After some frustration, several phone calls and a long time listening to more commercials while being on hold, I managed to get the erroneous $175 termination fee on my AT&T phone bill waived. Here’s how I did it.
What Happened to My Bill
Many cell phone companies ask for a commitment in exchange for free phones (or cash rebates). Some are 1 year contracts, while others are multi-year ones. I signed up for a 2 year contract a few years ago, which I do regularly as I switch from carrier to carrier to take advantage of all the cash rebates that many companies offer. For a long time, everything was fine and dandy.
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At some point, many of us will doubt whether our frugal lifestyles are really worth it. At times, we might question our ways when our friends buy expensive luxuries. Other times, it could happen when we wonder whether our budget spreadsheet is too empty. It doesn’t really matter how often we try to assure ourselves because those pep talk seldom work. If you ever wonder whether being frugal is right for you, here’s an idea.
The Greener Grass on the Other Side
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Out of necessity, we are just smarter about some things when we are college students than we are as we age. One of those things is personal finance. Sure, we made some really dumb mistakes with our money but we also tend to have a much better grasp on frugal living than most of us in the grown-up working world do.
Here are some of the top frugal living tips that you probably knew when you were in college but have forgotten as you’ve gotten older:
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I don’t know why it is, but it seems like almost every marriage comes with a spender and a saver. I have seen rare exceptions where both are unleashed spenders – which often turns out to be quite disastrous, and even rarer still I have seen marriages with two savers. But for the most part, it seems like most have an eternal struggle between the spender and the saver.
So, as expected, I am the saver in my household, while my wife is the spender. That is not to say that I don’t enjoy spending, it is just that I enjoy saving a lot more than she does. 😉
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If you’re like me when I was in high school or in my earlier college years, then you will want to spend your summer earning (and saving) as much money as possible. The main problem at the beginning of the summer is that we realize we have no money and everyone knows the classic saying- you need money to make money. Well, you guys are in luck because I will provide you with a few jobs that require very little start up money.
I will not include the typical jobs that college students go for (retail work or restaurant server) because you already know about them. Instead, I want to talk about some of the summer jobs I have had that require very little funding:
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It could be argued that being lazy is built into us because we are just trying to do less. One way to look at it is that we are actually trying to be clever. However, if you believe that waiting until the last minute to do everything is smart, you are just dead wrong.
My friend (we will call him Joe in the article) recently said:
My home value lost 20% already so I don’t think I can refinance. Instead, I will just get a loan modification.
Joe doesn’t fit the subprime profile at all. He is highly educated, capable, and have a well paying job. He is making his monthly payments currently, but just feel stretched paying $3,000 every month towards his mortgage alone.
The False Sense of Security
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