Back in December, I wrote an article on my switch to Skype for my calls made while at my desk, to cut back on the number of cell phone minutes I was burning through each month. After calculating savings, I realized I was saving $631.70 per year by going with a VoIP provider as opposed to Verizon. At the time I was using a headset connected to my desktop. Since then, I’ve gotten a bit more technologically advanced.
I recently came across a product put out by D-Link, which plugs into the USB port on my computer and allows me to make Skype calls from a normal phone! In addition, if I had a regular phone line, I could plug that in as well which would allow me to make and recieve phone calls from either line. The ability to use a regular phone is something that I did miss, but with the addition of the DPH-50U, I have added a lot of versatility to my office. You can use any regular phone with this device. I purchased mine at NewEgg.com, for $19.99 on sale, and there was no shipping cost. In addition, there was a $10 mail in rebate which I took advantage of.
Overall, I would say that the call quality I have had has been very good. I’ve had a couple calls fade out for a second, but the interruptions have been minimal at best.
For those of you whom are getting ready to graduate college, or still have some time to go, you may want to consider taking the time to put together a solid resume to send to potential employers when the time comes. You have a lot of resources available to you right now (Career Development office for instance) to help you fine tune your resume, and get noticed by employers when the time comes.
This doesn’t exempt the rest of the work force! With our recent economy, I know that there are a more than a few people out there searching for employment. Keeping your resume up to date will help you get focused quickly after a job loss. Even if you are “secure” in your job, you should always keep feelers out there to see if there is a better opportunity waiting for you somewhere on the horizon.
There is a great article at Dumb Little Man that discusses building a top notch resume. About the only item on their list that I disagree with is removing your postal address. I would consider that a pertinent piece of pedigree information, not one that I would omit from my resume.
The bottom line on this issue? By having a solid resume, and taking the time to update it regularly (10 minutes every 6 months!), you put yourself in a much better position than someone struggling to get their act together when it comes down to it.
In speaking to a friend recently about credit cards, mortgages, and personal finance, he confided that he had very little knowledge of most things finance related. The question he eventually asked me was “What is the difference between secured and unsecured debt?” Since I feel the answer could benefit more than just my friend, I decided to post it up here for all to see.
Secured Debt is debt backed by something tangiable. Good examples of a secured debt are your vehicle and your mortgage. There is a physical good that can be reposessed or foreclosed on to recoup losses by the lender in the event you fail to make the payments.
Unsecured Debt is debt without a tangiable asset to back it. The best example of this would be a credit card. A regular credit card has nothing to back it, so the creditor can only attack your credit score and not your home.
There are secured credit cards, where you pay a specific amount up front to the creditor, for instance, $500. You are then given a credit card with a credit limit of $500, secured by the money you have already fronted to the creditor. This would be considered a secured debt.
Hope this helps!
When I entered the real estate arena, I decided I needed to address my phone plans. My cell phone plan with 1,000 minutes per month was just not going to cut all the additional phone calls I was making – some calls just can’t wait until after 7PM! Please note that any rates that I provide in this post are based on my home in Amherst, NY.
The two options I considered were having a Verizon land line phone installed, or finding an online Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) service to run over top of my preexisting broadband connection. I ended up choosing Skype as my VOIP solution.
Continue reading ‘Skype vs. Verizon – Saved me $631.70!’
