No More Cell Phone Cancellation Fees

A friend of mine has a cell phone contract that he doesn't want. I'm not sure of the details, all I know is that he wanted to get out of the contract and he was going to be charged $130 for early termination fees. He called the phone company and the customer service agent was sympathetic. Then she told him that there were ways of getting around it. If he could find someone to take over his plan then the contract could be transferred to the new person saving them the activation fee and him the cancellation fee. He does not know anyone who needs a phone right now so he thought he was stuck. But the agent told him there were websites not affiliated with the phone company that match strangers together.

When he told me about this I was surprised. I had never heard of such a thing so I did a search and yes they do exist. I found sites like cellswapper.com and celltradeusa.com which match up people stuck in contracts with people looking to get in to a plan at no cost. Both of those sites cost $15-$20 for the person getting out of the plan but are free for the person taking over. I found a free site too Trade my cellular.com.

It is a win-win because the first person gets out of their contract. Then the second person gets in to a contract without an activation fee and the first person ships them their phone and any accessories. On some websites, the person stuck in the contract can even offer cash incentives to entice people. If I ever need a new phone line I would do this. It could even be a way to upgrade your phone if you don't mind taking over someone else's contract. I know Verizon will let people change their plan at anytime as long as they keep their contract so it really doesn't matter what plan you get in to. If you like the phone that is offered you can get in and change the plan later.

I thought it was a great idea and very nice of the customer service rep. to let him in on that money saving tip. Even if it costs him $20 to transfer his phone contract, that's a lot better than $130.

Stolen Credit Card Numbers

In the last 2 days, 2 friends have told me that they had fraudulent charges on their credit cards. In the first case, his bank called him and asked about an $800 online computer purchase. He did not buy a computer recently so the bank cancelled his card and issued him a new one. Now he has to scramble to write checks for those bills which were usually paid automatically with that card. Not fun.

In the second case, she was casually checking her card statement online and saw $300 worth of charges. This was alarming but not enough to cause her to call right away. It was 11pm and she decided to call first thing in the morning. She couldn't sleep though and got up at 3am to check her statement again. The fraudulent charges were up to $4,000 now including airline tickets to Holland, Turkey and Kosovo! She called right away and got the card cancelled.

The first card was from a bank who called their customer when the charges looked abnormal. The second credit card was from an airline and, well, I guess airline tickets to Holland, Turkey and Kosovo don't look out of the ordinary to them. Or maybe they weren't monitoring it at all.

I guess the tip here is to check your statements often. I usually check mine before the end of the billing cycle so that I am not surprised by the amount and just in case I need to shuffle money around since I have more than one bank account. Of course, credit card theft can happen to anyone with a credit card. I hope your credit card company is watching out for you but if not, definitely watch out for yourself.

Awakening Frugality In Others

One peculiar thing that happens when people find out I am interested in saving money is that they tell me about the things that they do to save money too. It becomes a sort of contest to see who is the most frugal. I always win because no one else lives in an RV and depends on rainwater :) but I like to hear what things other people do and what they would like to do.

Many people would like to use solar energy more if it wasn't so expensive. The return on investment for a whole house system seems to be stuck at 20 years. Until they come up with a cheaper technology not many people are going to go for that. I know a few people who built strawbale houses and have water running through their concrete floors for heat. Supposedly this is a very cost effective method of heating. A neighbor just put up a windmill. I haven't had a chance to ask him about it yet but it looks cool!
On a smaller scale, a few people I know use their laundry water for their landscape including me. Most people have drip systems for irrigation. It saves water and keeps the water close to the plants. All the new houses have drip systems installed as standard now. Using rocks for the front yard instead of grass is standard practice also. That took some getting used to when I first moved here from California (home of the manicured lawn with sprinklers watering the sidewalks).

My mother is even re-analysing where her money is going and trying to plug some money holes. She told me she put quilts over the windows and blocked off the gaps under the doors to stop the drafts this winter. She uses space heaters in the rooms that are used more and keeps the temperature for the rest of the house low. She also wears about 4 layers of clothes including long underwear. Hopefully this will help her save some money on propane this year.

So, what frugal thing that you do saves you the most money? I can always use more ideas!

A Quick Trip To CVS's Minute Clinic

I've had nagging sinus pain for a week now and I decided that it was time to do something about it. I don't have a doctor here (I really should find one) so I looked at my options. I could find a new doctor from the list of preferred providers from my insurance, I could go to an Urgent Care facility, or I could try out one of the new Minute Clinics at the CVS drug store.

Finding a doctor was the least convenient option. Doctors in this town seem to only practice on the opposite side of town from me. Also, I would have to go during work hours and since I am riding with someone else, I would have to coordinate my schedule with her.

I am not sure if Urgent Care places are covered completely by my insurance. I also don't know where one is that is close-by.

I did spot a Minute Clinic on my side of town a few months ago and made a mental note to check it out. Yesterday I looked up their website here and looked at the list of services. They have a menu with prices for simple things like allergies, burns, and sinus infections ranging in price from $59-$69. They also do immunizations and health screenings. I love knowing the price up front. If I didn't have insurance and had to pay cash this would be a good choice. They also listed insurance programs that accept Minute Clinic as 'in-network' and mine was on there. Knowing the price up front AND getting my insurance to pay is even better.

So, after work I drove over there. They are open until 8pm which is very convenient. There was no one else waiting and I just filled out my information at a computer kiosk and then talked to the nurse practitioner. She asked me questions and filled out the insurance and prescription forms and then sent my prescription over to the CVS pharmacy. I wandered through CVS for 10 minutes while my prescription was filled and I was headed home in just under 1 hour from start to finish!

I'm still unsure about how my insurance will handle the bill. I didn't have a co-pay amount listed on my card so they charged me $20. I'm hoping that I get that money back but we will see. Also, I'm not sure if my prescription is covered by my insurance so I think I will call them tomorrow. It was only $15 but if they will reimburse me that will be even better.

Overall, I am very happy with my experience. It was convenient, friendly, quick and no hassle. Just the way health care should be (but hardly ever is).

An RV Tip I Learned From A Snowbird

Can you spot Waldo-dog? That's my old neighbor's dog who has since moved away. I am a dog magnet!


RV sewer hose is one thing that I want to set up and forget about, especially after I have started using it...Ick. I bought my RV used and the previous owner had some nice PVC ramps to keep gravity working in my favor. I could have bought a slinky-type support to go underneath the ramp but bricks work just as well for me. This was a nice set up and it didn't need any attention...until...a storm came through and blew the hose off of it's ramp. Then I had to set it all up again and again. And, I might add, a stretchy hose full of liquid does not want to go back on to a ramp. It was very happy on the ground. So, I got out some plastic cable ties to tie the hose to the ramp but the sun ate them. Then I tried twist ties and they rusted. Then I tried duct tape but the sun ate that too. And then, the sun ate my hose so when I emptied my black water tank there was a putrid fountain of, well, nothing that should ever be fountaining!

Finally I bought some large PVC pipe from the hardware store. I had seen fellow RVers use this trick when I lived at the RV park but my sewer hose was mostly under shade back then. I threaded the new sewer pipe through the hose and now, hopefully, the sun won't eat it. I might need a little more pipe.



The pipe costs me $30 and the sewer hose costs me $30 per year so if my pipe keeps my sewer hose protected so that it lasts for 2 years it will be worth doing since the PVC pipe should last for a very long time. I predict, if I can keep all of the hose shaded, it will last for 5 years or more.

My Voting Plan Didn't Work Out

I sent in my request for an early ballot about a month ago. Then I waited and waited. I lost track of time and all of a sudden it was time to vote but my mail in ballot never showed up. I called the voting office and they said I could vote at a polling place but I had to fill out an extra form to make sure I wasn't voting twice.

Today my coworkers were telling me that they got up early and went to their polling places at 6am. That's too early for me. And still they waited 30-60 minutes to vote. They teased me that by waiting until after work I would be waiting for hours. I didn't think it would really take that long because when I voted the last time I was the only one there. Plus I thought that many people would go in the morning because they thought it would be crowded at night. It really depends on the polling place. So, it drove in to the parking lot of the school to vote tonight and there were a lot of cars. I was prepared for a long wait but when I got to the library there was only one guy ahead of me and 2 poll workers so I just walked right in. I did have to fill out an extra form but it only wanted basic information. What took the longest was filling in all of the little circles. I was in and out in 10 minutes with my little sticker.

Next time I will try requesting a mail in ballot but I will call them if I haven't received it in a week. The poll worker said a lot of people didn't get theirs. Oh, and all of those cars in the parking lot were there for the football game!

Second Day Of The Home Tour

My boss and I went out on the second day of the home tour. We only made it to 3 homes because they were so far out of town. These homes were what I would call 'industrial' style. Lots of thick earthen or concrete walls, metal roofs, exposed beams and concrete floors. My boss didn't like them. He said they reminded him of a college dorm. 2 of the homes were under-construction which added to their lack of warmth and the other was for sale for $730,000. These people definitely had big budgets.

This first house is being built with a lava rock and concrete mix. The insulating and thermal properties are not really known yet. I guess he just likes the stuff. It seemed easy to mold in to pillars and decorative designs. He added detail of a feather on the roof and there were other sculptural pieces around the property. Seemed kind of cold and castle-like but maybe when it is finished it will look more inviting.

Here's a closer look at the wall and windows.

I'm not sure how much this solar system cost but I am thinking around $30k.


The next house was for sale. It was built with ICP's (Insulated concrete panels) with SIP's (structural insulated panels) for the roof. He had a solar hot water system which also ran through the floor and heated the concrete in the winter. I hear that is a very nice feature to have.


ICP's are on the left. They are assembled with just the foam and wire mesh. Once the walls are all up they are sprayed with gunnite (concrete) on both sides. The SIP's on the right are foam with OSB (oriented strand board) on each side. They were used on the roof.


I liked the color of the stained concrete floors but there was a lot of floor space and it was overwhelming. I wouldn't want that much concrete. I definitely don't want to mop that much concrete!


And the last house was a rammed earth home under construction. I didn't find this style very appealing. I have seen other rammed earth houses that use different colors of earth and look much nicer.


Here's a closer look at the rammed earth wall.

And another look from the inside.

And I just had to get a picture of his chickens. He had a huge garden and the chickens roamed where ever they pleased.

It was another interesting day and I learned about new building techniques. My boss kept asking me what kind of house I want to build and when I am going to build it. I like the SIPs but they are more expensive. Right now I don't think I need a house. I definitely don't need a big house. I can just wrap my shed in insulation and I will be as happy as a bug in a ... shed.

How The Windshield Repair Turned Out

I did it. I tried out the windshield repair kit that I bought for $8 at the auto parts store. This is what it looked like to start with:


There were many steps to this process. I read the instructions a couple of times. I needed an hour to get through all of the steps and then I needed sunlight to cure the resin at the end of the process.

First I put on the sticker and base for the plunger, then the resin got squeezed in to the base and the plunger was attached.



I made it through all of the steps and then the sun went down. I checked on it later that night and it was still wet.

This yellow patch was supposed to help the UV light cure the resin. This morning I slept in late and the patch was stuck fast to the windshield.

After a mild panic, I was able to peel the patch off revealing a very ugly smeared mess. I was a little worried but the extra resin came off with a light scraping from a razor blade. The end result is pretty good. I would give it an 8 out of 10 for looks. I can still tell where the chip was but now it only looks like 2 small dots. Blends right in with the other bug splats.


The dots aren't that big in reality, they are just out of focus. I took 30 pictures trying to get a clear focus on the fixed crack. My camera just wouldn't focus on it. It was too small. I can't even see it in this picture:


The small cracks are visible if I look closely. Now, if the windshield doesn't crack for at least the next 6 months I think the kit will be worth the money.

Got My New Phone Today

It's here!!! My new phone arrived today. I got my first cell phone 8 years ago and I never replaced it for one reason or another, mostly because it still worked. The other reasons included the high cost of accessories, having to change my phone plan and well, why bother? But when my music player broke I decided that it would be easier to just get a new phone with a music player instead of buying a separate one. Then last week the phone froze up and they told me that once it does that it means it is dying. Well, 8 years was a very long time. The guy at the verizon store had never heard of a phone lasting so long. I think it deserves to go live in a museum or something.

So, FedEx attempted to deliver my package yesterday. They called me wanting better directions. I asked them to deliver it to my workplace since they needed a signature anyway. It arrived this morning and I was excited. It is a nice looking phone with a keyboard inside. I must admit I spent a bit of time playing with it and reading the manual. I sent my first text message. It is a momentous day!

I didn't buy any accessories with the phone because I wasn't sure if the hands-free device that I have would work with it. It does! That's cool. I got that at the thrift store for $3. New ones cost $15 and up. I haven't figured out what I need to transfer photos from my phone to the computer yet. I definitely need a case. It doesn't even have a place to hook a leash on it. It's a little big to be in my pocket.


I was disappointed with the music player. I'm not sure if there is a way to get the music from my computer on to the phone or not. I can buy songs off of the VCast site but they cost $2. Songs from Amazon.com only cost $1. I don't want to have to buy new songs for my phone especially if I already bought them for my computer. There must be a way. Probably some other accessory that I have to buy. Oh, and since when do I have to buy games for $8 each? Wow, I am behind the times. There are a ton of games to buy. I think I will buy one game. I'll put it on my want list and buy it before I go on my next plane trip so that I have something to do in the airport besides stare at people. I was hoping it would have free games like phones used to have (but my old phone didn't have them). I guess I missed the decade of phones with free games.

The best things about my phone are that I can take pictures (even though it costs extra to send them to people), I love the speaker phone and the different ring tones for voicemail, texts and calls. I like the full keyboard. And I hope I like the music player once I figure it out. So, for a free phone (with my 'new every two' discount and 2 year contract) I'm pretty happy with it. Now, if it would only last 8 more years...

Options For Windshield Chip Repair

Isn't life great? Everyday brings the opportunity to learn new things. Yesterday, after a rock chipped my windshield, I suddenly needed to know all about windshield repair.

My first thought was that I no longer have glass insurance. I took that coverage off when I went down to only liability. Ideally I should have been saving the money that I save in a car repair fund but I didn't do that. So, I checked out the cash prices for windshield repair and replacement. Safe-Lite is the one that came to mind first. I hate their commercials. Their little jingle makes me dive for the radio when I hear it. Of course, someone has to pay for all of that advertising. A repair estimate was easy to get. They have a nice user friendly web site. Repair price $95. Replacement price $204. They seemed to be having a sale on replacement service. Regular price was closer to $350. If I had to use Safe-Lite I think I would just wait and see if my chip turned in to a crack. It is worth the risk if a repair costs $99! That's outrageous.

Next, I found some local glass repair places. Although I asked for a quote from 4 places, only one, Speedy Glass, responded. They have mobile service as did Safe-Lite, and gave me an estimate of $50 for the first chip and $10 for any additional chips. I'm not sure if they would consider my damage one chip or two. It was only one rock!

After I told a coworker about my estimates, she told me that her husband buys the kits sold at the auto parts store. I looked them up and they only cost $8. I decided that for $8 it was worth a try. Unfortunately, I had to work late this evening so by the time I got to the auto parts store it was getting dark. Upon reading the instructions it said that sunlight was required in order to cure the glue. Ok, I'll wait until tomorrow. My rock damage looks just like the picture on the packaging so I am expecting fabulous results. Stay tuned...

What Kind Of Tree-Eating Dog Is This?

This is my new enemy. It's a new "puppy" that my neighbors got. They don't let it run free all the time, but occasionally I see it in my yard.


Last weekend I was outside watering my new baby trees and the neighbor dog came over. As long as it doesn't bite me or dig holes I am ok with it. I hauled the watering can to my tree and went back for more. When I came back the bark had been stripped off of one side of the trunk! That's odd, I thought. How come I didn't see that before? And what kind of animal would do that? Deer? Javalina? Really big rabbit? I looked at the dog and thought, no, it couldn't be. If that dog wanted to bite something he would have bit it on both sides. As I was examining the tree for clues the puppy wandered over, gingerly grabbed a strip of bark with his teeth, stripped it off and ate it! Ahhh! Of all the trees around here he has to eat my new baby tree!!!


I thought about wrapping the trunk in duct tape but I didn't think that would be good for the tree (if it survived at all). So, I grabbed two 2-liter bottles from the recycling bag, cut off the tops and bottoms, slit the side and wrapped it around the trunk. I haven't had any more dog problems and the tree looks ok so far.

Another Free 20 Bucks From My Credit Card

At the beginning of this month I took advantage of the local grocery stores economic stimulus promotion. I bought $600 worth of grocery gift cards and got another $60 added on for free. I was prepared to pay in cash but when I got there they said I could pay by credit card. Whoo hoo! I whipped out the Discover and charged it. I pay it off every month and I like earning cash back. Usually the cash back award is only 1% but certain categories can earn 5%.

Well, groceries must have been in the 5% category this month because my bill just arrived and I earned $20 in cash back for this billing period. That is very cool. Now I have an extra $80 in fun money. And when I get the $125 bonus for signing up for a Chase checking account I'll have $205! I like free money.

Time To Sell My Sewing Machine And Serger (or How To Spend Too Much Money On A Hobby)

I decided to do it. I listed my sewing machine and serger on Craig's List. It's the end of my sewing dynasty. It wasn't much of a dynasty really. I still don't know how to sew. I had big dreams and spent over $1000 on a sewing machine, serger, embroidery machine and all of the accessories. I had a nice sewing room set up at my house. But then my goals changed and retiring early became more important than my sewing hobby. I moved to my RV and the sewing stuff sat unused and unloved. It's time to find them a new home where they will be useful. I am sad to see them go but I really only used a straight stitch and a zigzag stitch. I have a basic machine that can do that which was a gift. I'll keep that one just in case the sewing bug hits me again.

Next time I feel like starting up a hobby I am going to check out used items on Craig's List first before I buy from a store. That way it won't be so painful when I re-sell them later.

Cut My Hair Or Learn A New Hairstyle?

It's summer and it's hot. 2 of the women I work with chopped their hair this summer. I've been growing my hair for a while but every once in a while I feel like cutting it off. I've done that a couple of times. But this time, since I just got a bunch of hair clips and accessories for Christmas, I decided to learn a new hair trick. I've always wanted to know how to do those rope or twisted braids. I saw a girl with them on TV this morning so I decided to look it up on the internet. It took some searching because I wasn't sure what it was called but eventually I found this video on UTube. Rope braid video It was very helpful and after a couple of tries, I did it! I am very pleased with myself. It didn't cost me any money and I learned a new skill. Now that's frugal fun!

Thrifty Earphone Fix

My new-to-me Mp3 player, which was free from a friend, has earphones that always fall out of my ears. I imagine that they once had foam pads on them. I thought I was going to have to buy new ones although that isn't in my budget. One ear stays in ok but the right one always falls out. It's annoying when I go for a walk.

Anyway, I was getting on the plane last week and there was a little basket of complimentary earphones. The airline was ExpressJet. I really like them but unfortunately they are discontinuing the flight I need. They offer XM radio on the flight as well as a small meal. I don't recommend the meal. The first one I ate didn't agree with me. I wasn't willing to try it again. My brother-in-law took a trip the same week and he ate the food and also felt sick. Ok, I'm getting off topic.

I looked at the earphones and thought that maybe they would work with my mp3 player. They did fit but they were mono, not stereo. Then I thought, maybe I can just gently peel off the foam covers and put them on my own earphones. Viola! It worked. My earphones fit now and it only cost me $240 (with a free round trip flight to Spokane).

Almost Forgot My Forever Stamps

Since they announced the postage rate increase a few months ago, I have been planning to buy some Forever Stamps. I didn't get around to it and my mother reminded me last weekend that the rate change will happen May 12. I never seem to make it to a post office. I used to buy stamps at the grocery store but I haven't been shopping lately. I found one of those orange envelopes that the mail person leaves to order stamps but since I can't mail letters from my home I would have to go to the post office anyway to leave my order. Then I remembered that I could order online. Yea! I can use a credit card too. One thing I dislike as much as going to the post office is writing checks. So, I ordered 3 books. That should get me through next year. There was a $1 shipping charge but I am ok with that for the convenience.

I am going to cancel my business license since my house is no longer a short term rental. I had to mail in paperwork every month to report any rental income. That will save 12 stamps a year. The only other monthly bill that I mail is my Discover card. I'm just not comfortable with giving Discover access to my bank account. I suppose I should look in to online bill pay. If I can pay the bill for free online I could save another 12 stamps. Save a stamp and save the hassle of mailing a letter...I like it!

Another Use For Sharpies

I usually wear liquid eyeliner on the top lid and regular pencil eyeliner on the bottom. I don't know why I started doing that but now it's a habit. Sometimes the liquid liner dries and flakes off especially if I touch my eyes at all. I don't carry extra make-up in my bag although I suppose I should. It is really just a lunch bag. I hate purses because I forget them places and I don't like to carry things. Usually I just carry my wallet in my pocket. The other day the liquid liner was being troublesome while I was at work and I was trying everything I could think of to try to re-wet it and smooth it out again. I even tried drawing a line with a pencil lead but it didn't show up very well.

Today I touched my eye and messed up my top eyeliner again. I tried a pencil but it wasn't working so I opened my desk drawer and there it was...a fine tipped Sharpie! It worked perfectly. Heck, why do I even buy make up? Sharpies are much cheaper. I suppose they aren't tested for use on the skin but for emergency touch-ups they are my new hero!

Bought My DTV Converter Box Today

Armed with my government issued $40 converter box coupons, I drove 35 minutes to a far-away Walmart that had boxes in stock. There were 2 brands to choose from, Magnavox and RCA. Both were $50. I liked the Magnavox design better and obviously, so did most other people because there were only 2 left while there was still a stack of RCA boxes. There was also a notice telling people how to get their $40 coupons which was nice of them. The woman in electronics even asked me if I had my coupons already because she wanted to be sure I was getting the discount.

I should have paid for the items in the electronics department because when I got to the front the cashier had no idea how to ring up my coupons. She called someone over who said, "Gee, I don't know, I was off when they had that training". Luckily, the third person they asked had some idea and they were able to scan the coupons through like credit cards, then I had to sign for each one. The people behind me in line were getting a little agitated.

I brought my boxes home (I have 2, one for both TV's) and found that the enclosed push-on, box to TV connector, did not work on my TV. My TV likes the screw on cables. I found an old screw on cable and was able to get it working. There was an easy automatic setup screen that scanned for channels. Now instead of 6 channels, I get 11! I never knew that PBS had 4 channels playing at once. Ok, one is in Spanish but the others were a surprise. Now if I want to watch preschool shows like Teletubbies at night, I can! The picture is clearer, no more antenna fuzz but 2 of my channels just went out. They started breaking up in to those digital squares and then it said no signal. That's just great. So now if I want to watch then I have to switch back to analog antenna reception. I hope they get those problems worked out before next February.

Got My DTV Converter Box Coupons

Good thing I looked at these coupons when they showed up. I thought I had until next year to use them since the digital TV conversion doesn't happen until next February. But these coupon cards are only good for 90 days! Guess I have another reason to go to Walmart. The only places listed on the letter that sell the converter box are Walmart or Radio Shack. I checked online to see if the closest Walmart had some in stock but it looks like the close one doesn't have any, the busy one is sold out, so I will be driving 40 minutes to the nicer, less crowded Walmart in the neighboring town. I had better make a thorough list for Walmart because I hate going there. I don't want to have to go back any time soon.

These coupons are for $40 off the $50 converter box. Not a bad deal I guess. I am still happy with my 6 channels of antenna TV and I don't plan to subscribe to satellite any time soon so $10 to maintain my TV habit isn't too bad.

My Cell Phone Called 911 By Mistake...How Embarrassing

I have a very old cell phone. I got it in 2000 and I haven't upgraded for many reasons including not wanting to sign up for another 2 year contract and not wanting to buy accessories for a new phone. So, on Friday when I was coming in to work, I had the phone cradled in my arm along with some other things while I was unlocking the door. After I got in I realized that my phone had called someone! I hit the off button and looked at the number...911! Then, they called me back. Oh how embarrassing. I said I was so sorry, I didn't know how my phone called them.

When I got home I did a search on the internet and came up with this website: 911 Public Education I have one of those old phones that will call 911 if the 9 button is held down. I must have squeezed the phone when I opened the door. I had no idea.

That's just another reason why I should get a new phone. In the meantime, I am going to use the keypad lock function so that my phone can't make any more embarrassing calls to the police. It would have been even more embarrassing if they had showed up!