| MICHAEL RUSSNOW WITH
TRAVEL TALK, CONSUMER TIPS
AND REVIEWS
One of the joys of my life is to save other people money, and when I created the web site for Ram Productions International I thought a column such as this would be a good opportunity to impart whatever knowledge I learn. These savings can range from clipping coupons in the Sunday paper to great airfares and long distance rates, and getting satisfaction from companies who bug you.
I was well into grownup status 'til I started cutting coupons from the newspaper. An older guy who lived next door used to ask me for the Sunday coupon section, which I gladly gave him until I took a look. Don't know why it never occurred to me that there was gold in them thar' hills, but when I leafed through the coupons and realized how many items I actually used -- some of them offering a buck or more, which my grocer happily doubled.
Michael Russnow in Lisbon
Well, it didn't take too long 'til I clipped lots of coupons for myself before handing the "leftovers" to the guy next door.
I remember working with a film executive who laughed when he saw me cutting a coupon from the daily paper. I'm pretty sensitive sometimes about a condescending look or laugh, but an air of defensiveness sprung forth and I boldly asked the guy if he would cut out a five-dollar bill if it were printed on one of the pages. He nodded and admitted he would, so I asked him what was the difference? If you see a special of something you want, and it offers a $2 coupon, which will be upped by a dollar at many of the bigger grocers, then that's three bucks for less than a minute's work. Doubtful, even at his inflated salary, that he was making that much per hour.
I was reading an article in 1999 in Time Magazine about its cover boy Leonardo DiCaprio, who was followed around all day for an "in depth" article by new hotshot journalist Joel Stein. This self-satisfied writer who fancies himself one of the hip new purveyors of style mocked the brilliant young actor for pulling out a Ralph's card just before the Time reporter paid for Leo's groceries, the purchase of which had been part of an agreed "Day in the Life of Leo" piece.
Stein's comments made light of the fact that the $20 million a picture actor saved only six dollars, even though it was accomplished with the split second action of pulling the wallet from his back pocket. And to punctuate his disdain with a smug wink to the readers, he quoted Leo's defense of his deed, "Hey, I saved forty dollars last week." As if Leo's actions were absurd, and rich people should by dint of their wealth always pay more. Perhaps Stein feels there should be a separate checkout line and price scale for those whose incomes are way past six figures, let alone seven or eight. Or it may just be that Leo was the bright and sensible one, having not troubled himself at all to make the savings, except for the wear and tear of his wallet as it brushed against his jeans.
I also like to save on telephone calls, and have used Tel3.com for a long time. I've always marveled over the years how inflation has taken its toll on many things, whether on food, clothing, rent & mortgages and the like, but has actually gone down with electronics, airfare and telephone calls -- even more if you factor in the cost of living. Consider the cost of a computer twenty years ago. Probably two or three thousand dollars depending on what you got. Today it would probably net less than a thousand, and this difference in price doesn't take in the fact that it actually cost you so much less, because you're probably earning a helluva lot more money now. For example, my first computer, at three thousand dollars was seven times my rent. My last computer, purchased three years ago, was about eight hundred dollars or two thirds my current rent. And I'm not even talking about how the technology has improved.
The first time I called Europe using the new direct dial possibility was in 1978, and to talk to my cousin in Paris the freight was $2.25 a minute! Naturally, the call was rushed, but it still took fifteen minutes to accomplish a decent chat, which wound up costing over $30. Now, this was at a time when my rent was $400 a month, so the call about seven and a half percent of that. Today, the same call to my cousin costs 3 cents a minute on Tel3.com, and my rent is $1,250 (which is low for West Hollywood, due to rent control and thus doesn't reflect a market rate of about 50% even above that). That fifteen-minute call today would cost 45 cents, which is slightly more than a thirtieth of one percent of my rent!
I've seen many ads for cheap phone calls and always check them out religiously, first calling the customer service people (usually two or three times, because I often get disparate answers and want to make sure of what I'm getting myself into). I ask if there's a monthly fee, a per call fee or indeed any kind of fee except for the call itself, and whether there are some extra add-on fees such as universal fees or Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) rates, which differ widely. In the case of Tel3, I was satisfied enough to try them out, and after about eight years have been mostly impressed. In particular, with the lowering of their rates and the fact that by pre-registering up to ten of your phone numbers (including cells), the company will recognize you when you call their number and you won't have to punch in your ID and pin code all the time.
Plus, unlike a dial around service or so-called "premium" long distance service you pay extra for at home through your local phone company, you can use Tel3 almost anywhere, whether at a friend's house, someone's office, at a hotel or even at a payphone. When you don't call from one of your preregistered numbers you'll have to punch in your ID, but considering that you're not paying for a high credit/phone card usage connect fee or other such charge, it's great. In addition, you don't have to feel at all hesitant making a long distance call (even internationally) from someone else's phone. The only fee you pay is a 69-cent payphone use fee, which payphone companies charge all users of 800 phone services.
This is because the payphones are operated independently these days and would not make any money at all if you called an 800 number from one of their outlets. However, if you're going to make more than one call during a session, just before you hang up with the party you're talking to, punch in ##, and you get back to the Tel3 system, which prompts you to dial another call. Because you're still on the same 800 call, the payphone doesn't charge you another fee.
And if you search out local numbers in your home area or wherever you are, which is easy to do on their website or if you call their 24-hour customer service number, the fee per call is one cent a minute less, which can add up over the long haul. Or if you're traveling and you know the local Tel3 number, and your call is short, it might be cheaper to put coins in a payphone and avoid paying the 69 cent connect fee for an 800 call.
You just give them your credit card number and a minimum charge of $25, from which your calls are debited until you get to $3, and then the card is automatically recharged so that your calls are not interrupted. They even give you free minutes when you sign up. However, you must use your account at least once in a year; otherwise your account becomes inactive. Even if this happens, a simple phone call to their Customer Care service will get you going again, with none of your money lost.
There are three plans, but I recommend the standard plan, which has no monthly minimum or fee and their rates are often better than the so-called international plan. Call 888-333-TEL3 (8353) or 800-482-4459 to sign up. You can do so on the website, www.tel3.com, but unlike the telephone service it sometimes has kinks and is slow (though you can find out most of the information you want, including rates). Hope you save a lot of money!
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