Comparing International Rates

I have been checking out and comparing international rates of Verizon, AT&T, Google Voice, Magic Jack and Vonage of course to see where I could save money.

Here are the links to their international calling rates.
Verizon
AT&T
Google Voice
Magic Jack
Skype
Vonage

There are big difference on the prices. But I found Google Voice the cheapest to call the Philippines. It is not the most convenient method unless you have an iPhone or Android phone to install the app. But if you could settle on using your PC in placing international call then this will save you a lot of money.

Lower Your Credit Card Interest to Save Money

This will blow you mind, especially if you have a raging credit card interest with big dept on the card. I just found out that you can lower your credit card interest with a simple phone call to the credit card company. Call them them and make an inquiry, a simple question "Can you lower my interest rate?" will impact your monthly credit card bills. Just be polite if the first time you call they say no then ask them how can you make it low. If the first time you did not succeed call again and if you need to call them everyday then do it, there are thousand of agents one of them will agree with you.

You could also ask to talk to a manager and ask him to lower it and if he say no then ask him how can you lower it.

Just remember to be polite and give due respect to the agents. Ask and you shall received... I just did.

Share this to all you friend, it might help them save money too. (Just click the Facebook icon on the upper right corner for easy sharing on Facebook)

Discount Coupons from Safeway

At Safeway coupons are at the back of the receipt. My favorite coupon that became available on the nearest Safeway on our location was the Mc Buy one take one Frappe. It is a good deal so I always check the backof my receipt from Safeway.

Today I went to Safeway just to buy Bok Choy, I just needed fresh vegetable to be topped when I reheat our meal for lunch.. I just cost me .70 cents, but I was supprized when I saw that I have a $10 off discount for a car wash from a local shop, I was just in time because I was really thinking to have our car washed.

My bottom line here is, it is good to be aware of coupon around your area. I'll probably save just $10 but it is better than nothing.

Save Money on Telephone Bills and International Calls

I have a previous post about Magic Jack, how it cheap it is compare to conventional phone services. Well I have another one here but it is not about conventional telephone it is only about making a free call, specially international calls.

The best way I find to make a free international call is by using VOIP or voice over internet protocol. Basically it is using a computer to make calls. Skype is one of the famous name when it comes to VOIP. My problem with Skype is, it is only free if you are calling another Skype user but if you are calling a regular phone the are charges and it varies depending what country you're calling.

Whistle phone, it is also a VOIP, but it could also place free calls on US landlines and mobile phone, all you have to do is download the software from their website and register to open an account. In this way friends and family outside the US can a call to my landline and mobile phone for free instead of placing an international call which is expensive.

Update:
We are now using Google Voice see my post about this Here

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Save on Gardening

Having your own garden saves you money more than you know it if you're doing it right. This is my own guide line to check if I am saving money on my gardening or spending more.

Usually we just buy potting soil and pots for our garden, but this is not saving this is spending. To make a saving on pots and potting soil improvising is a must. For potting soil, instead of buying just pick a place where you could dig out good soil or the best thing is make your own potting soil by preparing a compost before planting season.

For improvise pots, recycled materials are the best choice, empty plastic milk or orange juice bottles works greate. Cut the top part and presto you have a recycled pot, it does not look nice but it does what it suppose to do. Just don't forget to poke some hole at the bottom to allow excess water to drain out.

Magic Jack

Magic Jack really works like magic for me. Why? Because it would provide you with a phone service that is phenomenal. The only requirement is high speed internet connection. But if you’re using dial up just forget it.

What is Magic Jack? it is a PORTABLE gadget th at you plug in to your computer through the USB port so you can have a telephone service. You can plug any telephone on the Magic Jack and use the phone just the way you use it or just use your computers audio out and microphone to make a call. It is better than any phone service provider here in the US when it comes to price, nobody can beat the 19.95 dollars PER YEAR that magic jacks offer. The thing with magic jack is your are going to be given a new US telephone number so therefore wherever you bring it the number goes with it. So if you have a laptop you can take you phone with you when you travel (but off course there should be an internet connection from where you’re going ) that you cannot normally do with any phone service.

If you always make international call to any country why not just send them a Magic Jack (But then again if they have internet connection) so that you can call them using your Magic Jack or any regular US phone line, could be your cell phone or the phone line at your office or they can call back on your cell phone or at your office or just any telephone as if they are here in the US. This is also what makes it better than Skype, Yahoo messenger or any Voice chatting software there is.

For more details you can visit Magic Jack's website or search the web....

Reverse Late Charges

Avoid unnecessary expense by avoiding to being charge by late fees. But did you know that late fees can be reversed? Yes it can be if you would just ask. How many times that you have been charged by a late fee and you just pay it and did not even ask if it can be reversed back? Most of us had never done this before we just simply pay because we know it’s our fault and that is what the contract says. More often is we complain about how high is the late fee and that the service is no good, more often we just quarrel and not achieving what we should have which is to have the late fee reversed.

This is the story how I have learned it. This month we just received a bill that stating we have been charge with a late fee of $5. Normally we would just pay it since that what is stated in the contract. When I reviewed the bill we just owed them $8.20, regularly we are billed around $40-$80 but this time we haven’t used the service quit often. But the thought of we owing them $8.2 only and will pay them $5 for the late charge has kept me thinking because it somehow feels like that we’re paying 60% interest. So, I pick up the phone and call them and ask them nicely if the late charges can be reversed, they asked me why and I just honestly told them that I was not able to pay in time due to my negligence and then ask them again politely that if still if they can reverse the late charges since I have been a loyal customer for more than a year. The conversation went well and they reversed the late charges. The funny thing is I didn’t know that the bill was already paid by my spouse so when the agent is reversing my late charges it shows that it was already paid. But anyway they say that the reversal will just reflect the next bill which means I have a $5 credit.

It is only $5 dollars, but now I know that late charges or other charges similar can be reversed. It could be more than $5 dollars next time or maybe more in your case. You have nothing to lose but your time talking to the agent so if seems it’s not worth of your time just let it go. I just put this in my blog because this is the Filipino style, $5 means a lot in the Philippines, It could be a whole day meal of a family of 5.

This may not be applicable to all companies that bill for late charges but most of them just wont tell if not asked, so just ask so they would tell.

Cook Adobo and save money

Lots of people now wants to save money but sometimes it seems so hard specially here in the US where everything seem so expensive that is why I made up this blog and see if I could pull Filipino people to contribute their idea on how to save money and still enjoy everyday life. Not only Filipino would benefit from the shared idea basically it will be applicable to anybody.

So I'll start this blog rolling with the famous recipe of the Adobo. Why Adobo? It's simple to cook, has a long storage life and the ingredients are not expensive. Since Adobe is full of flavor it is always serve with white rice but white bread will also do as a substitute.
The money saving part is when you cook extra serving and take advantage of the storage life so you would cook once and have a supply that would last for couple of weeks in the fridge or the freezer and the best thing about it is taste even better after storage.

Adobo Ingredients:
1/2 kilo pork cut in cubes + 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into pieces or
1 head garlic, minced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup vinegar
1 cup of water
3 laurel leaves (bay leaves)
4 tablespoons of cooking oil of your choice
1 table spoon whole corn pepper
Optional:
4 Boiled eggs

Sauté the minced garlic and onions on a sauce pan with 2 tablespoon of cooking oil.

Add the pork and chicken to the pan.
Add 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1 cup of vinegar 1 table spoon pepper and laurel.
Cover and bring to a boil, simmer for until meat is tender (20 min to 30 min).

Remove the pork and chicken from the sauce pan and fry with 2 table spoon of cooking oil for about 5 minutes then put it back to the sauce pan. Bring to a boil then simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add the un-shell the boiled eggs and add them.

Serve hot with white rice.