Believe it or not, I’m one of those people that doesn’t like to just follow the crowd. I’ve always been that way-If everyone in school thought a particular boy was cute, I wouldn’t-just to be contrary! I refused to read any of the Harry Potter books until after the 4th one came out-just because everyone was going on and on about them.
So when I started hearing a couple years ago about Skype I admit it-I just ignored everyone.
That is until I started hosting Frugal Coast2Coast and my phone signal from home was so terrible that I turned to Skype in sheer desperation! Although of course the Skype to Skype calls are all free, I needed to be able to call the Blog Talk Radio call in number-on a regular phone! So I paid $29.50 for a years worth of service. usually it’s $2.95 a month if you pay by month, I saved $6 by purchasing a year at a time.
That’s $2.95 a month for calling anywhere in the US or Canada! If you want folks to be able to call your “Skype” phone from a regular phone, it is just $30 a YEAR additional with your paid subscription. So basically, you can get all of your phone needs met for $60 a year. The kicker? You do have to talk at your computer, although I believe there is a gizmo out there that can make it work with regular phones. . .
Although I have read that some people experienced some call quality problems during peak times, I never saw that. Instead I had clear quality calls. Yes!
So I was a convert to using Skype to call in for my radio show, and to do business calls, but still I balked at using the other services. Why did I need to use anything else? Then my sister who lives in Hawaii gave birth to a beautiful little baby girl. There is very little chance that I’ll get to fly to Hawaii to see her, so she finally was able to convince me to try the video Skype with her . . . and I was hooked! Now I use the text/chat, calling & video calling regularly.
I use the chat to have longer back & forth conversations with folks than I can on twitter. After all-sometimes you just need more than 140 characters.
When Lynnae and I host Frugal Coast2Coast we always open up a Skype chat with both of us plus our producer, so if we need to “discuss” anything while on the air we can. It is also helpful during any kind of business conference call-you can have an “under the radar” discussion with someone if you need to.
Now that you know my whole back story, you can see why I responded with a resounding YES when I was approached about this Skype giveaway. Not only is Skype a great service that I can whole-heartedly endorse, but I also have the opportunity to give a great prize to not one, not two, but THREE of my lovely readers!
Yes, that’s right, I am giving away THREE SKYPE PACKAGES each of which includes a Skype Unlimited U.S. and Canada subscription and a Skype Freetalk Everyman Headset. *note: you need your own web cam to use video skype-that is not part of the prize pack.
Call me a geek if you like, I just think this is a fantastic prize, especially for the online community!
***Edited to add: Just for clarification, the Skype package is just for calls to US & Canada-international calls will be billed, but the rates are pretty low. Now if you are calling skype to skype I don’t think the international thing matters***
So now, on to the exciting stuff-how to enter!
This giveaway will run from Tuesday, September 29 to Monday October 5th.
Contest available only to US residents and APO’s. My family members are not eligible to enter. You are not eligible to enter if you have won a prize in the last 3 months. Three winners will be chosen from valid entries via the Random Number Generator.
To enter:
Leave a comment telling me who you want to use Skype to talk with!
Entered once but want additional entries? Leave me a comment for each of the additional entries.
1) Tweet/and or post to Facebook once a day about the contest linking back to this post.
2) Subscribe to Frugal Upstate. (or leave a note if you already are)
3) Blog about the contest with a link back to this post.
4) Subscribe to the Frugal Coast2Coast Newsletter (aka Joint Frugal Upstate & Being Frugal.net Newsletter)
Good Luck!
***This is a sponsored post***



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I would use this to stay in contact with my husband who is in the army and gone overseas alot. Thank you so much
I have three kids, but only one is talking. (Other 2 are babies!) But my son loves to call his grandma and grandpa 400 miles away! So we would use the phone to call them!
I am a subscriber!
I am a subscriber to the frugal coast2coast newsletter. I also love to listen to the podcasts!
I would use it to stay in contact with my five children and my parents who are out of state
I would use Skype to stay in contact with my Mom, Sister and Brother.
http://twitter.com/abitnerdy/status/4529651708
tweettweet
I would use it to call my mom. Skype is a much better connection that the cell phone I have to use to call her now!
I would talk to my oldest friend in WA (I am in MI) and our favorite AZ friends!
I’ll use Skype to keep in better touch with my dad who is somewhat of a nomad, retired, wandering around in his motorhome.
I would use Skype to talk to some of my extended family in Kentucky!
crystal_reagan at hotmail dot com
I subscribe to Frugal Upstate!
crystal_reagan at hotmail dot com
I subscribe to Frugal Coast 2 Coast!
crystal_reagan at hotmail dot com
tweetweet http://twitter.com/abitnerdy/status/4556348149
Tweet: http://twitter.com/lifeonprint/status/4556402590
I’d use it to keep in touch with people I met in New York. Like, for instance *you*. (In other words, “Hi, remember me?”)
I’m entering for my 9 year old son. He wants to be able to talk to his grandfather 1400 miles away on a daily basis. Grandpa had a health scare recently (he’s fine now) but it has really made my son appreciate him and want to spend more time with him.
Thanks!
http://twitter.com/abitnerdy/status/4586654109
tweet tweet <3
im in chicago but have family in washington… this would be great!
http://twitter.com/abitnerdy/status/4606131540 tweettweet 🙂
I would use skype to talk to my friends in Germany and the UK.
I would like to chat with friends. Thanks!
I would be using it to talk to my friends and family in Virginia…thats a lot of long distance bills saved!
Tweet: http://twitter.com/wastebasket/statuses/4621374460
I am a subscriber to your blog
I am a subscriber to the Coast2Coast Newsletter
I blogged about this giveaway: Here
My parents and sisters!
http://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/4623880749 tweet
I’m a subscriber.
http://tcarolinep.blogspot.com/2009/10/giveaway-frugal-upstate.html blogged.
Newsletter subscriber.
This would be great for skyping with my my kids when I am away at conferences 🙂
I am a subscriber
I subscribed to your newsletter
I’d use Skype to keep in touch with family who all live far away from me. It would also be great to be able to do long distance job interviews.
tweettweet tweeting again 🙂 http://twitter.com/abitnerdy/status/4630424917
I would use Skype to talk to some of my online friends who are not in my calling plan.
http://twitter.com/tuliplvr/status/4638393897
subscriber to Frugal Upstate
subcribed to Frugal Coast to Coast newsletter
This is so cool. I have been thinking about trying it. I would use it to talk with our family in Canada and Vegas. All very far from us.