The next part of our process in booking this extended stay trip was where we were going to sleep? We wanted a place to come home to each night that wouldn’t feel like a hotel. We priced out some hotels and did some serious comparison shopping and even with the specials they were having it was going to cost quite a bit. A friend of ours who travels for extended periods of time recommended to us to look into an extended stay apartment.  At first we didn’t know what he was talking about as we didn’t want to rent an apartment and wouldn’t be in the city long enough for a short term lease. It turns out that there are fully furnished apartments that include everything you need to take up residence in just about every major city. We started to do research and came across Marriott ExecuStay, a division of Marriott that offers stays for 30 days or longer. They offer some other perks that won us over including reward points that we could use later. After spending some time on their website and dong some competitive shopping we decided to book our Chicago Extended Stay accommodations. We will have a full kitchen so we can also make our own meals, and even though we are planning on experiencing some great local food, we won’t have to eat out each meal.

As a result, by us using ExecuStay instead of a normal hotel we are going to save nearly half on lodging. We are excited for our upcoming trip. When we get back I will write a post on the whole experience.

Apologies for having to reach out to you like this, but I made a quick
trip to London,United Kingdom and had my bag stolen from me with my
passport and credit cards in it. The embassy is willing to help by
letting me fly without my passport, I just have to pay for a ticket
and settle Hotel bills. Unfortunately for me, I can’t have access to
funds without my credit card, I’ve made contact with my bank but they
need more time to come up with a new one. I was thinking of asking you
to lend me some quick funds that I can give back as soon as I get in.
I really need to be on a last minute flight that leaves in a few
hours.

I can forward you details on how you can get the funds to me. You can
reach me via ( Scammer@yahoo.com ) as am logged on via a
smart device or hotel’s desk phone, the number is, +44XXXXXXXXXX
Thanks
Scammer

from Me
to Scammer@yahoo.com
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:01 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.
mailed-bygmail.com

Ok I can help. Please send me the details.

from Scammer
to Me
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:13 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.

Appreciate ,sorry for delay ,assist me with $1450 please can you make a western union,this is info for payment :
my name: Scammers Name
Address: 33 Queen Gate,London,SW7 5JA, England
After payment furnish me with MTCN no, be rest assure that I will refund upon my arrival. Scammer

from Me
to Scammer@yahoo.com
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:44 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.
mailed-bygmail.com

If I loan you $1450 can you pay me back $1500 for interest?
Can I just give you my credit card # instead of me wiring western union?

Thanks,
Me

from Scammer
to Me
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:51 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.

Ok loan me I will give $1600, I can’t use your credit card because the hotel has strict policy on third party system,I don’t want you to go through that, please use your credit card GO to any western union location nearest to you now and send the fund ,don’t worry about anything I will take care of that,immediately I arrive I will refund you. Scammer

fromMe
toScammer@yahoo.com
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 9:55 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.

Ok – Do you want me to call the hotel and pay on your behalf? I can also go online and buy your flight.
How do I use Western Union?

from Scammer
to Me
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 10:02 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.

Please GO to any western union agent tell them you want to send money, the will bring out a payment form please use the information below and fill the form :

my name: Scammer Name
Address: 33 Queen Gate,London,SW7 5JA, England.

After that you will pay and immediately the will release the number which call MTCN no and immediately you receive it forward it to me because is the number I will use to confirm the fund here. Thanks alot

from Me
to Scammer@yahoo.com
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 10:16 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.
mailed-bygmail.com

OK. I only have $1200 available funds. I dont have $1450. I need to pay my mortgage so how soon will you be able to pay me back?

Where is a Western Union Agent at? Online or in person?

BTW did you have fun in London? Eat any good food?

from Scammer
to MedateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 10:20 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.

Go find the western union location nearest to you the are everywhere

from Me
to Scammer@yahoo.com
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 10:22 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.

I am at Western Union they want to Charge me a $30 fee to process. Are you going to pay that fee?

from Scammer
to Me
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 10:23 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.

Yeah of course

from Me
to Scammer@yahoo.com
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 10:32 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.

Can you send me $30 to cover the fee? I only have 1200 right now. The total bill costs $1230. I am $30 short.

from Scammer
reply-toScammer@yahoo.com
to Me

dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 10:35 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.

Remove money from there and send the remaining, you can send $1150

from Me
to Scammer@yahoo.com
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 10:37 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.

I thought you needed $1450? I am confused? Do you need $1450 or $1150?

When do you plan to come home?

from Scammer
to Me
dateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 10:40 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.

You said you don’t have upto it that’s why, stop playing if you want do it if not let me know, I think is the last email from me

from ME
to scammer@yahoo.comdateWed, Mar 16, 2011 at 10:42 AM
subjectRe: …..Bad situation.
mailed-bygmail.com

hide details Mar 16 (5 days ago)

Dear Scammer,
I have reported all this info to Western Union.
Thanks and have a great day!

THE END

You have a choice when it comes to personal loans , payday loans are a viable option for quick cash.

Do you get junk mail everyday?  A lot of that junk mail has a pre-paid postage if mailed in the United States.  Why not just open them up, take the pre-paid envelope out, and mail it back them?  They have sent you the unsolicited junk – send it back to them.  The USPS still gets paid and the Banks & Credit Card companies have to pay.

Maybe if enough people do this the USPS can make more money to get out of debt.

Cost of Electricity Used:

• Basic service charge
• Delivery service charge
• Environmental benefits service charge
• Federal environmental improvement surcharge
• Competition rules compliance charge
• System benefits charge
• Power supply adjustments
• Metering
• Meter Reading
• Billing
• Generation of electricity on-peak
• Generation of electricity off-peak
• Transmission and ancillary services
• Transmission cost adjustment

Taxes and fees:

• Regulatory assessment
• State sales tax
• County sales tax
• City sales tax
• Franchise fee

After crunching the numbers I spent roughly 25% on actual electricity and the other 75% on other fees and taxes!

I’ve had quite the unfortunate dealing with CapitalOne’s horrible customer service and policies, which resulted in me closing two Credit Cards I held with them over a simple $39 fine. I’m shocked at CapitalOne’s poor customer service, and that they couldn’t compromise over a simple request to waive this fee for a long-time customer in good standing. In short, I feel strongly that CapitalOne is not worth anyone’s time, as you will be given an absurdly low credit limit with the hope that you’ll go over your limit and be stuck with a fee, along with customer service that treats you like an idiot. Here is my story:

• I have phenomenal credit. I subscribe to Bank of America’s Credit Watching service PrivacyAssist, and at this moment I have between a 735 – 764 credit score and no outstanding loans and have never been late on a payment in my life.

• I had a Capital One Visa with Travel Rewards for 2.5 years. During this time, I always paid in full and on time. I had slowly built up a $13,000 credit limit.

• Due to a change in jobs and lifestyle, I no longer travel as much and signed up for a CapitalOne cash back rewards card as I’d rather have cash back than miles.

• CapitalOne started me off with a $500 credit limit, despite the fact I had over 2 years of history of on-time, in-full payments to them. I argued for a higher credit limit but was told just to hang in there and it would be adjusted eventually.

• 8 months later, still no credit increase. $500 per month is less than half of my monthly credit card spending (I charge everything I buy). The cash rewards are great so I attempt to spend as close to $500 as possible each month, but I accidentally go over by $2.

• CapitalOne does not alert me I go over, and does not deny the charge either, allowing the $2 charge to post and charges me a $39 fee for going over my limit. I find this out when my bill is due, shocked that CapitalOne had processed the charge, assuming the charge would be denied if I was over my limit (What is the point of a limit if you can go over it? Simply to collect fees, it would seem).

• I call CapitalOne to complain. I tell them they are going to lose my business (both cards, over $13500 in potential monthly charges they’d be processing), unless:
o The $39 fee was removed OR
o They increased my Credit Limit to something more acceptable for someone with my credit score, income, and outstanding payment history.

• The CapitalOne rep is unable to do anything, sounding helpless and confused, but said a Manager should be able to help me out. I ask for a manager, and am transferred to a “Senior Account Specialist.”

• This Senior Account Specialist (SAS) treated me like a complete idiot. She was less helpful than the first person, and unwilling to meet either condition for me to keep my accounts (she only needed to do one or the other, a generous offer on my part). Here are some excerpts of what she told me:

Me: Why wasn’t the charge denied? Why didn’t CapitalOne alert me that I was over my limit?

SAS: It’s your responsibility to monitor your spending. We can’t pay someone to stare at your account all day and alert you when you’ve gone over.

Me: Well, you wouldn’t have to pay anyone, you’d just have to program a small alert feature. Mint.com, BankofAmerica, and most other financial institutions do this, it would seem you purposefully don’t tell anyone they’ve gone over their credit limit so you can collect a $39 fee.

Me: If you can’t set an alert to tell me when I’ve gone over my really low Credit limit, then shouldn’t you deny the charge? What is the point of having a Credit limit if I can go over it whenever I want?

SAS: It is your responsibility to monitor your spending. You were not responsible and were charged the fee.

Me: So you’re calling someone that has never missed a payment irresponsible? I think it’s irresponsible that you make it so easy to go over my Credit Limit without warning or notification, just so you can collect a $39 fee.

Me: Look, I like this Credit Card and I want to keep it, but a $500 limit is simply unreasonable. Can you increase it?

SAS: We are a responsible financial institution and have cut back our lending in these economic times [I have heard this boilerplate response about 10 times now, and could probably recite it by heart).

Me: Then why did you give me a Credit Limit of $13,000 on the other card? Was that irresponsible of you?

SAS: We are looking out for your best financial interests and can not raise your credit limit except at designated times. Your account is not selected for review, so we can’t raise the credit limit. It’s for your protection.

Me: I don’t need protected, I need a Credit Card that will cover my expenses. You can’t even review my account and increase the Credit Limit if I threaten to cancel the card?

SAS: No, we can only review it during automated, pre-designated times. [repeat boilerplate about CapitalOne being a responsible lender in bad economy]

Me: I disagree with you being a responsible financial institution. It’s bad business to deny a higher credit limit to someone that is clearly qualified for it, and it’s bad business to argue with a customer and not take care of them. Your business practice of not increasing Credit Limit is losing you customers, which is irresponsible to your shareholders. While it’s a nice talking point, its simply bad business, and I can’t understand why you won’t do anything to keep me as a customer, despite a flawless record and tons of money you’ve made off me. Do you not want my business?

SAS: [repeats boilerplate about CapitalOne being a responsible lender]
In conclusion, I believe CapitalOne INTENTIONALLY sets very low credit limits, then does nothing to alert you that you have gone over your limit in order to charge you an extra $39 fee. Under the guise of being a “responsible financial institution,” they have simply found a way to charge people fees that are 100% profit to them, enticing their customers to deal with the low credit limits by promising their account will be reviewed eventually (read: a very long time from now), and having really good rewards.

It baffles me that a company that gets a few percent of every charge I make would lose my business over a $39 fee. Between my 2 CapitalOne cards, I averaged over $1000 per month in spending. Even if they only get 2% of those charges, that is $20 per month and they’d make up that $39 dollars with just two months more of my business. Instead, they got $39 dollars and no future income from my transactions. Furthermore, they treated me poorly, motivating me to post about my awful experience and encourage all of my friends to avoid CapitalOne. Instead, I will stick with American Express, where the customer is always right, they have account alerts, and they give an acceptable Credit Limit that can be increased. American Express does not set traps for me to go over limit then charge me silly fees. I’ll use my Bank of America debit card everywhere AMEX isn’t accepted, and I’m very happy to be rid of CapitalOne.

Post written by Nick Roshon, executive editor of Nick’s Car Blog.

Every month I get an email alert for my bank statements online.  I do not even bother looking at them because they hardly pay me any interest on my money.  I was thinking we the savers put our money into a savings account to earn currently 1% on our money.  I know with the economy the way it is that seems to be the average.  The banks take our money for practically free and loan it out for outrageous amounts even in the double-digit percentages.

Why wouldn’t a bank try to make a killing right now in deposits offering 3-5% on savings accounts?  This will in turn give them more money to make better strategic loans.  Sure their profit might be a little less but at the end of the day. But they may become a stronger bank for not having so many bad loans floating.

If anyone knows of some great CD’s or Savings rates please post a comment so everyone who is trying to save a little can make a little more than 1%.

I was looking at my calander today and noticed that we are only 7 weeks away from Christmas.  It is going to creep up even quicker.  It is time to put a few bucks away each week so when the times comes to go shopping you will have some money for gifts.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for the holidays.

- Do not spend more than you can afford.
- Set a budget for gifts and stick to it.
- Shop around to find the best deal. (Online & Offline)
- Help someone in need. (Homeless, Angel Tree Gift)
- Be creative

It will be a great holiday season this year with family and friends.  Remember you do not have to spend alot of money for it to be a ton of fun.

My friend who manages a local MidFirst Bank was telling me to come in and use his coin machine.  You do not even need to be a bank customer and they do not charge a fee.  From now on I will be using them.  I know that MidFirst is not nationwide but I am sure there are some local banks in your town that offer the same thing.

Anyway, I was thinking today how the internet saves me money all the time.  Whenever I get ready to go out to eat, I will go to the restaurants site and see if they have any coupons.  It only takes me a few minutes but most of the time there is an email club you can sign up. 

I know what you are thinking.  “I get plenty of snail mail.  I get plenty of junk mail in my inbox, why do I need more?”  Well, here is what I did.  I set up a separate free email account that is for coupons only.  That way I can sign up for all my favorite places to eat and manage the stuff they send me from one inbox.  Most places will send you coupons regularly.  It is easy and saves me money. The internet is great.

If you know of any good email clubs please post away so others know where to sign up at.

I really do not want to waste my time with someone who can’t give discounts.  I want to talk directly with the decision makers at stores.   Most of the time it is the manager and the commissioned sales people who can authorize those discounts.  If you are dealing with someone who can’t do it ask to speak to a manager.   It never hurts to ask if they can mark it down for a better price.