Let MyRatePlan pay your activation fee!    For a limited time, MyRatePlan will rebate $36 for a qualifying single line plan or $72 for a qualifying family plan that is purchased via the site.  Since most carriers charge about $35 per line, this will offset the activation cost for up to two lines.   See rebate form for full terms, conditions and restrictions.

Use our rate plan or phone finder to find the best deal for your needs, and then save an additional $36 or $72 in this exclusive MyRatePlan offer.  Hurry, offer ends May 15.

If you’ve flown in the past year or two, you know that the airlines have made flying an a la carte ordeal, charging fees for almost everything.    Checking bags, pillows, blankets, snacks are all things that now cost money on different airlines.  One airline is even making passengers chip in to pay for the crew.   Okay, I made that up, but it is true that one airline is going to start charging a fee to buy a ticket.    Hmmm… charging me for the privilege of buying something from you.  Yeah, I think I’ll pass on that.

In any event, a new feature in the booking engine at Trip Advisor is attempting to add some clarity to all these fees.   If you use their fees estimator, which is a button that shows up on the results page after you enter the basics about your flight (route, dates).   If you click the button, a pop up asks you what services you will need and will then adjust the ticket price on each airline to give you a better understanding of where the best bottom line value is.

For those looking to find the lowest overall price for their next trip (and who isn’t), this tool might be worth a look.

By the way, if you ever need to track a flight, try the MyRatePlan Flight Tracker.

For those who qualify and who only need a cell phone for emergency situations, you may be able to get a cell  phone and monthly allowance of minutes for free.   A company called SafeLink Wireless is offering this in several states and it will soon expand to others.  (Check their website for availability in your location).

SafeLink (owned by the same people that market TracFone), is made possible by a government program (funded by the Universal Service Fees you see on most phone bills) that provides lower income households with discounts to make telecom service more affordable.

SafeLink’s website says the program provides a free cell phone and a number of free minutes each month, that varies by state.   We sampled a few Zip Codes, and usually found that they provide a little over an hour of free talk time each month.   It appears that if you stay within that allocation of minutes, there are no charges whatsoever.   For those wanting to talk more, TracFone airtime cards can be purchased and used.

UPDATE 10/27/09:  For those interested in this service, click the link for Safelink Wireless. That is the best place to see if you qualify and/or if this service is available where you live.

This is the first of a series.   There’s no shortage of advice out there telling us how to save money.  However, much of it is along the lines of “give up your latte” or “don’t go out to eat”.  Great, I’m already depressed enough about the economy and now they want me to drink nasty coffee.

We decided to come up with a different list.  Ways to save money without having to change your lifestyle.   These are better ways to spend your money or equivalent products that are cheaper.   The goal:    To have the things you have today, only to spend less to have them.

Rental Cars:    Use the ‘opaque pricing’ option on Priceline or Hotwire.

Yes, you can use these services for airfare and hotels and you can save plenty of money that way as well.   However, there is one big difference with cars that fits with our theme for this series.    When you book airfare or hotels through these sites, you give up some control.   For example, you may have to fly at an inconvenient time or change planes.  Or, a hotel might be in a different part of the city than you want.   You won’t know the specifics until after you make a non-refundable commitment.   However, those risks are minimal with rental cars.   Whether you get assigned to Budget or Avis, Hertz or some other major provider, you’ll be picking your car up in roughly the same place and the class of car you pick (e.g., compact) will get you essentially the same car from one provider to another.    So, unlike airfare or hotel, there really is no trade-off when using Priceline or Hotwire —-  just savings of 10-30% or more.