• WHAT: Free information calls from your cell phone (or anywhere else)
• WHY: Do you LIKE paying $2 to get a phone number?
• COST: Free (you pay for the minutes to call, but otherwise 100% free)
  

Along with my mission to reduce the amount of gear that I carry along with me every day I'm also on a mission to reduce the costs that I incur every month.  This one is pretty much a no-brainer... it's free information by calling a toll-free number from your cell phone (or any phone for that matter).  It's easy, fast and effective.  Here's how it works...

First, just call 800-FREE-411 (800-373-3411).  I use it so frequently that I've entered it into the speed dial/phone book portion of my phone.   When you call, you'll hear a robotic voice greet you with "Welcome to 1-800-FREE-411" followed by an ad.  The service is ad-supported so you'll hear one at the beginning and one at the end.  (In my humble opinion, a small price to pay to save $2 on a simple information request.)  Then you'll hear "What city and state, please?"  After you respond you'll be asked "Are you looking for a business, government or residential listing?"

Just follow the prompts all the way through and you'll soon have your number.  I've found it to be surprisingly accurate and it does offer an option of connecting to a live operator if it can't deliver the correct information to you.

One final note - a feature that I find incredibly handy as part of this service... when the call is complete you'll be offered the option to receive the information you just heard in a text message sent to your phone.  Just press "3" and it'll be sent to you within a minute.  Then, when you read the message (I'll explain how in another post if you don't already know how to do this) you can scroll down to the phone number and just press "Send."  Most of the phones on the market will be smart enough to call the number that you've highlighted by scrolling to it.  Very handy stuff.