Why I Dropped the Verizon Smartphone Total Mobile Protection Plan

I recently received a update to my Verizon Smartphone Total Mobile Protection Plan that made me re-evaluate whether it is worth it. The plan has become more expensive (from $10 to $11 / month) and the deductible was raised (from $99 to $149).

Verizon Smartphone Total Mobile Protection Plan Update Letter

Asurion Verizon Smartphone Total Mobile Protection Plan Letter FrontAsurion Verizon Smartphone Total Mobile Protection Plan Letter Back

Almost two years ago, I opted into the Verizon Smartphone Total Mobile Protection Plan when I upgraded from a flip phone to a smart phone.  In my haste the $10 / mo fee for the protection plan compared to the relatively large sticker price seemed worth it and I hadn’t revisited my decision.  Plus given my active lifestyle (time spent near the ocean, snowboarding, biking, etc), I figured it might be a good investment.  Over the last two years I’ve paid $240 for that protection plan and still have a fully functional phone.

I found that I could purchase a used Droid Maxx for $99 on Amazon or a new one for $200.  Following this realization, I immediately cancelled my protection plan.  I figured that the $11 per month protection plan with a $149 deductible wasn’t beneficial for a phone that could be replaced for between $99 and $200.

This got me wondering whether I’d make the same decision today. Verizon offers the Droid Maxx 2 for $99 with a 2 year contract or a flat fee of $348.  If I were signing up today, then I might choose to pay the $99 for the phone with a 2 year contract, but I would opt out of the protection plan.  Given a $348 sticker price and a $149 deductible it costs $11 / month to cover $199 (= $348 sticker – $149 deductible).  At a rate of $11 / month I could cover the $199 myself within 18 months.  Furthermore, a $348 phone offered today will be offered for something less tomorrow and the protection plan is not obligated to replace the phone with a new one.  Odds are it will be a refurbished one (i.e. used). Given the fact that I’m on my second phone in 10 years this seems to be an acceptable risk. The potential benefit vs. the cost just isn’t there for me.

It pays to revisit your contracts.  In addition to reducing my monthly bill by $10 by removing the Verizon Smartphone Total Mobile Protection Plan, I discovered that verizon had revised their data plan costs and I could double my monthly data from 1GB to 2GB and save $9 per month.  I also received an additional 3% reduction by switching to paperless billing.  In all, I was able to reduce my monthly bill by over $20 / month while double my monthly data.

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Remove a Picture’s Background in PowerPoint

At some point you may want to remove a picture’s background in order to isolate or accent the subject, remove distracting details, or have some fun and place yourself in fun or amusing locations.  For example, below is a picture taken during one of my many speeches at the White House in DC.
Mike Strejcek Removed Picture Background Replaced with White House Podium
The following steps are used to remove the background from an image.
  1. Select an image you’d like to remove the background from.
  2. Insert the image into a PowerPoint chart.
  3. Click on the image and the Picture Tools menu will appear in PowerPoint (image below).
  4. PowerPoint Picture Tools - remove a picture's background
  5. Under Picture Tools menu, on the Format tab, in the Adjust group, click Remove Background (at the far left of the image above) and the Background Removal tab will appear (image below).
  6. PowerPointBackgroundRemovalTab
  7. You may then click Mark Areas to Keep and Mark Areas to Remove on the Background Removal tab and select areas of the picture you’d like to keep and remove.
  8. Once you are satisfied with your background removals / additions you may click Keep Changes. Alternatively, if you are not satisfied, you may Discard All Changes.
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Create a Microsoft Windows Keyboard Shortcut to Any File or Application

Microsoft Windows Keyboard Shortcut Properties

A Microsoft Windows keyboard shortcut is extremely useful if you’d like to quickly open applications,  open files, or run scripts you use frequently.

The following steps are used to set up a Microsoft Windows keyboard shortcuts.

  1. Right click on the file (or application) and left click “copy”
  2. Right click in a directory and left click “Past Shortcut”
  3. Right click on the shortcut you just created and left click “Properties”
  4. Select the “Shortcut” tab by left clicking on it.
  5. Select the “Shortcut Key” field by left clicking in the text box
  6. While in the “Shortcut Key” field type the shortcut key sequence you desire. (In the graphic, I entered the CTRL+SHIFT+T shortcut key sequence by holding down the CTRL, SHIFT, and T key. You may also choose ALT, WIN, or other key combinations as well.)
  7. Left click “OK” to apply the changes and exit the properties window
  8. From now on,  when you type that “Shortcut Key” sequence the shortcut will be executed.

Please note that many applications have assigned shortcut keys by default.  Your newly assigned Microsoft Windows keyboard shortcut may not work if used within a program that has the same keyboard shortcut assigned.

You may also want to consider saving all your Microsoft Windows keyboard shortcuts with quick keys assigned in the same directory. Otherwise they may be hard to track down later.

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