Billy Klein has a cellphone, which he constantly removes from his pockets and places here, there and everywhere while tending to things at his New Tripoli home, where he keeps horses and fixes up carriages.
After losing his phone one day before taking a trip, he found a solution that is also a real money-saver.
"It started when my semi-weekly cellphone hunt went fruitless," Billy said. "The pressure was on because I was flying to Florida the next day to visit my mother. Not only could I show up without a cell, I would have to confess either bad memory or poor organization to my mother. I'd rather eat stink bugs than go through that. By the way, they taste like Japanese beetles and not like their stink but that's another story for later."
Billy is also into theater and he's a pretty good storyteller.
"So being a boomer, I went online with Verizon and bought my first smartphone," Billy said. "I figured a smartphone could teach me a few tricks and perhaps some intelligence would rub off on me … . The new phone was shipped to Florida upon my arrival and turned out not smart enough to recapture my 500 contacts and many priceless pictures. All of Verizon's horses and all of Verizon's men could not get the contacts into my new phone again. The problem, it seemed, was my lost phone was continually backing up to a Palm profile and this profile was only accessible by another Palm of similar vintage. Verizon no longer had the model I needed."
There's a business term for that: planned obsolescence. It forces customers to buy new products and upgrades, which is good for manufacturers who keep selling new products. Fortunately, Billy found another solution.
"Being a desperate boomer, I went to the source for all things rare: eBay," Billy said. "In five minutes, I bought a used replacement phone with 14-day warranty for $32 and free shipping. It showed up in a box with cords and cables. In less than an hour I had my look-alike phone activated and loaded with my precious personal data. Here comes the epiphany. My mother complimented me and said, 'You're so smart, I knew you would find your phone.' Using my secretly replaced phone, I bought two more from eBay. Now I had backups for the next time."
Beyond extra phones, Billy realized he no longer needed to carry insurance for his phone, which had been costing him plenty. He also got extra batteries and chargers with his backup phones, which come in handy while traveling.
"The money-saving aspect was my canceling the $7-a-month insurance on the phone," Billy said. "I no longer needed insurance because I had replacement phones in my possession. I then canceled the $7-a-month insurance on my wife's phone, bringing the savings to $168 a year which started the next day. Of course, saving the familial embarrassment of losing a cellphone: Priceless!"
You can see a video of Billy and his extra phones at http://www.mcall.com/onthecheap.
We did some number-crunching in the On The Cheap lab and figure this tip would save you $1,616 over 10 years.
Send your tips: spencer.soper@mcall.com, 610-820-6694 or P.O. Box 1260 Allentown, 18105
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Videos: mcall.com/onthecheap
Spare cellphone
Cheapster: Billy Klein
Tip: Buy spare cellphones rather than insurance
Estimated savings: $1,616 over 10 years
