Land line subscriptions, VoIP services and third party providers are all great ways to save on calling Ghana for a frequent caller. For someone only calling this beautifully Gothic country on occasion, the options listed above could actually end up being more costly than just picking up the phone and dialing the number which is rather costly in itself.

Using Pre-Paid Call Cards
Pre-paid calling cards can save the occasional caller a large quantity of cash in a short period of time. Provided in dollar denominations ranging from $5-$250 or more, it is no challenge to find a pre-paid long distance card that will offer the most savings for calls to Ghana. Knowing what time of day the calls are being made locally, approximately how long the calls will be and how many of them will need to be made are important factors when shopping for pre-paid long distance calling cards.

Selecting A Suitable Card
There are many calling cards available, designed for calls targeted towards specific countries. Available for purchase are cards that specifically offer minutes for calling Ghana, or cards that offer international dialing. Generally, a card that offers minutes for calling Ghana alone will offer a lower by-the-minute rate than a general international calling card.

Understand the TOS of Each Provider
It is important to remember that some calling cards do fall victim to peak and non-peak time fees as well. Some rates for some companies are higher during business hours than during evenings or weekends. Knowing that your call to Ghana must be made during business hours means shopping for a card that offers lower rates during those hours. Likewise, if your call is to be made late in the evening, you could save by purchasing a card tailored for such.

Paying For Convenience
These calling cards are also very convenient for someone who does not know what telephone may be at their access when the time comes to make the call to Ghana. Long distance calls from pay phones are pricey and timed, so if change runs short so will the call. This can be frustrating for both parties involved. International long distance rates on mobile phones can be outrageous without a long distance subscription. Pre-paid cards can reduce these charge – by using one in combination with a mobile phone, the customer is charged only air time.

Pre-paid long distance cards are very convenient and easy to find. There is a wide selection available for purchase at most major retailers, with options designed for calling every corner of the globe. By using these cards, consumers are sure to be able to reach whomever they need wherever they are for a reasonable cost.

Well it’s about that time of year again. The leaves are changing colors and fall is in the air. This also means cooler weather and higher heating bills to most. If you remember back the last few years everyone experienced some major increases in their heating bills through the entire winter. I can remember local TV newscasts interviewing people that were complaining about what seemed to be an almost 50% increase in heating costs over the previous years.

My usual heating bill was in the $200′s and then all of a sudden went to almost $500 per month. As it turned out, this was mostly due to price fluctuations determined by the world market similar to what we are continuing to experience at the gas pump (and it seems to be creeping back up there again at nearly $3 a gallon or more). Well, we can’t control the world markets and international shared demand, we can take some measures and steps that will help lower our heating costs each month and through the winter.

Did you know that the level of humidity in your house will effect how warm it really feels? Its just like with the weather outside. For instance, when you see on the news that it is 80 degrees with high humidity it can actually feel hotter than if it were 90 degrees with low humidity. This is where the term heat index comes from – this is the actual temperature with items like humidity, atmospheric pressure and wind taken into account. So, an easy way to save on heating costs is to boost the level of humidity in the house with a humidifier. It has been said that adding sufficient moisture content (humidity) to the air in ones house can easily take 10 to 30% off heating costs depending on the square footage and circulation in the house.

According to the experts at Anderson Heating and Air conditioning, another easy and effective method is proper routine maintenance. By having your heating system routinely checked the HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air conditioning) technician can quickly diagnose, repair and prevent loss of efficiency and costlier problems including complete replacement of the heating system. Most heating and air conditioning companies offer routine maintenance packages which are low cost and include discounts to any service work and parts. Routine maintenance will help ensure your heating system, whether it is gas, electric, etc…, is running at top efficiency and will save you money in the long run.

Another good idea if you haven’t done this already is to install programmable thermostats. This will help you know more exactly what the temperature is and what it is set to. You can also use these programmable thermostats to set your temperatures lower like 68 degrees so it’s still comfortable. By doing this you’ll save on your heating costs as it takes considerably less energy to maintain the temperature of 68 than maybe 70 or 72. The only drawback? You may need some extra blankets at night time.

If you work during the day and no one else is home it would be wise to purchase and install programmable thermostats so you can reduce the temperature, say to 60 degrees while you are away and to return to 68 or so degrees when you return. This little step can easily save 5 to 10% or more on your overall heating costs. And being this winter is predicted to be colder and heating costs will go up at least 10% any savings will definitely have a positive impact on your heating bills.

Another way to drastically save is by sealing and weather stripping all doors and windows. Check all doors which go to outside for worn weather stripping and areas where there may be air coming in. Redo the weather stripping if needed and use the upper grade, thicker stripping available at Lowe’s and Home Depot. It may cost a little more, but it will definitely do a better job of sealing out the cold and keeping the warm air in. Next, check your windows. Seal any cracks and areas where you can feel a breeze coming through. If your windows are old or worn, it is best to replace with more energy efficient windows.

Another good idea is a heat tent which goes over attic entry doors and seals them. It is a proven fact that between 10 and 20% of lost energy and heat goes through improperly sealed attic doors. While you’re at it replace your air filters. Clean air filters will reduce the work load on your heating system and can easily save you 2 to 5% on your heating bill. If you do not have enough insulation in your attic and walls you can get a free blower with purchase of insulation from Lowe’s and Home Depot. It is probably best to have this professionally done for best results.

So, even though gas prices are high and may be going higher, the winter is supposed to be even colder and heating costs are predicted to go up you can still save on your heating costs. These ideas listed above should get you some significant savings this winter and make your winter heating bills a little bit more affordable regardless of how cold this winter turns out to be.

Think about what the builder did when they built your house.  If you have ever purchased a brand new house that you barely had enough money to afford, you will notice that the builder only drywalled the garage walls that connect directly to the living quarters.  They left the rest of the wall surface exposed.  They did this to minimize cost.

Do you think, however, the builder would deliver a house to your that you could not keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter?  They did what was necessary to keep the inside and outside air in their respective places.

Think about it this way.  If you took the garage off of your house, what more would have to be done to the walls that already had drywall to finish that area.  Siding or brick, right?

In actuality, it would take a long period of time to recover the money (some estimates indicate $1000) that it would take to insulate and drywall the outside walls of your garage, in utility savings.

Here are some posts that make the same claim:

• Insulating a Garage:  Is it worth the money?
• Should I insulate and drywall a garage ceiling that has living space above it?
• Should I insulate and unheated garage?

A better approach to saving money on the energy loss from the garage would be to make sure the walls between the garage and the living space are insulated, then make sure you have a storm door between the two spaces and good weather stripping on the bottom of the door to the house and the bottom of the garage door.

I am going to be evaluating all of the following bills and will be taking drastic actions, if necessary, to get the costs reduced:

• Sat TV
• Home Phone
• DSL

Insulate Hot Water Pipes – Insulating your hot water pipes can save a lot of money during the cold weather months.  It can even save you money during the warm weather months.  If the purpose of your AC unit is to cool the air in the house and heat is escaping from your hot water pipes into the air, you are paying money to cool the air you are paying to heat.

Convert to CFLs – In the winter months, you might think it would be OK to have your light bulbs heating up the air in your house, however, the amount of energy being lost by way of heat does not equate to what would be saved from the change over to CFLs.

Replace Your Furnace Filter –  Running your furnace with a dirty filter in place can be costly to your wallet.  All that additional dirt creates resistance.

Thermostat Tips – Aside from getting a set back thermostat, there are some other tips you can apply to your thermostat usage that can help you to save big.

There are plenty more ideas.  Stay tuned to this blog…

• Shut off your air conditioning:  Turn of the a/c while you are gone.  If you have a conventional thermostat, your a/c could be running continuously while you are gone.  If you have a set-back thermostat, your a/c could be cycling on and off for the cat and the fish.
• Turn down your water heater:  No one will be there to take showers and wash clothes.  Turn your thermostat down to a minimum level.  Some water heaters even have a vacation setting.
• Unplug appliances and electronics:  Your electronic gear use a lot of electricity, even if they are turned off.
• Turn down the ringer on your phone:  This will prevent some passing criminal from being notified that you are not home.
• Leave a light and a small radio on:  If you are gone for an extended period of time, this will make people think someone is home.

As a statement of fact, your home will be cooler and your cooling bills will be lower if you install an exhaust system in your attic. An attic vent can prevent the build up of heat in your attic, which, in the summer months, can reach temperatures up to 150 degrees. If that heat could escape, your home would be cooler and your cooling bills would be lower.

There are several types of roof vents. A passive vent operates by allowing air to move freely from the inside to the outside. Passive vents include ridge, soffit, flat, pot, and turbine vents. Active roof vents are operated by electricity or solar power.

In addition to making the ambient temperature lower, venting the attic can extend the life of the roof and they help to prevent the growth of mold and fungus in the attic.

Not only do attic vents help your house in the summer. They also help prevent the build-up of ice, which can result in a lot of costly damage to the roof.

Venting your attic really has no down side.

Research indicates that humans lose most of their heat through their heads and that if we are going to be out in the cold, we need to have something on our heads. The same goes for hot water pipes in the house.

Between 2 and 4 degrees of heat is lost in pipes that are not insulated. If that 2-4 degrees were not lost, the thermostat on those water heaters could be set a bit lower, saving money on the monthly gas or electric bill.

You should insulate all pipes that you can see. Pipe sleeves are the most common type of hot water pipe insulation, but there are others. The typical pipe sleeve is made from polyethylene or neoprene foam. You need to match the inside diameter of the pipe sleeve to the diameter of the pipe being insulated.

More information on insulating water pipes can be found:

• U.S. Department of Energy
• eHow: How to Insulate Water Pipes
• Saving Energy – One Water Heater At a Time
• 50 ways to save water
• 100 Tips to Go Green at Home and at Work

Turn your computer(s) off at night. It’s nice to be able to walk up to the computer and just start using it. We’ve all seen shows where the character walks up to the touch screen on the wall and starts using it. When we are able to produce energy cheaply enough to leave appliances on, you can do that. Until then, if you wish to save a buck, literally, turn your computer off at night.

A student from a town in Indiana recently won a science fair by proving a $1.00/day savings over four computers. He then extrapolated the savings amount of 550 computers and actually convinced a county to change it’s policy on leaving computers on overnight.

More Information:

• Easy Ways To Go Green With Your Computer
• Turning Off Can Be A Business Turn-On
• Automatic Off Switch

Here is a link to a free app that can be used to automatically shutdown or restart your computer: http://www.download.com/Turnoff-Master/3000-2094_4-10541233.html?cdlPid=10640133

Please come back and post your thoughts about this post. You can even share what you did with the readers.

Joining the service is free. You can also advertise for PaperBackSwap.com on your blog or web site for credits, which you can use to get more books. There is one catch with the advertising that I found in writing this post. It is possible to get the ad code without actually having an account or being logged in. This would mean that the code would not have your account number in it, which means you would not get the credits. Make sure you are logged in. Once you are, you can click the Spread The Word link at the bottom of the page to get the creative (ad).

I was looking for the manufacturers estimated gas mileage for my case and I found this great site that I thought you should know about.  It’s called fueleconomy.gov.  Not only did it have the specifics of my vehicle, it also contains videos on increasing your gas mileage, gasoline prices around the country, gas mileage tips, hybrid car information, diesel and bio-diesel information, and much more.  You can even compare fuel consumption and green-house gas emissions one vehicles side-by-side.  I think the site is great, but I have to wonder how many millions went to the government contractor that won that bid.

I just heard this one on the radio and after finding the news story on the Internet, I had to pass it on.

Wynn Brower, 10, of Monroe County in Indiana, did a science project to determine the cost savings if computers were turned off at night. Using his family’s computers as the basis for his calculation, he determined that $1.00 per day could be saved if the computers were turned off at night. He then extrapolated this figure over the Monroe County’s 550 computers (his dad works in the county’s technical services department) and determined that the savings would be $25,000 per year. Read the full story…

It’s funny that I heard this story today. I have been leaving my computers on for years, but for some reason, I decided to turn them off last night. I not only saved some money, I also discovered that it was a lot quieter without all of the fans and drives going.

Gas Credit Cards are meant for saving money, keeping in view the high gas prices. You have a variety of cards to choose from, and each one has a different offer. These cards offer you a rebate up to 5% on purchase of gas and also other items like grocery. The rebate is lower in the case of purchase of items other than gas. When you have earned cash back of $50 all you have to do is obtain the check from your credit card issuer.

Certain Gas Credit Cards offer comparatively higher rebates on hotel reservations and travel including flights and car, and also double rewards for the initial bills. Certain other credit cards have come up with innovative ideas like rebate on purchase of automotive parts, no interest on purchases for a certain number of days after the billing date etc. Though you are on the look out for such incentives you should be sure if you are actually going to use them, and are not going to incur loss for the kind of rewards you do not actually require.

There is ambiguity regarding any introductory offer, and before taking a decision you should pay special attention to the fine print. You can notice that in many cases the percentage of rebate offered by the Gas Credit Cards drop dramatically to less than half after a certain number of days. And even though you are happy with the functioning of your credit card the issuer may change the terms and conditions or add a clause, suddenly to your disadvantage.

Also the rebates may not be offered at all the gas stations, which may cause you inconvenience and also sometimes extra gas. Your effort always must be cash in on the rebate, you have to request for a check or money to be transferred into your account, instead of waiting for them to pay you, as the rebates may cease to exist after a given period. If you intend to carry a balance like majority of the credit card holders do, you might end up suffering loss on account of the high interest rate. The idea of the Gas Credit Card is to save you a few dollars and not accrue debt.

Because of the stiff competition in credit card business the companies are always on the look out for innovative methods to attract customers. As gas is something everyone buys, teaming up with a gas company means better business. On the other hand the gas companies themselves offer credit cards which can be used at only those gas stations. Rebates are offered for purchase of gas and items on sale at the particular gas station. Sole gas station credit cards generally offer more discounts, and in case of a gas station in your neighborhood it is a good idea, unless you are going on a trip and you run out of gas. Other advantages of using these cards besides the rebate is that you need not carry cash and expenditure on gas will not be mixed up with regular expenditure.

If you are particular about monitoring the expenditure on gas these cards offer monthly statements with list of purchase. Like other credit cards you may watch out for annual fee or other hidden charges in case of the Gas Credit Cards too.

Gas Credit Cards are credit cards that help you reduce travel expenses by offering rebate on purchase of gas, and also on certain other purchases.

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

Gary L. Scurry offers advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Gas Credit Cards. To view my hot pick for Gas Credit Cards visit www.credit-cards-4-all.com/ and compare Gas Credit Cards offers.

]]> http://www.spendingless101.com/2008/06/07/learn-how-to-use-credit-to-save-money/feed/ 5 http://www.spendingless101.com/2008/06/06/save-money-on-admissionsguaranteed/ http://www.spendingless101.com/2008/06/06/save-money-on-admissionsguaranteed/#comments Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:35:35 +0000 John http://www.spendingless101.com/?p=140 You are guaranteed to save money on any admission with this technique. This includes movies, amusement parks, zoos, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr6PRyN07NE

]]> http://www.spendingless101.com/2008/06/06/save-money-on-admissionsguaranteed/feed/ 1 http://www.spendingless101.com/2008/05/01/forward-or-reverse/ http://www.spendingless101.com/2008/05/01/forward-or-reverse/#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 15:59:22 +0000 John http://www.spendingless101.com/?p=108 Am I talking about driving? No. I am talking about the direction of the ceiling fan during summer and winter. Which direction should the fan be set to in each season. I always get this confused.

“During the summer you want the fan to blow air straight down, so your ceiling fan needs to run in a counter clockwise direction (as you look up at it). The warmer it is, the higher the speed should be. During the winter, your fan should run at a low speed in a clockwise direction…” {from Yahoo Answers}

Now that you have your answer, you probably want to know why. I know I do so let’s read on.

You want the fan to blow directly on you during the summer so you will feel cooler. The air hitting your skin creates a wind chill effect, which lowers the surface temperature of your skin. If you have the fan set to the proper direction, you should feel the air hitting you when you are under the fan (and it is running, of course). The more the fan is able to cool you off, the less dependence you will have on the energy-consuming air conditioner. If you do not feel the air, turn the fan off and switch the direction.

In the winter,the fan should be running on low and running in the reverse direction (air flow moving up). If you are standing under the fan, you should not feel air hitting you. If you do, turn the fan off and switch the fan’s direction.

“During winter (in the correct mode as described above), the fan will slowly draw the cooler air from floor level directly below the fan upwards to the ceiling where it mixes with the warmer air. The air is then kicked out across the ceiling towards the walls as it comes down. This circulates the air giving you the least amount of direct air movement, which minimizes the wind chill effect.” {Yahoo Answers} If you feel warmer, you will not need to have the heat on as high, which will save money.

In the dining room, if you run the fan in a forward direction, your nice hot meal will be cold left-overs in no time. If you want to keep your hot meal, hot, the fan should be running in reverse direction.

At night, I run my fan on high and in the forward direction. I love feeling the wind blowing against me. Some people don’t like this. In that case, those people should run the fan in reverse and adjust the strength to suit their needs.

Large Rooms can be difficult to make comfortable with ceiling fans. You will need to experiment with forward and reverse, high and low in order to find the correct settings.

Using a ceiling fan on a sun porch or outside is the same as using it inside in usage, but there is one additional benefit. Sometimes the air flow can ward off flying insects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_2WnKc3Dfk

]]> http://www.spendingless101.com/2008/04/12/how-not-to-save-money/feed/ 1 http://www.spendingless101.com/2008/04/07/zap-the-electric-company/ http://www.spendingless101.com/2008/04/07/zap-the-electric-company/#comments Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:06:09 +0000 John http://www.spendingless101.com/?p=47 As utility prices go up and up, the consumer is stuck with certain utilities and have no recourse but to deal with prices that seemingly have no upper limit. Well, here are a few ways, that if they are all followed, can zap the electric company and put some of those funds back in your wallet:

1. Change your furnace filters: Makes sense, right? You do it every year or so, right? WRONG! You need to change those filters every three months. This makes sense from the standpoint of getting particles of crap out of the air. It also makes sense from an electricity standpoint. The fan in the furnace works a lot harder and uses a lot more electricity if the filter is clogged.
2. Close the blinds: Just like anyone else, I like it when the sun is shining. What I don’t like is when the sun is shining into my house on a hot day, making it even hotter and making my AC work overtime. If the sun shines directly in, clothes the blinds on that side of the house. Of course, this is during the summer. If it’s winter, do the opposite. Open the blinds on the south-facing side of the house.
3. Clean your AC unit (outside): This unit is basically a giant heat exchanger. It takes the heat from the inside of the house to the outside. In order for the heat to be left outside, the ac unit needs to be clean. You should probably do this in the spring. Just spraying it off is great, but Lowe’s or Home Depot have a product specifically for cleaning the AC. DON’T USE ENGINE DEGREASER. I did and it took the paint off the ac unit. Bummer.
4. Put motion sensors on lights: I am going to be doing this one soon. As someone with two kids, I can attest to every light being on in the house all at once and not a kid in sight. With a motion sensor, after a certain amount of time, the lights turn themselves off and my wallet will be happy.
5. Install a set-back thermostat: I have one and it’s really made a difference. Once everyone is in bed, it sets the temp back to a level that does not use as much energy.

There are a million ways to save electricity. As I gather together a list, I’ll bring them to you.

1. Baseball fans will love this one. Get MLB Extra Innings for FREE (for a week).
2. You’ll get charged up over a FREE EQ Energy Drink.
3. You can always count on VistaPrint to give you FREE stuff. They have been giving out FREE business cards for years. Check out John Chow’s card.
4. I could always use more storage. How about 1gig of portable storage?
5. In case you are skeptical about the previous offer, here is 128meg of storage. You can put 4-6 images on there and a readme.txt file, I think.
6. Free clothes are always good.
7. Free $500 Lowe’s Gift Card (I’m skeptical about this one. Let me know if you actually receive it)
8. Got Lice? Get the Lice Off free sample.
9. Get a free $1.99 coupon from Blockbuster Video “Wow! What a difference!”
10. Free comments from me on your blog. I will leave a comment on one of your blog posts. Just post your information in the comment on this post and I’m all over it.

Get busy getting your free stuff…which will mean you will be spending less.

5.25

• 4 printers
• 4 scanners
• 4-slice toaster
• Clothes for my girls

I’ve seen people giving away cars, working computers, laptops, golf clubs, etc.