Your lifestyle Some people ‘use’ their cell phones and others ‘love’ their cell phones. Which one are you? Users tend to stick to ‘for emergencies only’ rule and don’t go over their minutes. Cell Phone ‘lovers’ take phone to park, beach, work, library, school etc. If you are in this category make sure your cell phone service will fit your daily schedule.

Do you spend a lot of time in a mall, an emergency room (meaning base floors or lower levels of building) or out on range? During trial period go to these areas and check your bars. Better yet, call a friend or two and see what type of reception you get. Go to local mall and try to make a call from parking lot, first level, second level etc. 1.Are you roaming? 2.Did your call go through? 3.Was it clear? 4.Can you make calls from kitchen, but get constant static in your living room? Knowing where you spend majority of your time and type of reception you receive will give you a realistic idea of how much your service will really cost every month.

Geography Despite claims made by wireless companies, some services work better indoors, in cities, in south, on west coast etc. Pick a service that provides excellent local service. Do not rely on commercials, special offers or recommendations from friends and families in other states when you are picking your service. The only thing that matters is type of reception you will receive in your town. Take your cell phone out for a day and this will determine your ultimate level of satisfaction.

If you’re a business traveler, take an average of where you spend most of your time each month, and use this as your geographical guide when you sign up for a plan.

Now, to understand why something as simple as a trip to shoemaker would stay with me all these years later, I have to explain. I came from most loving and nurturing parents a child could ever want. Even back then, I knew I was blessed with a wonderful family, but this realization also made me a little arrogant. My fierce devotion to family could be blinding at times.

When my dad asked me to pick up his shoes from shoemaker, I eagerly obliged. Although he rarely asked, I loved doing favors for him and this was an easy request. Or so I thought. This simple errand proved more daunting than I originally anticipated, but it also provided me with a valuable lesson in life.

On my first attempt to pick up shoes, I was informed they weren't ready. "Please, come back," shoemaker said. However, although he said "please", his response was curt.

As far as I was concerned, my dad never made mistakes, so I looked at ticket and confirmed that I had right date. "The ticket said they would be ready today," I responded in an indignant tone.

"Tomorrow," was all he said. Then he turned to his next customer. I'm sure he didn't need a teenager lecturing him about his business obligations.

Prone to dramatics of my youth, I rolled my eyes and left in a huff, complaining about his lack of responsibility under my breath.

When I returned next day, ready to forgive him for inconvenience, I was informed shoes were not ready. Oh, you would think tragedy struck my perfect little world. My daddy needs his shoes, I though. How could shoemaker be so inconsiderate? I stormed out of shop without a word, but my body language spoke volumes.

My third trip (in three days) yielded same results, and now I was furious at shoemaker. Who did he think he was? What kind of a business was he running?

Without thinking, I demanded shoes back. He complied with my request, grabbed shoes from a large pile on his workbench and shoved them into a bag. "Here you go, young lady," he said with a smirk.