I found the best way to determine exactly what I pay for long distance is to look at my monthly statement. The monthly statement shows:

• the duration of the call;
• the total cost of the call;
• time of day savings; and,
• savings from any plan you may be on.

Before saving money with long distance, you have to determine your calling habits. For starters, ask yourself these questions (and look at your long distance bills from the past few months at least):

• who do you call;
• where do they live;
• when do you call; and,
• can you plan your calls for a better rate time.

It is best to check each company for their rates and the best time to call. And, check back regularly, our phone company likes to change the rules periodically.

• AT&T Canada
• Bell Canada
• Sprint Canada

For us, using our long distance carrier comes at a price. We have to constantly be aware of changes to their policy. If you use a long distance carrier:

• Don't assume you will automatically get the best rate.
• Don't assume you will be upgraded if the plan you are registered with changes for the better.
• You can only have one primary long distance carrier, so identify calling card rates for secondary carriers.

We have started using phone cards for Canadian and even North American calls, because phone cards can sometimes be dramatically cheaper than any of the long distance carriers. Phone cards generally come in two basic types.

• Connection fees; and,
• No connection fees

Quite honestly, the connection fee or no connection fee riddle still has me confused. Netmiser has found for national calls ... some connection fee cards are cheaper than the no connection fee cards. It mostly depends on your calling habits. Do you call your daughter once a week to talk for an hour and a half or more, or just short little chats. I find for national calls, for durations of 90 minutes or more, the conenction fee cards tend to be cheaper.

Overseas, the rates can be cheaper, but, depending on the country you are calling the connection may be lost quickly. For instance India, we don't trust using a phone card of any type since the telecommunications infrastructure in India is so poor.