Trying to stay on top of your budget including your utility bills takes work. From continually evaluating your services to making sure you don’t leave the lights on 24/7 – Hello Children! – you CAN make a difference in your utility bills if you try. We recently made a dent in our phone bill with the Magic Jack Plus.

Magic Jack Plus allows you to use a home phone over your high-speed internet connection rather than traditional phone lines. We’d been debating dropping our home phone service for several months and instead rely solely on our cell phones. I hated the idea of paying $25 a month for a basic phone line we rarely used. Peter wasn’t sure about not having any home phone service at all, so the Magic Jack Plus seemed like a perfect solution for both of us.

After buying the Magic Jack Plus device ($70 and includes your first year of service), you simply pay an annual fee of $30 a year for your home telephone.

Magic Jack Plus Review

Why I like the Magic Jack Plus

• Magic Jack Plus can be used without having a computer turned on (an improvement from the previous Magic Jack).
• It includes free local and long distance calls.
• It also includes call waiting and voicemail.
• The voicemail works even if the internet is turned off or the magic jack is unplugged.
• Take your home phone with you when you travel for free calls (if you hotel has a high-speed internet connection).
• You can call the US for free from other countries.
• It includes free directory assistance (411 calls).
• We will save at least $270 a year!

Things to consider

Magic Jack does allow you to port your old number for a fee. I opted for a brand new number to keep the service super frugal. 911 Emergency Services do work with the Magic Jack but you need to have a working broadband connection and power. Plus you must have activated and registered it with your home address. Less secure than a traditional home phone but in reality most modern home phones require electricity too. Plus we have our cell phones as a back up in case of an emergency.

You must dial the area code for all calls, even calls to your neighbor down the street. Always dialing 10 digits takes a little getting used to but it’s a great trade-off for a 90% savings off our annual phone bill!

Overall Magic Jack Plus Opinion

We’ve had the service for over a month with no complaints, I would definitely recommend checking it out if you are looking to save money on your home phone bill!

Bonus recommendation: My dad has been using it for a few years from Guatemala with no complaints!

Do you still have a traditional home phone?

Disclosure: I received a Magic Jack Plus for review purposes. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.