Free or cheap phone calls?

Check out the new service Ooma, an internet phone service, which sells a black box called Ooma Telo. All you have to do is to plug your router and existing phone into Telo, activate the service, and you have FREE domestic calls. Voice quality is great and it has extras such as call waiting and caller ID. Calls anywhere in the United States are free, and international calls are pennies per minute. There are no monthly fees but you will pay $249.99 to purchase Telo and a one-time charge of $39.99 if you wish to keep your own number.

Compare it with Vonage, which charges $24.99 per month, or MagicJack which connects to your computer via USB and allows you to make free calls within the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The device with 1 year of service is $39.95 but you cannot keep your own number and if your computer is off, your calls will go to voice mail or can be forwarded.

Bus for a buck?

Did you know that you can take a bus for only a couple of dollars between Washington, NYC, Boston, Baltimore, Greenbelt, Cherry Hill and Philadelphia? Some fares as low as $1.00. Check out BoltBus website.