 | Cheapest long distance: 5 cents per minute, all the time, no
fees, no minimum. Too good to be
true? Not according to Consumer Reports magazine. I switched over
in 1999 and it
has been painless. They charge your bill to your credit card each month.
The company is:
GTC Telecom long distance
800-482-4746
http://www.gtctelecom.com/
A friend told me about another excellent and inexpensive
|
| Pay no fees to your bank. Bank with USAA Federal Savings, Money
Magazine's "best bank in America." They offer no-fee, interest-bearing checking with free
overdraft protection. You can also view your bank account info over the web.
Their site is at www.usaa.com and more information is to call them at 800-531-BANK.
(Their insurance products are only available to
veterans, but their bank is open to everyone.)
|
| Pay no fees to your credit card company.
 | If you pay your bill in full every month, choose a credit card that
(1) has no annual fee, (2) has low or no late fees/overlimit fees, and
(3) gives you rewards (example: 1% cash back for every dollar you
spend.) See The best deals on credit
cards
|
| If you revolve a balance, shift it to a home equity line of credit,
reducing your effective interest rate by more than than half. If you
can't do that, then choose a card that has a low interest rate. See The best deals on credit
cards
|
|
| Less expensive ways to buy stuff you need: warehouse clubs. They
cost $35 or $40 per year, but you will save that much on your first trip
alone. Particularly for staples (cooking supplies like rice, flour, oil,
cereal; toothpaste, deodorant, soap, etc.) you'll find their prices much
lower than the grocery store or drug store.
|
| Cheapest internet service provider (ISP): NetZero.
I used it for 3 years and it never cost me a dime. Local access
numbers, no fees, free email. Dial in at 56k.
|
| Free web site that you can edit without special software (or can
use as a blog):
|
| Discount web hosting:
| www.dreamhost.com
(They are great. Host an unlimited number of web sites for one
fee of $7.95 per
month) |
| Other services that are also good but are not as cheap:
|
|
| Unsolicited email
|
| Unsolicited postal mail
| Stop junk mail by signing up for the
DMA's mail preference list |
| Another
site on how to stop junk mail |
| To stop getting credit card offers and debt consolidation offers in the mail:
Call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT to have your name removed from mailing lists that credit
card companies purchase from the four major credit reporting agencies. One
call to this number gets you off of the lists sold by Equifax, Experian,
TransUnion, and Novus.
|
|
| Unsolicited phone calls
| You can greatly reduce the number of telemarketing calls
you receive by signing up for the
DMA's telephone preference list. It's easy and free. |
| If you live in New York State, you can have your name
put on the state's list of do-not-call numbers. A New York law, effective April 1,
2001, bars telemarketers from calling any number
on that list. You can get on the list at http://www.consumer.state.ny.us/ |
| Write to the two major companies that compile street
address directories and request that your listing be removed:
 | Haines & Co. Criss-Cross Directory
Attn: Director of Data Processing
8050 Freedom Ave NW
North Canton OH 44720
[Send a letter requesting that your name be removed. Haines only
accepts such requests in writing.] |
| R. L. Polk & Co.
Attn: List Suppression Files
26955 Northwestern Highway
South Field MI 48034
Tel 810-728-7000
|
|
|
| When you DO get an unsolicited phone call...
| Ask for the company's name. |
| Ask for the company's number. |
| Ask to be put on their "do not call" list |
| Record the date and time of the call. |
| If they call you back, federal law says they owe you
money!
|
|
| Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA)
| 1. "Do not call" lists. The TCPA requires
telemarketers to take you off their list if you ask them to do so.
Further, telemarketers must have a written policy for maintaining do not
call lists, available upon demand. (47 CFR 64.1200) If you have
received more than one call by or on behalf of the same company in one
year, after you have told the company to place your name on the "do
not call list," you can:
| Sue the telemarketer in state court (usually small
claims is recommended) to stop such calls and/or to recover a
penalty. The penalty is actual monetary loss or up to $500,
whichever is greater, for each call received after you requested
to be placed on the "do not call" list. If the court
finds that the marketer willfully or knowingly broke the law, the
penalty is up to three times the actual monetary loss or up to
$1500, whichever is greater. |
| The penalty for violations with respect to
automatic dialing systems, prerecorded messages and facsimile
machines, is $500 or actual damages, whichever is greater. The
penalty for willful or knowing violations is $1500 or three times
the actual damages. |
| File a complaint with the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) and request that it take enforcement action against
the telemarketer. |
| Request that the Attorney General in your state
file a suit against the telemarketer. If the Attorney General
receives several complaints against the same telemarketer, it may
take action against the telemarketer. Calls by or on behalf of
tax-exempt nonprofit organizations are not required to comply with
the "do not call" list requirements. (47 CFR 64.1200) The
"do not call" list requirements also do not apply to
marketers calling businesses. |
|
| Privacy tip: If you want to take action against a
company that continues to call, send a certified letter, return receipt
requested, demanding to be placed on the "do not call" list.
Keep a copy of the letter and the return receipt as proof. Also, keep a
log of all calls. |
| 2. Restricted hours. Telemarketers can only make calls
to residences between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. unless they have your prior
express consent or if you have an established business relationship. (47
CFR 64.1200) |
| 3. Fax machines. A telemarketer cannot use a fax
machine, computer or other device to send an unsolicited ad to a fax
machine unless the receiving party has given prior express
consent. [The same $500 penalty applies.]
|
|
Dictionary On the Web
http://www.onelook.com/
Looks up any word in a dozen different dictionaries and gives you the choice
of which dictionary's definition you want to view.
Manhattan cross-street finder
http://www.manhattanaddress.com/
Brilliant, very simple site - you type in an address on an avenue, and it
tells you the cross street, the neighborhood, and even the nearest subway stop!
Weather Links
Current
weather in Central Park
NEXRAD
real-time weather radar
Weather
Stations in every state
