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Sep 21, 2017    |       20 comments

Phone Cost and Should Kids Pay It

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I think almost every person in debt struggles with the cost of phone service at some point or another. There just don’t seem to be any cheap AND reliable options. And then add to that, the cost the phones these days. Yikes!

The Situation

This was brought to the forefront in our home this week when Princess, who is super responsible and takes very good care of her stuff, accidentally dropped her phone and it shattered. If this was Gymnast who literally breaks EVERYTHING or History Buff who threw his phone to the ground to test the “shatter-resistant” claim, I would think nothing of it, they would just have to do without.  But Princess is devastated and this is highly unusual for her.

Princess and Gymnast have iPhone 5s (I think that’s what it’s called.) I got a really good deal on them earlier this year. I wanted them to have a way to stay in touch, especially since we were moving states and I was beginning to work outside the home.

The mom in me wants to get her a replacement as soon as possible. On the other hand, I want to make better financial decisions.

What are your thoughts?

She does have money, she has a healthy spending account and some savings. I guess my question is do I leave the burden of replacing her phone on her at 13 years old with no regular means of working and earning money. Do I match her in some way? Do I just replace the phone, knowing this was truly an accident and not a pattern at all?

I pay for her service (and her brothers’) and am under contract.The service can not be cancelled to save the monthly fees until she gets a new one. Although I think Verizon offers a way to put the account on hold for a certain period of time, but it extends the contract period.

I am torn. Your guidance is greatly appreciated.

Sep 20, 2017    |       22 comments

Always Check Your Receipts

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In my continual battle to lower our grocery bill, I’ve been making lots of lists:  lists of meal ideas, lists of sale foods, and standard grocery lists. I’ve set ourselves a strict budget and have been following it to a “T.”

I estimate food costs in advance (it’s written directly on our grocery list). Then when I go grocery shopping I make little tally marks so I can keep a running total of what our bill will be (to ensure we don’t go over the limit I’ve set).

Even with all this preparation, you have to have a watchful eye on how items are scanning!  We used to be a Velveeta Shells & Cheese family, but at $2.50/box, we’ve decided the cheaper Kraft variety (usually $1.29/box) is just as good. This week, all the macaroni and cheese was on sale for only $1 per box. I decided to stock up, getting 5 boxes in total. But when scanning my receipt after checking out, I realized that somehow only one box rang up for the correct price. No idea why/how it happened. But I was overcharged 29 cents per box.

The old me would likely have let it go. Not worth the hassle of going to customer service over about a buck and some change.

But the new me is focused. Determined. We’re counting every single cent over here. Even the pennies matter.

So I walked right on over to customer service (I hadn’t noticed until after I’d already paid and the transaction at the register was complete). It didn’t take more than 2 minutes for me to get a whopping $1.16 handed back in cold hard cash. I stuffed the dollar in my cash envelope (oh yeah, totally doing the cash envelope thing again! More on that to come.), and the change went into my wallet. Virtual high five to me for catching the mistake and following through with seeking the reimbursement I was owed.

So let this be a reminder to always be watchful of your purchases and how they’re ringing up! If you’re expecting to buy something on sale and it doesn’t ring up correctly, don’t be afraid to ask for a price check or to return to customer service for a reimbursement if needed. It wasn’t nearly as much of a “hassle” as I’d assumed it would be. No hassle at all, really!

If you notice an overcharge, do you go back for the refund? Have you ever just walked away (< I know I have before!!!)

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