Family Plan

"I'm simply outnumbered," says David. "I run a construction business with about 50 guys doing work all over the place, but that's nothing compared to having three teenage daughters!

My wife somehow knows who each of the boyfriends are, what school events are coming up and all of that. But not even she could keep up with the phone calls and messages. So I looked into putting in an extra phone line for each of the girls. not a chance! When I found out how much the phone company wanted to charge me for each extra line, I about had a stroke right then and there. They may tell you in the ads how cheap it is, but take a look at the fine print. A construction invoice is easier to read.

That's when Ellen, my wife, found PhonePlusPlus. It makes life so much easier - not just for the girls, but for us as well. Instead of paying an arm and a leg for each extra phone line, we were able to give all the girls their own phone numbers for only $9.95 per month. Each of them has their own phone number that they can program to ring at the house, on their cell phones, or wherever they are, and Genie* tells you as soon as you pick up which of them the call is for. If one of them isn't home, we can push a button to have Genie* try her on her cell or take a message. The girls can then pick up their own messages whenever they want, by phone, online or by email. Now I don't have to sort out whether the message from Michael is for Julia, or Lauren or Ashley. Actually, I think there are two Michaels, so it could be even - well, I don't want to think about how bad it could get messing up those messages.

It works out well for me, too. Ellen and I have our own PhonePlusPlus numbers. My daughters are great, but trying to get teenagers to take the time to get MY messages right is a lot to ask. I don't have to worry about that anymore. The best part about all of us being on the PhonePlusPlus plan is that we can easily send each other messages via Genie* -- for free. The girls can chat with each other without running up the phone bill, and Ellen and I can quickly send out a message to all three girls with the push of a button.

Now that all the girls are in high school, and college is just around the corner, we were glad to be able to give them each a GenieCard Visa® Prepaid Card**, which is included in the PhonePlusPlus plan. It's a safe way to make sure they can get money whenever they need it; I can deposit money into their GenieCards anytime by telephone, over the Internet, and by mail. Then they can withdraw cash at any ATM displaying the Visa and/or Interlink brand marks, or go shopping wherever Visa debit cards are accepted. Oh, and there's another benefit - this way, Ellen and I can keep tabs on the girls and what they spend," David says with a grin. "If they want spending money, they'll have to call the folks."

"My Ellen found a good thing, that's for sure. She's smart - I guess that's why I married her."