Unlimited Texting – Naaah

I was out talking to my neighbor today and the subject of texting came up.  I told him that I had two numbers that he could text but that I’d prefer he sent them to a different number than he’s texted in the past.  He looked at me a bit odd and then I explained, “I got my wife and I additional “Google Voice” numbers and we have the Google Voice app on our Iphones.  This lets us send and receive texts to each other (and anyone else) for free so we don’t have to have the unlimited texting plan with AT&T.”  He shook his head and I could tell it was another moment where he was thinking to himself, “Geesh, you are so cheap”.  Of course, I smiled and felt a sense of pride for being crafty enough to save us $30 per month in texting fees.  His point of view (because it’s come up when talking about other things in the past) is “Big deal.  It’s only $30 a month!”

Of course, if you’ve been reading this blog for very long, you know I hate bleeding money in our budget.  If there is a way to save $10, $15, $30 or more per month for a bill that I hate anyway, I might as well take it.  I take great pride in the $30 a month we save on cable & Internet service, the $7 a month we save on Tivo, the $20 a month we save on our home phone service, and the $50 a month we save on our insurance (because we shop around).  Just those save us $107 per month or $1284 a year.  Each one, on it’s own, doesn’t seem like a lot of money but when you practice a bit of frugality in all aspects of your life, it really starts to add up!

This mindset probably has something to do with why my neighbor makes $40,000 more a year than me but has far less disposable income (and less financial freedom).  Anyway, I always enjoy those moments with people.  A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, it used to bother me a bit when people saw me as frugal.  Now, I wear it with a badge of honor.