My wife and I were spending almost $185 a month for two verizon iphones on a family share plan but use very little talk time and data since we either use the land line when at home and are mostly on wifi either home or work, i waited till both were out of contract and switched to Page Plus Cellular, they use the same towers as verizon, i got to keep the same phones and my monthly bill is now $60 for both phones, on $29.99/phone plan that works perfect for both of us and we dont go over the minutes or the data.
The list of security ideas is great, but I agree with you Donny, a dog that is trained to be alert when strangers approach, barks, etc is an excellent home security feature to have, plus dogs are great company.
I enrolled in an AIO wireless prepaid service. For only $55 a month I get unlimited calls, texts and data (2 GB speeds at 4G LTE then gets throttled after that). And since it's an AT&T company the coverage is really good.
Great article - excellent advice. I'll pile on Number 10 and say in addition to workshops and the things you mention above, there is also a great amount of information on the 'net if you have the patience to look for it. There are sites and forums (and YouTube, too) for just about every specialty, usually with DIYers' questions and follow-up responses from professionals. You can get some good, solid information to address your particular question/problem, along with stern admonition when you deserve it :-).
We do not have landlines. My husband and I have our cell phone service through straighttalk. We pay 45 per month which includes unlimited talk, text, and data.
We have a family plan with unlimited voice & data with Sprint and have 4 phones (including my 2 sons') on one plan. Because we use our phones for business & need internet access when traveling, the company pays for the plan, but we are the company! I would love to get rid of the land line, but we still need the fax line at times, so we keep it for now.
Some homeowners have a security system installed. They display the company's sign in their front yard. It's intended to be a warning, "hey, don't bother breaking in, I've got an XYZ system!" XYZ gets free advertising. Everyone wins.
However, displaying the company's name on your front lawn could work against you. XYZ's former employee who turned to a life of crime may know exactly how to bypass your system.
Suggestion: Trade yard signs with your neighbor who has an ABC system. Not foolproof, but it's one small step that could make the difference.
We travel quite a bit and have had to be creative to find cheap ways to stay in touch from wherever we are. What works for us currently where we live in Montana (where some of the cheap plans such as Cricket, Ting, T-Mobile, etc. are not available):
1) When we are in the USA- Straighttalk -- we pay $30/month for 1,000 minutes and 1,000 texts which is enough for our needs (4 kids, grandchildren, parents).
2) We don't have a landline so we have a Tracfone for our second phone so we can call each other. For this phone we charge it up once a year at $80-$85 (online from e-bay) for a year long tracfone airtime card of 400 minutes (which is doubled to 800 minutes because we paid an extra $5 when we bought the phone initially). These minutes roll over at the end of the year.
3) When we are outside of the USA we have cheap phones we bought in 2008 in the Philippines which can take a SIM card from whatever country we are currently living in. This allows us to take advantage of cheap local rates and surprisingly enough sometimes it is quite cheap to call the States. Currently here in Nairobi, Kenya the local airtel service allows called to the USA for about 3.5 cents/minute.
4) Skype fills in the gaps and sometimes allows us to make free skype to skype calls if the internet connection is strong enough.
I used to sit all day in an office and it really gave me a bad back. Even getting out the gym at lunch is not enough, you need to stand up and move around more in order to improve your general health. Great idea to talk to HR and try to get a standing desk at work... but those Human Resources people mostly only deal with hiring and firing these days! Better to try to create strategies to keep you active... sent stuff to a printer on the next floor, go and talk to your colleagues when you have a question rather than just email or phone. Best of all try to "wriggle about" as much as you can... just avoid sitting still!
Recently saw somewhere that a tension rod hung horizontally in the kitchen sink cabinet can allow u to hang spray bottles (Fantastic, Windex, 401, etc) and save the valuable cabinet floor space.
Love the ideas here too!
Mel
1. I ditched the landline years ago.
2. I've stayed with the same carrier for years and have a plan that's been grandfathered in all this time. I can't find anything close in price with any other carrier for a similar plan.
3. I don't have a smartphone. No internet, just texting, which I finally caved in on about a year ago thanks to my friends bugging me about it.
4. I only get a new phone when my last one dies. I only get a free phone as a replacement.
Speaking of hunters dropping their deer off at the butcher to be processed, you have to watch where you take it to be processed. Why? Sometimes you do not get the meat from deer you dropped off. Some processors will just give you a certain amount of meat based on the weight of the deer. They combine the meat from several deer. Others will give you the meat from the deer you dropped off. I personally think the main reason is the processor is so busy that they do not have the time to individually butcher each deer and then separate the meat into the cuts that the person wants from that specific deer. As an example one processor may handle 100 deer in a week, while another only handles 10 and yet another may only handle 1 or 2. Some processors handle other animals such as pigs, cows, and chickens. While others may only process the deer for just the Deer seasons.
When my dad and then I got our deer we went to a butcher that processed deer on the side during deer season to make extra money. There was one time dad took it to a processor that handles other animals, but they do not give you back the meat from the deer you take to them.
Hunting is a great way to stock up the Freezer. Especially if there is plenty of game around. Some game animals that are good to eat are: squirrels, Rabbits, Pheasants, Turkey, Quail, Dove, Chukar (a type of Partridge), Grouse, Deer, Elk, Moose, Fish, Bison, Boar, Wild Hogs, Antelope and many others. Not all of them are in every state.
Another way to stock up is gardening. Growing you own vegetables and fruits is the best way to feed yourself and your family and to stock up! We like Radishes, Tomatoes, Green Beans, Onions, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Sweet Peppers, and Potatoes. We shred up the Zucchini and freeze it to make Zucchini bread, Zucchini cake, Zucchini Quiche, and other things. Use the Tomatoes to Home-made Tomato sauce, Steak sauce, and chop them up and freeze and then to use in Chili and other dishes. Freeze the beans and peppers to use later. Use the Cucumbers to make Pickles.
This is one of those areas where we just have to shrug and say, "It's worth it to have an unlimited data plan." It allows us to not own a car (and instead use buses and ridesharing services and whatever), so that saves a lot in the end.
My wife and I were spending almost $185 a month for two verizon iphones on a family share plan but use very little talk time and data since we either use the land line when at home and are mostly on wifi either home or work, i waited till both were out of contract and switched to Page Plus Cellular, they use the same towers as verizon, i got to keep the same phones and my monthly bill is now $60 for both phones, on $29.99/phone plan that works perfect for both of us and we dont go over the minutes or the data.
Tom
The list of security ideas is great, but I agree with you Donny, a dog that is trained to be alert when strangers approach, barks, etc is an excellent home security feature to have, plus dogs are great company.
I enrolled in an AIO wireless prepaid service. For only $55 a month I get unlimited calls, texts and data (2 GB speeds at 4G LTE then gets throttled after that). And since it's an AT&T company the coverage is really good.
No land line and going on a family plan!
I know that have a bull dog usually helps keep the burglars away from your home. This the ultimate security mechanism in my opinion.
E-book selection is pretty much mainstream - about half the books I own are unavailable as e-books
No landline, a family plan, and Google Voice for texts. :)
Great article - excellent advice. I'll pile on Number 10 and say in addition to workshops and the things you mention above, there is also a great amount of information on the 'net if you have the patience to look for it. There are sites and forums (and YouTube, too) for just about every specialty, usually with DIYers' questions and follow-up responses from professionals. You can get some good, solid information to address your particular question/problem, along with stern admonition when you deserve it :-).
We use Vonage, internet provider and pay $9.99 a month
We do not have landlines. My husband and I have our cell phone service through straighttalk. We pay 45 per month which includes unlimited talk, text, and data.
We have a family plan with unlimited voice & data with Sprint and have 4 phones (including my 2 sons') on one plan. Because we use our phones for business & need internet access when traveling, the company pays for the plan, but we are the company! I would love to get rid of the land line, but we still need the fax line at times, so we keep it for now.
Some homeowners have a security system installed. They display the company's sign in their front yard. It's intended to be a warning, "hey, don't bother breaking in, I've got an XYZ system!" XYZ gets free advertising. Everyone wins.
However, displaying the company's name on your front lawn could work against you. XYZ's former employee who turned to a life of crime may know exactly how to bypass your system.
Suggestion: Trade yard signs with your neighbor who has an ABC system. Not foolproof, but it's one small step that could make the difference.
We travel quite a bit and have had to be creative to find cheap ways to stay in touch from wherever we are. What works for us currently where we live in Montana (where some of the cheap plans such as Cricket, Ting, T-Mobile, etc. are not available):
1) When we are in the USA- Straighttalk -- we pay $30/month for 1,000 minutes and 1,000 texts which is enough for our needs (4 kids, grandchildren, parents).
2) We don't have a landline so we have a Tracfone for our second phone so we can call each other. For this phone we charge it up once a year at $80-$85 (online from e-bay) for a year long tracfone airtime card of 400 minutes (which is doubled to 800 minutes because we paid an extra $5 when we bought the phone initially). These minutes roll over at the end of the year.
3) When we are outside of the USA we have cheap phones we bought in 2008 in the Philippines which can take a SIM card from whatever country we are currently living in. This allows us to take advantage of cheap local rates and surprisingly enough sometimes it is quite cheap to call the States. Currently here in Nairobi, Kenya the local airtel service allows called to the USA for about 3.5 cents/minute.
4) Skype fills in the gaps and sometimes allows us to make free skype to skype calls if the internet connection is strong enough.
I used to sit all day in an office and it really gave me a bad back. Even getting out the gym at lunch is not enough, you need to stand up and move around more in order to improve your general health. Great idea to talk to HR and try to get a standing desk at work... but those Human Resources people mostly only deal with hiring and firing these days! Better to try to create strategies to keep you active... sent stuff to a printer on the next floor, go and talk to your colleagues when you have a question rather than just email or phone. Best of all try to "wriggle about" as much as you can... just avoid sitting still!
Recently saw somewhere that a tension rod hung horizontally in the kitchen sink cabinet can allow u to hang spray bottles (Fantastic, Windex, 401, etc) and save the valuable cabinet floor space.
Love the ideas here too!
Mel
We have a no frills plan and block texting and internet so my kids don't accidently create charges.
Well, I don't have a land line. I also have a 15% union discount for my cell phone.
Well, I made it through the day with no coffee. The problem is, I have an early meeting tomorrow and the coffee that will be provided is awesome. :)
no more land line. and for cell phone i use my employee discount
I use Ooma,,,3.83 per month after you buy the box.
1. I ditched the landline years ago.
2. I've stayed with the same carrier for years and have a plan that's been grandfathered in all this time. I can't find anything close in price with any other carrier for a similar plan.
3. I don't have a smartphone. No internet, just texting, which I finally caved in on about a year ago thanks to my friends bugging me about it.
4. I only get a new phone when my last one dies. I only get a free phone as a replacement.
Speaking of hunters dropping their deer off at the butcher to be processed, you have to watch where you take it to be processed. Why? Sometimes you do not get the meat from deer you dropped off. Some processors will just give you a certain amount of meat based on the weight of the deer. They combine the meat from several deer. Others will give you the meat from the deer you dropped off. I personally think the main reason is the processor is so busy that they do not have the time to individually butcher each deer and then separate the meat into the cuts that the person wants from that specific deer. As an example one processor may handle 100 deer in a week, while another only handles 10 and yet another may only handle 1 or 2. Some processors handle other animals such as pigs, cows, and chickens. While others may only process the deer for just the Deer seasons.
When my dad and then I got our deer we went to a butcher that processed deer on the side during deer season to make extra money. There was one time dad took it to a processor that handles other animals, but they do not give you back the meat from the deer you take to them.
Hunting is a great way to stock up the Freezer. Especially if there is plenty of game around. Some game animals that are good to eat are: squirrels, Rabbits, Pheasants, Turkey, Quail, Dove, Chukar (a type of Partridge), Grouse, Deer, Elk, Moose, Fish, Bison, Boar, Wild Hogs, Antelope and many others. Not all of them are in every state.
Another way to stock up is gardening. Growing you own vegetables and fruits is the best way to feed yourself and your family and to stock up! We like Radishes, Tomatoes, Green Beans, Onions, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Sweet Peppers, and Potatoes. We shred up the Zucchini and freeze it to make Zucchini bread, Zucchini cake, Zucchini Quiche, and other things. Use the Tomatoes to Home-made Tomato sauce, Steak sauce, and chop them up and freeze and then to use in Chili and other dishes. Freeze the beans and peppers to use later. Use the Cucumbers to make Pickles.
This is one of those areas where we just have to shrug and say, "It's worth it to have an unlimited data plan." It allows us to not own a car (and instead use buses and ridesharing services and whatever), so that saves a lot in the end.
I save on my phone bill by looking at the bill each month to make sure I know exactly what I am paying for!
Ditch the landline and use FaceTime when you can! Much more fun.