Cingular and T-Mobile advertise prepaid plans.

• is there such a thing as a cell phone with pre-paid minutes, - sm
  • Verizon has one.... - AllieCat
  • ditto everyone else on Tracfone - fg
  • I use TracFone....sm - El Cheapo
    • it fits the bill for me! i'm frugal too :) - nm
  • anyone tried the refurbished Tracfone? - THANKS TO ALL, nm
    • Ditto below - I've had a refurb phone - for 2 1/2 years, still going strong.nm
      • Thanks a bunch to ALL !! - nm
    • Yes, that is what I did, free phone, like new, works fine. - nm - Laura E.
  • Yes, I use a prepaid Tracfone from Nokia- works well for me since I only use it for urgent stuff -nm - Laura E.
  • Prepaid - nss
    • special thanks for that info, as it applies to my situation! - nm
  • Cell phone - sat
  • Centennial Wireless. - Midwest MT
  • I have a pay as you go cell phone - Sue
  • Cingular and T-Mobile advertise prepaid plans. - nm
  • In our area .. Cingular has that - It's advertised daily

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We had Cingular for many years, up until around a 1-1/2 to 2 years ago. I didn't have a cell phone for that period of time. I recently got one again with Cingular about 3 months ago, and boy, do I notice a terrible difference! My husband does as well, and most of the friends & family are on it as well. They also notice a decline in the service--unable to connect, don't get voicemails for a day or two, etc., etc.  Anyone else noticed this?

i think you ladies have this MC/Visa thing all wrong...think of it as a debit card from your bank.  I have worked for multiple companies that have had this. This was done through ADP the payroll company...you can have all or a percentage of a fixed dollar amt put on the card, the rest is direct deposited into your bank account.  you go to ADP online and get your paystub just like regular.  Other payroll processes that do this are Paychex which uses JPMorgan/Chase as their MC/Visa...all reputable and above board.  Face it ladies this is the wave of the future...banks don't want us writing checks and don't want to deal with paper checks so they are slowly phasing them out.

Has anyone used a prepaid Visa card for receiving payment for work?  Is this safe?  Thanks

I have a Visa debit card through ADP. They are the payroll processing company used by Medquist (which is where I got the card initially) and many other companies, not just MTSOs. The only fee involved is $1.50 per month to have the card and fees for using it at an ATM, which is the same as if it were through a traditional banking account. I can also transfer the funds to my saving account if I want or set it up to have a certain percentage put on the card and the rest in the bank. I have had this card for about 3 years now and love it. However, if the card they are wanting you to use is like the ones you can get at grocery stores, Wal-Mart, etc, stay clear. They require fees for almost everything from getting your money loaded onto it to using it for each and every purchase.

As far as not wanting to give out routing information for direct deposit, why is there such a worry? So long as the information is given only to your employer, there shouldn't be a problem. Unless this is only a short-term job, I don't see the big deal.

I just want to be able to move around the house with a laptop, which I am still looking for a good deal on.  I am looking for a 17 inch screen.  What is your laptop?  Give me the specs please.

Thanks

KC

It's so hot, I may just work instead. 

Interesting question!  I own a small MTSO that is essentially a family business.  My Dad is retired, but does sales and bookkeeping for me.  My Mom is retiring August 1st, and she is planning on getting back into transcription, working for me.  They own a big RV and are planning on being "snowbirds" - living in Arizona for at least 3 months of the year.  The place they are going to is a big RV community which has WiFi internet, so they can both work remotely. I am also an avid camper, so we've been looking into remote internet options.

We explored the different satellite options, but it was very expensive initially for the equipment and the setup at each stop seemed kind of complicated.  The other problem was the upload/download speed - I can see why many services won't hire someone with satellite service.  We ended up going with Verizon Broadband access - anywhere I can get a cell phone signal I can get internet.  The speed isn't the greatest, but it works for us.

What I've found is if you work for a company that requires you to be logged on to the internet the whole time you are working, this option won't really work because of the connection speed.  However, we use a product called DocShuttle by Bytescribe that allows my staff to download the audio and disconnect, type the reports, and then connect and upload the documents.  It works great for that - I even have an employee who lives in the country where there is only dial-up available, and she works just fine like this.

It can be done - I've worked while camping several times this way.....

wireless internet through Verizon.  I currently have a Verizon cell and have no problem with reception in my home, so I'm hoping this is a go.  I also have a 30-day trial period, so I'll know for sure if I have any glitches. 

What I don't understand is this lingo about voice files, etc.  I'm on the Bayscribe platform, so any info would be greatly appreciated.  Please "dumb it down" for me, as I am not a PC person.  The lady that signed me up told me that the limit is 5 GB and that that generally means about 35,000 web pages a month.  How does this correlate to voice files?  Do I even use voice files on Bayscribe?  I'm assuming so since I have an audio player. 

At least I know if this doesn't work out, I can cancel and not lose anything.  Then I'll have to sign up for satellite, which is about $300 upfront and $60 to $90 per month for service.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Verizon will work for me.

Thanks for any info.

were the same plans that were specified by the Department of Homeland Security when they did a simulation of this disaster in the 4 years prior?  When FEMA was absorbed by the DHS, they did simulations of events like hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.  In their simulation called Hurricane Pam, which was only simulated as a category 3, they said that the only place available as a shelter in this type of storm was the Superdome.  They studied this for years.  The mayor followed their recommendations.

As far as buses being available, the mayor made the public transportation system available for free but that was only inside the city of N.O.  He can't make private sector transportation services provide free transportation OUT of the city and then, again, he could have used the public transportation and the school bus system to transport them out of the city, but to where?  These people had no money - where were they going to go?  The only option the mayor had was to use the recommendations of the DHS and house them in the Superdome.  What other city was available in Louisiana that would have housed hundreds of thousands of people in shelters designed to withstand a category 4 (possibly 5) storm?  There was none. 

There was an article published yesterday in which many administration officials described how FEMA would work since it was absorbed into the Department of Homeland Security and what the responsibilities would be if the president declared any disaster an incident of national significance.  It was an excellent article and very eye-opening.   FEMA isn't the FEMA we knew from years ago that could act independently and at a quicker pace.

Can anyone suggest a long distance carrier that provides unlimited long distance at a reasonable rate for transcription purposes?  I have been told that I have to have a business plan because it is against government regulations to use your home phone line to surf the internet, etc.  I have to dial into a long distance number to get my work through a Lanier.  I have statellite internet so I do not think I can have Vonage or anything like that where it goes through your PC.  I currently pay over $100 a month with taxes and surcharges to have unlimited long distance on one phone line.  Is there anything better out there? 

Although these doctors pay pretty well they are a pain in the neck.  I am about ready to give this up altogether.

I have tried other services and they only pay about half of what these guys do.  What next?  See items on E-Bay?

I just had to post this as it reminds me so much of a lady who posted about her family, saying that they were ungrateful.

I was going to take the Amtrak train to visit my family on Thanksgiving, it's only about an hour on the Amtrak, and about $80.00 for the ticket!  My stepmother says to me that it would be way to much trouble for them to drive the 15 minutes to the station to pick me up, they are having company that day.  My father would spend his whole Thanksgiving day going back and forth to the train station.  But I was welcome to come the day before Thanksgiving and stay until the day after Thanksgiving, that way they could drop me off at the train station when they didn't have company.  Company meaning her children, who have always come first.  So I am supposed to go to their house at an alloted time?  I'll be darned if I'm going to do that.

Now I'll be darned if I am going to pay $80.00 for a train ticket to spend a day with a family with this attitude.  I told them I won't be coming, I haven't had the time to spend 3 days there and have to work, and they said it would be too much trouble to pick me up at the train station on Thanksgiving.  Am I right or wrong in not going on Thanksgiving?  Any opinions?

We have an unlimited longdistace plan with AT&T for only $35 monthly I know there are a few other companies that also offer these type of plans. I would definitlly check into them if I had to pay longdistance charges.

Shop around for repossessed homes. I have a double-wide Palm Harbor that we picked up for about 60% of book. Yes, they do depreciate like cars, and some brands hold value better than others. Palm Harbor and Patriot seem to have the slowest depreciation rate, and do have pretty good records for storm survival (always remember, they have earned the term Tornado Bait honestly!)  Our home was barely lived in, with very little evidence of wear, and a great price.  Try to look for a repo-only lot - they are usually run directly by the mortgage company and if you have good credit, a good deal can be made, especially if they have had the home back for a while. They can also show you homes alreay set up in parks, or on lots of 1/2 to 1 acre or even more, and if you like the location, won't even have to wait for moving and set-up. Make sure they are able to demonstrate that the heat and air work properly, even if they are lot-set in a temporary sales lot. Don't know about AZ, but in Texas they do have to have certain warranties for roofs, appliances, etc. for at least 90 days.  New home dealerships often have some repos, but they are usually dogs to make you want the new ones.  Shop around, take as much time as possible (we stayed in contact with the repo dealer we brought from for about a year, and he called when he got in what he knew we were looking for) and you can find a deal, especially if you have great credit. We are way more happy with the mobile home we bought when we remember how little we gave for it. Stay away from Fleetwood, Shulte and SOUTHERN ENERGY (run-don't walk-away), unless they just give you one, then be prepared for problems anyway.  I am running on, aren't I? I just wish someone had steered me this direction in the first place.   21st Century Mortgage Company is a good lender for mobile homes. There are not many companies out there who still do trailers, but you can find them if you look. Hope this helps. Contact me if you want more info.