June 2, 2010
I got my money back!
D’you remember that sweater I splurged on back when I got the job? Mid March, I think it was. The promise was made out loud that if I got the job, I could have one sweater for the office.
Actually, I might never have confessed to the shopping trip because I lost my goldanged mind and bought five items for a total of $220. Oh yes, I completely neglected to share that. The shame…..
….
anyway, that’s not the point.
It turns out that after the “victory” of finding clothes that fit, I realized my real mistake was buying clothes from Martin + Osa; it’s like having a puff pastry for dinner. The experience is nice, but it’s not filling nor ultimately satisfying. The sweater popped a seam within weeks after purchase, and the fabric pilled horribly. Instead of taking it right back because A) I was lazy, B) the closest store (I thought) was 30 miles away, and C) I’d never picked up my mind where I left it because hello, your money?
I waited too long and the store that normally easily gave returns instead gave me guff because I made the mistake of trying to return the item on the same day the announcement was made that M+O were going out of business.
Oh.
But I spent way too much money on that sweater to have it fall apart like that so I got on the phones with Customer Service AND corporate to get a resolution. Store closing or no, they have sister stores, a return policy that still allows returns for quality issues, and a reputation to maintain. After a dozen emails with that many different answers, I was finally given the number to the American Eagle corporate office who again confirmed that this return was valid. That lovely CSR went ahead and called the store manager, explained the situation and secured the promise that if the seam really had popped, my money was again mine.
Yes, I did spend $3.50 of that return money on parking, and $8.50 on tacos, but I’m still getting $70 back for a sweater that wasn’t worth $20. The rest of that money’s going to the bank.
Small victories after a hard day at work, folks.
August 21, 2009
What’s better than not spending?
Making up for past stupid spending!
I pled my rheumatically, unemployed case with the hotel, and the woman I spoke with was kind enough to cut me some slack. Some $40 slack! I was polite, acknowledged that the ball had been dropped on my end entirely, but asked for a bit of consideration due to extenuating circumstances, and she obliged.
March 26, 2009
I’m steaming over the loss of the entire post that should have gone up yesterday, but didn’t. Instead, I tried to post it from my phone’s web browser, had to edit the title, and somehow lost the entire post!
Oh well. Y’all probably didn’t need the long version anyway. Here’s the summary:
Professional
1. Attended another (wait listed) class for my Certificate program this week. Would have missed this opportunity if I hadn’t called and asked for it; you’re supposed to sit and wait for them to contact you when there are openings but I couldn’t afford to be passive. (Never mind I was late thanks to the take-many-detours shuttle driver. Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE being late?)
2. Requested permission to “crash” another course two weeks ago. We’re down to the wire here, so I absolutely have to hit every class if I want to take my Certificates of Supervision and Management before the layoff. This means my assertiveness is getting a major workout.
Financial
1. +40: check received from the Airborne class action settlement.
2. +10: my first payout from MySurvey.com
3. +226: this is really a refund, not a plus sign. My dad peeved me because he had over 30 days to return the Dish Network equipment but didn’t so they charged my card. Now I have to wait for them to acknowledge and process receipt of the equipment, process a manual return, and then request a manual refund from the credit card. Bleh.
4. +153: Still waiting for the credit card to send a check from the second insurance refund. Meh.
Fun/Consumerism
1. LOVED MoneyFunk’s latest project: a turtle Amigurumi! I’m a total sucker for cute turtles.
2. Have plans for a $22 prix fixe dinner with a friend next week; a treat is usually a $4 cheeseburger or a couple of chicken soft tacos, but occasionally I have a hankerin’. And it’s at a restaurant I can’t ever afford, normally.
March 4, 2009
Clearing up the insurance details:
Auto insurance refunds:
$115, check received
$153, check requested
Policy Premium increase:
$142, lovely
Still to be determined:
Car payout, less the $500 deductible, less any assessed decrease in value, less the remaining loan amount.
The check should be arriving sometime this week, and we can begin car hunting in earnest. Sharing is caring, but sharing a car all the time makes for crazy.
April 8, 2008
Surprise! As I was just telling my fellow state tax refund recipient, Ms. M&P, I got a bee in my bonnet and checked my bank account to find that, I, too received my whoppin’-huge state tax refund today!
I had JUST scheduled a transfer of funds from my Citi tax savings account to the Wamu payment checking account, for the federal tax bill withdrawal in two days, so I’m sad I didn’t check earlier today so as to adjust the transferred amount accordingly. Still, I sure don’t mind getting, so I’m not going to complain about making an extra transfer request.