About to Run Out of Cell Minutes?

I recently lost my cell phone at an indoor playground (that's the last time I climb around in one of those...). I have never felt so disconnected to the world than I did for the 4 or so hours I was without my phone. Now, I don't have a smartphone so I'm not that "connected." But it's nice to know I can call someone if I need to.

While I was looking for a solution to get a hold of some people to find my phone, I stumbled on Google voice. Did you know that you can call any cell phone or land line in the U.S. for free using Google voice? I kept looking for a catch but wasn't able to find one. You just have to download the voice program to your computer which takes all of a few minutes. I was surprised at the quality of the calls as well. It was just like talking on my cell phone. I was able to call the indoor playground to let them know I was looking for my phone as well as my husband and my cell phone provider for assistance.

I began thinking about other uses for this service. This could definitely be used if you are coming close to using all of your cell phone minutes in a given month. It could also be used to supplement as a long distance plan instead of having one on your land line. All-in-all, this is a great feature to have at your fingertips. It could end up saving you money in the long run. Why not?

P.S.-I did indeed find my phone. A child found it in the play equipment somewhere...