Category: Consumer advice

Renting to Own…to Good to be True?

Owning a home – it’s one of those things that we’re told we should do from early on in life. Home ownership is considered a status symbol that separates the middle class from the poor class. Wikipedia even states that a core pillar of the the American dream is owning property.

This is why even when living in a location where it’s better to rent than buy, many people are insistent on owning a home. Since the housing market bottomed out and loans are difficult to obtain, finding an alternative way to sell or own a home has become a necessity. One option is a “lease to own” contract between a buyer and homeowner. The future buyer will rent the property for a period of time, then have the option to purchase the home at the end the lease.

Continue reading Renting to Own…to Good to be True?

Halloween Costumes That Don’t Cost an Arm and a Leg

Halloween is right around the corner, and chances are you’ll need a costume. This year people will spend 2.5 billion dollars on costumes alone.  You can grab something pre-made at your local costume shop, but costumes out of a bag are usually overpriced and lame.

I came to this conclusion while searching for costumes online. I was flabbergasted at the amount of “sexy” costumes made for women. The most ridiculous being a “Sexy Ghostbuster” costume. Everyone knows that you can’t carry a Proton Pack in daisy dukes. The heat generated on use would instantly scorch and destroy the back of your legs. Do these people not understand Science?

Continue reading Halloween Costumes That Don’t Cost an Arm and a Leg

Keeping Your Place Warm On the Cheap

Here in New England the fall is upon us, which means for the next couple of months heating bills will be through the roof. It’s also the time of year where I ask myself why I left California in the first place. From every October to March my usual $30.00 monthly gas bill rockets up to $250.00, and I’m lucky enough to have a gas furnace and not oil like many of my friends and neighbors. I have one friend who pays $300.00 a month all year round to heat his house with oil in the winter. That’s $3600.00 a year for heating their house for measly 4 months!

For those in rentals and apartments, the choice of heating system isn’t usually in your hands. You’re stuck with what’s there, and depending when it was installed or the age of the building you live in can effect the cost of heat dramatically. If you live in an place with older/non-maintained windows and doors you can practically see the money floating through those cracks whenever your heat turns on.

Continue reading Keeping Your Place Warm On the Cheap

Yahoo! Turning a Bad Customer Service Experience Around

Last week I wrote a blog post about a terrible customer service experience I had dealing with Yahoo! Answers.

On Friday I received an email in my Yahoo mailbox telling me my Yahoo! Answers account had been re-activated. I then received a call from a woman named Melinda, who wanted to talk about what happened with my Answers account and the blog post I wrote. Turns out that an executive read my post, and asked someone to reach out to me. He also personally wrote me to apologize about the appeals never getting responded to. Continue reading Yahoo! Turning a Bad Customer Service Experience Around

Pinching Pennies When You’re a New Parent

If you’re like me, you never believed your mom or dad when they complained about how expensive kids were. I always thought they were just looking for yet another thing to complain about. As soon as I figured out I was about to have one, I hit the internet to find out how much my mini-me was going to cost. My eyes almost started bleeding when Bloomberg told me I’d be spending $234,900.00 before my kid even hit college!

Continue reading Pinching Pennies When You’re a New Parent