Saving on Long Distance Calls

January 26, 2010

Saving on Long Distance Calls

My family is mostly in North America. In the past years, I used to pay over $0.40 per minute every time I call them up to check on them. Even my cellphone company that offers up to $0.10 per minute got way too expensive for me. It took a while for me to realize that there are lot of options aside from the usual long distance or IDD packages. Even calling cards have become too expensive and not really worth it.

I have a friend to thank for introducing me to Skype.Com. Skype is an instant messaging tool that enables users to chat, make video and audio calls with other users. Other programs like MSN Messenger and Yahoo IM do the same things but Skype has proven to be the fastest and most efficient one for me.

You can even make calls to actual phone using Skype (for a minimal fee) but I strongly suggest using the free service which is Skype to Skype calling.

My mom knows how to use computers and is now definitely on Skype all the time. I get to talk to my friends and family at no additonal costs on top of my monthly internet fee– at the same time, I enjoy clear and static free connections.

I no longer get frustrated when I could not hear the other person on the line when using a land or mobile phone. I no longer get upset over poor signals and cut calls. Every time a call used to get cut over the phone, one thing I really though about would be the waste in minutes. Every second counts and anything above 10 seconds is billed as a minute.

Through Skype, if it gets cut, all I need to do is dial again and not worry about additonal charges being billed to me.

I have saved so much in the past year that I have been “Skype-ing” with my family. My phone bill has gone down by almost 50% since I started using Skype. The money that I’ve saved has gone to other expenses and some to augment my savings.

So instead of using regular phone lines, mobile phones or call cards — try using online services instead. It is still cheaper to pay P25 (pesos) per hour to use the internet than to pay P100 (pesos) for only 10-20 minutes worth of phone time.

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