Frugal Family Traditions

Posted by Debt Destroyer on October 12, 2009

This past weekend my family said “Goodbye to Summer” and “Hello to Fall” (Not just because we turned on the heat for the first time either).

In what is becoming a yearly family tradition we took a hiking trip in a state park which allowed us to enjoy some beautiful fall foilage. I understand that in some parts of the country it is no big deal to look at trees, but here in the northern plains it is. Such a big deal in fact, that we are willing to drive 90 min (one way) to get there.

As a kid, my family also did this. We would join up with my uncle’s family and have a fun-filled day hiking through the woods, finding snakes, collecting leaves, and trying to cross the stream without falling in (My cousin would fall in every year).

The best part of the trip was that we’d get to go to Ike’s Chicken Shack afterwoods. It was a buffet, but it also had a zoo, an arcade, and a old-time movie theater(3 Stooges, Laurel & Hardy).

Add all of this up and it made for a super fun day full of wonderful memories!

So of course I’d like to treat my family to the same kind of fun. Sadly Ike’s closed down a while ago, but the hiking trail is alive and well. So for the last couple of years we’ve been packing up and hitting the road on the first weekend of October.

This year we added a picnic to the mix and the kids were SUPER EXCITED! Who would’ve thought a thermos full of tomato soup and some stale crackers could garner such feelings?

I’m glad they were extra excited. Because the weather wasn’t ideal. It was cool and there were off an on light rain showers all day. But we didn’t let that stop us. In fact the foul weather kept the crowds away (yes, we get crowds in South Dakota) so we practically had the place to ourselves. sica-hollow

It was great!

It was a little early to catch the full beauty of leaves changing color, but that didn’t stop our good time. My wife took some super fun photos (something that you can never have enough of) of the kids & I pretending to explore a hidden jungle while on the lookout for dangerous creatures.

It didn’t even bother us when our picnic got rained on. In fact we took a vote and declared that we’re going to do this every year. Of course that means every year until the kids get too cool to hang out with their parents.

But that’s not all…

Our “fall family weekend” wasn’t over yet though. The next day we went to a pumpkin patch that our town puts on. We heard about it before, but never went. Boy were we missing out!

It’s not a real pumpkin patch, but still really fun. Let me explain:

1000 pumpkins are shipped to the fairgrounds. Then different local groups team up and set up games and events for the kids to do (story time, face painting, train rides). Of course, the main attraction is that they get to pick out a pumpkin and decorate it.

pumpkins2

Did I mention, that it’s FREE!

We had so much fun that we decided that we’d try to combine these two fun fall activities every year. The best part is other than a $6 park fee and a half-tank of gas, this was a pretty cheap weekend.

Which makes sense, most traditions usually are affordable. It’s all the other stuff that costs money.

And what do we remember? The traditions!

Last holiday season I mentioned some of my family’s Chistmas traditions or at least the ones we’d like to have. Well, we’re always looking for some more, so imagine my gratitude when a couple of weeks ago REAL SIMPLE had an article with some fun suggestions for new family traditions. Here are the ones that my wife and I thought that we’d try out to see if they stick:

Happy Half-Birthday Celebrate a half-birthday with hamburgers and hot dogs sliced in half, half-filled glasses of soda, and a half-chocolate/half-vanilla cake. In the middle of the party, belt out “Happy Birthday,” but stop singing halfway through the song.
First Snow Festival
The first snowfall of the year merits a warm bowl of “melting snowman soup” (potato soup with mini carrot noses and olives or peas for eyes).
Thanksgiving Turkey Parade
After hours of waiting (hungrily), announce your bird’s grand entrance with a parade. March the turkey through the house, with your eager young guests trailing behind. Musical pots and pans optional but encouraged.
Santa’s Toy Swap
Along with cookies and milk, leave old toys under the tree on Christmas Eve for Santa to take back to the North Pole, where his elves can repair them for other children.

While all of these sound fun, the one we’re really excited to try is the Santa Toy Swap. As mention earlier, my kids have too many toys, this sounds like a great way to “thin the herd.”

How about you? What are some of your fun family traditions? Any off the wall ones?

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under About Me, Children and Money, Money Savers

The Library Still Rocks! Yes, I Like The Free Movies And More

Posted by Debt Destroyer on August 13, 2009

I love my library! I know, I know…I already wrote this post a few months ago. But indulge me.

The reason for my outburst is that my town is looking at replacing our library. A few days ago they held a meeting to gather input in what we citizens would like in a new library.

Me and a bunch of old ladies showed up.

I was relieved that they all had a wonderful ideas (meaning they wanted the same things that I did). Part of me was worried that the general public would think that the library’s time has passed. That we no longer need an actual “library” anymore now that we’re in a digital age.

Of course informational meetings are hardly attended by the general public. The only people who usually show up at these meetings are supporters. The critics come later.

But with that said, I was deeply impressed by how much these people cared about their library.

My own appreciation has grown since my last Library post. Back in March when I came out of the closet as an avid library user, I mentioned how we loved all the programs they had for our children. And we still do, but since then we have started to use it more for ourselves.

Mainly the movie section.

I wish I could say that I was checking out a bunch of intellectual books, but with me in school there’s little time for recreational reading. I did have a summer reading list but now that I’m down to a couple of weeks before classes begin again, I’ve decided that I’ll tackle that challenge next summer.

If only I read during the time Mrs DD & I would watch movies, I’d have had made quite a dent in that reading list. But instead we caught up on a bunch of flicks (off the top of my head):

Pan’s Labyrinth – Very imaginative visuals…not for kiddies.
Inside Man – A very cool Spike Lee joint. I love a good heist film.
Munich – I missed out on this Spielberg film when it was in the theaters. Turns out I didn’t miss much.
The Queen – My wife really liked this one. I thought it was OK.
Rachel Getting Married – This was on the depressing side of things, but we still liked it.
Wendy & Lucy – As a dog lover, I could relate.
Australia – Another one my wife really liked. I’m pretty sure it was because of Hugh Jackman (again I thought it was OK)
Happy Go Lucky – Should have been called Happy Go Boring
The Bucket List – Clever idea, but we thought it swung and missed (we felt the same about the current release Funny People).
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid - A classic that I felt like watching again. If you have the time, I recommend the special features.

But in addition to a pretty decent, but very picked over movie section, my local Library also has a wide variety of TV shows on DVD available for checkout. One show in particular intrigued us because we’ve heard so much about it. But because of our limited rabbit ear reception we were never able to watch it ourselves.

Lost

We now refer back to June as “the Lost month”. We watched season 1-4 in about 3 1/2 weeks. Obviously we were totally hooked. We had all the signs of addicts.

Our sleeping pattern changed - Much like our Spring Break Adventure, we wouldn’t start watching them until the kids were in bed. With the sun staying out later, that meant we were hardly starting before 10PM. Next thing we knew it would be 1:00 AM, and we’d be zombies the next day…until we got our next fix.
It consumed our thoughts – Just because we’d go to bed at 1:00 doesn’t mean we’d go to sleep. We’d have to digest and discuss what we just watched. Looking back most of our conversations we had were about Lost. My wife even had dreams starring the Lost characters (she promises me that weren’t all about Jack).
We were willing to pay! – It wasn’t until we got to Season Three that we discovered something horrible. Other people were also checking out the DVDs. How dare they! Thanks to this development I figured out how to put items on reserve. But there were times that we didn’t have the patience to wait for our fellow fans to return the next disc. So we had to go elsewhere…BLOCKBUSTER. June’s expense report shows the damage, all $9.51 of it.

But we ran into a bigger problem. Season 5 is not on video yet. And won’t be until this December.

Nooooooo!

We were really hoping to catch up before Season 6 starts in early 2010. They have full episodes on ABC.com, but it looks like they only have the last 6, so we’ll have to go elsewhere. Like to my wife’s sisters house. Her and her husband happen to have season 5 on DVR. So a Lost Party is in our future.

I hope they are ready for a marathon!

Just today I was perusing the video section when a gentleman called his wife and asked her what show they wanted to get started watching. He brought up a few, including Lost. When he was off the phone I warned him that if he chose Lost, it would take over his life.

I think I creeped him out, so I grabbed a few movies( The Lucky Ones, Frost/Nixon, & Body of Lies) and got out of there before they asked me to not come back.

But that’s one of the great things about a library. Getting to mingle with the public.

Earlier this summer, Flexo @ Consumerism Commentary had a great post talking about how much money a person could save by using their library. There was even a calculator which showed how much you saved. According to it I save $186.50 a month. I think that is a little high(the books we get are usually kid books), but I don’t question the fact that I do save a considerable amount.

As I sat there in that meeting with the old ladies, I had the thought of saving money and all the other advantages of using the library in my head. I was ready to throw them out there if needed. But like I mentioned earlier, everyone there loved the Library just as much, if not even more than I did.

In fact they had some unique ideas to add to the new one(if we get one).

Indoor playground – It gets awfully cold here in the winter, so they thought it would be nice to give the kids a place to hang out. The hope is that they’d read just as much as they play.
Music Practice Rooms / Private Study Rooms - As a former band nerd (trombone) I would’ve never even thought about this as an option. I just figured everyone tortured their family like I did when they learned an instrument.
Coffee Shop – They thought this would help raise money. Currently they have a free will donation for coffee, I guess that must not be bringing in too much.

I have to admit being blown away by the blue haired crowd. I would’ve never thought of any of that stuff. Now I’ll also admit that the fuddy-duddy in me thinks that only the Study Rooms are a good idea. I don’t like the idea of a playground, or a coffee shop. As much fun as I think the library is now, I don’t want it too be too much fun.

Does that make any sense?

What I mean to say is, that I’d be tickled pink if they just kept what they have and expanded it a little. But clearly that’s not thinking outside the box. I guess I need to call up my grandma to get her opinion.

While I do that, how about I ask you,the trusty Happy Rock readers, what would be some features of the perfect library if you could design one? Do you think that a modern library with a bunch of bells & whistles would be utilized more than a traditional one? Do you utilize your local library? Do you even know where the nearest library is?

Until next time,

-DD

P.S. Remember that I haven’t seen Season 5 yet, so please no spoilers in the comments!

» Filed Under Frugality, Money Savers

How To Get Free Replacement Laces For Keen Shoes

Posted by The Happy Rock on July 21, 2009

Long story short, Keen will replace any pair of bungee shoe laces for free. Just follow this link to the Keen FAQ and click the customer service link in the replace your laces question.

First, if you aren’t familiar with Keen sandals(Newport), take a look at the picture. They get my vote, especially for my boys. They are much better than the wide many variety of cheap open toed sandals that I see kids running around in. These are solid, comfy, and protective.

The Newport sandals come with bungee laces and a simple clamp slider which make them easy for my 3 year old to put on. Somehow though he managed to shred the laces on a new pair in under a month. The shoes are still usable without the laces, but they aren’t quite as supportive and look really run down. I stopped by an EMS store to find a replacement, but they weren’t any help. I started searching on where to buy replacement Keen laces, but I didn’t have too much luck. I should have been looking for generic bungee laces. I finally found a post on a forum that said Keen would replace the laces at no cost me.

I used their customer service form mentioned above and told them my story. In about 3 or 4 weeks a new set of laces and clamps showed up at my door. I didn’t get an email response to my request so I wasn’t sure they were even going to come, but they did eventually. The laces were solid black, although the laces that come with the shoes are normally stripped/speckled. Clamps and instructions were also included. Even though it took a while, this is some great customer service. Anytime a company offers to replace something for free without too much hassle I am quite impressed. Keen probably has a consumer for life now.

In the mean time, I was able to fix the Keen laces myself. I was able to pull the clamp apart, trim up the loose ends, and then put it back in the clamp. The repaired lace is a little shorter but it isn’t noticeable. For those that lost the instructions or those that are looking for more detail on how to fix the Keen laces yourself, I scanned the Keen instructions for reference : Page 1 and Page 2. If you don’t want to wait for the free laces I would suspect my something like iBungee Stretch Laces or something similar would work perfectly. Your local shoe store might even have them. Good luck!

» Filed Under Money Savers

Frugal Fixes Around the House – Duct Tape, Foam and a Rubberband

Posted by Debt Destroyer on May 22, 2009

Back in September I wrote about how it took me two days to fix a screendoor.

Guess what? It’s broken again.

I bring this up to show that I’m no handy man. With all the Bob the Builder that my kids watch you’d think that something would rub off on me. But nothing does. In fact when the kids break something they always run to “Mommy” to get it fixed. But I don’t blame them.

I married a female Red Green.

Ok, that might be a bit of an overstatement. But sometimes I wonder. Take our refrigerator for example.

Our bottom rack broke on the inside of the door. I messed around for days trying to superglue the original rack back in. It would be fine for a bit, then fall apart and the jug of apple juice was always falling on our feet.

I repeated this a few times until one day I came home from lunch to find out my wife fixed it.

She fixed it with Duct Tape!

That same strip of tape has been protecting our toes for over a year.

Actually the most impressive aspect of the tape job, was that Mrs DD was actively lobbying for a new fridge even before the rack broke. It is on our Wish List after all. So I was glad that she was able to put aside her desire for a new one and realize that as long as it keeps things cold, we’ll be keeping our old fridge.

Speaking of things we’ll be keeping…

Remember when Christmas came early for us and we received a hand-me-down couch? Well after we got used to it, our “new” 20-year old couch started to feel like…a 20-year old couch. So My wife took it upon herself to fix it.

Can she fix it? Yes she can!

A couple of weeks ago she went to the local hardware store and got a couple of pieces of foam cut to fit under the couch cushions. The foam was spendy ($70+), but it made huge difference. We are once again very pleased with our “new” couch and are confident that it will last until we get a leather one…someday.

While I’m busy exhorting my wife’s handiness, I do have one success story that I should share.

We were having a plumbing problem in our upstairs bathroom. Our tub spout is rather old and corroded, so water would somehow flow backwards along the bottom of the spout, get in the wall, and leak on the floor. This made giving the kids a bath more messy than it normally would be.

It took me a while to figure out exactly what was causing the water to get on the floor. But when I did, I used a rubber band to redirect the leak. Now instead of getting all the way to the wall, the water leaks down into the tub when it hits the rubber band.

I also could just put some caulk around the tub surround, but that seemed too conventional of a fix. Plus I don’t have much luck with those type of projects.

The screen door is testament to that.

So what have been some of your proudest moments fixing things yourself? Or better yet, how about some stories of home projects going awry. I don’t know about you, but I can relate to those kind of stories much better.

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under Frugality, Money Savers

Saving Money with Old School Technology – Answering Machines

Posted by Debt Destroyer on May 13, 2009

As I’m quick to remind you long time readers, I took your advice and switched phone/internet carriers a few months ago. One of my complaints was that we no longer could get a separate voicemail box anymore for my wife’s business. But we decided we could make do with paying $5/month for just one vm box.

But then we went shopping.

One reason our “Household Misc” category was so out of whack in March was because we spent $70 on a set of two new phones. The handsets matched our old phones so that was nice. But the best part was that they came with an answering machine. The answering machine allowed us to cancel our voicemail and save $5/month.

So as long as we use the answering machine for 14 months the phones will pay for themselves.

Ok, I lied. The best part about our new phones wasn’t the money saving feature of the answering machine. The best part was that they were used.

I know what you’re saying, “DD, why is that the best part?”

Well you see, there was a message already on the answering machine. It was a rather entertaining one too.

A woman was on the phone with her mother telling her that she couldn’t figure out her new phones and was going to take them back (obviously she had a little trouble since she was recording the conversation). She then spent a little while trying to decide whether or not to take a shower. The phone call ended with her yelling at her kid to “get out of the fridge” because he just ate breakfast and should be plenty full.

In addition to leaving us that nugget, they also named the handsets:

Youbetcha #1
Youbetcha #2

It’s kind of like those Mastercard commercials.

Slightly-used Home Electronics…$70. Knowing that you’re having a better day than the lady on the phone…priceless.

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under Money Savers

Top 8 Free Music Websites

Posted by The Happy Rock on April 22, 2009

music-free-internet-sites The world of free online music has changed quite a bit from the early days of bulletin boards and Napster. Now, there are so many unique and useful free music services and web sites out there that it can spin your head. Most of them are legal or at least not illegal at this point as the RIAA is usually slow to embrace new movements on the internet.

I did my best to sort through the tidal wave of music services to provide a unique blend of the best free music services. Pretty much all of these options play almost any song that the common music listener can think of.

Pandora – My personal favorite. You create a station by requesting a particular artist and Pandora attempts to play music on that ‘station’ that is similar using a huge database of properties. You can thumbs up and thumbs down songs and bands to tailor the station to play exactly the type of music you want. I have stations for Folk, Christian Rock, Hardcore, Female Rock, Blues, Modern Classical, and many others. All my stations are trained and I usually can just hit play and listen. I rarely have to thumbs down a song anymore. The coolest part is discovering new bands that you had no idea existed. The one drawback is that to keep it legal you can’t rewind or replay a song; you have to wait until the station plays it again.
Blip.fm – This one has been referred to as the ‘Twitter for Music’. You create an account and become a social DJ. You search for the song you want and you can play it and/or Blip it. Blip it means adding a short twitter like message and recommending it to your ‘listeners’. Others can subscribe to your ‘feed’ and play the songs that you recommend. Check out Trent Reznor’s Blip page for a good example.
Grooveshark - Peer to peer music service. Grooveshark connects you with music hosted by other people who have already purchased the rights to the music. You can either buy the song from them or listen to the song for free. Just search for the song you want and hit play. It is as easy and perfect as it sounds. You don’t even need an account to play songs.
Sky.fm – Free streaming radio stations. They have a large range of music categories and huge collection of electronic dance stations. Sky.fm was my reintroduction to free online music, but I have since moved on to Pandora.
imeem – Search and play site similar to Grooveshark, but they do also have videos available to watch. They have a larger selection of music too. You will need to sign up for an account to play songs though.
TheSixtyOne – Unique Digg like service that allows the user to vote up the best music. After a quick listen I realized that most of the music on this site is non mainstream and unique. Great for someone who wants to find great music that is off the beaten path.
Last.fm – Offers a service that is similar to Pandora, Grooveshark, and Blip all in one place. The only problem for me is that I never really got the site interface. I am happy with the offerings at other sites so I never really got into Last.fm
Jamendo – Free listening and downloads. Jamendo allows budding new artists to share their music with new listeners. I figured I better throw in a service that lets you download free music to round off the list. Most of the sites that offer ‘free’ downloads get closed down pretty quickly. Bearshare is still ‘legal’, but that requires you to download software to get access to the music so it doesn’t quite fit on the list.

Hope you enjoy trying out some of these great services. My favorites are Pandora and Grooveshark.

Feel free to share any other sites or experiences that you think are worthy of a mention in the comments section.

» Filed Under Money Savers

Spring Break! 10 Movies For Ten Bucks

Posted by Debt Destroyer on March 24, 2009

SPRING BREAK!!!

Here in South Dakota the State Universities go on Spring Break in March. It usually doesn’t feel like spring quite yet, in fact we had a winter storm in the middle of it (should’ve used the Pearl Jam money on a snowblower). But it was nice to have some free time.

I had grand plans before the break as to what I’d accomplish. Organize the basement, work on my taxes, and finish up a couple of video projects that I’ve been putting off. But really the only thing I got done was taking ten movies off of my queue.

Back when we cancelled Netflix, I mentioned that one of the things I’d miss most was my queue. I was right. Even though we didn’t watch very many films via Netflix, I assembled quite a list. I don’t know when I thought we’d watch them, but I added them none-the-less.

So imagine my delight when my wife decided to join me in watching a movie every night of Spring Break.

One of the local video stores has a 5 movies for 5 days for $5 deal, and we’ve been anxiously eyeballing the calendar for a couple of weeks in anticipation for the occasion. During classes I would overhear my fellow classmates talk about what adventure they’d be soon undertaking, and I’d get all giddy thinking about what movies I’d get.

The only catch with the deal is that new releases are off limits. But who cares, we’ve only been watching a handful of movies for the past couple of years, so they were all new to us.

I know you’re all dying to know what we ended up with, well here’s the list.

DD’s Spring Break 2009 :

Fast Food Nation
The Prestige **wife’s favorite**
Zodiac
Lars & the Real Girl
Sicko
Stranger than Fiction
American Gangster
Children of Men ** my favorite **
Atonement **both of our least favorite **
A Death at a Funeral

How it worked was we’d stick to our normal routine until we put the kids to bed. But then instead of going our separate ways to surf the net, pick up the house, walk the dog, or chat on the phone, we met on the couch for SHOWTIME. The only problem this house of “fuddy duddies” had was that we were constantly dragging in the morning. I think the kids were late to daycare every day.

But it was a blast!

It was fun to have some measured irresponsiblity in our lives. The best part was that it only cost $10.60(including taxes). When compared to the $100 I spent on our last 10 films from Netflix, not only did we have a lot of fun(well a couple of films were downers) but it turned out to be a good deal too.

SPRING BREAK!!!

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under Money Savers, Procrastination

Libraries Rock! Free Books, Movies, and Entertainement For All

Posted by Debt Destroyer on March 18, 2009

Have you been to a library lately?

For those of you who were scared off by the Dewey Decimal System, it’s time for a visit. You might not recognize the place.

The card catalog is long gone, it’s been replaced with banks of computers. The scary looking reference section has been transformed into the video section. The hard wooden tables and chairs have been replaced with soft comfy furniture.

It’s a whole new world.

I have to admit I missed the transformation. It wasn’t until I had kids that I decided to see what the library had to offer me. And boy am I ever glad I did.

It started one Saturday when my wife was shooting a wedding. She had the van, and I was cooped up with two little kids. It was a nice enough day out so we decided to pile into the stroller and go for a walk. Luckily for us our local library is only 2 blocks away (living “downtown” has some advantages).

We headed straight downstairs to the children’s section and I don’t think we’ve ever left.

My kids went right to the puzzles and toys, but I headed right to the movie section. Movies are big in our house (no cable) and I think we were all starting to go insane from watching the same ones over, and over, and over…Now I’d be able to check out 5 videos for 2 weeks. Hallelujah!

We also get 10 books. Which now made reading stories before bed a little less monotonous as well.

Going to the library quickly became our favorite part of Saturday (after cartoons of course). But then it got even better when we found out about…

Story Time!

Every Tuesday night the library hosts story time. This is where they read a couple of stories, then make something in craft time, and watch a short video. Each week has it’s own theme. So now we routinely go to the library twice a week. I don’t know how’d we function without it.

But the library is not all about kids.

At ours they have various book clubs and writing groups that meet monthly. I’ve always been tempted to join these but my plate is pretty full now (going back to school and all), but someday…

A couple of summers ago when my tennis game needed a boost, I made a trip to the library and before I knew it I was reading about doubles strategies and having Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith give me private lessons in my living room.

I’ve gone on long enough now professing my love for libraries. How about you share some of your favorite things about them.

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under Children and Money, Giving, Money Savers

Help Wanted – Cobblers Needed During A Recession

Posted by Debt Destroyer on March 12, 2009

Last November I made a post about how I decided to save some money by not replacing my shoes.

Well as my luck would have it, I instantly broke the thingie-ma-bobber which holds the shoe laces in. So over the holiday break I took my shoe in to the shop in town that fixes shoes. They said they’d call me when they were done. A month went by and I’ve heard nothing.

So I stopped in today just to check-up up on how things were going (I really needed my shoes).

They were done! The clerk apologized for not calling, but she said that they only have one guy who fixes shoes and he’s a college student and he is really busy. She pointed to a sign(as if I didn’t believe her).

Due to high demand, shoe repairs will take a minimum of two weeks.

I paid my $5 and left. But I was struck by two things:

That there is a high demand for shoe repair.
That my local cobbler is a college student.

But I shouldn’t be too surprised because at about the same time I was bragging that I decided to not replace my shoes, US News & World Report was telling us all about how Cobbler was becoming a hot job in a recession.

So if the teaching thing doesn’t work out for me, maybe I’ll look into being an apprentice cobbler.

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under Careers, Money Savers

Removing Finance Charges From My Chase Freedom Credit Card

Posted by The Happy Rock on February 16, 2009

After two months of procrastination, I finally called Chase to ask that they fully remove any finance charges related to my first time late payment offense. Did I ever mention that I hate making phone calls even if it is just calling a service rep that I don’t know to get late fees and finance charges removed? The introvert in me often hopes that avoiding the calls will make them go away…that rarely works.

The thing about this charge was that it left me seething. Every time I thought about it, I got upset. Upset because:

One 8 hour late payment resulted in about $100 in late fees and finance charges, $39 late fees and $51 dollars of finance charges that were spread out over two months of statements.
The bill was due on a Sunday and the payment was ready to be picked up on Sunday, but they don’t process payments on Sunday.
As someone who has paid their bill on time for the good part of ten years, I don’t like being treated as a delinquent.
My attempts at removing the fees(5 emails) had failed thus far and I suspected that if I talked to the right person they would remove the fees.

The only thing that kept me using the card is $500 in cash back in just one year of using the card.

After some prayer I was finally motivated to the point of action. I armed my self with all the relevant information which included the statements for the credit cards and for my bank payment. holding strong to the fact that they thought of me as a valuable customer. They had just raised my limit to $5,000 in a slow economy. I didn’t even plan to try and use ‘I own a personal finance site that talks about your company’ line.

When I called I got a reasonable customer service rep who listened intently as I laid out my case as strongly and politely as I could. She started to give me an annoyed scripted response about how the due date can fall on any day, but I politely persisted and said that she had to get a manager to remove the fees. A friendly manager came on and I politely told the story again and added stronger language about how I have one credit card and switched to Chase because of their service, but now every time I use the card I want to cancel. I continually stressed how I was a good loyal customer and how if this was resolved I would be a loyal customer again.

She relented and offered to remove half of the fees($26). I was placated. Not completely happy, but placated nonetheless. If I wasn’t averaging $40 a month in cash rewards from the card, I would be much more upset. Plus at $26 replaced in ten minutes, it feels like earning $156 an hour.

» Filed Under Credit Cards, Money Savers, Productivity(Financial)

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