After doing some math this past week, we calculated that we could save about $20 per month by changing our internet and telephone services now instead of waiting a few months when we leave for wherever we head first.

I went ahead and signed up for Verizon’s BroadbandAccess service because even though I receive “only” 5GB of transfer, it’s $22 cheaper than what I’m paying for internet right now. We’re also going to cancel our cable T.V. because, frankly, the girls, Maddy especially, just watch too much “educational” programming that annoys the crap out of Hannah and me. Ever since Maddy figured out the remote, its been a battle. So, instead of prolonging this battle, we’ve decided to eliminate the battlefield altogether. Bye-bye cable T.V. Good riddance.

Hannah and I have switched to cell phones sharing 700 minutes, way more than we currently use on our current VOIP phone (which we couldn’t keep anyway since we’re getting rid of cable internet). Well, to be more accurate, we use more than 700 minutes, but most of the people we call all have Verizon cell phones, which, under our new plan would be free calls. I went through the last six months of our phone records and removed all calls to our parents and others we know who have Verizon phones and figured all other calls equal about 350-450 minutes. We concluded that the odds of us using more than 700 minutes was slim, and were able to justify getting the two phones.

In the end, we end up with about a $20 difference in our favor. Not a whole lot, but, hey, $20 is $20.

For internet, I decided not to incur an expense buying an ExpressCard wireless modem when Verizon offered some highly-rated USB models for free with the contract that I was going to have to sign up for anyway. I opted for the Novatel Wireless USB727. It was very easy to setup and within three minutes, I disable the AirPort in my MacBook Pro and surfing very quickly using the USB modem. And when I say fast, I mean FAST. I was getting consistent download speeds approaching 2.0mbps. Upload was about 600-700kbps which I was very happy with. I know that speed will not be consitent across the country, but I would be happy just to have half, or even a quarter, of those speeds. All in all I think I made the right decision.

As for phones, Hannah and I have completely different tastes. Here’s the phones we got; can you guess which one is mine?

Hmmm…

Anyway, enough with the boring technical post. When we get going I’m going to start a separate Tech Travel blog where I wax eloquent about all my gadgets.

Well, not blogging, but I do get paid to work on my computer from home. A few months ago, I started dabbling in online freelance work on a couple of the big freelance sites, Guru.com and Elance.com. I upgraded my membership on Guru.com so I could bid more aggressively and hoped to get a job or two out of it. The upgrade cost $80 for three months, so I figured the odds were in my favor I could make back the $80 within three months.

Then my “real world” job fell apart (long story) and I went the freelance route full-throttle. In less than a week I had secured three projects that combined paid more than my “real” job had. Needless to say, I made my $80 back. That’s also about the time our RV dreams began to flourish.

Yesterday, we bit the bullet and signed a cell phone contract with Verizon, for no other reason than have portable EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized) Internet access. We’re starting with just a phone, but in a couple months we’ll be adding an EVDO ExpressCard to our account which will give us speedy internet just about anywhere we can get a Verizon signal, which is most of the U.S. Speeds in digital coverage areas are faster than DSL and are rapidly approaching the speeds of cable internet. Couple with an EVDO router, we will have a portable WiFi zone wherever we go for just $60 a month.

$60 a month! To have internet wherever we can get a cellular signal. This was unheard of just a few years ago, and without these kinds of advances in technology and drastic reductions in the prices for mobile broadband, our Unending Adventure would not be possible.