Newspaper Page Text
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Money Smart walecia konrad
Are unlimited
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Just about every major cellphone
service provider including Veri
zon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile
offers unlimited individual calling
plans for about SIOO a month, and
some even throw in unlimited text
messaging and data transfer.
That’s great for big talkers and
texters, but it might be overkill for
you. If so, take a look at less expen
sive limited plans, too. For instance,
Sprint’s “Everything Data 450” of
fers 450 minutes, unlimited texts,
unlimited data, and free nights and
weekends for $69.99 a month. And
Verizon’s “Nationwide Select 900”
at $79.99 includes 900 minutes and
unlimited texts. To compare carriers’
plans and find even cheaper deals,
go to myrateplan.com.
If you choose to go with limited
minutes, use overmyminutes.com or
your cellphone provider’s free min
utes tracker to avoid hefty overuse
charges. (Beware: Your tracker could
lag several hours or even a day be
hind your actual usage.)
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To ask any USA WEEKEND columnist a question, visit usaweckend.com.
HELPFUL TIPS FOR YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE
Fit Smart By JORGE CRUISE
Exercise wherever you are
During winter,
even thinking
about dragging your
self to the gym can
be daunting. Instead,
try some of the many portable
training options. “Pbrtable per
sonal training is an affordable and
convenient option,” says Jen Lesea-
Ames, president of FitwiseTraining
.com. “The emerging trend is down
loadable [MP3] exercise audio
files or exercise video clips that
can be uploaded to an iPod
or smartphone.”
Portable
personal training
is an affordable,
J 5' convenient
% ™ * option.
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You can find video or audio in
struction on activities such as yoga,
weight lifting, stretching, Pilates,
tai chi and just about any other
exercise method you’d like to try.
Some companies have one-time fees
for downloads, and others, like
iTrain.com and FitwiseTraining
.com, offer a variety of package
deals that are billed monthly or
by program. Either way, such
training can be much less expen
sive than hiring a one-on-one per
sonal trainer.
“Portable fitness training
bridges the gap of providing
exercise instruction in an
accessible, affordable man
ner that can be used any
time, anywhere,” Lesea-
Ames says. But to ensure
proper exercise technique, she
adds, “make sure that the exer
cise instruction has been done by
certified personal trainers or fit
ness experts.”
If the screen on your portable
video player is too small to view
exercises easily, try playing
the video on your desktop
computer, laptop or on
your TV.
Jorge Cruise is the author
t of three consecutive best
sellers. Visit thebeUyfai
cure.com for his free
health report.
Consider genuine collectible coins
from die official source, ihe United States Mint
www.usmint.gov
To e-mail any of these
helpful articles to a
friend, get the links
at usawaakand.com
Safety Smart samantha lee
A holiday fire alarm
December and January are the peak
months for home fires. “Holidays are
a hectic time,” says the National Fire
Protection Association’s Marty Ahrens.
“And sometimes that makes it hard
to take the time to be safe.”
Keep an eye on candles, and extin
guish them when you leave the room.
And keep them away from flammable
objects (gift boxes, curtains).
too dose to thegfftsi J
Stay in the kitchen if the range is
on. “The kitchen is the leading area
where home fires start,” Ahrens says,
“and the leading cause of cooking fires
is unattended cooking.” If you leave
the kitchen while something’s cook
ing, then take a timer with you.
Use the fireplace correctly. “The
fireplace is only for hardwoods,” says
Lt. Anthony Mancuso of the New
York City Fire Department. So don’t
put any gift wrap, boxes or pine nee
dles on the fire.
Test your smoke alarm today. That
can double your chance of surviving
a home fire, Mancuso says, a