In case you are unaware, the Ooma device looks like an old fashioned answering machine.  It connects directly to your router and you then connect ANY phone to the Ooma device.  It took me roughly 20 minutes or so to get the device up and running.  You use a web-based utility to do most of the setup which was very user-friendly.  I was able to pick a phone number in my local area and was calling out in no time.

Some Positives of the Ooma system:

• No monthly fees!
• Easy installation
• Ability to port your existing number for a one time fee of $39.99
• Works with your existing phones.
• Online playback of voicemail messages.
• Unlimited calling to any US Number.

Some Negatives of the Ooma system:

• You run the risk of the company going bust
• Integration with alarm systems is untested
• You lose phone service if you lose your internet connection

When I went back into Costco recently they were out of the Ooma devices.   There are two different versions of the Ooma system.  I bought the Ooma hub which is the older version of the device.  The newer device is the Ooma Telo which allows you to use Ooma’s proprietary handsets that allow you to access voicemail and other features.  I chose the Ooma hub because I was not interested in the Ooma handsets.

Costco apparently no longer sells the Hub online and only is selling the Telo for $199.99, which still seems like a good price.  Amazon has the Hub for $204.95 and the Telo for $222.99.

Overall, I am pleased with the device and am hoping that Ooma is here for the long haul.   I think the company has an interesting business model, and I just hope that others are willing to try something new and unproven.

It is a website/forum called BetterBidding.com. This web site is a great idea, because it allows you to search for a destination and a rating before you name your price on Priceline. Other users post successful bids and the prices that they paid so that you can get a sense of what you should try to pay and which hotel you will be awarded after bidding. The thing that Priceline does not want you to know is that they only have 3-4 hotels for each star rating in each city. With BetterBidding.com, you can see what the hotels will be in each major city and therefore know how nice of a hotel you will probably be staying in.

I’ll give you an example. My wife and I are going to a wedding in Baltimore in April and the hotels that the bride and groom suggested ranged from 189-149 per night. With BetterBidding.com and Priceline we were able to get a great historic hotel in the Inner Harbour area of Baltimore for only $73/night. I think that is great and I hope you can use these tactics to save yourself a bundle of money.

Something that can be as scary as Halloween’s ghosts and goblins is the
thought of recovering from a disaster for which you were unprepared. If
you have not already, now is the time to learn what steps you can take
to prepare yourself. Financial Planning – A Guide to Disaster
Preparedness .

If you are recovering from an unexpected crisis, the information in this
guide can help you through the steps you need to take to recover,
Disaster Recovery: A Guide to Financial Issues .

The guides above were developed by the AICPA, Red Cross,
and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).

Visit www.FeedthePig.org
<http://www.feedthepig.org> for more money-saving tips.

• FNBO Direct (First National Bank of Omaha)- 5.05% – No fees, No minimums
• EmigrantDirect – 4.75% – No fees, No minimums
• ING Direct – 4.30% – No fees, No minimums

Any of these accounts would work great as an emergency fund and all of these allow you to setup automatic deposits from your checking account so that you can deposit money into this account without really even thinking.

I have had an account set up for this purpose for several years, and you would be surprised at how much interest you can earn in a relatively small amount of time. It is empowering to check your balance every month and see the “Interest Paid” field getting larger and larger.

There are other online banks offering competitive rates, I just featured 3 of the more popular ones. You can always go to BankRate and search for other online savings products.

Two of my personal favorites are the PenFed VISA, and the Costco Trueearnings American Express card. The PenFed VISA gives you 5% cash back on gas purchases and 1.25% cash back on everything else. There are no special restrictions for this card and the cash rewards are awarded to your statement every month which is great. The Penfed Visa also doesn’t have any sort of annual fee. The Costco American Express card is a little different. It gives you 3% cash back on dining out, 2% on travel and 1% on everything else. This card also doubles as your Costco card which is nice so that you can trim that wallet down a bit. You have to be a Costco member to apply for this card, and your membership actually renews on the card each year but there is no other annual fee. The rewards accumulate throughout the year and are awarded once a year in February.

Either way you dice it, if you are using your credit card and paying it off every month – you should be getting something in return from these giant credit card companies. We will see if these companies continue to offer these good deals or if the credit card companies will see this cutting into their ever growing profits.

One last thing, please do not apply for one of these cards if you are still riddled with credit card debt. Pay down your debt and then apply for one of these and reap the benefits. Obviously you are far better served paying down your debt than earning rewards on these cards. You can’t beat a return on your money of between 10-25% depending on what interest rate the credit card companies are charging.

CardWeb Rewards List

PenFed VISA

Costco TrueEarnings American Express