OK.  You are still reading this article so Mr. Thrifty assumes that you have qualified yourself for VOIP service and you are ready to get started.  Before you start doing some shopping for a VOIP provider it is important to take a step back and figure out your calling patterns and feature needs.  Once you start VOIP shopping you are going to find a veritable plethora of VOIP providers and plans out there.  You need to know what your VOIP buying criteria are so you can spot the plans that meet your VOIP needs.  Some VOIP questions you can ask:

     1) How much time do I spend on the phone every month?  Am I better off going with one of the “all you can eat” VOIP service or with per minute billing VOIP service?

     2) Do I make a lot of international calls?  If so, what countries do I call most?

     3) Do I need and will I use features like conference calling, call waiting, call forwarding, etc?

     4) Are the prices REALLY lower at Wal-Mart?  Wait a minute.  Scratch that.  Mr. Thrifty’s subconscious is acting up again…

Once you have answered these simple VOIP questions, you are ready to go on and start shopping.