But if you generally use 600 minutes per month, and are paying for 1400, you could cut your bill, saving $240 a year!

I'm a AT&T customer, and I am very glad to have rollover minutes. Rollover minutes make it possible to have a much smaller minute package. We have our 5 lines on 550 shared minutes per month. We currently have over 1,000 rollover minutes. Some months we go over, and use up those rollover minutes. Other months we go under, and build rollover minutes. If you have an AT&T account, use this system to your advantage. You can change plans as often as you like, without extending your contract. Anytime you switch, though, you can only keep the number of rollover minutes that are alloted per month in the plan you are switching to. SO....let's assume you generally use about 1,000 minutes per month. You have several options:

1. Get the 700 minute plan, and pay the extra minutes, adding up to about $204.99 per month. $2,459.88 per year.
   
2. Get the 1400 minute plan, and pay $89.99 per month, building your rollover minutes that you will never use. $1,079.88 per year.
   
3. Most people go with option 2 without considering option 3! This is a little more complicated. Switch back and forth between the 700 and 1400 minute plans, using your rollover minutes. Below is a possible scenario for the 1,000 minute user. The cost will average $78.56 per month. $959.88 per year. It's a little more trouble, but I believe it is worth saving $120 per year!
   

• Go with the 1400 minute plan for one month, you will build 400 rollover minutes.
• Switch to the 700 minute plan for one month (leaving 100 rollover minutes).
• Switch to the 1400 minute plan for a month, adding 400 rollover minutes (to make 500).
• Switch to the 700 minute plan, using your rollover minutes for a month (leaving 200).
• Switch to the 1400 minute plan for a month, adding 400 rollover minutes (to make 600).
• Switch to the 700 minute plan, using your rollover minutes for two months (leaving 0).
• Start over

Due to the rollover minute option, I believe AT&T to have the best plan options. If you have AT&T, utilize those rollover minutes to save you money! And no matter who your carrier is, be sure you have a large enough package that you won't be spending hundreds of dollars for extra minutes, but a small enough package that you aren't paying for many many minutes a year that you never use.

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All Cell Phone Frugality Posts in this Series: Cell Phone Insurance: Is It REALLY Worth It?; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #1: Multiple Lines; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #2: Cutting the Minutes; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #3: Cut the Frills; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #4: TMTM - Too Many Text Messages; More Cell Phone Frugality
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Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill - #1Multiple Lines

Let me give you a glimpse of my cell phone bill for several months in the past: 10-05: $50.03; 5-06: $88.78; 10-06: $97.04; 7-07: $108.97. It was cheaper each time it changed. No that’s not a typo, it was CHEAPER each change. The first bill was when I had an individual cell phone plan, the cheapest Cingular individual plan for 39.99 per month, with all the taxes worked up to about $50. By May of 2006 I had three lines on the plan, so the $88.78 breaks down to about $29.59 per line. By October 2006, I had four lines on the plan, so the $97.04 breaks down to $24.26 per line. Last months bill represented five lines, at $21.80 per line. As most of you know, we’re a young married couple, with no children. So why do we have five lines? Frugality.

In December 2005, my father and younger brother finished their contract with another cell phone company. They asked if they could join on to my cell phone plan. I agreed, and we split the bill three ways, each paying for our text message usage. By July 2006, Stacey and I were married, and so we needed a phone for her. We added her onto the bill. Some time after that, my parents decided to get another line as a gift for my sister. Each time we added a line, we made each line cheaper. We are now at the maximum number of lines that AT&T wireless will allow on one family plan bill, and we are saving a lot of money to do it this way. My part of the cell phone bill each month is around $40 for two lines! Let’s say that we had all kept our cell phone plans separate from one another.

• My payments from December 2005 up to last month would be: ($50 x 8) + ($70 x 7) = $890.
• If my father and younger brother had gotten a new contract together, their payments in this time would be: ($70 x 15) = $1,050.
• An individual line for my sister would have cost: ($50 x 5) = $250.
• All together, as a group, this would add up to: $2,190

Instead, we joined the lines together. So:

• Stacey and I have paid about: ($30 x 8) + ($40 x 7) = $520
• My father has paid: ($30 x 10) + ($40 x 5) = 500
• My brother has paid about ($30 x 15) = $450
• For a grand total of: $1,470
  

We have each saved money - I have saved $370 in just less than two years, my father has saved $275, and my brother has saved $300 over what he would have paid to have an individual contract for all of this time.

You can really save some money by getting together with close family members and joining lines on cell phone plans. There are of course some catches that you need to recognize:

• The bill will be attached to ONE person’s social security number and credit. I am legally responsible for all five of these lines and the usage on them. This is fine with me because I can completely trust all of the individuals on this plan. Entering into a 2 year contract with extra people you can’t completely and totally trust would be a mistake, though, and probably end up costing you much extra in the long run (just watch the People's Court to see some examples!).
  
• It takes a little work for one person each month to get the figures straight. I spend a few minutes after each bill comes out calculating how much each person owes, and send them an e-mail showing how much they owe for the cell phone that month.
• The payment has to be worked out in a way that will work for everyone. Each month we pay our parts online with credit cards. This makes it simple for the whole bill to be paid, and at the same time for no one to be paying more than a month at a time.
  

If you can work out the details, and have some people you can completely trust not to ruin your credit, combining lines can be a great way of saving money on the cell phone bill!

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All Cell Phone Frugality Posts in this Series: Cell Phone Insurance: Is It REALLY Worth It?; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #1: Multiple Lines; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #2: Cutting the Minutes; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #3: Cut the Frills; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #4: TMTM - Too Many Text Messages; More Cell Phone Frugality
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Cell Phone Insurance: Is It REALLY Worth It?

Some companies estimate that 1 in 4 cell phones will be lost, stolen, or broken within the year. Due to the fear of loosing a $300-500 phone, many people choose to purchase cell phone insurance through their wireless provider or the company they purchase the phone through. The question: Is it REALLY worth it? Consider some of the facts below, crunch the numbers, and you will see that no, it generally is not.

Cost of Premiums - The premiums differ between providers. Insurance through AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless, and Alltel is provided by the third-party company Asurion, and costs $4.99 per month. Sprint/Nextel also uses Asurion, but charges $4 per month. NCOA coverage (which is what Wirefly.com sells) costs $50 for 12 months ($4.17/mo).

Cost of Premiums + the Deductible in case of Use - If the phone is lost/damaged/stolen, the deductible for any plan based on Asurion is $50. NCOA does not charge a deductible. If you have insurance through AT&T and lose the phone one time in a two year period, you will pay $169.76 for the insurance plan which replaced your phone ($4.99 x 24 + $50).

Cost of Replacing Your Phone Without Insurance - This is hard to nail down, as the price of phones is constantly changing, and every model has a different price. Keep in mind, however, that the insurance company has the choice to "repair or replace" your phone. Also, if they replace your phone, they can replace it with a REFURBISHED (used) model instead of a new one. AND if they don't have your specific model in stock, they can just give you a 'similar' model, which may not have all of the features of the phone you purchased. However, consider the cost of purchasing a new phone through such sites as Cellularblowout.com. The Motorola L6 is $105; Motorola Razr $125; LG Chocolate is $170; if you just need a phone, the Motorola v180 is $65. This ought to show how foolish cell phone insurance can be. Even through Wirefly, you would pay $100 over two years, and have very little protection for your investment! Remember, the prices above are for NEW phones, you will be given a REFURBISHED phone. Compare it this way. A new Samsung Blackjack costs $330, but REFURBISHED on eBay, the phone goes for around $200.

Generally, cell phone insurance just does not make sense. As an MSNBC article points out, "insurance might make sense for some people — those who are prone to drop their phone, get it wet or somehow disable it. “It might be useful if you happen to work on building skyscrapers and you tend to drop your phone 30 or 40 stories,” . . . . It could also come in handy if you’re buying a high-end PDA phone that would cost you $500 or $600 to replace.” However, remember that the service is not available for some phones, and is more expensive on high end phones for which coverage is available.

Cell Phone Insurance: Is It REALLY Worth It? Generally, NO
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Note: If you have had cell phone insurance through Asurion (sold by Cingular/AT&T, Sprint/Nextel, Verizon, and Alltel among others), and had to file a claim with them due to a lost/stolen/broken phone, and received a refurbished phone, you may be eligible to receive some compensation as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. Check here for more information.
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All Cell Phone Frugality Posts in this Series: Cell Phone Insurance: Is It REALLY Worth It?; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #1: Multiple Lines; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #2: Cutting the Minutes; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #3: Cut the Frills; Cutting Your Cell Phone Bill #4: TMTM - Too Many Text Messages; More Cell Phone Frugality
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WYTI Article Featured

This is a week old now, but James' article about Credit Card Protector Plans was featured in last week's 100th Edition of the Carnival of Debt Reduction (hosted last week at No Credit Needed).

The article even produced a playful comment from NCN...

Car Insurance: Is it REALLY Worth It?

Here's another type of insurance to consider and determine its real value.

In almost every state liability car insurance is mandatory. See here for minimum requirements of each state. When it is the law, there is no question that it is worth it - both financially, legally, and most of all morally/spiritually worth having. If you live in one of the few states where liability insurance is not mandatory, unless you have enough savings to pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars in the event of a wreck without missing it, it would be foolish to avoid liability car insurance. For older drivers, the policy is not cost prohibitive. For young drivers (especially below 21), the costs are high, but so are the risks of a wreck with inexperienced drivers. The bottom line, you can look into any factors you want, liability car insurance is worth it.

What about full coverage car insurance, though? To determine if this type of insurance is worth it, you’ll have to do some figuring on your own.

First, compare the cost of premiums between liability only and full coverage insurance. Consider how much the difference is, and remember that the main reason to pay for the extra coverage is to replace your vehicle in the event of a wreck that is your own fault.

Second, consider how much this will cost if you pay for the premiums for an extended period of time, have a total wreck, and have to pay the deductible. Compute this for a year and then for two years of paying the premiums.

Third, consider how much it would cost to replace your car if you do not have full coverage insurance.

Fourth, consider your ability to pay for that need without insurance based on your savings.

Fifth, consider your ability to self-insure. If you take the difference in premiums, and invest it at 5% (online banking) for the year or two that you figured before, how much would you have in the account? Is it enough to cover what would actually be paid by the insurance company (after your deductible)?

To compute the value of your used car, check the NADA price guide here and Kelly Blue Book personal value here and realize your insurance company will go with the lower of the two values!

If you are driving a newer vehicle, you may decide that the value of the insurance is worth it due to the high loss that could be sustained in the event of a wreck. As your car ages, however, you continue to pay high premiums, though the coverage constantly declines. When a person is paying full coverage for a 10 year old high-mileage car, they are making an unwise financial decision! The amount you would receive in the event of a total loss is less than the amount of premiums payed in over a year or two, and definitely less if the individual self-insures! $100 per month for two years invested at 5% will build to just over $2,500. On the other hand, if you are an individual who has a lot of wrecks, the need for full coverage may be greater, but then, so will the costs!

Think it through though, and re-evaluate your decision to keep full-coverage car insurance on a yearly basis. As that car ages, it is less and less sensible to keep the full-coverage car insurance!

August Financial Goals

We currently are working on several financial goals that have taken some time, and may take more time.

1. Pay Immediately - we are working on building up our checking account so that any time a bill comes in we will be able to immediately pay it. Right now we could do this, but we'd have to take money out of savings. We always pay our bills on time, but usually near the end of the on-time period! I've seen family members with this ability to pay immediately, and it generally helps lower financial stress.
   
2. Give More - Stacey's internship has turned into a paid internship, and as we begin receiving some income from this, we intend to give back to God more!
3. Pick Up Long Term Savings - This probably won't happen this month. We've already contributed a significant amount towards our IRA's this calendar year. Right now with both of us in Grad school, our student loans are all in deferment, and only one of three is even gaining any interest (the smallest loan :). So this comes after goal number one and of course number two, meaning it will probably be next month before we are again able to contribute to the IRA's.

Sales Tax Holdiays

Every April we complain that we have to give so much of our hard earned income to the government. Why give the government any more than we have to? This option isn't available to me at home, since Arkansas doesn't participate, but many states have a "Sales Tax Holiday" on which certain items can be purchased without having to pay sales tax. With school just around the corner, many states schedule a sales tax holiday in August for families to purchase back to school products (clothing, school supplies, and computers are included in some states) without having to pay sales tax. The states which have a sales tax holiday this August include: Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Missiouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Clicking here will take you to the Federation of Tax Administration's webpage about State sales tax holidays, which in turn includes links to many of the state's webpages about the rules for their sales tax holiday. Most of these states started their sales tax holiday today or will start it tomorrow, though, so check on this information now! Hopefully if you lived in one of these states you already knew about the sales tax holiday and planned to take advantage of it. If not, now you do, and I hope you do!

Does it Make Sense to Use Credit Card Protector Plans?

In this post, I'm NOT going to be getting into the wisdom of using or avoiding credit cards . . . though that is in the plans for future posts! IF you do you use a credit card (or cards), this post is to help you to determine if you should enroll in the 'Credit Protector (Citi),' 'Payment Protection (Discover)' or similar program.

First: Consider the Cost These programs sound so cheap. Citi's Credit Protector only costs "85¢ per $100 of the previous billing period's New Balance." Discover's program sounds very similar, but is not. It costs "89¢ per $100" of "your total balance at the end of each monthly billing period" thus including your old balance that you are still paying on. So, if a person is carrying a balance of $1,000, and charged $500 in one month, Citi's program would cost $4.25, and Discover's would cost $13.35 - quite a difference! Even Citi's program would cost $102 per year if you purchase $1,000 per month on average!

Second: Consider the Benefits Each program yields different benefits. Citi's program will cancel any new balance in the event of your death, up to $10,000. It also allows you to defer the total balance on your card for job loss, hospitalization, military reserves called to active duty, disaster relief, and many life events. "While your account is deferred, finance charges and fees will not accrue and you will not be required to make payments on your account" (see full description here). Discover's program has similar benefits, but in the case of death would completely cancel your balance - up to $25,000 (see full description here). Thus Discover yields better benefits in the event of death. The benefits on these programs is similar, but not identical!

Third: Consider Your Situation If you are a regular user of credit cards, using them for regular purchases, then the cost of these programs is probably more than it is worth. To pay $102 per year or more would be foolish for most people, but you have to consider your situation carefully. There is one situation in which I think these programs makes sense! If you have stopped using your credit card and are currently working on paying off the balance, these programs might make sense - depending on which card you have. If your card's program is similar to Citi's, and would only cost you if you are accruing new balances, then it shouldn't ever cost you since you aren't using the card! Thus, it would be free protection, enabling you to keep paying off the balance, but to be able to suspend both payments and interest from accruing in the event that one of the listed events does occur. If the program on your card charges based upon total balance (like Discover's program), then the program probably will not be cost efficient.

Consider the factors for yourself. If you use your cards regularly, try to avoid these programs, as they seem to me just another way for credit card companies to take more of your cash. If you are working to pay off the balance on a credit card and are no longer using that card, look into it, as it may make sense for you!