Are You A 411 Junkie?

We've all been there…you're driving down the freeway, and realize you need to make a reservation at a local restaurant, find out the hours of a store you're headed to, or check movie listings for that night. What do you do? You likely do not pull off at the nearest exit and bother to find a phone book…you usually just grab your cell phone and dial 411. It's convenient and easy - and you can usually be directly connected to your listing. But…then when your mobile phone bill arrives, you realize how much those innocent directory assistance calls cost you!

Turns out the average amount an individual spends on directory assistance calls each year is $36, but heavy users can spend over $300 a year. And those calls can cost anywhere from $1.25 - $1.75 each…worse yet, directory assistance calls from a land line come with an even steeper price tag, as carriers often charge anywhere from $2 to $4 per call. These fees can add up quickly, and be pretty painful if you are a chronic 411 dialer!

So, how do you avoid these spendy calls when you need to obtain a number in a hurry? Here's the scoop:

Simply dial 1.800.FREE.411 (1.800.373.3411) from your cell phone or land line, and the call is just that…free. The service works just like GOOGLE, commercial radio, or television in that businesses pay to sponsor the service in exchange for presenting their advertisements to customers. When you call 1.800.FREE.411 an automated voice recognition system will ask you for a location, type of listing and name. And in return for the free info, you'll occasionally hear an advertisement from one of the sponsors.

For example, let's say you call and request the number for your favorite local pizza place. While the service is locating the number you may hear a very brief ad for Dominos Pizza offering a deep discount while the request is being processed. After the advertisement plays, you can either connect directly with Dominos or receive the original number you requested. The choice is yours, and the call is still free.

Instead of continuing to rack up big charges for 411, you may want to consider 1.800.FREE.411.