Ever gone on a trip and forgot to bring your cell phone charger? Well, here is an ingenious way to get a free one that I found on Lifehacker.com (quoted from a Reddit user).

“Next time you lose your phone charger, don’t buy another one. Go to a hotel and say you think you lost it there. It’s the #1 most left behind item at hotels, so most places have a big bin filled with every phone charger imaginable.”

“…Another trick is doing the same thing at the car rental counter. Just say you left your charger in the car the last time you were there and they will pull out a box full of chargers to pick from. Works every time.”

It’s a bit on the dishonest side yes, however this is a great way to reduce waste. And also if ever you forget your own cell phone charger, then your karma universe is in balance again.

If you have low income and need a cell phone to stay connected, then you may find this bit of information useful. Assurance Wireless from Virgin Mobile offers a free cell phone along with 200 free minutes every month to those with low income, who reside in North Carolina, New York, Tennessee, and Virginia. According to the website these are the freebies you are given.

_ A FREE Assurance Wireless phone
_ 200 FREE minutes each month for local and domestic long-distance calling
_ FREE voicemail, call waiting, and caller ID
_ FREE 911 access

And there are “no bills, long-term contracts, activation fees, recurring fees, or surcharges” in the plan. Check out their qualifications to find out if you are eligible.

YouTube

Universities like MIT, University of California Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and Yale, to name a few, are offering Free online courses on practically any subject on the most well known video portal out there – Youtube. Learn for free! This is just as great if not better than the Open Courseware Consortium, which provides educational materials from institutions such as some of the above noted. Times are tough and school may not be the best option for some of us thus take advantage of these free videos and course materials to keep the brain fresh and churning.

Motorola Q 9c

Here is a cool Free tip on how to bypass that annoying automated instruction that comes at the beginning when you leave a voice message on a cell phone. It’s a great way to shave some seconds, even minutes, off your talk time. The bypass is all similar throughout the networks in that you use the “1 * #” buttons (blogger Jeremy Toemon’s “three-key combo”) on your cell phone. I am on the Sprint network so here is how you bypass the message – once you hear the automated message come on press “1 * #” and voila! you can immediately leave a message. Check out the lifehacker site for specifics on your cell phone network.