Phone service has changed a lot over the last few years. Unlimited long-distance calling for one fee made a huge impact on my business. I went from paying over $100 a month just in long distance to one low fee  ($25). But now things have gotten even better. I can call anyone, anywhere in the world for free using Skype.

Skype has been around for awhile, but I hadn’t really seen the value in it. No one I knew had Skype so it didn’t seem worth it to figure it out. But recently I’ve noticed more and more podcasters and small business owners had Skype so I wanted to learn the advantages.

The biggest advantage is that its free. Its free to download and its free to call others who also have Skype.  For the business crowd, Skype offers conference and video calls, mobile Skype and instant messaging. Through Skype applications you can have a virtual receptionist and even record your calls (which is great for podcasts!).

But Skype isn’t limited to internet calling. You can call landlines and cell phone for a fee. The cost is extremely affordable using Skype Credit in a pay-as-you go manner or through a subscription. SkypeOut calls are about 2.1 cents per minute or for $3.00 a month you can have unlimited calls throughout the United Stats and Canada ($10 worldwide).  For about $60 a year you can get a SkypeIn number whereby people can call you from landlines or cell phones.

Skype is very easy to use. In fact, the program walks you through a test call to make sure its working correctly.

I’m not sure Skype will replace other services the way cell phones are replacing landlines, but there’s no doubt that there is a place for Internet calling especially when its so affordable.

Visit Skype to learn more.

The Coupon Mom is offering 3 free ebooks that can help you save big at the grocery and drug stores. And you don’t need to register or give your email to get them!

I recently saw the Coupon Mom on a re-run of Oprah. She bought $125 worth of groceries for about $37. I was impressed! So I visited her site to get the low down on grocery shopping. The ebooks offer some great tips to get you started. However, I think discount grocery shopping is a skill that is developed over time. I ended up spending 25% over my normal budget and spent over 5 hours (3 of them grocery shopping) in the process. I can only hope that the 6 boxes of cereal, 8 cans of diced tomatoes and other items I stockpiled will last long enough to have the end result be a lower monthly grocery bill.

To learn more about the Coupon Mom and to get the free ebooks, visit CouponMom.com

With the economy tanking, many families are struggling to make ends meet never mind pay off debt. But if you’re trying to get out of debt and aren’t sure of the most efficient way to do it, visit the Snowball Calculator.

The Snowball Calculator is designed to figure out the least expensive way for you to pay off your debt. Just fill in the form with the loan information on each loan, how much money you have to put towards debt payment, and click the “Calculate” button. You’ll get instructions on how much to send to each lender every month and how many months it will take to pay off the debts.

To calculate your debt repayment or to learn more, visit the Snowball Calculator.