Cutting expenses is a great way to free up money to add to savings.

A couple years ago I switched to Vonage for my phone service. They provide phone service through my DSL high speed internet line. I play just $18/mo for local and long distance calls (this is for 500 minutes or less - for $29/mo you can get unlimited calling in North America and Europe). I still use my same phone (I just plug my regular phone into a modem they provided). You do lose the ability to make phone calls when the internet is down which happens if the power goes off - people can still leave you voicemail). I have been very happy and get free voice mail and free caller ID.

More recently I picked up a prepaid phone from Virgin. I pay only for the time I use (no monthly charges) - 25 cents a minute for the first 10 minutes any day and 10 cents a minute thereafter. There are no fees for calling from out of your service area and you have a regular cell phone number. They require I add a minimum of $15 every 3 months to the account but if I don’t use that much the balance just keep growing. This is ideal for anyone that doesn’t spend much time on cell phones. Now some people are very attached to their cell phone. Then this isn’t a good way to save money but for those that don’t feel the need to to stay in touch at all times this is a good option to stay connected when you want without having to pay high monthly fees.

Together I save at least $35/mo. (over $400 a year) and loose nothing I value. I would have to earn an extra $700, or so, to have the same impact (I hav eto pay taxes on additional earning).

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