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Hose the folks at home.

July 16th, 2008 at 04:35 am

I know sellers on ebay quite often sell low and do high shipping to maximize profits.

However this takes the cake.

Text is http://stores.ebay.ca/bahawaters and Link is
http://stores.ebay.ca/bahawaters

She ships to the US for $25 and she ships internationally to Canada for $50.. however she's canadian..

I'm ashamed. And not buying from her.

Late and Tired, but Home Sweet Home

June 9th, 2007 at 06:51 am

More holiday posts sure to come. We got home tonight after lots of delays. The airport at Toronto was closed for a while (hours?) due to a huge thunderstorm. This meant the plane picking us up that was starting in Toronto and returning with our flight was late

The most fun we had though was in checking in our lotions and potions. I have a pic of that but haven't uploaded it yet. Lets just say we had to ditch items over 100ml and we were able to creatively pack the rest.

I got home after midnight and am still tring to unwind.

Oh they charge those in steerage (I think they call it economy) $1 for a chocolate bar and $2 for a small thing of pringles on the plane. Yes highway robbery is alive and well and the coach robbers are now employed by Air Canada

A fun evening and a ramble about cheques

May 31st, 2007 at 01:28 pm

Thanks to crappy traffic I was late meeting my friend for dinner. We had a great dinner at Swiss Chalet and were able to have a really good talk.

Yea - another meal out.

On the way home I stopped at a clothing store and in the 10 minutes before they closed found the cutest top. Black, of course, but with these pretty pink flowers all over it. Very girly girl. Made me feel pretty. I think I'll wear that today - assuming I ever get moving today

Then home to find I am almost out of cheques. Looking around to see if I can find a Canadian source that is cheaper than the bank (who seem to charge enough to make their entire annual profit on each box of cheques). Lot of great US places but I don't know if they send to Canada or not.

So where does my money go for two days?

May 3rd, 2007 at 10:26 pm

I use the same bank for my chequing as for my visa. Yeah, yeah I know technically one is the bank and one is the credit card compnay but to me THEY ARE EFFECTIVELY THE SAME COMPANY

So why if I do an online transaction paying my visa card on Tuesday does it take til Thursday night for the payment to show on my Visa? The money gets debited from my chequing account on the Tuesday. That transaction seems to take about a nanosecond. Poof money gone.

Just where is that money for two days?

Enquiring minds want to know...

Annoying websites

March 28th, 2007 at 12:00 am

I went to a website yesterday that had wee window pop up to say that they would send you a free product coupon in exchange for completing a short survey.

I filled it out. Then for some reason clicked back and realised that the offer ended in February.

I then tried to complete a form to send a comment to the company to tell them about their outdated web page. I tried to send it twice but have no idea if it went or not.

Had this been some small mom and pop company I wouldn't be so annoyed. But this was Alberto Culver (hair stuff). I really think that multinationals with mega staff and budgets should be able to keep their websites up to date and have response forms that work.




The Current Gas Shortage and Gouging

February 27th, 2007 at 01:40 am

This may just be a regional thing. A gas refinery near here caught fire. So no production out of them. The train guys were on strike, so gas being moved by them. The ubiquitous *they* are saying a month til the situation is back to normal and there are no more shortages.

The result - gas stations closed cause they don't have any gas to sell. At least 2 on my way to work are closed (though strangely not the ones of the company that had the fire.. those seem strangely to have gas again this week). Gas fill up limitations at other gas stations. Prices are almost back to where they were after Katrina.


Gas is about 20cents higher than last week and news reporters are telling us that the gas companies are saying they aren't gouging. Like with the profits they are making they hurting...

Not gouging.. Uh huh... Yeah .. whatever.. and oooooooooh how much is that pretty bridge....?

Points for Starbucks

February 24th, 2007 at 06:01 am

I rarely go and buy a coffee out thee days (other than from the cafeteria at work when it is apparent that it is is one of those days when one must have another cup of coffee to make it til noon.

Today I went into starbucks and got a "1% cinnamon dolce latte, no whipped, sugar free syrup". A very nice treat - well other than for my pocket book. Ouch.. those are expensive when you consider they are a cup or two of milk and some syrup.

What gave starbucks points today was that I found out they offer free wireless internet here in Canada. Not sure how new it is. But Canada is a few years behind the US when it comes to free internet access.

Canadian coffee house chains take note. I'd frequent your coffee houses but you gouge me for internet access; one place is approximately $8 an hour. Ouch. So if you are wondering why I'm not there come see me at starbucks where they let me buy a plain coffee and sit and surf..

And the sad thing is - I don't even (other than this one drink) like Starbucks' coffee all that much.

So easy to be overcharged.

February 16th, 2007 at 01:29 am

Earlier this week I bought breakfast from the cafeteria at work. Something I rarely go.

I get a bagel with cheese and a coffee - my standard breakfast out. It was a morning I was tired so I got the extra large vat-o-coffee. I was expecting this to be around $3.50 give or take (this cafe tends to be pricey but it is in the lobby of the building where I work etc etc).

Rang up at $5. Significantly more than I expected. The cashier said that was because I had a large coffee. I just stood there processing.

Finally she realized I was not going away. I think that was when I asked how much the bagel was.

She then took the time to ring it in again. It turned out to be $3.50 (I never did mention that figure to her), and I ended up with apologies and $1.50 more in change.

A good lesson in taking the time to figure out your bill rather than accepting there word for it another solution might be to always get a receipt - this cafe normally does not give receipts other than on request.

Freebie or Scam?

February 8th, 2007 at 01:19 pm

I got a link to a freebie directly from the company today. It is a large company who routinely sends out freebies. They MUST have stats on the size of their mailing list, how many people take advantage of an offer etc. This wasn't a mom and pop operation nor was it a freebie I found on the web. THEY SENT ME an email offering me this.

And 10 minutes after getting the email (if that) I go to say yes, thank you I'd like it and it is already finished. But I can print off a coupon for $2 off. Pft. The nasty suspicious part of me wonders if they had any freebies to send out? Was it just a scam to get us to read about their product and then say "sorry" and here is a coupon cause we all will buy anything with a good coupon right? (Yeah right...)

I'm not naming the product or company here as I want to give them a chance to respond to the email I sent them:

Thank you for sending me the link for the free sample

I got the email at approximately 4.06pm today and tried to apply for the freebie within 10 minutes of getting it only to be told that it was no longer available because of overwhelming demand.

I would never want to accuse you of sending that out in bad faith rather I can only think my email provider (gmail) was very slow in delivering it to me. However I was quite sad and dismayed to not find that you were already out of stock on this - and I only delayed by about 10 minutes from when I got the email telling me about the freebee.

I wish you much success in marketing your new product

Insurance company Slime

January 19th, 2007 at 03:33 am

Okay so I'm a wee bit irked at the insurance company that my mother had her insurance with. They paid her claim me quickly but they harvested my name for their mailing lists for other products. You are special to them .. not only a beneficiary but a potential customer.

Nice (okay not nice but my only other words are really, really rude)

And to make it worse, its a rip off cancer type policy. If i want a critical illness policy for that price, I'll buy one that covers me for a lump sum of cash and that pays it all on diagnosis.

Some *special highlights* of this policy

Pays for "female cancer's only. At least they include breast cancer which a male or female can get.

Oh the benefit of $50,000 (if you chose the enhanced option) is payable out in one lump some of $12,000 followed by another $12,000 payable over 12 months. The only way to get the full $50,000 is if you are in hospital cause of your cancer diagnosis for 100 days (you get $200 a day) and if you have surgery when you get another $6,000.


I'm not impressed at all.

Post Office Doesn't Make Sense

January 7th, 2007 at 05:24 am

Strangely it is cheaper to mail a parcel from PA to BC than from ON to BC. That makes so little sense my brain is almost hurting thinking about it.

I mailed a package from Toronto to a town in BC before Christmas for about $12 Canadian for Priority Delivery. A package of about the same size was mailed Global Priority for $7.50 US Canadian.

Cross Border mailing is frugal - who'd have thunk it?

Kennel costs and a change of plan...

December 19th, 2006 at 03:21 am

I sent an email the fabulous kennel I've found for my old kitty cat, to see if he could stay over Christmas. The woman who runs it is fabulous with animals but a lousy business person.

I was expecting a charge of about $20 a day - it had been $18 a day but then last time she indicated it was $21. I found that weird but didn't question it and she didn't explain. Still I was okay with that price. Mao loves the place and is relaxed there and it would save him having to travel. He's been in my life a long time. I like to do the best for him I can.

So I get the email from her today. Its now $24 a day at least during the Christmas Period from Mid Dec to Mid Jan plus $1.50 per medicine dose - and Mao gets two per day. So the price for 18 days is nearly $500.

So the Maoster is coming with me to the States. As much as I'd like him to be happy there that is way over the top for a stay at the kennel. I know she'd treat him well and all but I can't justify it financially - and yes I feel badly about that.

I dropped in at the vet's office on the way home and made an appointment for Mao to get a rabies shot on Friday. The vet will give him rabies but none of the other immunizations (a 23 year old cat isn't at high risk). And he only needs the rabies shot so he can come back in to Canada from the US. Domestic Animals don't need rabies shots to go to the US, but Canada requires they have them to re-enter.

I am expecting a bill for that for less than $100 - or cheaper if I don't need to pay for an exam. I hope not I was just there. A huge savings over the cost of the kennel.

And Mao is a pretty good traveler. He tends to sleep all the way. We have routine down. I don't make him stay in a carrier but put him in the front passenger seat foot area. He's so old he doesn't wander. At my boyfriends he'll stay in the laundry room (on the main floor) most of the time, with the ability to roam around and enjoy lots of attention and cuddling when we are there to make sure he doesn't get disoriented - he's blind and that happens quite frequenly now. The problem with him getting disoriented is when he has to pee...

Oops.. TMI I'm sure...

Grocery Shopping and Expired Food

December 9th, 2006 at 02:08 pm

One of the things that makes me irritable is going to the grocery store and finding food that is expired or about to expire.

Last night I thought I had done my shopping then realised that I needed 2 other items. So I popped into the grocery store to grab them.

I wasn't impressed by the packed to the gills display of sour cream that had a best before date of December 6th. I know that you can usually use items for a day or so after the best before date but I really don't like a grocery store that displays food that shows they don't manage their inventory well.

I took the minute or two to find someone who works in dairy to let them know and they *said* they'd have it off the shelf ASAP. I didn't hang round to see if they did.

Buying stuff that is expired or will expire in a day or so just adds to my grocery bill. If I am doing to add to the bill I'd prefer to do it with some exotic foodstuffs and not stuff that could make me ill.

If I was a multi-millionare...

November 27th, 2006 at 02:22 am

.. I'd not be hawking my buy real estate program on infomercials nor would I be running around the country putting on seminars in cheap hotel conference rooms.

I mean really... if you are that freaking rich, why can't you do us all a favour and stop filling up the airwaves with your crap?

BOGO Sales that aren't.

November 10th, 2006 at 03:13 am

I hate when they call them BOGO (buy one get one) sales when they aren't.

I got this online ad in my email box.

Text is http://www.sportmart.ca/store/mailers/bogo6/mailer.htm and Link is
http://www.sportmart.ca/store/mailers/bogo6/mailer.htm

I got all excited thinking .. Great 50% off. Nope its 25% off. Not a bad sale but nothing to write home about either.

Interesting articles how BOGO sales are less beneficial to customer than regular sales.
Text is http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2004/03/buy_one_get_one.html and Link is
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2004/03...

Stupid Laundromat

October 1st, 2006 at 12:42 am

I live in an apartment and use the building's coin operated laundry facilities. I have contemplated getting my own in the apartment but they'd have to be portable and I do a lot of my laundry at my boyfriends or when I visit my parents (have laundry will travel). So the cost/convenience equation has never tipped in favour of buying. There is something about being able to do many loads of washing and drying at once. If you get behind you are caught up in 2 hours regardless of how many loads you have when you use a laundromat. And I don't have to go outside, the facilities are a short elevator ride away.

Days like this one though make me very tempted. Had three loads of bedding thanks to my meezer peeing willy nilly all over the place the last few days. Got it all washed no problem. Moved it to dry. Dryer 1 - worked fine. Dryer 2 motor wouldn't work so moved it to dryer 4. Dryer 3 was tumbling away for a while until I realised that there was no heat drying the clothes. So moved it all around to get the most dry I could. Lots of fuss later I have 3 loads of mostly dry stuff - two blankets though aren't quite dry.

I did write to Coinamatic to tell them about their lousy machines and even lousier service of the machines and asked for a refund for the cost of the machines that didn't work and for my time being wasted. Hey I can ask right?

Yeah I know its only $3 out of pocket but its the little things that are the most annoying. And this one is high on the list. We'll eff if a refund comes. I'm not really expecting to get anything for the fact that it all took longer but figures it never hurts to ask.

My thoughts about prosper.com

August 29th, 2006 at 03:32 am

Heard about this on the radio today. I work hard for my money. I work hard to save my money. I am pretty sure investing via the web to people I don't know doesn't fit with my risk tolerance.

Finance 101 says as the risk goes up the rate of turn must increase. My "sleep comfortably at night" meter has gone wild and predicts much insomnia if I go this route. I rate myself with a high risk tolerance. But no thanks!

For the record I'm not interested in borrowing money this way either. I've finally become debt free. I'm hoping to stay that way. And if i do get into debt it will be for a specific reason and I'll do so with an established lender with a good reputation and decent service.

annoying plastic containers - gone

August 26th, 2006 at 02:41 am

Went to the new supercentre near me. Big store. Brand new and shiny. Staff, staff and oh did I mention it was well staffed? No line ups at all. Lots of people floating around to help you.

Prices - okay. Size of store - wear your runners, never go in there in heels - never ever.. way too much walking. Crappy selection of coupons. I was hoping for better. My hopes were dashed with this trip.

Bought a new set of plastic "tupperwear" to replace the set I "won" in our Killer Kringle at Xmas. That stackable/takes no room/lids are all the same size set is now in the garbage. The lids didn't stay on. I have salad dressing from the cole slaw I had today EVERYWHERE. I didn't goodwill it cause I don't hate the people who buy at goodwill enough to inflict this crappy set on them.

The new set was $10, has 30 containers in it and I have other containers in this set - uses only three sizes of lids and the quality has always been good. At 35 cents a container its not an outrageous investment. So I pitched pretty much everything that didn't work with this set. Life is too short to deal with lunch containers that aren't properly functional either.

Part of me feels horribly wasteful. Tossing stuff out goes against the principals of being careful with one's money. But gees, will I be actually using containers to bring lunch to work if the containers leak?

Border Complaint

August 21st, 2006 at 02:40 am

$2.50 US to cross at the peace bridge or $3.50 Canadian

At today's exchange rate $2.50US is equal to about $2.81 Canadian.

Needless to say I always make sure to have US funds when I cross. At some point I want to figure out who sets the pricing and complain. It should cost the same regardless of the currency you use.

That likely makes too much sense. *sigh*

Getting across the border in both directions was fine. These days I'm not usually bothered by homeland security or Canada Customs. Buying 7 gallons of arizona iced tea just makes you weird, it doesn't make you libel for duty or overly noteworthy.

They wouldn't be would they?

August 7th, 2006 at 03:08 am

I ran into a retailer today who didn't have the product I wanted in stock. Talking to a friend tonight she has seen aother product there - one that is very well priced, that she'd like to buy.

Of course its out of stock - at least online.

She used the words "bait and switch". Strong words but it does make one wonder.

Price Matching (check your bill)

July 23rd, 2006 at 11:07 pm

One of the grocery stores here had a deal for Stouffers Skillet Sensations. $2.99 this saturday and sunday only. These make two meals and as such are comparable to 2 lean cuisines - so I decided this was a good price and worth stocking up.

On saturday I bought 6 and today decided I want more. With crappy weather and other things to get at walmart I decided to price match. No problem. Cashier was helpful and friendly.

But I'm glad I checked my receipt. Turned out she hadn't voided one of them, so I got charged an extra 4.95. Thank goodness I checked the bill before I left the store so a quick (I use the term loosely) trip to customer service to get a refund. I got the refund but it was a bit hard going trying to explain it the the clerk.

Lunch with the Gang at Work - So Not Frugal

July 11th, 2006 at 04:52 am

Today we ordered pizza in at the office. Seemed like a good idea since there was a thunderstorm outsidde.

I had 2 slices of pizza. Cost me $10. $8 toward the pizza and $2 for lottery tickets. No I don't quite get the lottery ticket part either - something about getting tickets as it was easier than giving change. The pizza was good but at $5 a slice hardly a deal. If I ate more I'd have been eating more for the sake of it.

And 2 weeks ago. Lunch out to say goodbye to a coworker who is leaving. I put in $20 for my lunch and my portion of her lunch. I had a BLT and coke. Hardly near $20 even with tip, tax and the lunch contribution. No change given back.

I like doing things that add to the team spirit etc. But these last two experiences have been pricy.

Thruway - HUGE Rip Off

June 16th, 2006 at 02:24 pm

I was driving on the NY Thruway yesterday.

Stopped at the service centre. Gas was 2.99 a gallon. Pretty bad considering everywhere else I saw it is was around 2.75-2.80. I will check when I do the return trip if they took down the signs indicating "competative pricing". They better have.

Worse than that though was in the service centre itself. Last time I had a scone and a regular coffee at the coffee shop there they wanted almost $5. Totally outrageous. This time I took a peak at the prices at McD's. They wanted for a combo either $6.50 plus. This isn't some grandiose combo. That's for a freaking Big Mac. A Quarter Pounder combo was over $7. Excuse me. This is crap food and you want how much for it?????

I filled up with gas which was stupid enough given the prices. I passed on a combo or snack from the coffee shop. I'm going to take the extra few minutes and not go to that service centre anymore to buy anything.

I know service centre prices are a bit higher than regular prices. But its getting just a bit out of hand in the case of the NY thruway, at least in my opinion.