Hi.  I know posting has been sparse here lately.   I’m not going to apologize, this is a hobby for me, I make my money elsewhere and (surprising to many) I also have a family and a social life … so as much as I would like to be regular, I’m not and not likely to be any time soon.  For those who are interested in my alternative energy/saving energy dollar posts fear not, there are certainly more of those coming along RSN (Real Soon Now).

I wanted to point out two voice telephony-related items today, though, because they are cute and because many of those who read here and write to me continually sing the same song … "I don’t have enough money to move" or "If I lived in the Philippines, how would I afford it?"

Well I can’t make money appear out of thin air, but I can do a reasonable facsimile for most people in the US.  I’m not criticizing anyone personally here, I fell into many of these same traps myself.  The number one way you can get yourself some money that you currently don’t have is to stop spending on useless items.  You have more money than you think, but most of us spend a lot more than we need to.  Some examples:

Cell Phones:  After nearly two years in the Philippines now I am amazed at what a rip off US cell phone plans are.  My wife and I used to have a basic AT&T plan and two bottom-line phones.  I just saw some old phone records in my personal file the other day.  A hundred bucks a month. Know what the major use we made of them was?  :"What aisle are you in, Hon"?  "I’m over by the pickles."  Hard to believe that during the nearly six years we lived in the US I paid cell phone companies $7,000 dollars or more.  For what?  So they could sell my data to telemarketers (yes, they can, for cell phone companies, it’s legal).  $100 a month.  Even with our ridiculous electricity costs here in the Philippines that would run our two air conditioners all month, and more.  How much do you really need that annoying ‘pocket pal’ and it’s monthly extortion fee?

Another thing I see often is people buying expensive tri and quad band US phones so they can take them with them later to the Philippines.  First of all this doesn’t always work.  US phones are normally ‘locked’ to a particular carrier and in some cases the phone, either legally or technically can not be ‘unlocked’.  If you do need a cell phone in the US for now, buy and use the cheapest one that will do the job for you there.  Do not succumb to the bells and whistles’ gimmicks.  All the phone needs to do is make and receive calls and texts, right?  Then when you make the move, giver the old, cheap phone away or even better donate it to a charity who makes old cell phones available to the physically handicapped for free.  You will not save money by buying an expensive phone now and then taking it with you later.  You can go in half a dozen stores at our local mall and buy a basic Nokia or other name-brand phone for $40 or $50 bucks, including a SIM card with a carrier of your choice and probably some free minutes on the SIM card already as a welcome promo.  That’s about one months US charges for one phone, so buying a many-hundred dollar ‘world phone’ and signing up for a year or more’s service just to be able to take the phone to the Philippines really makes no sense to me at all.  And here’s how you can call the Philippines from your existing US cell phone for almost an hour for free and then 9 cents a minute thereafter … smart use of money I’d say.  Click here to get $5 in FREE CALLS! Call Philippines 9¢.

Landline Phones:  In many cases I would say these are an anachronism similar to a buggy whip .. if you have reliable Internet service, who needs one?  $40 or $50 bucks a month down the drain in most cases.  You can:

Save big on your small business phone with Vonage

Save Big and keep you present number Vonage residential service

$9.95/mo Phone Service - Keep Your Number

There are certainly other offers out there, but these are ones I can vouch for and ones that will certainly save you money starting today … are you spending (losing) the cost of a trip to the Philippines each and every year just by making the wrong choices in your US-based phone service?

Related posts:

1. Using the Phone
2. More on Making Money in the Philippines — Rethink the Phone
3. Making Money In The Philippines With A Phone
4. Update On Cheap Phone Calls
5. More Nonesense Americans Won’t Miss in the Philippines

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