Picketology: Choosing the Right Internet Speed

In the world of home services, there are always new ways to save when it comes to your billing. One of the best ways to shave a little off the top is to be informed about what services you are signed up for, and how much of them you are actually using.

That's why we're introducing Picketology, a new WhiteFence video series about the science behind your home services. In this first edition, we cover the different ranges of high-speed Internet, and how you can choose what's right for you. In addition, you can find out what the difference is between the different packages. Also, a fake rundown of Internet history.

What speed do you have in your home, and why did you choose that? Feel free to tell us in the comments!

Google Invests in Wind Power

A few months back, we told you about Google’s plans to set up a super-fast fiber-optic network that would make the fastest broadband packages available today look as slow as dial-up does today. Now it looks like they’re aiming at another home service: clean electricity.

Earlier this week, Google announced that they have made their first direct investment in a “utility-scale” renewable energy project, investing almost forty million dollars in a pair of wind farms in North Dakota. Together, these wind farms generate enough electricity to power over 55,000 homes, and that’s just their first investment.

Why would a search engine invest in renewable energy? Over the last few years, Google has grown from a humble search company into to a sprawling enterprise with (amongst other things) their own cell phone platform, their own Web browser, the aforementioned fiber-optic network idea, and lots of interest in philanthropic and renewable energy projects. The company's interest in renewable power goes beyond their own operations, with aims on pushing the whole planet towards sustainability.

Besides this recent investment in wind power, Google has already set up its own power company and a platform for those with smart meters to monitor their electricity usage, in addition to lobbying for clean energy innovation.Clearly, Google is serious about being a part of the coming green energy revolution, putting its money where its mouth is. It'll be fascinating to see how deep Google’s commitment is and how the company will continue to evolve.

In twenty years, what do you think Google will be primarily known for? I’m willing to bet most people won’t just say “it’s a search engine.”

Planning for Home Improvement

As we've covered on this blog before, saving money isn't always the easiest thing to do. One of the things that my wife and I are saving for, in addition to our "general future and retirement" fund, is home improvement. Things that will save us money in the long run or simply add value to our home. I'm not the most knowledgeable or handiest person when it comes to this kind of stuff, but we do have our eye on a few projects for down the road.

I think our main priority will be to renovate our master bathroom, which is one of the least updated rooms in our entire home. This should add decent value, as well. In addition, we'd like to replace all of our windows, to enhance our home's energy efficiency. Not only will this help us save on monthly bills for years to come, it'll also help our home's resale value. The difficult part of all of this is trying to decide which one comes first, and how we're going to save money for everything we do.

So what have you guys done about saving money and home repair in the past? Which kinds of projects do you plan to do first? Ones that have an immediate benefit, or ones that will possibly add more long term benefit? Tell us in the comments!

And if you're interested in letting WhiteFence assist you in finding the right help for your home repair needs, visit our home improvement section!

Virtual Plant-athon Results

We wrapped up our first ever Plant-athon on Friday and the results were awesome. We added 120 fans to our Facebook account, meaning we'll be donating the cost of 120 trees to the Arbor Day Foundation.

I'd like to give a big thank you to everyone that joined and helped spread the word for your support! Don't forget to stay our fan on Facebook for news about upcoming giveaways and contests along with all of our regular news articles!

Also, while Earth Day and the Plant-athon may be over, we can still help you go green. Switching to renewable energy for your home is an easy and inexpensive way to slash your carbon footprint. Just head on over to the WhiteFence homepage and enter your address to see what clean energy options are available in your area.

Megabits Matter: Our Fastest High-Speed Packages

It's funny to me that not too long ago, I had never really experienced high-speed Internet on my home computer before. Within the past decade, we've seen crazy leaps and bounds in terms of what we can do on the Web, at speeds most of us probably didn't think were possible in the 90's. The crazy thing is, as fast as my home high-speed connection is at 6.0 Mbps, there are even faster speeds out there.

Have you ever wondered about the fastest possible high-speed Internet package you can find? Lately, I've been curious about this, thinking about the best connection I could actually find and get hooked up in my home. Granted, I think about things like this because I'm a nerd, but I'm sure you are not a nerd, so you probably have more valid reasons to be pondering this idea. Regardless of why you've considered this question, I did a little bit of research into WhiteFence's providers to find the fastest high-speed Internet packages offered.

While most providers offer packages ranging from 1.0 Mbps to 10.0 or even 12.0 Mbps, there are some that go far beyond that. Check out the interesting results below.

How to Prepare for Your Move This Summer

Summer is on its way, and that means moving season is too. We’ve all had the stressful, thrown-together move experience where you just start throwing things in trashbags and random boxes, hoping everything works out in the end. If you’re moving this summer, you can probably hear that little voice in the back of your head saying “Start preparing now, we promised the next move will be different.”

I have to agree with the voice in your head, a little planning and preparation now can save you the heartburn of a stressful move. Here’s how WhiteFence can keep your move from becoming a nightmare:

• Plan if you’re going it alone or hiring the pros – The first thing you need to do is work out if you’re going to be moving everything yourself or if you’re hiring a moving company. While you’ll save a little money doing it yourself, it can be quite the headache. Unsure if you can afford to hire a mover or just looking for the best price on moving service? Check our Mover Quotes page to get quotes from all of the top movers.

• Put together a checklist and stick to it – The most important thing you can do now is to blueprint everything you’re going to have to do for your move. Not sure what you’re going to need to do? No problem, just head over to our Moving Checklist page and we’ll build a checklist customized for your schedule and needs for FREE!

• Order your home services in advance – The only thing worse than unpacking all day, is not having any TV to watch when you’re done for the day! Unless you’re planning on going without TV, Internet, a phone line, electricity and natural gas for a while once you get to your new place, you’re going to have to order your services in advance. With WhiteFence, you can shop all the top providers at once to find the best plans for your needs. Just head over to the WhiteFence homepage and enter your address to get started!

WhiteFence 101: How to Read an Electricity Bill

Electricity bills can be a little complicated at first glance, but I assure you they are full of valuable information and paying attention is worth the time. Here’s an overview of what you’ll find on your bill:

• Account Information – The bill should include your name, account information, address, and an invoice number.

• Amount Due – Your provider will list the amount you currently owe and when it is due. There will be an itemized breakdown of the various items that make up the amount due, so you can see what you are being charged for. They will also probably list when the payment will be considered late and what late charges you will be charged.

Find Average Utility Bill Costs with the WhiteFence Index

Recently, we've had a few discussions on this blog about monthly spending as well as the average cost of utilities during the summer. Naturally, utility costs and rising prices are always a concern for people, especially during an economic climate such as this one. It always helps to save money wherever we can, and the easiest place to start is our home services like electricity, high-speed Internet, etc.

Another resource that can prove useful if you're trying to get a sense of how your average utility costs rank is to use the WhiteFence Index. This tool allows you to look at top cities, by utility or service, to see what the average costs are for that area. It's actually pretty helpful, and looking at it right now I can see that I'm paying a little more than average for my home phone/TV/Internet package.

So, where do your bills fall? To find out more, visit the WhiteFence Index.

Qwest Merges with CenturyLink

If you're familiar with the Telco space at all, then you know that some big things happened last week in the industry. CenturyLink, formerly CenturyTel and Embarq, has agreed to buy Qwest, a fellow telephone, DSL and TV service provider based out of Denver, Colorado.

According to BusinessWeek, this "purchase allows CenturyTel, which serves customers in less populated areas of the U.S., to move into four new U.S. states and add customers in 10 more". In addition, Qwest provides service to many commercial properties, so there will be expansion on that side as well. The move also gives the companies an enlarged fiber network to better serve customers in many territories.

Naturally, the splash created by this merger will be a big one for the telecommunications business, which will have some ripples and side effects. Qwest comes with millions of broadband, wireless and phone customers, so there will no doubt be questions about what happens next, and what the timeline will look like for any kind of switch in service. Big changes like this affect WhiteFence as well, so we'll be posting details as soon as they are available to help answer any questions you might have. In the meantime, you can search for home phone service deals in your area.

Source- Businessweek and Qwest

Taking Stock of Your Monthly Spending

In dealing with most things in my life, I wouldn't generally consider myself an apathetic person. In fact, I'm fairly on the ball when it comes to taking care of my responsibilities at home, or to my friends. But for some reason, when it comes to money matters, I sometimes adopt a lazy attitude about my finances and how I can be saving more money.

I don't mean being a budget hawk or anything like that, where I'm counting every cent (oh those good ol' college days), but being conscious of where my money is going and where it is being wasted. Really, sometimes money just seems to disappear like picnic baskets in Jellystone Park. Minus the bears, of course.

As an example, my wife and I recently noted two areas where we could tidy up our monthly spending. The first was home phone. While having a home phone line can be useful for a variety of reasons (such as home security), we decided recently that we just weren't using it that often and might consider changing our plan. Likewise, our electricity contract just went up last month, so it's time to start looking around for a new rate. Guess which one of those we've done. Neither. I'm not really sure why that is, but I guess it's just easier to retain the status quo than it is to actively search for better deals.

So, here are some easy, non time-consuming things to help take a quick stock of your monthly spending: