One CUB staffer, one phone clinic, $504/year in savings!
Celia (right) was on a roll in Vernon Hills, showing 11 consumers how to save an average of $504 a year. “It’s cheesy, but I’ve always wanted to serve society,” she says.Take Celia Christensen. In Vernon Hills recently, she showed 11 consumers how to cut their calling costs by a whopping average of $504 a year.
“I like being able to directly help people,” said Celia, an energy attorney and outreach associate for CUB. “People just seem so happy to hear what they can do because they’re so frustrated and confused by all the different charges on a phone bill.”
That goes for the woman who was losing $130 a month, mostly on calls to the Ukraine. “She was paying 99 cents a minute,” said Celia, who recommended using an international phone card.
The 10 other Vernon Hills consumers who talked to Celia learned how to save a range of $72 to $600 a year. It’s not the first time she’s racked up big numbers for CUB. Last October, Celia showed one consumer how to save $740 a year and another $744 at two consecutive clinics in two days.
When she’s not analyzing phone bills, Celia takes on legal cases that involve Illinois energy policy, and she logs a lot of miles promoting energy efficiency at speaking engagements, festivals, and farmer’s markets. When asked why she does it, she gets a little embarrassed.
“It’s cheesy, but I’ve always wanted to serve society,” she said.
Aw.
You, too, can perform super-human feats on your phone bill. Go to CUB’s Phone Savings Center.