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!

Eating Out? Where Does the Money Go?

My wife and I do not have a "blow" section of our budget. We just don't blow money right now (or we do our best not to!). However, we do have a couple of areas of our budget where we splurge every now and again. One is that we still have DirecTV, but we do not have a large package (and we renegotiated our bill down to less than $40/month, with two receivers).

The other is that we still go out to eat sometimes. We don't go a lot, but we do like to "grab a burger" every couple of weeks. We also like to "dine" about once a month. We don't go to five-star restaurants, but we also don't go to Waffle House for our fine dining!

However, just because we set aside money for eating out does not mean we can just pile up a huge bill when we do so. Many people leave a restaurant and have no idea where all the money went. Here are some "little" things that really add up when you eat out:

1. Appetizers and desserts. At most national chains (think Applebee's, Olive Garden, etc.), these can be anywhere from $5-$10 each. Just adding one appetizer and/or dessert can make a bill get large quickly. Why do you think the wait staff asks you if you want them?

Two people: one gets an appetizer, the other dessert: add about $15 to your bill.

2. Not drinking water. I have to admit, I "add this" on my bill nearly every time I eat out. I drink a lot of water during the day, so, when I eat out, I want something else. This being a Christian blog, we're not even going to discuss the cost of alcohol. But just think of a soda, tea or lemonade. $1.50-$3.00 per person! And many restaurants are starting to offer "premium" drinks, like specialty sodas that are even more.

Two people: two "non-water" drinks: add about $4 to your bill.

3. Over-ordering. Some restaurants have smaller and larger versions of certain dishes. Many have half-portions if you will just ask, especially on large dishes. Often we are guilty of letting our eyes tell us we will eat a 12 ounce steak, when we only end up eating 6 or 8 ounces. If you constantly have food left over, ask about smaller portions, OR...

4. Not getting to-go boxes. When you have food left over and you can take it home, but fail to do so, you are leaving money on the table. If an entree costs $10 and you each 3/4 of it, but don't take the rest home, you, in essence, just left $2.50 on the table...and not as a tip. Sometimes you are travelling and cannot take food home, but you often can. Do so if possible.

Two people: don't eat (or take home) 1/4 of two $10 entrees: you just lost $5.

5. Tipping Too Much. I think tipping is a great thing. Many waiters are great and earn their money through kind service and quick response. Others, though, don't. They are just there and don't do well at all. There are some who think you should tip a certain percentage "no matter what, because it's just the right thing to do." I can't disagree more! While I always leave a tip, a waiter has to earn a larger tip.

Two people: overtip by $3.

Add all those things up. On a typical night at a typical restaurant, by just doing these five things, you have over-spent (or lost) $27. Now, do that once a month (which is way less than most people eat out), and you have just thrown away over $300 just in "extras" while eating out.

You can eat out and be frugal, but you have to think and plan ahead.

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!

The Automatic Millionaire (Chapter Two)

Most people believe that the secret to getting rich is all about finding new ways of increasing their income as quickly as possible. "If only I could make more money," they declare, "I'd be rich." (page 31)

Chapter two of David Bach's The Automatic Millionaire takes aim at our wallets; or, more precisely, how we spend what is in those wallets.

Maybe nothing from this book, or from Bach's entire system, is more famous than "The Latte Factor." Subtitled Becoming an Automatic Millionaire on Just a Few Dollars a Day, chapter two shows the reader how little decisions can cost us BIG when it comes to retirement.

Many times building wealth isn't about making more money; it's about avoiding spending what you already make. That's one of the reasons we have several articles on this blog about living a frugal life.

But, really, that $5 you spend on snacks every day isn't hurting you, is it?

To put it mildly, yes it is! If you saved $5 each day, instead of spending it on snacks (or cigarettes or coffee or whatever), and you invested it for 40 years, you would have around...

$1.2million!

Still enjoying that Starbucks latte?

The simple point is that, if we will make decisions about the small things in our lives, the big things will usually take care of themselves. If you find yourself thinking, "I don't have any money left over to pay off debts [or invest for retirement]," then you need to look at your budget and really think about your spending habits.

Do you insist on having name-brand clothes? Must you have the name brand food items from the grocery store on all items? Do you buy a soda and candy bar at break time? Do you have the largest "package" on your cable or satellite TV?

If you do any of these (or other similar things), you may be costing yourself a huge retirement.

Near the end of the chapter, the reader is taught to track his/her spending for a day (or a week). Track every penny. You may be surprised where your money actually goes. Even if you have a written budget, this is a worthwhile exercise. It helps you truly understand if you are sticking to that budget, or if the budget--or your spending--needs to be altered.

What is your latte factor? How can you change it, so you can pay off debts and retire comfortably?

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.

Dealing with the Heat

After a sweltering Summer, we are now dealing with continued heat on into October. It is again 90+ degrees today in Alabama, as it was all weekend. While many negative things happen because of the heat, there were some lessons I learned this Summer. Some deal with finances and others with just general living.

1. The electric bill will be high; budget accordingly. We don't keep our house particularly cool, but when the temperature is constantly at 90 or more (or over 100 often as it was this Summer), the electric bill is going to spiral upward. Don't let that kill your budget. In many places, you can pay the electric bill in equal installments each month (usually called something like "budget billing"), then pay the difference in December. If you really struggle with budgeting, this may be of some help.

2. Find way to shave pennies off that high electric bill. If you don't have ceiling fans in your house, you are missing out. They can really save quite a bit of money off the bill by continually circulating air. If you have an electric water heater, don't use as much hot water when the temperature is sweltering. Leave comments on some other ways to save on the electric bill in the heat.

3. Drink tap water. While this is always a big savings over bottled water, it is especially true when you are drinking gallons of water. I try to drink at least 3 large glasses of water each day (about 16 ounces each). However, I found myself drinking 4-6 each day this Summer, and I have been drinking quite a bit over the last few days as well. If you are truly worried that tap water is unhealthy, invest in a small filter. It will still be much, much cheaper than bottled water.

4. Drink other liquids. Water is good, but if you get dehydrated (or are "on the verge"), you need something more. Gatorade (or similar drinks) really has helped me in the past, including when I did get dehydrated in the Summer of 2006. Lemonade is also a good help.

5. Learn to work outside in short bursts. While efficiency and frugality always seem to go hand-in-hand, it is never more evident than when the quicksilver is shooting up. When the temperature was over 100, and I had to weed-eat, it was amazing how efficient I got! This can carry over into saving time in the yard while still doing a good job year round.

6. As if I needed to remind you, don't forget to take care of the kids. If they are stuck in a car seat (like mine are), don't just leave them in the car, even with the engine running. Get them out of the car and into a building with air-conditioning. It is better for them to be out in the sun and heat with some air moving than in a car with "still" air.

I hope these help you. It's supposed to start cooling off later this week, and I hope it does. But, when the heat begins to rise again, we can all use these tips to help save some money...and maybe our own lives!

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!

More Music Savings

I have been waiting for today for a LONG time.

Several months ago (in fact, about 15 months ago), I heard of a site that was going to offer free music downloads, based upon advertising. While the site is brand new, www.spiralfrog.com is up and running with free music downloads.

I don't have an mp3 player (iPod or otherwise), but these songs can be downloaded to your computer for use in many ways (burned to CDs, mp3 players or just listening on your computer).

I hope you enjoy this new service, and I hope it saves you some money on music. Downloading, even at about $1 per song, can add up really quickly into a way to burn through a lot of cash.

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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Pandora: Music Money Saver

I was reading an article this morning from Lazy Man and Money, and he mentioned something that I can't believe I've failed to mention on this site.

I love music, and I listen to it a lot. Having a music collection, though, can really become expensive--and quickly! CDs, even used, can cost $5-$10 each. Some own iPods and download songs; but at about $1 each, a few dozen songs can quickly run you into a lot of money.

If you are near a computer with high-speed internet very often, there is a great way to save money and learn about new songs. Pandora.com is a site that offers free internet radio, and it caters the music to your tastes. Simply register for an account, tell Pandora what your favorite song(s) or artist(s) are, and let the algorithms take over!

If Pandora plays a song you like, you give it a "thumbs up," and that song goes into heavier rotation. If it plays a song you don't like, give it a "thumbs down," and it is never played again. You can even choose to have a song not play for a month.

While I don't listen to my station as much as I used to, I still get on my radio station about once a week for a few minutes--especially if I'm making sign-up sheets, or doing other work that doesn't require a lot of concentration.

Pandora is continually adding songs and features, so your station will never grow cold. It is a great way to listen to tons of music and do it for free.

Oh, and if you ever want to know what's on my station, just send me an email, and I'll send it to you. Trust me, it's the greatest station of all time!

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 Links: 08.16.07

• The Frugality Cheat Sheet: 147 Tiny Tips to Live Healthier, Happier, Greener, and Better (via Frugalist)

• Building a Personal Finance Library: 25 of the Best Books About Money (via Get Rich Slowly)

• Like Those 100 Calorie Packs? You're Paying Twice As Much (via Consumerist)

• Why I Keep My Emergency Fund at the Low Interest Bank (via Chief Family Officer)

• Look at Debt in the Context of Your Life, Not Everyone Else's (via Mighty Bargain Hunter)

• Starbucks @ Target: Buy 1 Get 1 Free (via Money, Matter, and More Musings)
  

Choosing a Bible Study Software Package

This post looks long, and it is, but it is primarily long because of the comparison to follow!

There are so many different Bible study software packages on the market today. Each package claims to be the best, listing many reasons why you should select that package. Each package provides many of the same benefits including: fast electronic searches, multiple Bible translations, commentaries, savings over purchasing the materials in book format, etc. The packages generally include some different resources and tools as well. Some of the programs include macros to easily paste Bible verses into Microsoft Word or other word processing programs.

The most popular Bible software programs I know of include: PC Study Bible, Quick Verse, Logo's Bible Software, GRAMCORD, and E-Sword. While there are others, these are the five that I most often hear recommended. The price of the different current versions of these programs ranges from free to $1,379.95. In the spirit of frugality, or should we say in the spirit of stewardship and yet retaining our interest as students of God's word, I want you to consider what is the best Bible study software package for your investment.

In order to make this determination, one really has to compare the contents and prices of different Bible programs. In the chart below I look at many of the reference tools that I frequently use or that are considered standard reference tools, and compare which of the programs they are included in. In the chart the following programs are being compared:

• E-Sword v. 7.8.5
  
• Quick Verse 2007 Standard Edition
• Quick Verse 2007 Expanded Edition
• PC Study Bible 5 Reference Library Plus (Red Box)
  
• PC Study Bible 5 Complete Reference Library (Purple Box)
• Logo's Bible Software 3: Christian Home
• Logo's Bible Software 3: Scholar's Library
  
• GRAMCORD for Windows: Scholar's Bundle
• GRAMCORD for Windows: Ultimate Bundle

Click the image to the
left or here to see the full
comparison chart of
the different programs.


When I compare what is included in the programs listed above, I must conclude that what I get for around $100 or more is a brand name program with extra reference materials which I wouldn't use even if I had access to them. I would like to have the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament on my Bible program, but I do have it in book form for the times I need to consult it. I would like to have the NKJV and the NASB in E-Sword, but those really aren't necessary with the KJV, ASV, and ESV, but I can add them both for $35 if I'd like to.

I use the free E-Sword program. I do so because it is free and I cannot see how I can justify spending hundreds of dollars for the bells and whistles that come with the other programs when I will rarely access those extra tools. I look forward to hearing comments from users of other programs, and your reasons for going with your program. If you disagree with me at this point, that's fine, but I encourage you to seriously consider . . . what am I getting for the hundreds of dollars I spend every few years to have the latest version, compared to what James has for free?

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!

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!