The typical phone horror story also involved a dispute with the phone company: the customer claims she was misinformed in the phone store and the phone company points to the contract, which says something else. The customer is in tears, the phone company sticks to its guns and it makes for great TV. Especially, when Wendy Mesley, the show’s host adds to the debate by saying those rapacious phone companies are charging 15 cents for a text that costs them a third of a cent to provide.

I’ve had my share of complaints with service providers and while I found myself sympathizing with most of the customers, it was hard to say the phone company was entirely at fault (except the lady who was incorrectly charged airtime and the phone company gave her the runaround). The hidden charges may be buried deep in the fine print but it is there and the client signed a contract agreeing to pay and the phone company is within its rights to demand payment.

I was secretly glad that we’ve ditched our pricey monthly plans and gone the pre-paid route. Our annual cell phone bills with an el cheapo plan from Speak Out Wireless available through 7-Eleven costs us less than $50 per year not including the price of a phone. Granted, not everyone can be a light cellphone user but everyone can easily find ways to cut down on their monthly bill.

Related Reading:

• Save Money on Long-Distance
• Bell Canada’s Fee Hikes
• Money Tip: Just Ask for a Discount
• Shop Around for Long Distance
• VoIP Revisited

CBC’s Canada’s Worst Cellphone Bill is brought to you by Canadian Capitalist — Helping you to invest & prosper.

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I’m a fan of daily fitness so I will be the first to tell you, if having a gym membership is the only way you will exercise, spend the money. The monthly gym fees will be far less expensive than poor health now and in the future.

We were able to temporarily cancel our monthly gym dues when my husband lost his job. Now that six months have passed without a trip to the gym, I’ve discovered something surprising…

I work out more now without a gym membership than I did with one.

I spend a quick 20 minutes running with the dogs or doing a workout video before making dinner each night. I do sit ups while watching TV or I jog in place. Before, if I didn’t have an hour to workout at the gym, I simply wouldn’t workout at all. Now, if I have 10 minutes, I use it!

I have always clung to my gym membership even in the leanest financial times. Looking at the impact of working out at home, I’m not sure why I held on so tight. We decided to make the temporary cancelation permanent. Rather than redirect all the money toward debt reduction, we’ve decided to keep part designated to fitness. The money can go toward new tennis shoes, marathon entrance fees, or exercise equipment. If we get desperate for a group class or a swim, we can sign up at the community center for $30 for a 3 month, two hour, twice weekly class.

Try working out at home this month. It may not work for you – but maybe you’ll be surprised at the results.

**If you do decide to cancel your membership, you may need to cancel several times. These companies (especially large gyms like 24Hour Fitness and LA Fitness ) can be very sneaky and ‘accidentally’ automatically deduct your dues for up to six months. You may need to consult with your bank to stop payments.**

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University-Specific

• MIT OpenCourseware – Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from almost all the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT.
• Webcast.Berkeley – Free podcasts and webcasts of University of California Berkeley current and archived courses.
• Harvard@Home – Selected lectures and videos.
• OpenYale – Access to a selection of introductory courses.
• Indian Institutes of Technology – YouTube videos from courses in Engineering.

Collections

• AcademicEarth – More lectures from various universities.
• YouTube EDU – Includes a variety of content from universities including UCLA, Case Western, and Oklahoma State.
• iTunes U – Includes audio/video from universities from around the world, National Public Radio stations, and famous museums. Many of the more popular ones are language courses.

Open Culture.com is a blog about free educational and cultural materials on the web. Here are some highlights (some posts are older):

• 250 Free Online Courses from Top Universities
• Free Foreign Language Lessons
• Free AudioBooks

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