Winter Storm Warning

We are all geared up here as we prepare for another major winter storm here in Tennessee. We have filled every vessel we could find in the house with water including the bathtub and kitchen sink just in case we lose power. We are on a well here and if we lose power we also lose the ability to pump water into the house. We also have water storage containers on the back porch filled with water. 

Law enforcement and other emergency officials are asking people to stay off the roadways if at all possible. They are advising people to: 

• Make sure your cell phone is fully charged, keep it and the charger with you 
• Check your car's battery to make sure it is properly charged
• Fill your fuel tank before the winter storm arrives
• Check your tire pressure, make sure tires are properly inflated
• Check your car's spare tire and make sure it is in the trunk and in good condition
• Dress warm and keep additional blankets, food, and water in your vehicle. Consider adding an ice scraper, extra blanket, sand for traction and jumper cables.

If you do find yourself stranded here are some tips to try and prolong the life of your cell phone battery.

• Turn the phone off; only turn it on when you are expecting or making a call
• If in an area with no reception, turn off the phone to prevent it from constantly searching for service (even with automatic power save features, it can take up to 30 minutes and it is depleting your battery)
• Limit use of the vibrate function on your phone; use a ring tone as it uses less of the battery's power
• Don't use extra features such as the Internet, WIFI, GPS, camera phone, and hands-free device; additionally limit use of the back light or turn it off to prolong the battery

Before heading out you can check the road conditions by calling the following numbers.

• AL  888-588-2848  WWW.DOT.STATE.AL.US
• GA  888-635-8287  OR 511 IF IN GEORGIA
• NC 877-511-4662
• TN 877-244-0065 OR 511 IF IN TENNESSEE

For those of you staying home during this winter storm you should make sure you have the following items available should the power go out.

• Flashlights
• Radio
• Blankets
• If you lose power do not use alternate power and heating sources in the home or garage that may produce carbon monoxide. 

Keep an eye on your neighbors especially the elderly.

Please keep in mind that during weather events like the one we are expecting will delay response times to emergency calls. In order to reach some locations EMS will rely on other response agencies for assistance with response and manpower.

Again emergency officials ask that you not venture out unless absolutely necessary.  

Please be safe out there! 

Belinda
CFO ~ Chief Frugal Officer
© Belinda & Frugal Workshop, 2011-2014.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Saving Money on Phone Service

Our home phone service has been with AT&T for as long as we have lived in Tennessee. I can remember when we first had service and the bill was around $21 per month, but in the last few years the bill has inched upward until it now costs $38 per month and that is with no long distance phone calls. In other words, just your basic home phone service with no features like call waiting or caller ID. 

Last year when I bought my new cell phone the Verizon salesperson told me about their new program called Verizon Home Phone Connect. I thought it sounded interesting at the time, but I put it on the back burner at the time and hadn't really thought about it again until we were in the Verizon store last month replacing my daughter's broken cell phone. 

The Verizon salesperson explained to me that I could have home phone service for $19.99 per month. Always looking to lower our monthly costs I considered and eventually decided to use this new service. The switchover was rather painless and we even got to keep our old phone number.  

Here is what the setup looks like on our kitchen counter:

As you can see there is a black device from Verizon and the phone itself, which plugs into the back of the Verizon device.

Now I wasn't really thinking about what the final cost would be and didn't take into consideration all the taxes and fees that would be added to the $19.99, but in the end we are saving approximately $10 per month on our monthly phone service, which is a pretty good deal to me. The switchover from AT&T to Verizon has been completed and we are satisfied with the new phone service and happy to be paying less for one of our monthly expenses.

How about you? Have you been able to save on any of your monthly expenses lately?   


Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Cell Phones

Pictured above are two cells phone, which we purchased in December of 2009. At the time, I was using a cell phone my ex-husband had given to me for my birthday a few years ago. He paid the bill every month so that he could have contact with our daughter at the time because it was a long distance charge for us to call him from our landline. 

That month, for reasons which would be another blog post, the phone was turned off, so we went to Verizon and opened our own account and bought these two cell phones. The blue one was mine, and the red one belonged to my daughter, which was her Christmas present that year.

As a substitute teacher I depend on my cell phone for work.  So many times I have been out of the house and received a call to sub that I know, without a cell phone, I would be missing valuable opportunities for work. 

Last month, my blue cell phone started turning itself off, not very often, but enough to the point where I was afraid to depend on it for work anymore. One morning, which is a crucial time for subs to receive jobs, it acted up while I was texting a teacher to the point that I knew I couldn't trust it anymore. The phone, while still good for for personal use, was simply not good enough for work. 

So, last month I went and spoke with the salespeople at Verizon. A new battery would cost me $39.95 and may or may not solve the problem. A new phone, after a $50 rebate, would cost me $49.95. This to me was a no brainer. I had to be able to depend on my phone for work, and I didn't want to buy a new battery and still have the phone not working and have to shell out more money for a new phone anyway. 

So basically for about ten extra dollars I could get a new phone. So, I bought a new cell phone and paid $109.74 for it, but received a $50 rebate, so the phone ended up costing me $59.74 (We pay 9.75% in sales tax here, so approximately 10¢ on the dollar). 

After I bought my new cell phone, I put my old blue one in the junk drawer and had been thinking about what to do with it for the last month. We had always done our best to support our schools with boxtops, fundraisers, Campbell soup labels, printer cartridges, and they can even receive money for old cell phones. I saw an ad for the local recycling place, which stated they bought old cell phones, and I even called and was told they would give me $1.00 for the phone. 

Last weekend, my daughter had an drink on her nightstand, which spilled and just barely got her red cellphone wet. We dried it off and put it in rice, but in the end, despite our best efforts, her cell phone was dead. I had just finished shelling out money for a new phone for myself, and the thought of buying another phone was more than my budget could take right now. 

My daughter really wanted to get her cell phone replaced, she is a teenager and cell phones and texting are a big part of their lives. I told her that even though she had been responsible with her cell phone for over two years with no accidents, since this was her fault, she would have to bear the burden of paying for half of a new phone and I would pay the other half for her. 

Last night I was sitting here thinking about her phone when an idea struck me and I called Verizon to ask them about having her phone number changed over to my old phone. The store assistant said it was easy to do and could be done from my home in just a few minutes. I took my old phone and had hers switched over to it within minutes of our phone conversation. 

That cell phone, which was untrustworthy for my work, was still perfect for a teenager! I called her out of her bedroom to surprise her and she was overwhelmed with joy. 

I honestly had no idea getting her a "new" phone would be so easy. She had been saving her money towards the new phone and had already set aside $34 for it. When I think back now about giving our old cell phones to the school, or (gasp!) selling them for $1.00, I realize how short sided that would have been. 

I'm so glad I've always saved our old cell phones because some times accidents do happen and they end up costing us money. In this case, I feel like I've saved ourselves $109.74 and that is worth a lot more to me than a donation to school or $1.00 from the recycling center. 

So, the morale to this story is save those old cell phones as you never know when you might need them again someday. That is my money saving story for the day and how we are "making do" with our phones. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading our story. :)

Belinda 

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2011. 

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”