Tag Archives: Bills

Is Internet Phone Service Cost Efficient?

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With the introduction of home computers and the internet, it was only a matter of time before companies developed internet phone service. Providers such as Magic Jack and Vonage have really taken off in the last couple of years with their low monthly and yearly plans. These plans include unlimited long distance. People jumped on these when they first appeared on the scene.

Once the customers installed and started using these services, it quickly became apparent to many of them why they maybe were not such a bargain after all. There were complaints of echoes on the line, or just not being heard, or able to hear the caller on the other end. For some customers, these services were little more than glorified walkie talkies. But people continued to use them because, in spite of all the technical issues, the price was still much better than anything the local or national phone services could offer.

The good news is that improvements were made over time to the internet phone services. While all the bugs aren’t worked out, there are now enough positive responses to make it seem a worthwhile venture. There are still some disadvantages, the biggest one being that if you lose internet for any reason, your phone service will go with it. However, in this day and age of cell phones, most people usually have a backup in case this happens.

Even with the drawbacks of internet phone services, there is still the price to consider. For just a fraction of the cost of landline phone companies, you can have free unlimited long distance as well as free local calls. Caller ID and voice mail is included in your monthly or yearly rate. So, as the costs of your non internet phone service providers continue to climb, you are saving a huge amount of money by using services such as Vonage or Magic Jack. For a lot of people, as long as the service works most of the time, they feel the savings are well worth any aggravation.

If you are someone who has a great longtime relationship with the local phone company, it’s still worth it to at least look into the internet phone services. You might be shocked at the amount of money you will save for the same service you get now. There are probably many ways you could spend all that extra money you will have left over at the end of the month.

Organize Your Home Financial Department

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One of the easiest and most commonly overlooked ways to improve your financial state is to simply organize it. Having something where it should be so that you may find it when you need it is fast, easy, and usually easier on the eyes in your home office!

Experts say that home finances can be broken down into three main categories: bills due, important documents to keep, and trash/shred items. From those three main categories, you are able to break one into subcategories. Important documents to keep can be the one that often becomes tricky and messy.

A good suggestion for keeping this file organized is to invest in a small filing cabinet. If a filing cabinet is not a choice for budget or space reasons, consider either a pendoflex or rubber/plastic filing system. These can usually be purchased at a local superstore or office supply store for as little as seven dollars. You will want to make sure that there is a significant amount of files inside. While you may only need ten or less now, that number will probably change in the future. And example of sub-file categories might include documents like tax returns, mortgage documents, warranties for home items (which can also again be subcategorized by room), retirement documentation, investment statements, and insurance policies.

A simple process for each document that comes your way would follow this process:

Is this documents a bill to pay, important document to file, or should it be discarded/shredded? If it is to be filed as an important document it could be categorized as monthly documents (to include bills paid, automobile payments, monthly insurance, monthly investments, etc.), yearly documents (tax returns), and warranty/product information. Other classifications could include education, organizations/clubs/activities, or religious documents.

Each and every home should have a basic organizational structure for their finances, yet still be custom designed to the individual. The point of this organization is to keep you on track of what is where. This will also aid in research for the future. You may want to sum up all of you spending in a certain area for last year. In the unlucky even that you are ever audited by the Internal Revenue Service, the inspector will be impressed that you maintain such an organized financial department. Setting up a solid financial organization can also ease the process for your heirs after you are gone. This creates less of a burden on them and makes the overall process simpler and easier.