July 8, 2010
I was semi-stranded the other day with only ten dollars in cash and my trusty credit cards. The combination of poor planning, getting stuck in meetings at work, and my public transportation melange resulted in my having to grab a cab for a less than 3 mile hop. Needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled about the extra cost but had no intention of stiffing the cabbie. I asked him, before getting into the cab, if he accepted credit cards.
“Only for a $15 fare or more.”
“Ok, I either have a credit card or I have $10 in cash, and I only have to go 3 miles, will that be enough cash or enough to meet the credit card minimum?”
“Well, it’s like a $12, $13 ride but … just get in, we’ll see.”
We chatted, I asked about his day, and after a few minutes he said over his shoulder, “you only have $10 in cash? Ok. Ok, I’ll just take ten dollars. It’ll be easier and you’re nice. You’re my last fare, my wife called asking when I’d be home, it’s a short ride. And after a shift, sometimes, the nice people are more important, it’s so little difference in money.”
I protested, but he insisted that he didn’t feel taken advantage of and that he was fine with it.
I know it’s not a huge amount, but I also know that cab drivers don’t have an easy job and even though I don’t know how well they’re paid, I believe in giving a fair tip. In this case, I would have tipped $3 on a $13 fare. He basically gave me a 50% discount.
Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever been the “cab driver”? Is niceness important enough to give up some money? Or do you think, as PiC would jokingly rib, it was because I’m a giiiiirl?
April 3, 2010
As always, every little bit counts! And as always, you’re welcome to share!
From me
Don’t leave home without your coupons: I already know this, but I still did it. Having promised myself a few additions to my rather-shabby wardrobe, I went into a Martin + Osa to poke around, certain I wouldn’t find anything. Sure enough, sale and regular priced items were equally out of my price range.
I tried a top anyway, and a sales associate attached herself to me. She kept bringing me more clothes to try on, trying to figure out what I was looking for in the “semi-business casual” sense. Normally this annoys me to no end, but she didn’t. We piled up an impressive array of clothes that didn’t fit, and a small stack of clothes that did fit. The only problem? She’d pulled clothes that weren’t even out on the sales floor and there’s no way I was going to buy without a sale AND without a coupon.
I explained that I’d left our (20% coupon) at home because I wasn’t expecting to shop, and that I’d love to buy that day but didn’t feel comfortable spending 20% more than I would have with the coupon. Was there anything in-store they had on hand?
She produced a Friends and Family coupon for the entire purchase which was actually better than mine by 5%. I ended up selecting enough to constitute a Major Purchase so I saved $65 after spending a whole lot more.
Another banking goof: During an internet blackout/packing frenzy, I missed topping up my checking account by just a few dollars. A stupid mistake was costing me $34, until I reached a Citi rep over the phone and explained that I’d been unable to get online to transfer money. The fee waiver was immediately credited to my account. Back to keeping a bigger cushion and closer eye on the checking account.
The missing link: Shopping for a belt at Kohl’s, I was again, unarmed with a coupon. At the register, I asked the cashier if there was a coupon out that I’d forgotten to clip and she said, “I’m sure there’s something out there, I’ll just give you 15% off!”
August 4, 2009
Free Wi-Fi at Barnes and Noble – Use the storefinder to see if you’ve got a free access store near you. Thanks to Jonathan of My Money Blog and Lifehacker.
2 Free Hours of Wi-Fi at Starbucks – Also from Jonathan. When you have a registered gift card and use it once a month, you can get 2 hours of free wi-fi.
Tradeking celebrates National Friendship Day – Between August 1 and August 27, a referral nets both parties $50 each after a $1000 deposit and trade has been executed. Email me [revanche.gs – @- gmail.com] if you would like a referral!
200 Bonus minutes and text messages for AT&T FAN customers – If you have a FAN [Foundation Account Number] account, you can try calling in to add feature codes for freebies. My CSR had some trouble figuring out how to add them, and it took her a while to access the codes, but she was able to add 200 free bonus minutes [U200] and 200 free bonus text messages [CLL2]. Found on Fatwallet.
I’m pretty psyched about that last one, I’ve been very frustrated with the limited number of minutes and texts on my plan for a long time. Using the phone conservatively worked when I was employed but it’s been particularly hard during the job hunt with interviews and such.
June 9, 2008
Southwest is running a promotion for a $25 discount when you purchase a $100 southwest gift card.
There are a handful of restrictions, so I would be very careful when deciding whether or not to purchase it.
Purchase dates (for the gift card): June 1st-30th (still have time.)
Requirement: must use Visa. It can be any cobrand as long as it’s US-issued. (Great, I carry one Visa and one Mastercard at all times. It’s not my preferred points rewards card, but it’s still a rewards card.)
Limit: one per Visa cardmember and/or e-mail address. Visa cardmember will earn one $25 fare discount on a $100 or more single card transaction. Shipping and handling fees do not qualify towards the total transaction amount. The $25 fare discount will be sent via e-mail to the Visa cardmember’s account. A valid e-mail address is required to receive the discount. Allow four weeks after the conclusion of the promotion to receive the discount. (Wait, shipping and handling? Just pop the thing into an envelope and throw it in the mail! 42 cents! And BD and I can each buy one, if I have need of two round trip tickets in the near future.)
Discount Valid: Purchase must be made between July 1, 2008 and August 30, 2008 for travel August 18, 2008 through November 19, 2008.
This promotion does not include Business Select, Anytime, or Senior Fares. (Does that mean it’s only good for the Wanna Get Away fares?)
Despite the numerous caveats, I think that I will pick one up because as I look at upcoming travel, I was unexpectedly invited to a wedding in August, and have got a sporting event to attend in October. It’s only good for the event in October, and I’m looking at paying $100 for $125 purchasing power. As long as the flight prices hold until July 1st, or whenever I get that discount, I’ll be able to purchase a $149 ticket for $75 now, and an additional $24 later. Not bad, I say!
May 6, 2008
Did you know ….
1. That Treasury Direct’s help line is open until midnight EST?
2. That if you use AutoPay with T-Mobile, they wait 17 or more days to charge your credit card? They actually wait until two days before my NEXT bill is due before the charge hits my credit card. This contrasts sharply with AT&T who charges for the month in advance. I hate that. I probably hate it more because I was deprived of my sweet T-mobile. O T-mobile!
On the more personal side ….
BroDucky Debacles, Part One Million: he’s sent another message via PaDucky asking to talk to me about another variation of “if I make a car payment, can I use the car?” It’s almost funny now. Faster than the speed of completing the sentence, I said no, no, and no, don’t even talk to me about it, no. Seriously, some day he might actually learn what that word means.
My courtesy credit, including tax, has already been applied to my cell phone account. Considering my anticipation of an angry and unsatisfactory call with AT&T, it was really a better outcome than I’d hoped.
March 12, 2008
There are so many reasons to pf-hate on the iPhone, from the outrageous price tag on the phone itself, to the mandatory data component of the rate plan, to the horrible customer service that only operates during mostly regular business hours. (Whaaaat? I pay you HOW much a month for you to give me an automated message about calling back on Monday?? Please! T-mobile had 24 hour customer service and I mean, they had customer service!) And they charge me in advance for each billing cycle! I mean, T-mobile didn’t send me a bill for the month of February until February was over. Don’t bill me for service you haven’t given yet!
Hands down, the worst of it is the basic plan, with only 200 text messages and 450 minutes for $60/month. (I’m using the internet as much as possible to get my $20/month out of it, dangit, so much so that I’m charging once or twice a day! Hah! Force unlimited internet service on me, will you? Though, really, checking your email as often as I do can’t be healthy.)
After exploring a few options, there didn’t seem like there was anything I could do but pay the extortionists. My company has a corporate relationship with AT&T, but when I searched the AT&T site before, any information available was fairly vague, and implied that iPhones weren’t eligible. Maybe I was just misreading. I certainly didn’t encounter the link that I found today: the Discount Registration link that teases you with the possibility of a discount, but never tells you how much the discount is, or what rate plans qualify. The site just takes some personal information to process a validation, and then says:
Please note that to the extent you are eligible for a service discount*, it may take up to two billing cycles (up to two months) for your service discount to appear on your bill. During the first month your service discount is applied, you might receive a pro-rated bill for the days of that month before the discount was applied, and a new bill for the days at the discounted rate.
* Service discounts are available only with qualified rate plans. Service discount is provided solely as a result of the business agreement with your organization and is subject to change or termination without notice to you. Other restrictions may apply.
They sure are cagey about whether or not I qualify, and what exactly I’m qualifying for! Anyway, my fingers are crossed that it’s a decent discount, and I could just kick myself for not finding this the first time around because my first bill was easily the most expensive ever at a shade over $100.
Cross your fingers for me that I see something on the very next billing cycle! Er, is it too much to hope that they’ll apply it to the billing cycle that’s already calculated? Yeah, no. They’re too cheap for that. They won’t even apply it to a full cycle if they can help it, what with that pro-rated ish going on up there. Hmph.