I have both a cell phone and a land line. I prefer talking on my land line instead of my cell phone. It sounds much better and is clearer compared to every cell phone I have ever used. When we had a blackout several years ago, cells didn't work at all, only landline did. I have low bills for both my land line and my cell. I may eventually cut the landline but for now it is not hurting me to keep it.
With video games, it can go one of two ways. If it's a classic like chrono trigger, or the Final Fantasy games for the SNES, then it will go UP in value. Those games now routinely sell for $40-80 a piece. If they were classics but also super common, like Super Mario Bros or Sonic the Hedgehog, then you'll make a little, those games sell for $10-20 each. However, if the game is obscure and you no longer enjoy playing it, then you should give them away. Also, if you want money on something, NEVER sell them to gamestop. You will get pennies for it, and they will proceed to sell it for $10-20.
I will confirm that the information about calling 911 from a cell phone can give problems about location however it happened to me when dialing Poison Control.
My cell phone had a Central Florida area code and I was calling from the Pittsburgh, PA area - never dreaming that it would make a difference. When the person giving me instructions about taking my grandchild to the hospital & I asked which one, I realized that he wasn't in Pittsburgh but was in fact in Florida.
We got it sorted out (fortunately it wasn't as much of an emergency as I had been concerned about) & he told me that my phone's area code had directed the call to a Florida Poison Control Center.
That's pretty scary now as many people have their cell phones in a different area code from where they originated - not wanting to change phone numbers.
For any major purchase, I refer to reviews in Consumer Reports magazine and also will Google for other reviews online. It's easy to get a fix on reliable products now. I never rely on what advertisers say about their products. It's all hype.
I always read the reviews before I buy anything. I will not purchase something if there are no reviews. I think if noone commented it isn't worth buying
I definitely agree that donating your junk car to charity is a great idea. I recently donated my old '89 Lexus RX to a non profit organization called Vets Vehicles, which is based in Northern California but processes donations all over the country. They donate all the proceeds from their car donations to highly reputable veterans charities like the Fisher House Foundation and AMVETS. It was really easy - they took care of the towing and all the processing, and I received a tax deduction for the full sales price of the car. I highly recommend them. Visit their website here: http://www.vetsvehicles.org/
The comment about landlines working in the event of a power outage is not always true. It depends on how you get your landline phone service. If it is over traditional copper, then yes, you are correct. However, if you get your phones service over cable, fiber to the premises (FiOS), or similar services it is not true. You will have a backup battery that will give you a little extra time, but once that battery is dead, you are without a phone anyway.
Calling treasuries is safe is extremely misleading and potentially dangerous to new investors. Treasuries are safe from default risk but not from interest rate risk. If you buy a 10 year treasury and interest rates rise the price of that bond will drop. Anyone looking to liquidate a treasury early in that type of circumstance will suffer much greater losses than any penalty on a cd or annuity.
I moved 6 years ago and dropped my landline at that time and have never missed it. I think in a natural disaster I would be able to use a neighbor's landline to check in with a family member once every day or two.
I keep my cell phone with me in the house whether I am upstairs or downstairs and also at work and if I miss a call now and then it is not a big deal to me. My cell phone expense is already very low at $12 a month so I would not save anything there by adding a landline. The only middle of the night emergency call I have gotten was that my ex's house alarm was triggered and I was still on the list for the alarm company to notify. I would have rather not gotten that call!
My teenagers have cell phones and I have been known to text them from upstairs if I do not want to yell. :-) I have heard that the radiation concern is not as great lately because people are doing a lot more texting and not holding the phone to their heads. I take the kids cell phones away at 9pm every night so they are not texting at night or sleeping next to their phone.
With 911 calls, I had not heard that info before, and thought they would be able to retrieve my location from a cell phone. Interesting.
Since I've cut out most meat from my diet I have definitely seen a major difference in the amount of money I spend on groceries. Even though cans of tuna are expensive, when I buy more vegetables, fruit, eggs and yogurt to cook throughout the week, it significantly reduces the amount of money I spend compared to when I used to buy a package of chicken breast, deli meat and ground beef.
I agree about taking risk. Staying within your comfort zone is safe, and we as humans resist change and uncomfortable situations, but how will you figure out what truly makes you happy if your don't take chances and try new things? The first two are vital, the others are things only some people realize and achieve.
ALWAYS! I try not to buy anything without consulting the reviews first. This has saved me a TON of money as I often think a product LOOKS great, until I read the negative reviews and it turns out that it something I do no want at all, saving me the time of finding out for myself that I wasted my money. I LIVE by customer reviews now, especially when purchasing big ticket items!
Good article. As a bankruptcy lawyer, I always discuss non-bankruptcy options with my clients and simply paying down debt is certainly the most obvious way to dig out. No one actually wants to file for bankruptcy, but unfortunately, many who come to realize they're in trouble don't have the resources to get rid of debt themselves. While debts are still manageable relative to earning power, cutting back on discretionary spending can help pull some families back from the brink of financial ruin, pay down debt and avoid bankruptcy.
I read reviews for almost all the products I buy. I mostly check Amazon, google reviews, go and look at the product in best buy or target or any other retail store (if they're costly).
If it's a service like restaurants, then I check yelp and google.
We still have a landline. For the many reasons listed above & also because my state has a 25% tax on cell phones. I did break down & landline last year for job hunting reasons, ppl exspect ya to be available 24x7 now a days as a consumer. Many places that used to be open till 6 now close the phones at 4 or 5 - like the bank and Dr's offices. My dentist's receptionist leaves at 3 now... it's pretty much impossible to have a full time job & not have to make personal buisness calls during the day. & now that I think about it, i used to be able to call many places before 8 or 9 in the morning before leaving for work (like when my teenagers were babies). I can't think of any Dr's office that has their night recording turned off before 9am now, Lord forbid you need to reach the Dr in the morning.
I think cell phones have hurt human communication & the consumer. It's made life more stressful. & I have a serious time hearing certain ppl when they call me on their cell - don't know if it's their phone or the carrier. I also have trouble on my cell sometimes, there's a time & a place for everything and buisness calls I think are best handled in a quiet place that you ca nhear everythign & write it down as needed. I'll stop gripping now.... my landline is clear as day, we never loose our landline phones as easily since they are bigger & our 2 corded phones work fine when the power is out.
I have to disagree with most of your assumptions with the stipulation that IF phone service is packaged with DSL it MAY be worth it. I am an Emergency Manager by profession and deal with these issues regularly related to 9-1-1. Yet, at my home with two small children we have no traditional landline service. Instead we use VOIP using an Obi box (~$50 for the box) that uses Google Voice for placing all calls (free). I then pay $1.99/mo for another pay-per-minute service from CallCentric that is there for nothing other than 9-1-1 calls. If 9-1-1 is dialed from any house phone it uses the CallCentric VOIP line and provides the same level of Enhanced 9-1-1 that would be present with a traditional landline. This is a major cost savings to us. It is worth noting that our IP service is through cable since we do need Cable TV and the internet service is only $5/mo more than what we would pay for just TV. We have found that DSL speed just doesn't cut it for us.
Phone providers are beginning to change the way they deliver traditional phone service. Instead of the 'ol reliable copper pair, they are moving to a service not unlike how the cable providers delivery phone service. That's not to say it will unreliable, but it won't be as reliable as it once was.
Also, most DSL providers offer a "Dry" DSL service. That's DSL service without voice service. So you can get DSL and not have to pay for voice. If they offer it for free, sure. But I wouldn't chalk that up to an advantage.
I went to this hoping to see a few usable suggestions...ha! It has been so long since I have had that kind of disposable income. I have been under and unemployed for so long now that I am far, far beyond all that... Let me know when you have suggestions about how to see a doctor, pay your electric bill AND get your kid some new shoes in the same month....
I had the same thing happen on my T-Mobile account. The scammers were "My Wireless30211". No idea how they got to my number. But set up the purchase blocker now too. What a bunch of scam artists out there.
I have both a cell phone and a land line. I prefer talking on my land line instead of my cell phone. It sounds much better and is clearer compared to every cell phone I have ever used. When we had a blackout several years ago, cells didn't work at all, only landline did. I have low bills for both my land line and my cell. I may eventually cut the landline but for now it is not hurting me to keep it.
With video games, it can go one of two ways. If it's a classic like chrono trigger, or the Final Fantasy games for the SNES, then it will go UP in value. Those games now routinely sell for $40-80 a piece. If they were classics but also super common, like Super Mario Bros or Sonic the Hedgehog, then you'll make a little, those games sell for $10-20 each. However, if the game is obscure and you no longer enjoy playing it, then you should give them away. Also, if you want money on something, NEVER sell them to gamestop. You will get pennies for it, and they will proceed to sell it for $10-20.
I will confirm that the information about calling 911 from a cell phone can give problems about location however it happened to me when dialing Poison Control.
My cell phone had a Central Florida area code and I was calling from the Pittsburgh, PA area - never dreaming that it would make a difference. When the person giving me instructions about taking my grandchild to the hospital & I asked which one, I realized that he wasn't in Pittsburgh but was in fact in Florida.
We got it sorted out (fortunately it wasn't as much of an emergency as I had been concerned about) & he told me that my phone's area code had directed the call to a Florida Poison Control Center.
That's pretty scary now as many people have their cell phones in a different area code from where they originated - not wanting to change phone numbers.
Buy a package of disposable cups and write an, "I love you" message with the cups in a chain link fence.
For any major purchase, I refer to reviews in Consumer Reports magazine and also will Google for other reviews online. It's easy to get a fix on reliable products now. I never rely on what advertisers say about their products. It's all hype.
I always read the reviews before I buy anything. I will not purchase something if there are no reviews. I think if noone commented it isn't worth buying
I definitely agree that donating your junk car to charity is a great idea. I recently donated my old '89 Lexus RX to a non profit organization called Vets Vehicles, which is based in Northern California but processes donations all over the country. They donate all the proceeds from their car donations to highly reputable veterans charities like the Fisher House Foundation and AMVETS. It was really easy - they took care of the towing and all the processing, and I received a tax deduction for the full sales price of the car. I highly recommend them. Visit their website here: http://www.vetsvehicles.org/
The comment about landlines working in the event of a power outage is not always true. It depends on how you get your landline phone service. If it is over traditional copper, then yes, you are correct. However, if you get your phones service over cable, fiber to the premises (FiOS), or similar services it is not true. You will have a backup battery that will give you a little extra time, but once that battery is dead, you are without a phone anyway.
Calling treasuries is safe is extremely misleading and potentially dangerous to new investors. Treasuries are safe from default risk but not from interest rate risk. If you buy a 10 year treasury and interest rates rise the price of that bond will drop. Anyone looking to liquidate a treasury early in that type of circumstance will suffer much greater losses than any penalty on a cd or annuity.
I moved 6 years ago and dropped my landline at that time and have never missed it. I think in a natural disaster I would be able to use a neighbor's landline to check in with a family member once every day or two.
I keep my cell phone with me in the house whether I am upstairs or downstairs and also at work and if I miss a call now and then it is not a big deal to me. My cell phone expense is already very low at $12 a month so I would not save anything there by adding a landline. The only middle of the night emergency call I have gotten was that my ex's house alarm was triggered and I was still on the list for the alarm company to notify. I would have rather not gotten that call!
My teenagers have cell phones and I have been known to text them from upstairs if I do not want to yell. :-) I have heard that the radiation concern is not as great lately because people are doing a lot more texting and not holding the phone to their heads. I take the kids cell phones away at 9pm every night so they are not texting at night or sleeping next to their phone.
With 911 calls, I had not heard that info before, and thought they would be able to retrieve my location from a cell phone. Interesting.
Since I've cut out most meat from my diet I have definitely seen a major difference in the amount of money I spend on groceries. Even though cans of tuna are expensive, when I buy more vegetables, fruit, eggs and yogurt to cook throughout the week, it significantly reduces the amount of money I spend compared to when I used to buy a package of chicken breast, deli meat and ground beef.
I agree about taking risk. Staying within your comfort zone is safe, and we as humans resist change and uncomfortable situations, but how will you figure out what truly makes you happy if your don't take chances and try new things? The first two are vital, the others are things only some people realize and achieve.
You are welcome! :)
You are welcome! :)
ALWAYS! I try not to buy anything without consulting the reviews first. This has saved me a TON of money as I often think a product LOOKS great, until I read the negative reviews and it turns out that it something I do no want at all, saving me the time of finding out for myself that I wasted my money. I LIVE by customer reviews now, especially when purchasing big ticket items!
Good article. As a bankruptcy lawyer, I always discuss non-bankruptcy options with my clients and simply paying down debt is certainly the most obvious way to dig out. No one actually wants to file for bankruptcy, but unfortunately, many who come to realize they're in trouble don't have the resources to get rid of debt themselves. While debts are still manageable relative to earning power, cutting back on discretionary spending can help pull some families back from the brink of financial ruin, pay down debt and avoid bankruptcy.
I read reviews for almost all the products I buy. I mostly check Amazon, google reviews, go and look at the product in best buy or target or any other retail store (if they're costly).
If it's a service like restaurants, then I check yelp and google.
Pretty interesting contrast to Thursday's article and I love these arguments because not too many people support the maintenance of landlines anymore.
LOL... I absolutely agree! :)
We still have a landline. For the many reasons listed above & also because my state has a 25% tax on cell phones. I did break down & landline last year for job hunting reasons, ppl exspect ya to be available 24x7 now a days as a consumer. Many places that used to be open till 6 now close the phones at 4 or 5 - like the bank and Dr's offices. My dentist's receptionist leaves at 3 now... it's pretty much impossible to have a full time job & not have to make personal buisness calls during the day. & now that I think about it, i used to be able to call many places before 8 or 9 in the morning before leaving for work (like when my teenagers were babies). I can't think of any Dr's office that has their night recording turned off before 9am now, Lord forbid you need to reach the Dr in the morning.
I think cell phones have hurt human communication & the consumer. It's made life more stressful. & I have a serious time hearing certain ppl when they call me on their cell - don't know if it's their phone or the carrier. I also have trouble on my cell sometimes, there's a time & a place for everything and buisness calls I think are best handled in a quiet place that you ca nhear everythign & write it down as needed. I'll stop gripping now.... my landline is clear as day, we never loose our landline phones as easily since they are bigger & our 2 corded phones work fine when the power is out.
I have to disagree with most of your assumptions with the stipulation that IF phone service is packaged with DSL it MAY be worth it. I am an Emergency Manager by profession and deal with these issues regularly related to 9-1-1. Yet, at my home with two small children we have no traditional landline service. Instead we use VOIP using an Obi box (~$50 for the box) that uses Google Voice for placing all calls (free). I then pay $1.99/mo for another pay-per-minute service from CallCentric that is there for nothing other than 9-1-1 calls. If 9-1-1 is dialed from any house phone it uses the CallCentric VOIP line and provides the same level of Enhanced 9-1-1 that would be present with a traditional landline. This is a major cost savings to us. It is worth noting that our IP service is through cable since we do need Cable TV and the internet service is only $5/mo more than what we would pay for just TV. We have found that DSL speed just doesn't cut it for us.
Phone providers are beginning to change the way they deliver traditional phone service. Instead of the 'ol reliable copper pair, they are moving to a service not unlike how the cable providers delivery phone service. That's not to say it will unreliable, but it won't be as reliable as it once was.
Also, most DSL providers offer a "Dry" DSL service. That's DSL service without voice service. So you can get DSL and not have to pay for voice. If they offer it for free, sure. But I wouldn't chalk that up to an advantage.
I always read reviews before buying online - and sometimes before buying in person, too. Especially for high-dollar and non-returnable items.
I went to this hoping to see a few usable suggestions...ha! It has been so long since I have had that kind of disposable income. I have been under and unemployed for so long now that I am far, far beyond all that... Let me know when you have suggestions about how to see a doctor, pay your electric bill AND get your kid some new shoes in the same month....
I had the same thing happen on my T-Mobile account. The scammers were "My Wireless30211". No idea how they got to my number. But set up the purchase blocker now too. What a bunch of scam artists out there.