That's right! T-Mobile, BillShrink, and J. Money are teaming up to bring you savings AND a Free phone!

And with the way this economy's been lately, the timing couldn't be better :) You owe it to yourselves to make sure you've got the best cell phone plans and credit cards in your pockets - plain and simple.

For anyone in the dark, BillShrink.com has come out blazing and is all about helping people like you and me save money. They hook you up with the best cell phone plans, credit card plans, and best gas stations centered around YOUR personal preferences. The whole site's pretty clever if you ask me, and I'm kinda pissed I didn't come up with it first ;) But whatever, I've got a PF blog instead, right? So yeah, check it out. All you have to do is visit their site, enter some info and preferences about your current bills, and voila! It recommends some better alternatives to help you save some money. It's easy, it's FREE, and it's awesome.

They also have a freakin' great blog as well (and I'm not just saying that). Their tagline is "Shrinkage Is Good" for crying out! haha...bad to the a$$. Anyways, to give you an idea of what their recommendations are like, here's what they gave ME when I hit them back up again:


Credit Card Recommendation: American Express TrueEarnings

This was based on paying off the card in full every month, spending roughly $1,000/mo, and wanting cash back over mileage and other prizes. And it doesn't surprise me at all - If Warren Buffett's been picking up even more of their stock, they have to be doing something right! Plus, I've always considered them a top dawg in these races. For me though, there's no beating my USAA World Cash Rewards MasterCard ;) If you're not as addicted or faithful to your own card, however, then this tool is def. worth checking out. You can sort from cash back, mileage, whatever your preferences are.


Cell Phone Provider Recommendation: T-Mobile

In all honesty, I didn't think T-Mobile was gonna come out as the clear winner here. I knew Verizon (who I have) is always more costly than the rest of the carriers out there, but I thought AT&T would for some reason win - but I was wrong! Based on my usage and specific needs, T-Mo grabbed the top spot! I know they've been trying to developing strong relationships with their customers, and are always pretty confident they have the best rates going on, so I suppose it all makes sense. I guess that's why they're so keen on pimping out BillShrink, eh? ;)


Best Gas Station in My Area: Liberty

This is true! Where I live Liberty, in fact, IS the cheapest station around...unfortunately I prefer convenience over saving a few bucks when it comes to filling up my Caddy. This station is only a few blocks away (I know, I'm an idiot) but when I'm going to or from work, I'm already in a rush and I'll gladly pay that convenience fee. If you're smarter than me, you'll listen to what Billshrink recommends.

So there you have it - T-Mobile & BillShrink are lighting up the skies! Now, onto the part you probably care about a teenie weenie bit more - THE FREE PHONE ;) Yes, I speaketh the truth. I will be giving one lucky winner a Free Tony Hawk Ed. Sidekick or a Motorola ROKR E8 - whichever you prefer.

All you have to do is visit BillShrink's site, and then drop me a comment with your thoughts about it - that's it! You can tell us how much money they will save you, how much you loved their blog, or even how you'd rather swallow a huge rat turd than switch credit cards, it doesn't matter. Just leave your thoughts on the subject and you will be entered to win the free phone.

So whatcha waiting for? Get out there and see if you can save some big bucks! I'll be picking the winner this Saturday @ 12noon EST via Random.org. God Bless you my frugal ones..

*WINNER: Gloomberg News! Click here for more info...
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*These phones ARE, indeed, FREE! You don't have to activate it with T-Mo or sign up to a plan or anything - you can do as you please with it :) Although, unless you already have T-Mo you may need to get w/ 'em to have it work (not free), but the point is it's totally you're call. (And no, I did NOT get any money or any other sort of compensation for this post. Only one of YOU lucky bastards will get this free phone, not me ;))

Labels: credit cards, gas, giveaways, phone service, saving

How frustrating is that?! Unfortunately i can't blame anyone but myself here, well i can about the battery just sucking, but it was def. ME who dropped it on the asphalt and cracked it in two. Literally, it broke in half! And not just like the battery falling out or anything, but more like the top screen split from the keypad portion :(

While it sucked for a few days not having it, i have to admit that i felt a wave of relief when it shattered. i mean, we're connected to those things like crazy these days! I have to admit it was pretty refreshing for a hot second...until my poor little fingers missed my texting games ;(

So what did i do? Well, the first day i hit up the Verizon store and started to explain how much of an idiot i was when they cut me off! At first i was pissed, but then i realized they were helping me save my breath as it really didn't matter WHAT happened to it - they offered to replace it at NO COST! (i sometimes LOVE Verizon.) And you wanna know why? Cuz I had one of those Asurion Warranties!!! haha...those little $5.99 a months finally did something for me!

And that's really the point of this whole thing - If you're a clutz, those cell phone warranties can pay handsomely.

Now, i realize a lot of you frugal ones would rather do without (like my girl over at fighting foreclosure) cuz those extra "fees" pile up fast. BUT, i really just wanted you all to know that a) they work, and that b) it's something to consider if you're dufus like me. Now, as for the battery problem? HAH! Those little ba$tards are only covered for ONE YEAR! (Stupidly, i forgot to ask about this on the first Verizon visit, so i had to go back 4 days later)

"One Year?!" I cried to the Verizon Rep after waiting another 53 minutes to be seen.
"Yup, all batteries are covered for only one year" he calmly shot back as if it's common routine.
"Ohhh i see...So you force us to sign up to 2-year contracts, but the battery will only last for 1 year? That's interesting" i spout back...feeling a bit bad as i know exactly what the poor guy goes through in customer service. It's not HIS fault, but unfortunately he's gotta deal w/ me ;)
"I'm sorry. That's company policy." he retorted.
"Okay, well then i'd like to buy another warranty to cover the battery", i said trying to one up him.
"Nope, sorry we don't have those. We have no control over the manufacturing of them."
"i see....." i said defeatedly....not knowing what to do next.

***blank stares shot back and forth from us***

"would you like to buy a battery then?" he finally chimes in.
"how much?"
"$45 + tax."
"no thanks....i'll go on eBay"

I thought i was pretty clever on that last one ;) i wonder how many people say that sorta stuff in their store? I really just wanted to get a jab in, but then the Mrs. told me she sees them on there all the time. So i figured why not? I buy everything else on there anyways. So i hopped on and what do ya know? There are a slew of them!!! And we're not talking about plain ol' batteries here, but pink ones, yellow ones, green ones, gold ones, you name it! All customizable AND brand new from the manufacturer!

So i bought one. A GOLD one! haha...and now, i have a brand new phone at Zero cost (if i dont' think about the monthly fees) and a spankin' new battery for $4.80 :) What a deal! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you turn a bad situation into a bearable situation. Let's face it, cell phone stuff just sucks in general, so anytime you can wiggle your way outta some costs it's total glory all around!

Labels: phone service, warranties

HOT DOGS! Just scooped this up from Consumerist:

"Verizon has announced that they will begin offering monthly cellphone plans with no early termination fees. Consumers wishing to take advantage of the plans will be required to pay full price for a phone, or provide their own phone, as Verizon will not be subsidizing the cost of handsets."

If you already have a plan, like i do, you'll have to wait until your current contract expires, but then it's home saling we come! The fact that the plan rates are the same is even better. On the other hand, if you don't feel comfortable picking up a phone from Ebay/Craigslist/or some other place, you might be just have to stick with the normal way of getting a phone. But at least we now have options!

Labels: phone service, randomness 3000

Wouldn't you agree? haha...I don't think i'd ever pick up an iPhone to be honest with ya. And not so much because it rids me of a few benjamins, but because i'm afraid of getting "sucked in" to techno-land!

I already have a pretty bad habit of checking email, myspace, my stats on this blog, and everything else now built into our daily routines. So while it would be "cool" to have one, I just don't see it happening...plus, I REALLY love the sidekick!

That's a cooler, cheaper, phone in my opinion that still allows you to stay connected, but gets you excited to make a phone call or send a text :) Totally a matter of personal opinion of course, but I think it's more of a phone-phone than the iPhone. I guess it depends on what you think you need it for though. I'm more into texting and im'ing on a phone than searching on the web, so the sidekick seems like a better fit (plus, i think it's sexy as hell!). But if you were to ask my co-workers, they'd laugh in my face and say how superior the iPhone is - 50% of them own iPhones, but then again they're all techies and coders ;)

Unfortunately/Fortunately, however, my favorite carrier in the whole world - Verizon - supports neither phone so there's really no temptation whatsoever to upgrade here. So for now i'm stuck (and pretty much content) w/ my LG VX6000. It's a simple black flip phone, and I can still get online and do my texting and all anyways...it's just not as "fun" as I see it with Sidekick, but maybe Verizon will get hip one of these days?

So what's the point of this post then? I couldn't tell ya....i just decided to write this morning and for whatever reason the whole iPhone craze popped into my brain. Although I suppose I could wrap this up nicely and say something frugal like:

"If your cell works, don't upgrade! Save the money and invest the money you would have spent into your Emergency Fund". Oooooh, that's good! Yeah, let's go with that :)

Why fix it if it ain't broke, right? Do you really NEED that new phone/piece of techy goodness? Chances are you don't. I say today we appreciate what we HAVE, over what we WISH we had. A day of appreciation, if you will. So as I depart here, I happily wish you and yours a very merry Happy Appreciation Day! (didn't see that one coming when i started writing this! haha)

Labels: iphone, phone service, saving, sidekick

Man, competition is getting fierce! Fine by me though.
I'm all for consumer goodness :)

So here's the deal, i got an email last night from a rep saying they're launching this "T-Mobile @ Home" plan today and thought it would be good to get the word out.

And, since i'm always a fan of saving money as well as new technology out there, I agreed! So, from me to you, here is my first piece of Breaking News :) unless you've heard it earlier, in which case it won't be *as* exciting, but it's nonetheless breaking news. so there.

Here's a clip from the email i got:

Labels: bargains, phone service, t-mobile