National Inane Answering Message Day: Outgoing message tips that don't suck

If you've ever had to push 200 buttons to talk to an actual human being, endure blaring music, annoying background noises or long-winded messages when calling a friend, acquaintance or business, today is your lucky day!

January 30 is National Inane Answering Message Day! This annual "holiday" was created by the folks at Wellcat to encourage folks to "change, shorten, replace or delete those ridiculous and/or annoying answering machine messages that waste the time of anyone who must listen to them."

Whether you have an answering machine or handy-dandy gadget with voice mail, today is the perfect opportunity to get rid of the old and bring on a brand new, creative and much more appropriate greeting! Changing your outgoing message from time-to-time only takes a few minutes and is much more fun for listeners. Whether your message is humorous, professional or short-and-sweet, kick things up a notch or two by changing that outgoing message. Some people may be so impressed they may have to call back just to listen again!

If you need a few suggestions to get you started, check out the helpful outgoing message tips below.

Outgoing Message Examples & Tips That Don't Suck

• Listen to Radio Shack's outgoing messages, with and without music.

• Carl Kasell shares some interesting outgoing message ideas.

• Cutesy and silly messages may not be the right choice if you are a business or on the hunt for a job. Check out the Professional Business Voicemail Etiquette for helpful tips.

• Be careful not to divulge too much personal information on your outgoing message. Check out a few of these safety tips.

January 30 is also National Escape Day.