Home Base: How to Cut Costs by Cutting Phone Service


Whether you run a thriving home based business or you’re just starting out, one rule of thumb will always remain constant; keep costs low. Cutting overhead and fixed expenses is a primary way to drive revenue and better use your resources where they may be most needed. So, what’s one fixed cost that you may be able to cut completely? Phone service. As more companies develop VoIP options, it’s getting easier to find cheap service and sometimes downright free offers. Check out which companies offer no-cost and low cost phone calling options.

Vonage: iPhone and Android users can tap into Vonage’s new service which provides free phone calls between Facebook users. How does Vonage Mobile for Facebook work? Users must download the free Vonage app. Sign in with your Facebook username and a list of friends with the app will appear. The calling works over cellular broadband, so-called 3G, and over Wi-Fi. The drawback is while the phone does not use calling minutes, it does use data and for customers without unlimited data plans, this can be a setback.

Skype: A veteran in the VoIP arena, Skype’s voice and video chatting is still a favorite among Internet users. Skype offers free Skype-to-Skype calls and allows users to call mobile and landlines. Users do have to pay for non-Skype-to-Skype calls. It you’re looking to slash mobile minute usage, Android and Blackberry users can download the Skype App to their smartphone and make and receive limitless Skype-to-Skype calls globally and make low cost international calls.

Google: In Google’s continued effort for Internet domination, the behemoth online company unveiled its new free phone calling option just last week. Gmail users in the U.S. can make free calls from their browser to numbers within the U.S. and Canada. Users pay 2 cents per minute for calls to Ireland, Korea, Argentina and other countries. Rates top 99 cents a minutes, depending on the country. To use the service, a plug-in program must be installed, and users must log into Gmail.


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