I did not see any mentions of VoIP here. So, let me start it with this Obihai OBi200 VoIP Telephone Adapter with Google Voice & SIP $49.99 - $17 (promo code: EMCBCBF36) + Free S/H = $32.99 from NewEGG. With any POTs and/or cordless phone, this device allows you to have a regular home phone through Google Voice (GV). In other words, if you already have a GMail account, you can get a free GV with a US phone number and use this OBi200 device to place and/or receive FREE calls with $0 monthly bill. I have been using GV way back in 2006 when it was still GrandCentral and never pay for it, except my Internet feed.
For a rather personal (1 person usage), grab any inexpensive Android Phone (BestBuy is known to sell this under $10 every-now-and-then) and install Google Hangout to place/receive free phone calls by means of GV.
If you are a VoIP savvy like me, you probably won't need to shell out such a budget to buy an OBi200 device just to be able to place and/or receive free Google Voice calls/services, but do get some Pogoplug (configured as a digital PBX) + a $10 ATA device customized to Vonage sold @Walmart (as the extension to the PBX). For the later, please refer to this New Grandstream ATA used by Vonage on how to hack it.
For a rather personal (1 person usage), grab any inexpensive Android Phone (BestBuy is known to sell this under $10 every-now-and-then) and install Google Hangout to place/receive free phone calls by means of GV.
If you are a VoIP savvy like me, you probably won't need to shell out such a budget to buy an OBi200 device just to be able to place and/or receive free Google Voice calls/services, but do get some Pogoplug (configured as a digital PBX) + a $10 ATA device customized to Vonage sold @Walmart (as the extension to the PBX). For the later, please refer to this New Grandstream ATA used by Vonage on how to hack it.