I finally bundled my utilities.
 
I didn't  want to do it.  In fact, I fought it for many years. 

Much like my initial reaction to customer reward cards, I felt like there was something sinister about giving one company so much control.  After a year or so of not using consumer reward cards, I eventually gave in to the fact that using them -- in exchange for allowing stores to analyze my purchases -- would save me a great deal of money.   

Likewise, I have come to the realization that bundling my utilities would also save me a great deal of money. 

For the last 50 years, it has been a given that Americans will have a telephone in their homes. 

However, with the popularity of cell phones and Internet sites that allow you to talk online, it is likely that home phones may go the way of street corner pay phones soon. 

When it comes right down to it, home phones are really no more necessary than pay phones. 

Plus, home phones can easily cost a family $100 or more a month!

It was recently announced that the Kroger grocery store is partnering with several consumer-goods companies to deliver coupons via the cell phone.

My first thought was "how do you clip mobile coupons?"

Because we have high-speed DSL through our home phone line, I have been ignoring the high amount we have been paying on our home phone.

However, even with DSL, $120 a month is just too much to pay for a home phone when your household already has 4 cell phones.

Nowadays, most of us have a cell phone, Blackberry, or some other type of phone to keep us connected. But as we've grown more dependent on our cell phones, another question has come up: Do we need a home "land line" phone anymore?

Well, depending on your personal situation, cutting out the home phone service can be an easy way to save money.

Depending on your service, cutting out a home line can save around $40/month or $480/month, plus any incidentals. While this is a decent savings each year, I've listed some things to consider when deciding on whether to keep your home phone service or not.

Our favorite beat reporter, Randy, is at it again... He sends us this great tip for how to get out of a Verizon phone contract -- without any penalties!

But first, I have to ask... how many of you prefer Verizon over Cingular... or vice versa?

Want to be a part of probably the most wide-reaching tax refund - and of course, save money at the same time? Well, the Telephone Excise Tax is a one-time tax refund only offered for the 2006 tax year.

There was a report on the local news here in Nashville showing how people were able to get immediate results -- much lower credit card rates -- simply by using a very specific "script" with credit card companies over the phone.

Turns out, the actual words that you say are the most important factor in your getting a lower credit card rate.

Here's the script...

We've used this service (numerous times!) and can highly recommend it.

We'll never pay for 411 services again.

(...not if you're buying a digital camera... and it's from Sears!)

You hear it all the time. Whenever you buy something of value at the department store, they ask:

"Would you like to purchase an extended warranty on that?"

"We've got an optional service protection plan that will fully cover the product beyond the standard manufacturer's warranty. Are you interested?"

As a rule, we never buy into such "protection plans", "insurance", or "extended warranties" -- believing that the odds of something going wrong that the standard manufacturer's warranty wouldn't already cover are quite slim. Not to mention the fact that such protection plans are quite expensive, relatively speaking.

A CBC Report on Extended Warranties

Smart Money: Extended Warranty Rip-Offs

When Service Contracts Make Sense

Consumer Reports: Extended Warranties Aren't Worth The Cost

However, there have been two occasions in my lifetime when I've purchased an extended warranty. Both were at Sears. One experience (on a bicycle) was good. The other (on a digital camera) was not so good.

Here's what you need to know...

Maybe you've heard the phrase "voice over Internet Protocol" ... otherwise known as VoIP.

Maybe you've heard of "Skype"... otherwise known as the fastest, easiest, and clearest way to talk to other people -- all over the world -- for FREE right from your computer (...rather than on a traditional telephone line).

I had heard about both some time ago, but I didn't think much about them at the time.

I mean... I've got a cellphone. I've got plenty of free roaming minutes each month. And I've even got rollover minutes coming out of my ears. Jim does too.

BUT... Some of our friends & relatives don't!

So it made sense when a friend of ours recently asked us to sign up with Skype(for free) so we could chat with him at length about a tricky computer issue he was having.

I'm not kidding when I say that in less than 5 minutes we were up & running, and eager to explore all that Skypehas to offer... but just then our friend "Skyped us" (a.k.a. phoned us) -- before we could even think of what to do next!

(If someone knows your email address, they can look you up in Skypequick & easy.)