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Free and Cheap

Janine Dorsey

Janine is a 20-year veteran journalist who puts her sleuthing skills to use unearthing deals and discounts for families in the Tampa Bay area. Raising her own two daughters has taught her that some of the best things in life are “free” but not necessarily “cheap.”

Gayle Guyardo

Gayle Guyardo co-anchors “News Channel 8 Today” weekday mornings with Rod Carter. She does a special segment, “Ways to save today,” each Monday between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Gayle is a third generation Tampa native and a graduate of Auburn University. She and her husband Mark raise four little girls - Katie, Lindsay, Ali and Ella.

Richard Mullins

The Tampa Tribune’s retail reporter, Richard Mullins writes about consumer trends and everything you buy at the mall, grocery stores and restaurants. He believes credit cards are the window to our souls. And yes, he gets paid to wander the mall for work.

Debbie Swartz

Debbie, a 20-year veteran journalist, can typically be found at the end of Target aisles looking at clearance items. She’s also been known to send one her young daughters through the checkout lane to redeem a coupon.

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Search the web for wireless provider discounts

Posted Jul 26, 2010 by Janine Dorsey

Updated Jul 26, 2010 at 01:51 PM

While one of my teen daughters was showering this weekend and I’m knocking on the door to hurry her up, I got to thinking about monthly bills.

Try to use less water: check.

Try to use less electricity: check (not easy this time of year). Also, we’re online with one of the TECO saver programs.

Clip coupons, follow sales: check (big time!).

Reassess prescriptions to see which are now available in generic form or may no longer be needed: check.

Bundle our cable, internet and landline phone: check.

But what other ways could I reduce our monthly expenditures without having to sacrifice any more?

So I targeted our cell phone provider. A simple search of the provider name and “discount” led me to a page that informed me that as a credit union member, I was eligible for at least a 10% monthly discount on my total bill. With four phones in the family, that would be a significant savings.

With a few emails and a quick phone call I was all ready to go to start getting the discounted rate. It was a few minutes well spent!

My provider is Sprint and this is the page with the discount details http://www.cusaver.com/. You can find your own discount plans with the searching tip outlined above.