Life & Money Blog

A funny thing happened today.

Out of the blue, the Charter Cable Guy shows up at my house and informs me that my last payment was NSF (non-sufficiant funds).

OK… that would be fine… but I paid online.

I also did not hear anything from the cable company saying my transaction did not go through.

No notice from my bank, and there was more than enough funds in my account to cover the payment.

I guess I should also mention that I paid my bill 13 days EARLY too!

In other words… here is the cable guy, at my door… telling me my electronic check “bounced”… and my payment wasn’t even due until tomorrow!

After some investigating… I found out the following.

1. If your online payment doesn’t go through… it shows up as a NSF payment… even though you didn’t write a check.

2. Whenever there is an NSF issue with a payment, a work order is automatically generated and the cable guy pays you a visit. (I bet they just LOVE this new addition to their job description!)

3. There is no other type of notification (i.e. phone call, letter, email, etc…) regarding this, just a visit by your cable guy.

4. It doesn’t matter that your payment is not even late yet… they still generate the work order and pay you a visit.

Turns out… I there was a typo when I entered my checking account number. Unfortunately, Charter will only keep this info “on file” online if you sign-up for automatic pay… which I hate… so by paying manually… I have to type in the numbers manually everytime. (And unlike many other places, Charter does not have you type in your account twice to verify it.)

Nice to know that Charter believes in the face to face, personal approach to customer service. A phone call that said there was a problem with my last payment would have been such a waste of resources. Sending a guy out in a big truck is so much more cost-effective!

Thanks for thinking of me Charter…

What are you going to do with yours?

If you are an indivdual… you get $600… $1200 for a couple… and $300 additional for each child.

Some people are eagely awaiting this check, and plan to do exactly what they government wants you to do with it… i.e. stimulate the economy by “buying stuff”!

I think most people understand that this is largely a political gesture and unlikely to have much more that a small ripple effect on the economy.

The US economy has problems that are far more complicated and much deeper than any short term “spending spree” can fix.

Some people are behind on their mortgage, and may use the money to catch up… while others are so far behind, this check won’t do much.

Others have been filling their gas tanks via the credit card method, and will need to pay down their gasoline bill.

What should you do with the check?

Well… if you are overloaded with credit card debt… it would be a good idea to pay down some of those bills.

If you do not have an emergency fund… this would be a good time to start one. Think of this as a blessing in disguise. If times get tough… sure, having a big-screen TV to watch may be nice… but it won’t help you weather a life crisis.

An emergency fund can.

If you already have an emergency fund setup… and your credit card bills are under control… then you might think about buying something with the money that you have always wanted, but never had the “cash” to spend on it.

It may be a different experience actually paying for something… as opposed to buying the item on credit… but try it… it is a really good feeling!

My company has a few openings, so I thought I would post the job details here on my blog.

Finally earn what you are worth…

Our paramedic pay scale is awesome. In your first year with our company, you will go from $42k/yr (starting) to $47k/yr (6 month rate) to $51k/yr (one year rate).

That is a $9k/year increase of pay in your first 12-months of employment!

Our complete pay scale is roughly $42k - $71k yearly… and is based on a 24 hour on/48 hour off shift schedule. (First 8hrs of shift is straight time, remaining 16hrs of shift paid at time-and-a-half). If you choose to work a few extra shifts throughout the year, your actual pay range will be even higher.

Our 401k retirement plan is one of the best in the business. We match your pre-tax contributions dollar-per-dollar, up to 10% of your yearly salary. (For example: if you earn $50k a year, contribute $5k/year pre-tax to your 401k… our company puts in an additional $5k into your account.)

Health Insurance is an insurance policy + Health Savings Account. Full family coverage is currently just $54.45 per paycheck. The company contributes up to $1300/yr (family coverage) to an HSA account (to be used for deductibles/medical expenses, etc…) and if you don’t use it all in a given year, it rolls over to the next.

(i.e. if you had no health expenses your first year, you would have $1300 in your HSA at end of year 1, if you had no health expenses the next year, you would $2600 at end of year 2, etc… in other words… $1300 is added to your HSA each year, and you draw from this account to pay out-of-pocket expenses, and the balance is carried over from year to year.)

You can also contribute additional funds (pre-tax) to your HSA account via payroll deductions.

Family Dental insurance is just $14.01 per paycheck with zero deductible for yearly exams and cleanings.

NOTE: Funds in your HSA account can be used for ANY medical, dental, Rx, vision, and/or orthodonture expense.

Our company has a two-tiered Well-Pay and Sick-Pay benefit. Unused well-pay can be cashed out at the end of each year as an added benefit.

Paid Vacation is from 2 to 10 24hr shifts per year. (With our 24-on/48-off schedule, 2 vacation days can equal 9 consecutive days off.)

Free Continuing Education is another benefit we offer. In addition to normal case reviews and other continuting education opportunities, you can also receive free certification/recertification in ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support), PHTLS (Pre Hospital Trauma Life Support), PEPP (Pediatric Education for Prehospital Providers), and AMLS (Advance Medical Life Support) when taken through our parent company’s education division.

We believe in rewarding excellence. Through our PROPS Program, we reward the top two performing paramedics in each of 5 different categories. These rewards are equal to 2% of your monthly base pay. (i.e. If you are the top in 2 categories, you get a 4% bonus… top in all 5 you get a 10% bonus for the month.)

Every year, an outstanding member of our team is chosen to attend the annual American Ambulance Association’s Stars of Life Celebration in Washington D.C. This is an all expense paid trip that is an awesome experience… and just another bonus our company offers. (I was the Star of Life recipient for 2005. My wife and I had an awesome time in Washington D.C.)

Do you have FTO experience? (or would like to become an FTO?) We have FTEP (Field Training and Evaluation Program) training available. As an FTO with our company, you will receive an added $1000 per year education stipend that you can spend on any EMS related training/conference/etc… including hotel and airfare if needed! (Imagine attending EMS Expo or EMS Today each and every year! As an FTO, you have the stipend available to you to do that! I have been to EMS Today in Philadelphia, EMS Expo in Orlando, and attended a Lake Tahoe EMS Conference… all on the company’s dime!)

Job satisfaction goes beyond just great pay and benefits.

Our call volume is high enough to keep your skills sharp, yet low enough to keep from burning you out.

We have progressive protocols and the tools to go along with them. CPAP, transport vents, EZ-IO Bone Drill, Hot/Humidified O2 units, Zoll Monitors with 12-Lead, and much more. All the tools needed to actually treat the patient and make a difference.

Since you will be working with a BLS partner and responding with BLS fire departments… you won’t have to worry about fighting over “good calls” and advanced procedures with paramedics from other agencies.

Interested in being a Flight Medic? We have a new program/partnership with a regional helicopter based flight service. We already have one paramedic cross trained and working shifts as a flight medic, and look to add more opportunities for our paramedics in the near future.

We have an FTO orientation program for new hires that will get you up and running quickly in our system. This gives you a chance to learn our policies and protocols, while working with an experienced Paramedic. Orientation period varies depending upon your previous experience. You receive your full paramedic pay during your orientation.

Our location on the beautiful Oregon coast is in an area that many people come to vacation… yet we live and work here.

Looking for a change of pace and a new opportunity for paramedic employment?

Drop me a line and let’s talk.

Contact Form

If you are certified in state other than Oregon, you can learn about reciprocity here:

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/ems/certific/recip.shtml

(Please Note: Our company is a Tobacco Free organization.)

My wife and I have just launched a new business.

The idea started when a friend of mine gave me a bouquet of prunes for my 40th birthday.

Funny…

So… a few months later… we take that funny idea and create a business out of it.

http://www.prunebouquet.com

To keep things from getting too sticky… we opted to use individually wrapped prunes.

Funny… Yes… however, if you want to make the gift even better,
you can add an “Aging Gift Pack” along with the Prune Bouquet:

So… next time you need to send a birthday gift for that
“hard to shop for” person in  your life…

Why not send them a Prune Bouquet!

www.prunebouquet.com

eBay never ceases to amaze me.

My laptop… or as I like to refer to it… my mobile companion, gave me 27 months of faithful service.

Basically… I wore it out!

The touch pad was visibly worn. The PCMCIA card slot didn’t work. Sometimes it wouldn’t turn on when you pressed the power button. Sometimes it wouldn’t turn off. Other times, the keyboard would just stop working for a few minutes.

I needed a new laptop, but hated the thought of having to transfer all my “stuff” from one computer to another.

On eBay, I found a listing for a computer very similar to mine. It was a year old, but looked brand new… and luckily for me, it had the same type of hard drive in it as my old laptop.

So… I talked the seller down to $380 including shipping.

When I received the new laptop, I put the hard drive from my old laptop in it… and presto… all my stuff is now on my new computer. (I put the newer hard drive on my shelf for safe keeping/future use).

Another bonus… turns out my high capacity battery (which I had just purchased a few months ago) fit in this new laptop.

Spectacular!

So… what should I do with my old worn out laptop?

Why not sell it on eBay for “repair or parts”!

One week later… it sells for $160 plus shipping!

Awesome… so… my $380 laptop just became a $220 laptop.

Moral of this story… nearly everything has “some value” on eBay… what may be “junk” to you may be just what someone else is looking for!

My wife and I have two main bank accounts we use.

I primarily use our Bank of America checking account and debit card, while my wife uses our US Bank account.

This usually works out pretty well.

I simply alternate which account I deposit my paycheck into, so both accounts have money in them.

One small problem I discovered (early on in our marriage) is that my wife isn’t the best at keeping track of her debit card purchases.

Several years ago, while picking up the mail, I received a state tax refund check that was a little more than $600… and had an idea.

Why not deposit this in my wife’s account, but not tell her!

A brilliant idea… and it has worked well to this very day. There is a $600 ”buffer” of hidden money in her account that she doesn’t really know is there.

If your spouse is the kind that cross-checks the check register with the bank statements every month, and is very aware of the checking account balance, this probably won’t work.

Then again… if your spouse is like that… chances are, there is not an overdraft problem.

I guess this is a lazy way to solve a bigger problem… but heck, it works.

By “hiding” the $600 in her account, I am compensating for her occasional bank errors… PLUS, there is extra “emergency cash” within easy reach.

And… because it is in the bank already, it’s not like I am going to forget where I put it.

This strategy may or may not work for you. However, next time you get some money that you don’t need to immediately spend, you may want to consider this option.

See also: Emergency Fund

Do you own a small business?

Maybe you run a home-based business as a hobby?

Do you have a business name associated with that business/hobby?

If not, you should get yourself a business name to make yourself more legitimate. It doesn’t cost that much to register a business name.

Once you have that business name, get yourself an Advanta Business Card and start saving money.

How, you ask?

First, you’ll save 5% on gas purchases (via cash back), much like the Discover Card as listed in my Save 15-Cents per Gallon article.

Then, it gets better. You can also get 5% cash back when you use the card to pay for:

• Computer Equipment
• Office Supplies
• Utilities (Gas and Electric)
• Phone and Cell Phone Bills
• Internet Services

For me… simply paying my phone and cell phone bill with this card will get me about $7 back each month.

… add my gas purchases… and I am up to about $15 per month in cash back.

When I pay my electric bill, that is another $6-$7 in savings… so I am up to $22 in cash back savings… simply by using my new Advanta Card to pay the bills I normally pay ever month.

The Advanta Business Card has no annual fees… and there is no limit to the amount of cash back.

So… simply by adding a credit card to my wallet, and paying some bills with the card, I have added $260+ per year to my income.

Advanta has a convenient way to pay your bill online. So now, instead of paying my Verizon bill online with funds from my checking account… I simply pay it with my Advanta card… then go to the Advanta site and pay that amount from my checking account.

One little step… adds a few minutes to the bill pay process… but yields me $5 cash back on my monthly cell phone bill.

Simple… and the easiest $5 you’ll earn.

The only feature I do not like about Advanta’s program is the fact that the cash back award is only paid out when your cash back reaches $50… and then, it is sent in the form of a check with your next month’s statement.

It would be nice if they would let you apply it towards your bill, instead of issuing a paper check… but hey, money is money… small price to pay.

I figure, I will receive a $50 check every 2-3 months this way. Maybe I will simply deposit these checks into my savings account… or take my wife out for a nice dinner… or ???

In any case… one small financial move on my part (i.e. applying for the Advanta card) … plus a small change in how I pay my utility bills… will now put extra cash in my pocket every few months.

Pretty sweet deal… and another financial “no brainer”.

… and speaking of “sweet deals”… the Advanta Card let’s you design your own card.

As you have seen in a previous post, mine is going to be a Beaker card.

What will you put on your Advanta Credit Card?

Just added a new edition to my Beaker collection.

It’s a bobble head Beaker, sitting down, with feet in a puddle of spilled milk, ready to electrocute himself with some large batteries.

My other four Beakers were pretty common and widely available. THIS ONE, however, was unique and fairly rare.

Of course, I had the opportunity to create a custom credit card lately… and what picture did I decide on?

You guessed it…

I have been selling on eBay in one way or another since 1998.

Many of the people I meet… who learn of this fact… frequently ask me to share my “secrets”.

Well… there really aren’t any secrets. One good piece of advice is to stick to an area you already have knowledge in.

Knowledge is one big component in making money on eBay. When you add to this a unique buying and selling strategy, you can begin to earn profits.

One such strategy I call “Buy and Split”.

My area of knowledge happens to be in music recording equipment. You, on the other hand, may be in the area of Photography.

For example… you may want to keep an eye out for package deals on cameras that contain a lot of accessories… i.e. tripod, case, lenses, filters, etc…

Once you find a great deal… you CONFIRM IT by using eBay’s completed auction search.

Basically, you do a quick search of the individual parts contained in the package deal… i.e. looking for the resale potential of the individual parts.

If the camera package is $850… and you know going into the deal that the camera and basic lens sells for $625, the telephoto lens sells for $285, the wide angle lens sells for $165, the camera case sells for $45 and the tripod sells for $68…

Your potential resale of these items individually will gross you $1188… giving you a $338 profit margin.

Yes… there will be listing fees, and possibly paypal fees which will eat into the profit.

But think of it this way… is it worth it to spend $850 on a package deal… then relist the items individually… to earn $200 in profit?

Do you have another way to make $200 on an $850 investment in less than 30 days?

Again… the important thing here is that you “stick to what you know” and research your purchase first.

I make my money on the purchase, not on the sale. In other words, I buy the “great deal” and already know what I will sell the items for before I ever bid on the package deal.

Don’t be greedy… and don’t be in such a big hurry.

Since October of 2007, I have averaged $500 in profits each and every month by doing deals such as this. Usually, I only get one or two a month… but when I do find them, they are spectacular deals.

The economy has been going down hill. so many people are selling off items to earn money. Many people bundle everything together in one package, as opposed to selling everything individually.

This happens with more than just cameras… tool sets, video games, musical instruments, dishware sets, stamp collections, etc… all can be purchased in “package deals” and then sold individually for increased profits.

Do your homework… and you will be surprised just how easy it is to profit buying and selling on eBay.

You know… you don’t have to do business with a lizard to save money on auto insurance.

… and that gecko insurance is not always the lowest for every one, in every situation.

Some smaller, lesser known auto insurance companies offer service and protection just as good as the “other guys”… often with much lower rates.

Electric Insurance Company is one such company.

Many people find they can save 20% or more on their auto insurance with Electric Insurance Company.

When was the last time you got an online quote for auto insurance?

It is simple… hassle free… doesn’t cost a dime… and worst thing that can happen is you find out you can’t save any more money.

On the other hand…

You might save a bunch of money!

After all… if the amount you pay every month is lower, do you really care what company name is on your proof of insurance slip?

I think not.

Visit Electric Insurance Company and get yourself a free quote… you may be surprised at how much money you will save.