There’s something I’ve hidden from my most of my friends, though I think they knew a bit. I was in pretty rough shape financially for the last 3-4 years. I made some bad choices early on in my career that left me making less than expected to pay for my expenses. Of course, I had some odd things happen as well (lost my mother a few years back, my grandmother a little afterwards). Continue reading
Recently, I’ve been pretty annoyed with WordPress for getting my three sites that I run hacked. Then when I used my backup, it didn’t work as well as I wanted. WordPress runs slower than I want. Basically I have problems.
With all of this, I decided to look elsewhere, and squarespace was the obvious choice. The problem with squarespace is that I can’t run the other sites, and would need their own solutions. All three of these sites generate very little traffic, so to have 3 squarespace sites doesn’t make sense.
Then I thought about the problem. I think the underlying problem is the hosting (godaddy). When facebook, twitter, google+ being so dead simple to use, why would I use the site? But that goes against my beliefs that I need an online presence of my own.
Finally, after three weeks of finishing insanity, I’m ready to review the workout. For those who don’t know what insanity it, here is a direct link: Insanity.
It is the toughest workout, I have ever done. It is the toughest workout, you will ever do, sans the army bootcamp experience. So what is it all about? NOTE: ASK YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING. (Warning: Article is long)
Facebook is a social NETWORK, emphasis on Network. Social is what you define as it. Some people decide that it is the closest x number of friends, and goes all the way to, I will friend everyone in an attempt to show that I have more friends than you. Where is the middle? What is the policy that makes Facebook the most useful?
This issue is addressed at least once a month, when someone gets mad at their cable company. While the arguments are presented other places, this is my opinion. Chaimtime has argued this before (sorry no link), but here are the facts.
You can get cable service for $30/month. I know after the first year…. ($40 after that). So you need to cut that bill to something more managable. So let’s say you want the big networks (CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, WB11), and let’s choose 8 cable channels (ESPN, TBS, TNT, Food Network, Bravo, CNN, and 2 more). How much should that cost? Well let’s figure on $3 a channel. Just on those 8, that is $24, then we have to add for the piping in of the networks. There is your $30. At that point you might as well just pay for all 700 channels. How much extra will HD cost?
The wholesale deal that the cable companies get is because they can guarantee millions of subscribers. Now they won’t be able to. So the bad networks like mtv4 will fail, but the good ones will start costing more. Remember HBO is self sufficient at $20 dollars a month.
All this is simple math and economies of scale. (I’m good at the math but not the economics). The best way is to pressure @johnament to explain how his HTPC and external antennae works for watching TV. For someone who has no cable he will see who will win the oscars tonight where I won’t.
After joining the military I’ve been traveling a lot more not only professionally but a lot more for recreation. I don’t consider myself to be an expert in vacation planning but I wanted to pass on some things that I have learned.
Oh yeah, and I know chaimtime.com is all about the 1%, you know, the biker gang but I thought I’d start out with something helpful instead of just complaining right off the bat. Trust me, I think plenty of things are stupid and when I’m ready I’ll begin posting my 2¢. For now, lets stick to me helping you not be stupid, like I was.
Start Early
When planning out a vacation, start as early as you can. Plane tickets are usually cheaper when they’re bought far in advance so be sure to pick those up ASAP. Always look into getting a refundable ticket if they’re reasonably priced. If it gets close to your travel date and they have some kind of incredible sale then you can return the original tickets and get the lower price. Once I couldn’t get a refundable ticket but saw that buying ticket insurance wasn’t too badly priced. I didn’t buy it but as you’ll soon see, I’d heavily advise any purchaser to research everything they buy. Always know your options.
An early start gives a lot of time to find special deals. If a great price can’t be found, don’t feel forced to purchase something now that can wait until later. For instance, a hotel room’s price doesn’t generally sky rocket if it’s booked the night of arrival (but you might want to ensure you have a place to stay before you get on a plane). Same thing for car rentals, tours, shows, attractions, etc. I’m definitely not saying NEVER purchase these early, however, jump only on a great deal.
Shop Around
A good tool I use for planning vacations is Orbitz. However, I’ve purchased package deals only later to find out that I don’t necessarily have to use Orbitz to get those good deals. I can find the best airline prices of the day, then call those airlines to get a price just as good and sometimes even better. Just call the airline, give them the flight information and see if they have a better price. While I’m on airlines, be sure to ask about their baggage charges. Sometimes you’ll be able to avoid fees if you check in online before you get to the airport.
Military: For military reading this, some airlines don’t charge military for bags even when the member is not traveling on orders. Okay, at this time it’s only US Airways. Also, military airline pricing isn’t a discount, it’s a decently priced refundable ticket. If there is little to no risk of being called back, just get a non-refundable ticket.
Finding Shelter
Finding a good place to stay can be fun. Notice I didn’t say hotel. On my last vacation I rented a timeshare from someone who wasn’t using their time. I got a great deal because it was off season and I opted to have no housekeeping. At first I thought, “how could I survive without someone coming to make my bed every day?” but it was actually a great thing. Think about it, who really needs someone to come in every single day to pick up your towels and make your bed? Well, some people do, but not me. The other great thing about it was that I didn’t have to worry about someone forcing their way in at 9:00 AM, which to housekeeping is the time that all tourists are out and about.
I’ve never done this myself but some of my friends and family mostly rent houses for a week instead of getting a hotel. That’s something else worth looking into and I’m definitely going to give it a look next time.
Renting A Vehicle
I also want to cover car rentals. Do you really need a flashy car? Sure, sometimes. But do yourself a favor and pick one day for the outrageous price hike. I liked having my Camaro when driving to my friend’s wedding but I really didn’t need to leave it in the parking lot of Universal Studios all day. Plus rental companies usually rent the lower end version of sports cars. It’s not that great after a day or so anyway.
Avoid Being Ripped Off
Okay, time for my biggest money saver: avoid being ripped off. Simple right? Maybe not. The biggest rip off comes from businesses try to sell additional things at the desk when checking in. They do this because they’re usually trying to sell things that really aren’t needed (e.g., insurance) and/or are a really bad deal (e.g., buying all meals in advance). This works for them because the customer is forced to make a quick decision. It would be very awkward to balance pluses and minuses in that situation. Don’t go spending money on any “great deals” they have only at the counter. Trust me, if a company had a really good deal it would be advertised somewhere else before then.
To tell my personal story at being ripped off at the counter. I was renting a car. A small Hyundai for about $20 a day. The cashier asked if I would like to rent a Camaro instead. I asked for the price difference and he said it would only be an extra $30. Next he said, “Of course you want full coverage for that car right?” I don’t remember the exact price but it was a very large number (per day, which he forgot to mention that). Finally he offered to sell me the gas that was already in the car. He would charge me the same price they sell out in town but since I bought it from him I wouldn’t have to worry about filling the tank up when I come back. “How could that be a bad deal?” I said to myself.
In the end I fell for two of his tricks. I spent an extra $150 on renting a Camaro. You should have seen the expression on my face when I found out he meant $150 not $30. The key point there is that he didn’t say $30 a day. Next, I bought the great deal on gas he had for me. By great I mean terrible. It’s a terrible deal because I don’t get refunded for the gas I don’t use. The only way that’s a good deal, is…well, never. I can only break even if I bring the car back and it stalls from a dry tank in the parking lot.
So here I am exhausted after a whole day of flying on planes just dying to get to my home away from home and then he sticks this receipt in my face. Stupid me thinks I got a great deal and I just sign it. The best part is that I didn’t find out how great of a deal I really got until I read the whole contract when I got home. If I just said no to everything I would have saved over $200. All I needed was a car to get me from point A to point B and I had that in my reservation. Just think, if I said yes to the insurance I would have spent about $500 on things I didn’t need.
Buying insurance for a rental car.
If a driver has car insurance it most likely covers them in any car they drive. Yes there is an issue with the deductible but later I did the math to see how much the insurance would cost me over the 5 days I rented. My deductible is $500 and the insurance would cost me about $300. Maybe that would be worth saving $200 but I don’t think so. You be the judge.
Key Points:
(Author’s note: I wrote this last summer after a profound encounter in an unusual place. Names and details have been changed. If you’re the kind of person who might find a phrase like “In the Psych Ward” triggering, consider this your fair warning.)
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My friend Raya is in the psych ward of a local hospital. Raya isn’t her real name (I’ve borrowed it from a college acquaintance, who I hope won’t mind), and if I explained how I met her, it would come too close to revealing who she is.
