CyberCJH's Blog

Got a great deal on Pampers Baby Dry from target.com.

$44.99 : Pampers Baby Dry – Size 3 (204 box)
- $11.25 : 25% off for spending > $125
- $4.50 : 10% off coupon code
- $4.50 : 10% cash back through bing.com
= $24.74 Final Price

I bought 3 boxes. That is cheap, cheap, cheap for Pampers.

written by cybercjh

Wow. If you’re thinking of signing up for AT&T U-Verse, don’t expect them to make it easy for you.

Here is a running time line of the great fun I’m having with my AT&T U-Verse service.

• 3/6 : I ordered U-Verse service over the internet. Installation was scheduled for 4/3. Was told I would receive $500 in rewards, 6 months of free additional receiver lease ($14/mo) and 6 months of paperless billing credit ($10/mo) and 1 free month of the Filipino package ($25).

$500 AT&T Triple Pack Reward Card Offer: Offer ends 3/17/10. U-verse service must be ordered between 3/4/10 and 3/17/10. Available to residential customers ordering new U-verse U200 or higher, U-verse Internet Pro or higher, and U-verse Voice Unlimited online at att.com. Offer may not be combined with other AT&T promotional offers on the same services. Offer will be provided in the form of AT&T Reward Visa® Prepaid Cards. Redemption details provided to customer within 4 weeks of activation of qualifying service. Card sent to customers 4-6 weeks after redemption. Redemption requires customer to retain qualifying service a minimum of 30 days and at time processing of reward is completed. The AT&T Reward Visa® Prepaid Card is not redeemable for cash and may not be used at automated gasoline pumps or for cash withdrawal at any cash dispensing locations. Card may not be used to purchase AT&T products and/or services in certain states. Card expires 90 days after issuance. See cardholder agreement and card carrier for other terms and conditions. For more details go to http://rewardcenter.att.com/myrewardcard/agreement.pdf. Visa prepaid cards are issued by U.S. Bank National Association and/or MetaBank™ pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc.

• 4/3 : Service is installed. Installer confirmed my BellSouth services would be automatically canceled as of 4/3.
• 4/7 : Redeemed $200 of the $500 in rewards I was supposed to receive on the AT&T rewards website. I called and was told it’s not unusual for AT&T to split large rewards into smaller chunks and instructions on how to redeem the remaining $300 would be forthcoming.
• 4/12 : On a whim, I called BellSouth (owned by AT&T) to ensure my prior service (local, long distance and DSL) was canceled. Guess what? It wasn’t. The representative I spoke to confirmed the cancellation would be backdated and I would receive a refund of services billed in advance I already paid for within 7 to 10 days.
• 4/21 : $200 reward I redeemed on 4/7 is mailed and I receive it soon after.
• 4/22 : I receive my first U-Verse bill. Surprise, surprise. Neither the $14 receiver lease credit or the $10 paperless billing credit is there. I chat with an AT&T billing representative who corrected these problems and said my next bill will reflect the correct credits. Then, she tried to get me to upgrade from U200 to U300. Then, she tried to sell me a sports package. Then, she tried to sell me HBO/Cinemax. Then, she tried to sell me HD service.
• 4/28 : BellSouth bill generated. Another surprise. My BellSouth services were not disconnected. Now, I owe about $50 to BellSouth when I should be getting a refund. I called them and spoke to someone else who said they’ll correct it and I’ll receive a final correct bill and a refund in 7 to 10 days. They said my phone number was stuck in a porting process and that is why this happened.
• 5/7 : I call the AT&T Reward Center because I’ve had service for over 30 days now, but have not received information on how to redeem the remaining $300 in rewards. The representative I spoke to said he’ll correct the problem and add the $300 reward to my profile.
• 5/11 : The $300 the representative added to my profile shows as disqualified. I don’t know why. So, I call the AT&T Reward Center again. This time, a representative told me that the $300 the representative added last time wasn’t done correctly. But, all she could add was $100. When I insisted AT&T still owed me $300 in rewards, she offered to research the issue and call me back in 72 hours. I politely declined and hung up with her.
• Later on 5/11 : I call U-Verse customer service to cancel my service because it’s apparent to me now that AT&T has no intentions of sending me the rewards they promised when I signed up for the service and the apparently intend to continue to bill me for my Bell South services as well. The representative in the cancellation department called the Reward Center while I was on the line and promises that the issue is resolved and my $300 in remaining rewards will be forthcoming in 4 to 6 weeks. She also gave me 3 free months of HBO, but I have to remember to call on August 10 to cancel it otherwise I will be billed for it.
• Later on 5/11 : I called BellSouth asking where my refund was. The representative I spoke to there said that my final bill won’t generate until 5/28, which is my billing date and neither him, nor his supervisor, nor the CEO of AT&T, nor Christ Himself could change this billing date. He said I’ll just have to wait for my final bill and my refund will come 7 to 10 days after that.
• 5/12 : I checked the AT&T Reward Center website this morning and the $300 in remaining rewards is showing up only as $100. I want to throw up.

written by cybercjh

In March of 2008, I bought a Canon PowerShot SD750 from Staples for $133. Take a stroll down that memory lane here.

In March of 2009, my manufacturer’s warranty ended. Then, in March of 2010, my extended warranty offered through American Express ended.

Then, just a few days ago, the lens on my camera stopped retracting back into the camera’s housing. And, I kept getting error messages about the lens. I fiddled with it and got it to the point where the lens would retract and extend, but the little door that protected the shutter when the camera was off would no longer close.

Great.

The Canon website gave me an estimated repair cost of $116. Incredible. This repair would cost 87% of what I paid for the camera just two years ago.

So, I ended up buying a new camera … a Canon PowerShot … from Staples. And, history repeats itself. But this time, I also bought a 3 year warranty from SquareTrade.

Canon SD1300IS Camera                :   $ 199.99
Sale                                 : – $  10.00
Instant Savings                      : – $  10.00
Coupon Purchase from e-junkie.com    : + $    .99
$25 off $100 coupon                  : – $  25.00
Sales tax                            : + $  10.07
5% cash back (from American Express) : – $   8.25
Staples EasyRebate for Camera        : – $  25.00
Subtotal : = $ 132.80
SquareTrade 3 Year Warranty          : + $  26.08
Total : = $ 158.88

So, for $43 more versus the repair, I ended up getting a brand new camera with a 3 year warranty. Incredible. Still, I’m going to try to sell the old camera on eBay to recover some of the money I spent on the new camera.

Here’s a comparison of features:

FEATURE : SD750 / SD1300 IS
Mega Pixels : 7.1 /12.1
Optical Zoom : 3x / 4x
LCD Screen : 3.0″ / 2.7″
Image Stabilizer : No / Yes
Low Light Mode : No / Yes
Dimensions : 3.61×2.24×0.77 / 3.61×2.240.77
Weight : 4.59 oz. / 4.94 oz.

written by cybercjh

I did something tonight I haven’t done in a long time. I grocery gamed!

One of the main reasons I haven’t grocery gamed in so long is because I previously built up such a humongous stock pile of stuff, we’re still working through it.

But, I ended up getting some stuff we needed and wanted.

• 3 Biore (strips & cleanser) : Reg $8 / Sale $6 / I paid $2.34 ea
  I really like Biore stuff. I think it’s better than ProActive.
• 1 Dove Shampoo : Reg $4.50 / Sale $4.50 / I paid $0
• 1 Hydro 5 Razor : Reg $10 / Sale $9 / I paid $2.97
• 3 Puffs Tissues : Reg $2.20 / Sale $1 / I paid 61¢ ea
  
• 12 Rolls Bounty Paper Towels : Reg $16 / Sale $13 / I paid $8.06
• 24 Rolls Charmin Toilet Paper : Reg $13 / Sale $10 / I paid $6.20

written by cybercjh

If I were dictator of the United States, this is how I would fix our budget problems.

• Social Security
  New age at which you’re now eligible for benefits: 81 years old
  When social security was first enacted in 1935, the law provided a monthly benefit to individuals age 65 and older and no longer working. But, the average life expectancy in 1935 was just about 62 years. Thus, the majority of people would be dead before they’d collect social security. That is how the system was supposed to work – to provide income in the last years of life, not the last decades of life. The program will be phased out over a period of several decades and payroll deductions will cease immediately. You’ll see receive a pro-rata share of what you paid into it, but if you’re not yet at retirement age, it’s time to start saving.
• Medicare / Medicaid
  Abolished and replaced with a Canada / UK type of National Health System
  Yeah, yeah. B*tch and moan all you want. Nothing can change the fact that we in the US spend over $4,000 per person each year on health care compared to Canada at $2,000 and the UK at $1,700. Yet, we consistently score lower than these countries on a number of items, such as life expectancy, infant mortality rate and health care cost as a percent of the GDP. Government run health care works when implemented and administrated correctly.
• IRS
  Abolished and replaced with a National Flat Income Tax
  Tax returns will be one page long and will take no more than one hour to complete. The more you make, the more you pay. Simple and fair.
• National Sales Tax
  Implemented immediately.
  By law, the government would levy a VAT of 7%, states could levy up to a further 2.5% and local governments could levy up to an additional 0.5%.

I think those 4 things along would more than solve our budge problems.

What about you? What would you do?

written by cybercjh