Think Outside The Piggy Bank

it's that time of year again II

You know what I'm talking about, snort. So, are you finished? Were you finished ages ago already? Or are you still scrambling about trying to find any and all related documents? I'm talking about your income tax return of course, which I suppose like everything else, you either love, loathe, or are indifferent to. I probably fall in the first category as I think doing your taxes is quite fun, and in my case relatively simple as I don't have a business, dependents, or enough income to even have to pay tax. Last year I filed my return on February 29th, because I figured I wouldn't be able to do that again for at least four more years, and as usual went the snail mail route. There are quicker and more technologically advanced ways, but I learned my lesson the hard way one year when I filed by telephone and found out that when an error occurs on THEIR end, Revenue Canada places the onus on YOU to prove them wrong. Yikes. It took forever to clear up even though I had not been the one to make a mistake, and after that I decided that snail mail worked just fine. I usually file in early March and receive my return four weeks later (this year it took five because of Easter), thus am all set in the beginning of April when tax season is just starting to rev up. 

What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin. --MARK TWAIN

does anyone NOT hate Bell Canada?

Hating Bell Canada (Canada's largest telephone and telecommunications company) is about as traditionally Canadian as liking Tim Hortons (Canada's favourite place to buy coffee and doughnuts), and I've written about this monolithic/moronic institution before, but why stop when there's always something new to complain about? This time it's about their Internet service, and I'm annoyed enough that after having been with Sympatico for a long time, I think I'm finally ready to switch.

One of the many sucky things about Bell Canada is their policy that if you want to terminate your current contract early (and they're very keen on having you sign up for two-year contracts at a time), then you have to pay a $100 cancellation fee*. What they don't feel obligated to do in turn is to inform you that your service fees are going up. Nope, at their whim they simply raise their fees without telling you. In my case, I happened to notice that my monthly Internet bill was suddenly $2 higher. Now this may not seem like a huge amount, but it's the principle of the thing that matters. No explanation given for the increase, and no advance warning. Were they hoping I simply wouldn't notice?

Fortunately for my brother though, this will likely mean that I'll be switching over to his TekSavvy group as he's been urging me to do for months. Why didn't I do so before (especially given my obvious dislike of Bell)? Well, laziness in part as I'll have to change my online email address in about 100 places. Just wait until I inform Bell Canada though. They have a habit of trying to talk you out of leaving instead of providing you with the kind of customer service that would make you not want to leave in the first place, snort.

And in case you think I'm exaggerating the national hate affair with Bell Canada, check out the 617 responses to Ellen Roseman's Bell Blues column! Also, check out Bell Blues: one year later for more happy reading. ;)

*to my knowledge I'm NOT on a contract at the moment

reward points

Are they worth it? I'm thinking more about store reward programs than the reward points earned with credit cards. Let's take the Shoppers Drug Mart (Canada's largest pharmacy chain) Shoppers Optimum Reward program as an example. When you rack up 7,000 points, you can save $10 on your next purchase. Sounds great, but in reality that means (if you don't end up earning extra bonus points along the way) that you've spent $700 to get the measly ten bucks. If you make it to the highest level of 75,000 points, you get rewarded with $150. But of course you've spent (again, without extra bonus points thrown in to help) a whopping $7,500! Now, it's true that if you would have spent that amount in that particular store anyway, then the reward is kinda nice (although still paltry), but I think the reward system entices you to spend more than you normally would. At least, it did with me a number of years ago. When I found myself deliberately buying things I didn't necessarily need (yes me, the frugal one!) just to get more points more quickly, I stopped using the Shoppers Optimum card and am glad I did.

Ha! Here's someone with a different take. Kathryn uses the reward system to much greater advantage, so perhaps I need to rethink my strategy.

Canadian Tire 'Money' coin

I've written about Canadian Tire 'money' before, but now they've come out with a $1 coin (featuring the same weird guy as on the paper bills), which depending on your point of view, is either kind of cool or just plain stupid. Now I personally wouldn't mind getting this coin, but the problem is that you have to spend $25 first to get it. And it's only available this Saturday and Sunday. Touted as the first ever Limited Edition Canadian Tire 'Money' coin, I wonder how many people will go for it. Like I said, I wouldn't mind having it, but there isn't anything worth $25 at the store that I actually need. I even scoured the weekly flyer hoping that something, anything, would catch my eye, but nothing did. Well, except for the Sesame Street sandwich maker (yes, it's a sandwich maker that toasts two sandwiches with an impression of Elmo & Cookie Monster), which also is kinda cool OR stupid depending on your point of view. In my case it first caught my eye, but then made it roll, snort. And another problem with the coin (like the bills) is that you can only use it in Canadian Tire stores. It can't be used in general circulation, although I'll bet you someone will try!

money quirk # 2

Not sure if this counts as a quirk, but whenever I get change I always look through it to see if there is anything from out of province or country. Or old, like the penny on the left. I've been handed back coins from Bermuda, Barbados and France, and so far have quarters from the following fifteen provinces and states: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Yukon, Northwest Territories, North Carolina, Alaska, Missouri, Virginia, Connecticut, New York, Georgia, and Massachusetts. Eventually I hope to have quarters from each state and province, so if you happen to be able to add to my collection, I'd be more than happy to exchange good old Ontario change with you! :)

all's well with Bell

Remember my rant about this nationally reviled* yet heavily relied upon institution? Well, Bell Canada (claiming to be Canada's largest telephone and telecommunications company), came through and gave me credit for the fifteen long-distance phone calls I DIDN'T make but got charged for on my last bill, so I'll give them a wee break (especially since there were no unauthorized calls this time), and for now, the benefit of the doubt. But it wasn't so much the money as the principle of the thing (why should I have to pay for calls I didn't make?), and the fear that if I didn't speak up now, I would have no further recourse if it happened again.

* (just Google the words Bell and hate or sucks)

Monday's money question 6

In honour of Labour Day, let me ask you this: what is your favourite labour-saving device?

Not sure what mine is, but it's definitely not dishwashers. I've never had one, and I've never liked them, and given the fact that my parents use theirs as storage space, I can only conclude that they don't really like theirs either. Half the time I didn't even use the one at work when I looked after twenty residents at three meals and two snack-times, because I found it quicker and easier to do it by hand. Plus quieter. And it's a Zen thing for me I suspect, as I like the idea of only being responsible for getting a plate clean in the moment that I'm washing it. (Have to admit that I only wash and let everything air-dry. I also make a point of doing the dishes at least once a day before I go to bed, so that I wake up with a clean slate, um, counter.) Now I do understand that a busy family with working parents might really want and need their dishwasher, but one or two people?

That was my thought anyway as I saw a counter-top dishwasher in the Canadian Tire flyer this week. Obviously, being able to stand on a counter, it's really tiny, and of course that means you can only do a few dishes at a time. Which then begs the question; why not do them by hand? It would save not only time, but also hydro, and at $250, a fair bit of money. Well, folks, I was going to include a couple of money-saving tips gleaned from my house-cleaning days, but hey, I think I've laboured enough on a weekend when you're not even supposed to labour, so I'll leave it for now.

(pssst, but I'll give you a hint: avoid stainless steel!)

another reason to hate Bell Canada

Has it really been ten days since I last posted? Hmmm, whom or what can I blame? The heat? Nope. Myself? Probably. Bell Canada? Yes, why not!

And what is my latest reason for hating Bell Canada you may be asking? Well, they're making me pay for long-distance phone calls I didn't make. Yep, indeed. Here's the story. It's a longish one, so get yourself a drink.

Got my phone bill and noticed 15 long-distance phone calls that were made in the space of three days. Problem is that I didn't make any of the fifteen. In fact, I didn't make any long-distance calls for the entire billing period. So I get on my Bell Canada operated phone to enquire/complain, and of course encounter Emily. Now Emily and I don't get along too well in part because Emily isn't a person, but an automated voice recognition system. In other words, a computer and an annoying computer at that. Call me weird, but I don't really like the phone to begin with, and while I don't mind pressing numbers to indicate what I want, I resent having to speak out loud to someone who doesn't exist. Plus, when "she" keeps telling me, I'm sorry, I missed that, or I'm sorry, but I still didn't catch that, and You're trying to ____________. Is that right? I get testy real quick. When IT finally says, Let's try again. Tell me what I can help you with. You can say things like..., well, I end up saying things I'm sure she wasn't programmed to hear. Snort. 

This time I yelled CUSTOMER SERVICE REP! right away, and was put through to a real person. Who said, brpt brpt brpt brpt brpt brpt brpt brpt Angela brpt brpt brpt, to which I replied in my best Emily-like voice, I'm sorry, I can't understand your accent, could you please transfer me to someone else? Because you see, Big Corporation Bell Canada is so damn greedy, that in an effort to make itself more money, it has outsourced most of its call centre workforce to India. And while I actually feel bad for any employee Bell Canada is exploiting, when I'm agitated I don't want to have to struggle to make out what someone else is trying to say. Her response? Brpt brpt brpt not authorized to do so brpt brpt brpt. Well, I said, I guess the only thing I'm authorized to do is hang up. Which I did. 

So I called back and talked to someone I could understand a bit better, but not with better results. They tried to convince me I had somehow forgotten I'd made those calls. Kept telling me who some of the numbers belonged to as if that would prompt my memory. And parrot-like I kept repeating, I didn't make those calls, I didn't make those calls, I didn't make those calls. I finally told them to check my previous phone number and record (I had moved in June) to see how infrequently I called outside my local area. They then had the gall to tell me they already had. In other words, they could see this wasn't my usual calling pattern, but wanted me to pay anyway. Well, that pissed me off, and when I told them so, they finally agreed to give me a credit on my next bill.

The problem though is that they didn't try to figure out and fix what was going on. How can my phone line be registering calls that I don't make? And what about the next bill? What if this happens again? Their response? Oh, just call again and we'll send out a technician to troubleshoot because we can't have you calling every month. Um, no. And now that they know the situation, I certainly won't be paying for any more calls I don't make, credit or not. I have a pre-authorized payment system set up with them, but if I see any non-authorized calls, I'll cancel that so quick Emily won't know what hit her!

I'll keep you posted. Pass this on to other Bell Canada-hating Canucks! :)

I almost bought a new lamp...

...but then I saw the light. Snort. 

Wait; let me back up. As you know, I have spent the last couple of months packing, moving, and unpacking again. A somewhat tedious process whereby you can't really eliminate any of those steps, but thankfully it IS kind of fun to arrange a new space. So I got my art on the walls and my bookcases filled, and all I really needed to add that I didn't already have was a floor lamp. After diligently looking online at various retail stores and at both Kijiji and Craigslist, I finally settled for this Canadian Tire baby, figuring that the reading light would be nice for behind my futon.

Called my brother to help me pick it up and we were on the way there, when fate intervened. I had helped him with an errand that had us on a different route than planned, when I suddenly remembered we would be passing a thrift store before hitting Canadian Tire. So we stopped in, and lo and behold a lamp presented itself that I thought had real possibility. Now the bulb in the reading light part of it didn't work, so we asked for a discount and I ended up paying the princely sum of $5. Not bad eh? I'll have to spend about another $5 for the special halogen bulb that I'll need, but that's still way lower than the $70 I was prepared to shell out.

Plus it's way cooler to pick up an old second-hand lamp (but with the faded original price sticker of $149.99 it wasn't exactly cheap when new) to fit in with all my other inherited, hand-me-down or thrift store/garage sale finds. I figured a brand new lamp might actually stick out like a sore thumb, or worse, be made fun of by my pre-existing (and probably bad-mannered) furniture. The only new things I do have in my cozy home is some of my art, and some of my books, so why not continue with the shabby-chic decor I have perfected for so so long? :)

p.s. will add pic of new/old lamp when I get the bulb!

Monday's money question 5

What's the most ridiculous time-saving feature you've run across?

For a while, pre-cut cheese topped my list, as I couldn't figure out why anyone would pay Kraft an extra dollar for this questionable service. "We cut the cheese, so you don't have to." Um, hello? For a few seconds worth of time I'll cut my own cheese thank you very much. Well, not since I turned vegan, but you know what I mean.

Now there's something else topping the list that really made me shake my head. I swear I'm not making this up, but Canadian Tire sells slippers that dust while you walk. Yes, dust! Touted as a comfortable way to dust, these slippers have special bottoms that attract and hold debris. Can you imagine? First--no, never mind, there are just so many things wrong with this scenario that I'm not even going to start, snort. Now excuse me while I go shake my head some more.