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.

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!

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.

Skype is a messaging client similar to AOL Instant Messanger, ICQ, or many others that you may come across.  It also comes with a built in VOIP service, with very reasonable rates.  Skype can be found at www.skype.com.

Startup Costs: My initial start up costs for Verizon would have been a $130 installation charge.  This baffles me, because the entire house is already wired (and what rooms weren’t wired I would have done myself).  I understand that they have to send a tech out to the house, but this cost didn’t seem prudent.  My initial startup costs for Skype were $40.  I spent $40 on a nice headset to plug into my computer.  Your costs may be higher or lower, but I would suggest a nice headset.  Skype also sells phones that will plug into your computer and integrate with their service, though the cost on these ranges greatly.  There are also tutorials online that will show you how to convert your phones preexisting wiring to a fully functional Skype based phone system.

Service Comparison: For comparison, I am using the same service set for both Skype and Verizon.  I wanted unlimited local and long distance calling to the United States.  The plans I am comparing include unlimited local and long distance to the United States and Canada.  Skype DOES have a fair use policy in effect which limits you to 10,000 minutes per month.  Assuming a 31 day month, this gives you 322 minutes per day of talk time, or over 5 hours of talk time.  I don’t anticipate my needs going over that for quite some time.  Both plans also include voice mail, call forwarding, and caller ID.

With Verizon, I was signing up for one plan which included all the features above.  With Skype, I signed up for 2 separate services – SkypeOut, which provided me with my unlimited outbound service, and Online Number, which provided me with a local calling number for people to reach me at.  Both Skype services were subscribed to at the same time, so there really wasn’t much added “hassle”.

Show Me The Savings: Now let’s crunch some numbers.  The Verizon plan, after taxes, would have run me $57.60 per month.  This adds up to $691.20 per year!  With Skype, I paid $30 for a full year of SkypeOut service.  I also paid $29.50 for a year of Online Number service.  Total yearly cost of Skype: $59.50.  For $1.90 more, I now have phone service for an entire year!

Figure Skew: There is some skew to these figures.  I am not including the cost of my broadband connection, because I would be paying for it regardless.  Also, I could have found a broadband and telephone package with Verizon, but overall I’m sure the costs still would have been more than the Skype service.

Quality of Service: As long as you have a solid broadband connection, Skype should work fairly well for you.  I have been using the service for almost a full year now, and I have only had one call fade out.  There are some special considerations that need to be taken into effect with Skype.  For instance, Skype does not tie in to a 911 Emergency Dispatch center, so I need to use my cell phone to call in case of an emergency.

Overall, I am very happy with the service I have received with Skype.  If you have any questions about their service, I would be more than happy to answer them.

The average player coming into the league just out of college starts at $285,000 a year and after taxes and deductions they round that figure down to about $147,000 a year. One thing that surprises me is that many of these players are financially struggling during the off season because they only get paid 17 weeks out of a 52-week year, and stretching that money gets more and more difficult as time goes on. One of the main reasons is that these players have never been required to budget such a large amount of money, so they go on spending sprees and other frivolous endeavors. When it comes time to live during the off-season, they find themselves in financial trouble.

The article discusses creating a cash flow plan for these players which would break their finances down into two different types:

1. Sure Money- the player’s salary
2. Extra Money- profit gained from endorsements, league bonuses, and any other cash not gained directly from their league check.

The article further explains that the “sure money” account would be broken down into four separate accounts with the player’s bank. The first account would be the holding account where the money is originally deposited. From there, the money would be broken down into:

• Operating Account: all money for bills and personal spending would be filtered into this account.
• Major Expense Account: property taxes, insurance, etc. would end up in this account.
• Emergency Account: 3-6 months salary that is saved up so that all bills could be covered in the case of an emergency.

The article also discusses the basic budgeting premises that many of us have come to be familiar with. This includes developing a budget that allows you to live within your means, as well as being able to put money away for times when you many not have an income. This is especially important to the NFL player outside of that 17-week season when a paycheck is coming in regularly.

According to the article, many players will take their extra money and blow it on things that may not be necessary instead of saving it or putting it in to smart investments that will help them continue to live the comfortable lifestyle that they’ve become accustom to when they retire.

The article discusses how taxes would affect these incoming finances, oftentimes with a 50% tax. “1 Million dollars quickly becomes $500,000″ and it would help if that money was put into an investment vehicle in order to get more benefit from that money.

This article stunned me in that I never considered that a professional football player would have the same problems as Average Joe when it comes to finances simply because of the pay schedule they’re in. When you stop and think about it, you have to realize that proper budgeting and financial management is not just a skill that comes easier when you have more money; it’s a skill that must be learned, and one that must be practiced throughout the course of your career.