Total Physique Online

Lately I have been posting thoughts and musings that on the surface seem to have little to do with strength training. However, if you read the posts you will see that in fact the posts do tie in to helping you achieve your strength goals in one way or another. This is just such a post.

Any time I can suggest a thought or idea that helps a reader enjoy life a bit more, move closer toward a PR in a lift, or maybe lose a few extra pounds or gain a few as the case may be, I feel like I have done my job. This post is going to show you a cool way to save some money that can then be used to help you buy some Quicklock Dumbbells from Ironmaster, or maybe the next best protein supplement on the market. Your choice.

Anyway you look at it saving money is a good thing, and freeing up a few extra dollars that can be then invested into your health is even better, right?

Enter Vonage!

My First Vonage Experience Was Boxy, But Good

Boxy, but good.

That is the way I describe products that represent an overall great value, even though there may be some issues with said product that make it less than perfect. The Volvo comes to mind, and I have one of those too.

Volvo. Boxy, but good.

I cannot say enough good things about Vonage. Now, you need to know that I am not a paid spokesperson. I do not get free service simply for mentioning Vonage to you. In fact, Vonage does not even know I am using my site to sing their praises, but this company has bent over backwards to earn my business so many times that I have fallen in love with them!

I got started using Vonage over two years ago. My primary reason for trying Vonage was because I have friends in Canada and Scotland whom I love to talk to hours on end. Vonage allowed me to call them using my high-speed Internet connection (VoIP) as a means to communicate, rather than the standard analog/digital phone line. I ended up paying all of $31.00 per month after taxes and surcharges (the premium call plans is $24.95) and I saved myself so much money it is a wonder Vonage did not go bankrupt (They almost did at one point. More on that later.).

My initial experience, which ironically is what sold me on the company, was very poor. The technology was still somewhat new, and I had so many problems when speaking to my friends overseas or in Canada that at times I wanted to cancel my Vonage. Domestic calls within the USA were more or less trouble free, but the international calls were hell on wheels. This led to no end of calls to Vonage Technical support, lots of shouting on my end, plenty of patience on Vonage’s end, and ultimately satisfaction for both parties.

What Vonage did for me was help me with a few months of service credits to compensate me for my troubles (and there were many). I really did appreciate this. That was good customer service. Moreover, in the coming months Vonage began to improve their technology by offering new and nifty devices like the

The Vonage V-Portal now sits next to my Apple. I really like this device because the V-Portal is portable, which is to say you can take it with you anywhere you go and as long as you have a broadband connection (cable or DSL) you can take advantage of your Vonage service, saving money along the way.

When I got started with Vonage my initial phone system was the V-Tech 8100 wireless handsets and base unit. I believe I paid $159.00 for it. I went through two more of these systems before I finally gave up on them. Two weeks ago I visited Vonage’s website to see what new hardware they had to offer. That’s when I discovered the Vonage V-Portal.

Vonage is selling the Vonage V-Portal (an $80.00 value) to new customers for only $10.00 bucks! You can get an instant $70.00 rebate right there on the spot just for signing up with Vonage, and I highly recommend the upgrade. This device has 5-star reviews all over the Internet and for good reason. It works. And it is so easy to set up your grandmother could do it. Strictly plug and play stuff here.

The advantage of the Vonage V-Portal is that in addition to it’s portability it can be used with a standard landline. This is awesome because if you have a really expensive phone system in your home you don’t want to have to give it up.

In my case, I had a brand new 6.0 Ghz V-Tech landline phone that has superb range and call quality. It works like a charm with the V-Portal. I am so glad I got the Vonage V-Portal.

Let’s Save Some Money

I have what’s called The Basic Hold Call Plan with Vonage, which is around $10.00 per month after all them taxes and surcharges. This plan allows for unlimited incoming calls for free. The calls can be from practically anywhere in the world.

Anyone calling me, if they are not local to me, can use a special Vonage V-Access code for their city to dial into the Vonage network and call me without being charged a long distance fee.

In the case of my friends in Canada and Scotland, they can dial their codes, dial my Vonage number and badah-bing, badah-boom, my phone rings and the next thing you know I am talking to my friends in Scotland or Canada and neither of use are being charged a red cent. Everyone benefits. That’s so very cool.

Now, I am allowed to make outbound calls using my basic Vonage plan , but I will be charged if I do, whether the call is local or not, toll free or not. So, in order to get around this I just use my cell phone to make outbound calls!

My cell company is T-Mobile and I have the basic MyFav’s plan. So, between my Internet service, my Vonage service and my cell phone all of my communication needs are met.

Here is what I end up spending each month:

1. $33.00 for Comcast Cable Internet at 6 M/s
2. $10.00 for Vonage
3. $40.00 for T-Mobile

That is $83.00 per month, folks! Not bad, eh?

For the record, I did some pricing out with EmbarQ/Sprint and their respective DSL/phone bundles.

Their best DSL/phone bundle (at 5 M/s download speeds - still slower than my cable, which is 6 M/s) is $69.00 per month. This fee does include your land line, however you have to pay 10 cents a minute for long distance when you use it, and if you have to use the long distance a lot, trust me - this will add up quick at the end of the month.

Now, EmbarQ does offer unlimited LD, but you have to pay an additional $15.00 to get it. This does not include international calling like Vonage does. This is just basic domestic LD. So, tack the $15.00 onto your bundle and you are now looking at $84.00 per month ($69.00 + $15.00). But wait a second. Have you factored in the cost of your cell phone?

So, add on a minimum of $40.00 for your cell phone charges and now you are up to a whopping $124.00 per month. Yikes!! This is getting expensive! Remember, at this point you still do not have the international calling capability Vonage offers, do you?

So, what do you have in the end?

Well, with EmbarQ you are now paying $41.00 more per month than I am currently paying with my Vonage package, and you are getting an inferior package that does not even offer the fastest Internet connection speeds available.

Conclusion - If you want to save money and get awesome browsing and download speeds, consider getting cable Internet for your ‘puter needs, Vonage and your cell phone for your calling needs.

As an added bonus, if you get the right cell phone plan and cell phone you can configure your cell phone to forward daytime incoming calls to your Vonage number and avoid using up daytime minutes with inbound calls to your cell phone while you are at home.

Postscript: For the past couple of years, poor besieged and beleaguered Vonage was mired in lawsuits over patent issues. For a while there it looked like Vonage was not long for this world.

All of that is now in the past. Vonage appears to be here to stay and they are poised for growth like never before. Have a look at the most recent article I could find on the matter here.

Start using Vonage and start saving money. Use the savings to improve your health!

Lift hard, train smart, live well.