Google Voice Now Open To All

Google’s voice product is now open to everyone after a long beta period where you could only join by a referral.

Google voice issues you a US phone number which is designed to be your primary phone number. You then have that number ring all your other phone numbers, such as your home/work/cell when someone calls it. This is called their “Ring All” feature. Google voice also comes packed with many call screening features where you can block certain numbers, block callers that don’t show their caller id and many more.

My favorite feature is the listen in on voicemail. When you get a call to your google voice number when you answer it you have the option to take the call or send it to voicemail. If you send it to voicemail you have the option of listening to that message and jumping back on to the call at any time. All your voice mail’s are also converted to text. This is a handy feature, but if your caller doesn’t speak clearly into their end of the phone the transcriptions are not always perfect. But in most cases you can get the idea of the call by reading it. They also have developed a Google Voice app for Android, Windows Mobile, IPhone and Blackberry where you can check your voice mail through your phone.

All these features are managed on line though Google’s web interface. I have had this service for over a year now and I love it. I have blocked so many telemarketers that I don’t think I can every get rid of it now.

This service is completely free and they do offer local numbers in may major metro areas. My advice to you is to sign up now while numbers are still available in your area. If you don’t end up using it for your main number, you may consider giving the number out to places that you buy things from, similar to a spam email address, that way you only give your main number out to those that you want to.

To lean more about all the features Google Voice has, check out their Feature Videos.

Free T-Mobile Phones on June 19th

T-Mobile is gearing up for a pretty large sale on June 19th. In honor of Fathers Day it appears that all T-Mobile phones will be free when you switch to a family plan with a contract on Saturday the 19th. This could be a very sweet deal if it is true as some of their best phones like the HTC HD 2 and Blackberry Bold can be picked up for no cost.

This information was pulled out of a leaked TV commercial document from T-Mobile. It has not been officially announced, but I will be surprised if the 19th comes and goes without this happening. We shall see, I will keep you posted as more info comes out on this.

Here is a copy of the commercial script that has been circulation:

Walgreens Coupon – $10 Credit When Spending $25 Online

There is a new Walgreens promotion where you can get a $10 credit after spending $25 at Walgreens.com. There is no expiration on this promotion, but it can be withdrawn at any time.

You must place your $25 order from the Walgreens Promo page. Once your purchase is completed the $10 credit will appear in your account.

Some of the small print of this offer is as follows:

• You can only use the credit online at Walgreens.com
• The credit expires in 90 days after it is issues
• You must use the credit on one purchase, meaning you can’t split it over multiple purchases
• You can’t apply the credit toward pharmacy or photo orders, gift card purchases, taxes or shipping charges

Overall, this is still a pretty good deal since you are essentially getting 40% of your $25 purchase to use toward another purchase.

Free Pastry from Starbucks on March 23rd

Starbucks is giving away free pasties to customers on Wednesday March 23rd in their US and Canada stores. You need to print out the coupon below and take it in to your local Starbucks.

According to the text on the coupon, you will receive a free pastry when the purchase of any “handcrafted, brewed or iced beverage”.

This offer is good from 4:30am – 10:30am or until the all pastries are gone.

(click the coupon for full size image to print)

Free Investing Book Download

A reader (thanks mrgl23!) tipped me off to the fact that Vanguard.com is letting you download The Elements of Investing which was written by former Vanguard board members Charles Ellis and Burton G. Malkiel. According to the description on the download page, the book “distills investing into five fundamental principles: save, index, diversify, avoid blunders, and keep it simple.” I haven’t downloaded , since I had purchased it from Amazon.com last week. If you are just getting started investing, it never hurts to get information from the pros, especially when it is free. I am not sure if this download was meant for everyone or just customers, but I would download it while it is still available to all.

Amazon.com curretly is selling The Elements of Investing for $14. 15 reviewers of the book gave it an average of 4/5 stars, so it would seem that it might be worth a look. I haveb’t gotten around to reading it yet, but should by the end of next week. One item on my to do list is to rediversify my portfolio since it hasn’t changed in a very long time, so now might be the chance to do it.

When Do I Get My Tax Documents?

Now that tax time is upon us, people tend to get into a frenzy when they haven’t received their tax documents from their employer, bank, etc. Here are some details to let you know if and when you should be receiving them:

W2: Your employer should have sent you this form by February 1st. That is the mandated date by the government. If you have still not received one be sure to contact your HR department.

1099-INT: These documents are provided to you by financial institutions where you have received interest. Most people will receive these from banks where their accounts are provided. Note that you will not receive a 1099-INT from a bank where you did not accumulate more than $10 worth of interest. 1099-INT documents should arrive at your home by February 1st.

1099-DIV: This document is sent out by brokerages where you have bough and sold stock. These show the dividends/losses you incurred during the year. In just the past few years, they have extended the date when you are to receive a 1099-DIV by 15 days, so you should receive it by February 15th.

1099-R: If you took rolled over a tax free retirement account to an IRA, or took a disbursement of cash, you will be receiving a 1099-R. This should arrive by February 1st.

1099-MISC: If you did any side work or made any money from a job where taxes were not deducted, you will get a 1099-MISC from the employer that paid you. You only get one if the dollar amount was larger than $600 for the year. There is a lot of debate as to whether or not you need to claim amounts less then $600 since a 1099-MISC was not issued. My advice is to better be safe than sorry and do it! This should be received by February 1st.

Those are a list of the common tax forms that people will be receiving for the 2009 tax year. Before you meet with your accountant or sit down to do your taxes via TurboTax or any of the other online tax providers, make sure that you have accounted for all your forms for all of your accounts. This will just save you time and hassle later by having to file an ammended return.

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