I Rock my Socks!

Okay, really this post has nothing to do with socks ('though I am wearing some!)

A couple of weeks ago I received a MASSIVE phone bill, almost $500 when out highest previous bill had been $150ish and the regular bill is closer to $80. I was completely floored, I nearly cried. There is just no way I could afford a bill like that and to maintain the service (ie I would have to pay it off so slowly that the service would be suspended until it was paid.)

Around 11 months ago the telco we use for our mobile phones was amalgamated with another telco (the one that gets the most complaints for those who are current affairs aware.) We never really took much notice of our call charges as they were always quite reasonable, this time though, I certainly had cause to check them out. When the amalgamation happened I was under the impression that all calls between the two telcos would now be included in our "cap"; ie calls between T and V would now be free as were calls previously between both of our T phones. (Anyone up with the guessing game! ;) )

People who know me well know that I have "phone issues" and "confrontation issues" so ringing a service provider to make a complaint is not something I've ever done before. "Financial responsibility" is FAR from being my middle name too, let me tell you. So for me to make this phone call was really a very big deal. I really don't know what possessed me but whatever it was - I liked it!

The first customer service person I spoke to offered me $50 credit on the bill once I said I was thinking of closing the account. After that offer I again said:
"ok, but I'm just not sure, we've been talking about closing this account and with this last bill, well, I really just can't afford it."
"If you don't mind holding for a moment, I'll speak to someone else here..." followed by...
"I have X here to speak with you and see what we can do about this..."
BINGO!
I explained to her that we had believed T to V calls were included in the caps we currently use and again stated that I was looking to close the account as I was not happy with this bill, nor the standard that new contracts allow this free communication within the came cap. She stated that all new contracts had that inclusion but people weren't automatically changed over to the new caps as they had higher call rates. Really, they should surely have OFFERED all existing customers the same deal as new customers, that is very poor customer service when customer retention is the easiest way to increase your sales. She did a bit of a verbal dance, I stood my ground, then she made me happy.

"What I can do, is waive the cost of those T to V calls on this account only, so you will be credited $370(ish), does that help you?"
Within a few minutes my phone bill had gone from nearly $500 to $130(ish)!
Unfreakingbelievable!
Happy dance!


Early this afternoon my time was worth around $750p/hour - who else gets paid that much?!

Got a problem with a bill from one of your service providers? It's well worth taking it up with them; the worst that can happen is they say "too bad, pay the bill", the best - you can AFFORD to pay the bill and save yourself a LOT of money.

thirty-one to thirty-four...

31: good quality second hand, like the stroller I picked up this morning

32: having money to pay some bills, even if it's only on pay day

33: plants revived by liquid fertiliser, my husband was convinced that I'd killed them, not getting them into the ground soon enough.

34: the courage to go back to playgroup, even when I was running late.

The never ending quest...

It seems that it doesn't matter what people have everyone always wants more. More money, more time, more chocolate... You get the idea.

Every so often my husband and I go through cycles of running off ideas of how we could make money working for ourselves, we then go right on ahead and keep doing whatever it is we had been doing before, no matter how ineffective that may be at providing the work life balance everyone craves.

I've been reading a fab blog where the writer has challenged herself to amass a net worth of $1M by the year 2015 and came across a list of 1001 Ways to Make Money. I'm only up to 400-and-some so far but it's been really great for getting the old cobwebs cleared from the think tank. I can't wait to share it with my husband when he gets home (from spending money of course!)

Here are some of the ideas that could work for us:


459: DIY or handy man/woman for hire. Someone who can be hired for all the odd jobs, such as replacing doors, tidying the garden, cleaning gutters, all the little things that need to be done, but many people can't do.
We wouldn't be great at DIY to be honest, but we could lend our hands to help with cleaning cobwebs, weeding and pruning in gardens, cleaning gutters, taking down and packing up Christmas lights, packing in preparation for storage or moving, garden clean outs, and probably many more fiddly little jobs.

290: Garage Sale Organiser. Organise garage sales for other people, advertising, pricing, set up, and removal of unsold/unwanted goods.
I think this is one of "those" jobs that people HATE doing, seriously, doesn't everyone have things they could sell at a garage sale? Why aren't there more garage sales than there are every weekend? My guess is because people just plain couldn't be bothered to organise/display all their things EARLY in the morning, let alone pack away the things that don't get sold! I even hate having garage sales myself, so I leave the organisation of our sales to my lovely slave/husband. However if we were able to have a set of tables, table covers, money holders, etc to display and sell items it would be like setting up a new shop every weekend. Each of us having a retail background I can see this becoming something enjoyable. What do you do with the things that don't get sold at a garage sale? Put them back in boxes in your garage? Begrudgingly drag them back into your house? Wouldn't it be great is someone else took them away?! Really, you didn't want them, or you wouldn't have offered them up for sale, would you?

There is a whole section in the 1001 Things list entitled "You Have to Do It Anyway" detailing jobs that need to be done in many houses, like dog walking, ironing, washing, baby sitting, etc. Some of those jobs that you traditionally think of as "kids jobs" but why should they have all the fun? Dog walking is a great way to get to know your local area, enjoy the sunshine, etc (pity I can't walk at the moment but that's only temporary.) Ironing is as boring as watching paint dry sure, but you can do it watching tv, listening to the radio or even watching a movie. Washing clothes is mostly easy too and if you don't have to leave your house to do your job, all the better, note to self, if taking this path don't forget to claim the cost of the extra water, electricity, home presentation, etc when it comes to tax time.

Money is everywhere; we just need to find a way to make it come to us!