Using Email To Stay In Touch

As long as you don’t have per-minute service charges connected with your email or Internet service, sending an email is free. And what’s a better price than that? Some people have a home computer but don’t want or need complete Internet access. If you’re one of these people, you can get email only services, often for free. Ask at your local computer store or talk to your friendly neighborhood computer geek for local ideas for free email only services.

If money is really tight, sending an email greeting card from an online card company is much better than sending no greeting at all.

Another way to save on the cost of a stamp or a long-distance call is to use online video-conferencing and instant-messaging services. You can also set up meeting times with family and friends in online chatrooms or message
boards to exchange greetings.

Letter writing seems to have become a relic of the past, as archaic as dinosaurs or Model Ts. But nothing can match the thrill of finding a handaddressed envelope from a good friend or favorite family member in your mailbox. Sending cards and letters doesn’t have to be much more expensive than the price of a first-class stamp if you watch for specials on stationery while you’re shopping. You can often find beautiful note cards and stationery at garage sales and thrift stores for pennies. Dropping an inexpensive card or letter in the mail is still much cheaper than making an extended long-distance phone call or paying for Internet access.

If you don’t have a long period of time to write a detailed letter to a friend, try carrying around a pad of stationery when you’re out and about. Instead of being a source of frustration, a 15-minute wait in the doctor’s reception area

can be the start of a great letter. You can also use that time spent sitting in the van waiting for Junior to get out of school to keep in touch with far-flung family members.