The problems is, you can’t do much of anything without a subscription.  And then to top all that, they are continuously sending me emails saying that someone has signed my guestbook.  They taunt me with messages such as, “Did you know there’s 1 new signature in your guestbook this month?  Wonder who it is?  Take a look now.”  When I click on the link, I’m told that I can view my guest book IF I upgrade to a membership which is $19.95.  If I’m not mistaken, this is an annual fee. 

They also have these amazing filters on their site to where you can’t communicate with anyone about your email address or information.  This forces you into the fee.  I get it.  It’s their site, but seriously, $19.95?  I’m sorry.  I’m just too dang cheap for that.

How about you?  Do you subscribe to Classmates.com?

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

One of my aggravations was the activation fee on EACH phone.  We were facing over $100 in activation fees alone.  Then tack on the price of the phones and the higher monthly rates and we would be paying a small fortune for the cell phone switch.

I don’t know about you, but all these extra gimmicks fees really perturb me.  It’s like they’re telling you the cost is $49.99 a month to make it sound good.  But, oh wait.  You want mobile to mobile minutes, right?  You want your nights and weekends to start at 7 pm?  All those things are extra.  Texting?  Well, that’s $5 a month.  Before you know it, your cell phone bill is over $100 a month. Then if you go over your extra minutes will cost you a house payment, so you might as well get the bigger plan.  Then they don’t tell you that the U.S. Cellular areas totally suck stink and that your phone will say roaming most of the time so then you have to call and get your plan changed so that you won’t be roaming.  And not only that, but somehow you got conned into signing a two year contract.  What??????  Someone please tell me. When did a two year contract become the norm?

My goodness!  I’m ranting a bit aren’t I?  What was the point of all this?  Oh yes.  My husband made great efforts to talk to different cell phone stores to try to save us some money and get the activation fee waved.  None of the U.S. Cellular stores would budge at all on any of the fees.  For a while, I thought we had to bite the bullet and pay a week’s salary to get started on our plan.  Finally, we heard that if we called the U.S. Cellular number off the website they would work with us.

Hubby called and sure enough, they waved the activation fee.  He saved us over $100 by calling them instead of signing up through a local store.  Now getting started will only cost half a week’s pay.  Ok, I’m kidding.  Needless to say, all these fees really get me worked up!!!

So, tell me . . . have you been able to save money on your monthly cell phone bill or fees?  Do all these fees irk you as badly as they do me?

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

I decided to call in my payment to Duke Power instead of using my credit union’s free bill pay. This would allow my payment to be received today rather than waiting until tomorrow for my bank to process it.

I called in to Duke Power, entered my account number, and selected the payment option. Do you know what they said? There would be a fee of $3.50! Hahahahaahahaaha. Gee, no thanks. Duke Power, you’ll just have to get your payment tomorrow. I also checked the back of my gas bill. Their fee is $4.95. No thanks.

Paying fees for quick bill pay would only be beneficial if the interest payment or late charge fee was higher than the bill pay fee. For example, if your credit card company is going to charge you a $29 late fee, then it might be worth paying their phone payment fee. It’s just another lesson in being organized (oops) and paying your bills on time.

Do you pay fees to make payments? What’s the highest fee you’ve ever seen?

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

I was listening to The Cooper Lawrence Show podcast from Thursday night and one of the listeners called in with a credit card problem.  The caller is having a tough time right now making ends meet.  The credit card company keeps charging her late fees, which have caused her to go over her credit card limit, so in turn they’re charging her fees for being over the limit.  She can’t get ahead because of all the fees they’re charging her.  She has tried to call the company to work something out, but they keep saying like, “If you’d only give us $200.”  She told them she doesn’t have an extra $200, but the company just doesn’t seem to want to help her. 

Many people have found themselves in similar situations.  Here are some tips to help you handle your credit card debt:

1)  Ask for a one time courtesy waiver.  If you have been a good customer in the past, then there is no reason why they shouldn’t waive fees.

2)  Pay as frequently as you can.  Paying $25 a week is much better than paying $100 each month.  If you pay $25 a week, then that amount will be paid to the principal sooner and avoid more interest.

3)  Don’t ignore your debt.  Your debt is your ethical responsibility.  If you are having troubles paying your debt, then you should call the credit card company to see if they can work something out.  Ignoring the debt will only make things worse. 

3)  Don’t just speak to the first person.  The first person you talk to has been trained to tell you “no”.  Ask to speak to their supervisor.

4)  Document everything.  This includes every call you make to the credit card company, the date, time, person’s name that you spoke with, and what you were told.

5)  Pay your credit card payments last. You should pay your most important bills first - your rent or house payment, electric, phone bill, and then your credit card.  Many times the loudest voice is the one from the credit card company.  They usually scream the loudest and use manipulation tactics to scare you into making your payments.  Your debt is your obligation, but when times get tough, they are the last ones to pay.  You need a place to live and electric, but you don’t have to have a credit card.

6)  Find a way to make some extra money.  If you feel like you can’t breathe and you can’t ever get ahead, then try some ways of making extra money.  Get a job delivering pizza a few nights a week, even if it’s only for a few months.  Start going through closests and sell the stuff you don’t need.  Try Craigslist, ebay, a local classified paper (that has free ads), or have a yard sale.  Put all of that money towards getting caught up or paying off your debt.  In the past few months, I have sold sheets, kid’s clothes, my old vacuum cleaner, toys, and some other things.  I’ve brought in several hundred dollars.  It’s like having a second job.

7)  Get a credit counselor.  Dave Ramsey’s site is a place to look for help.  I like Dave Ramsey’s tips because they are practical ways that are effective.

8)  Freeze your credit if you’ve been the victim of identity theft.  Credit bureaus don’t let you know that you can do this though, because they won’t make money off selling your information.  Some states will let you freeze your credit before you become a victim.  For more information, take a look at Financial Privacy Now.

9)  Find out what’s causing the debt.  Sometimes it is caused from unfortunate circumstances such as unemployment or divorce, but many times it is from behavior and choice.  Are you an impulse shopper?   Do you buy more clothes than you need?  Repair the holes in your budget.

10)  Be leary of companies that offer a quick fix solution.   True debt help is not easy.  You need to fix behaviors that may be causing the debt.  Debt consolidations, bankruptcy, and credit repair companies sometimes are no help if behaviors have not been changed.

11) I am offering this one as a bonus, since it may be hindsight.  Hopefully it will help someone though.  Before getting a card, avoid getting a one from a company with a bad reputation.  In a survey from Consumer Reports, Providian rank the lowest.  Following right behind at the bottom were Capital One, Bank of America’s MBNA division and JP Morgan Chase. (source)

Do you have any tips to offer?

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Post from: Thrifty Mommy