Free Stuff

I'm a "BzzAgent" on my "Bzzagent.com" site

The gist of being a bzzagent, is that I get samples of things to try and share.. and they get feedback. I've gotten some great stuff to try.. Hershey's Take5's for example.

However.. my current crop of cool things are websites.

Audible.com has the world's largest selection of digital audiobooks and spokenword entertainment... AND.. since they give me free stuff to share... I can pass on the code to get 1 free audiobook with a trial membership (no obligation).
So.. for those of you who might be interested... here it is.... my "1 Free Download" site of just go to www.audible.com/bzz.


Also.. I have a free shipping from Smart Bargains.com. SmartBargains is like a mega online mall with all brandname stuff on sale every day. Click here my "Free Shipping" site or go to www.smartbargains.com/bzz.


I wish I could share my favorite recent bzzproject, for Aquapod, with you. My children absolutely loved these. Unfortunately.. digital samples of cute bottled waters are still unavailable to the general public....

Sign up yourself to bzzagent if you want.. lots of neat latest and greatest stuff. my "Bzzagent" site

I won't get anything if you sign up or use any of these.. it's just something I though one or two of my four readers might enjoy! ;-D

Legal Loophole Mastermind

I used to work in fraud detection. This is probably my first mention of that seedy little tidbit from my past.. but it's true.
My research skills were honed on that job.. and I'm still grateful for the things I learned about identity protection. I also learned more about people than you would think.. considering I sat at a computer desk letting my fingers do the walking all day.

Working in such rarefied atmosphere exposed me to what might be the most elegant and ambitious use of legal loopholes I've ever seen.

Here's the story.

My bank issued credit cards. If you made purchases and paid it off (15 day grace period) each month.. no interest, no fees. Also.. your credit report got a boost from each month of paid off credit use. If.. however.. you used it for cash advance.. there was no grace period, and interest accrued from day one.. also.. it was a small strike against your report.

This guy (my Loophole Hero)had taken a trip overseas about two years before we "caught" him.. and like many travelers.. he'd purchased his traveler's checks with his Mastercard. When he got his bill... the savvy mastermind realized that the Traveler's checks were billed as a PURCHASE... not a cash advance. He saw the opening.. and dove through it.
For two years.. he maxed out two high limit credit cards each month with traveler's check purchases that he coverted to cash and invested in short-term guaranteed returns, and then paid them off each month. One card had a due date of the 15th.. the other of the 30th. By rotating card use.. he was able to keep them paid off each month and never pay a dime of interest. What he DID with those free loans is even more interesting... He was earning 3.5% interest on money that didn't belong to him.. and getting an incredible credit card score in the process.

I still remember how my boss frothed at the mouth over that. You'd think he had robbed her personally.. when in fact.. there was absolutely NOTHING wrong with his scheme. He broke no laws.. didn't even stretch his credit use agreement.
However.. and it still saddens me to think about it (because anybody with that much gumption should be rewarded).. we canceled all his cards and gave him a fraud flag on his report. A fraud flag means.. at the very least.. that somebody is watching all the time(very frequent usage reviews). At the worst.. it means you can't get credit.

I still feel sorry for the man. Just because he figured out a way to beat the system.. he got nailed with a fraud flag.. and probably won't ever know why.

Want to try your hand at it? As far as I know.. the only catch is finding a card that charges Traveler's Checks as purchases.. not cash advances, but be sure to read the fine print just to be on the safe side. Look here for a no-fee one lowermybills

False Economy

I'm still on the "be frugal" bandwagon over at my "Get Out Of Debt" site .. but increasingly.. the ideas I've come across are silly at best, logically ridiculous at worst.

Here are a few that didn't make the cut:

1. Newspaper subscription solely to get coupons. Wow. We haven't had a subscription since my daughter began to read, and even then.. it was something like $25.00 a month for the paper. When I do coupons.. I usually only save $20 or so a week on groceries, unless I happen to get a double bundle of coupons in that paper. So.. kill a tree, spend money, for the priviledge of losing money(not to mention that I feel obligated to use those coupons, which translates into more trips to the grocery).
*Here's a better idea. If you do coupons.. go to Ebay, Phoenix Freebies or your local Grocery store recycling bin for paper. You can "buy" coupons (illegal to buy/sell them.. you are usually paying for the time and effort) that are exactly what you want for pennies(saving you time, money and hassle). A good friend of mine gets 5-10 papers a week from Kroger's paper recycling bin for free.. and she saves a ton, and has enough duplicates to take advantage of combining a coupon with sales. No need to get a newspaper subscription. That's what the internet is here for.

2. Gardening as a way to save money. If you get lucky.. you might. Most people don't though. The "necessary" supplies really add up, and my "hobby" usually costs us about $200.00 a year. We might save $80.00 by not buying peppers.... hardly frugal.

3. Buying clearance clothes that require dry cleaning. Always figure out the potential care costs before buying something. That includes your time too... something that will be ironing intensive probably won't get used much.. so save your money and invest in more practical choices.

4. Getting a job.
Probably not intuitive.. but when I figure how much I can earn versus my costs (fuel, wear and tear on my van, spending $, childcare, clothes), we'd have a negative balance, and that's before figuring out how much "value" I can add by staying home. Thinking about breastfeeding versus formula... my 6m old sun went through $50.00 of formula a WEEK.. that adds up fast, and if I worked.. I'd have to supplement (pumping doesn't work out for me).
Doing in-home childcare is just as bad. Getting paid peanuts to expose my children to germs, our family to liability, and reduce our ability to be spontaneous (park on sunny day etc) just isn't worth it. The only job that I might be able to afford. would be something like selling on ebay, or my stock trading hobby (needs more time than I have right now!). Always factor in the costs.
Changing jobs to get more pay but less benefits. At risk of being repetitive.. ALWAYS count the costs!

Trivia

For "Lone Ranger" fans.. Kemo Sabe means "soggy shrub".

Lee Harvey Oswald's cadaver tag auctioned for $6,600.00 in 1992. Imagine what ebay could do with it now!

Chocolate helps counteract depression. Well, that explains a ton! (pun intended!)