I jumped ship quickly with my personal checking and savings accounts and rejoined my old credit union (which I'm really wishing I hadn't left). Sadly, I didn't take my credit cards with me just yet as I felt I would most likely need to get my feet wet with the credit union first before I might be able to be offered credit cards or loans with them. Although I have only been with the credit union for less than a year, I gotta move on with them and leave Chase behind.
A few days ago, Chase sent me a notice telling me there was (yet another) change in my terms. Beginning February 2010, they want to increase the interest rate on my "business" credit card to 29.24% (from its current 20.24%) and my personal credit card to 23.24% (from 18.24%). I have been making my payments on time (except one time when I somehow forgot to make a payment) and only used my personal credit card for mostly small purchases, such as gas and food. So, being as good of a person as I can be, why is Chase upping my rate?
"The principal factor we considered in amending your account is maintaining profitability on your account."
That's right. The nearly $1000/year in Interest I pay to Chase isn't enough for them. So, they figured it would be best to increase my interest rate to a level I can't afford. (The full letter in attached to this post.)
Sadly, the purchases I made on the "business" card was for the business I had hopes of starting up, but never came to be. I was already in the process or trying to sell off the stuff I purchased for the business when this Change in Terms letter came.
Now, this wouldn't be the first time Chase has increased my interest rate. In fact, this would be the third (yes, third) interest rate increase in a year! Here's a chart showing my credit card interest rates over time:
As you can see, Washington Mutual / Chase started out fairly reasonable, but starting in 2008, it all went to hell. Chase has been steady (but high) after their takeover on my Business card but kept upping the rate on my Personal card.
So, what am I to do? I could try negotiating new rates with the different credit card companies, but who know how long that would last. I could try moving all my cards to the credit union, but who knows what rate I would get AND if I would even qualify. Same if I tried applying for a loan with the credit union.
All I do know is that I don't want to do business with Chase anymore and in the end, I'm going to be screwed. It's all a question of which direction will hurt the least.
Download now or preview on posterous
200911 Change in Terms (Chase Business MasterCard).pdf (838 KB) 
When I was growing up we always put up our Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving. Nordstrom agrees. Once again, they are taking a stand against Christmas Creep.
Reader Jonathan says:
Saw this last night and figured since vendors get chastised for the Christmas creep, they should be recognized for not succumbing.
via consumerist.com
It's good to see someone taking a stand. One holiday at a time, retailers! You're ruining the joy of Christmas and the holidays that come before it! (Those would be Halloween and Thanksgiving for those that already forgot what they were.)
This journal will be kept here for the time being for archival purposes. You know... That is until LiveJournal removes this journal.
I am done with cross-posting with LiveJournal. No... really. I mean it this time. For real. Come on. Don't you believe me?( Read more... )
A while back, I wrote a little something about savings a little cash here and there. Since I just sent everyone my Christmas List, I think it only seems right I repost this. Enjoy!Most people know I'm cheap. When shopping, I'm always trying to find the cheapest this or a way to save money on that. Today, I'd like to share with you some of the sites I use to make sure I can save as much money as possible. I even have a couple of sites for my Canadian compadres as well.
Woot - http://www.woot.com/
One of the first sites I hit up every morning, Woot has a very simple premise: a deal a day. Every day at Midnight (Central Time), a new deal is posted. Woot's biggest attraction is the "Woot-Off": an event lasting 24 to 72 hours in which another product will be available as soon as the previous product sells out. Products in a Woot-Off go fast, especially the elusive Bag of Crap. For just $1 (plus $5 for Shipping), you get what you paid for: a bag of useless crap. Every once and a while, a lucky buyer will receive big ticket items with their crap bag, such as Big Screen TVs, Video Game Consoles, and other high-value products.
Dealighted - http://www.dealighted.com/
Deallighted is a site that aggregates deals from various message boards, including FatWallet, GottaDeal.com, and Slickdeals.net. This site makes it very easy to view hot deals as soon as they become available. Not all of them are must-have's, but it is quite helpful when one that is useful to you comes along.
RealFreebies.com - http://www.realfreebies.com/
Wal-Mart Free Samples - http://walmart.triaddigital.com/Free-Sam
As I stated, I'm cheap, and nothing says "cheap" like free. RealFreebies.com may not look like a well-polished site in this "Web 2.0" world, but it does its job: providing links to Free Samples. When you've found all that you can there, head on over to Wal-Mart's Free Sample web site. Most of the products offered here are aimed at women and babies, but every so often, you'll be able to find free toothpaste, shampoo, or even food-products! When filling out Free Sample forms, you're usually asked for an email address, so be sure you use an email address that you set up specifically for spam. Free things do come at at price (just not monetarily).
Free After Rebate - http://www.freeafterrebate.info/
As long as we're on the subject of Free, FreeAfterRebate.info provides links to items that are... well, Free after Mail-In Rebate. Needless to say, this site is not for everyone, especially to those that dispise Mail-In Rebates. I'll admit that I have in the past lost the bet a couple of times when attempting to redeem a rebate, but that's what businesses are hoping for (and is also why I digitize everything before I send it off). If you're one of those people that enjoy taking the chance to get money back, this site will be help.
Ben's Bargains - http://bensbargains.net/
dealnews.com - http://dealnews.com/
Techbargains - http://techbargains.com/
Once I'm done visiting the above sites, I head on over to one of these three. Usually the deals on here are more aimed at Tech Heads like myself, but you will occasionally find deals from other areas as well, including Home Depot, Linen 'n Things, Old Navy, Sharper Image, and more. The deals listed here are hit-or-miss. It all really depends on what you're looking for and if the timing is right.
RedFlagDeals.com - http://www.redflagdeals.com/
And to ensure that I don't leave my pals north of the border out of the mix, RedFlagDeals.com covers deals for retailers in the land of the maple leaf. Following a voting system similar to Digg (which I plan to review in the future), RedFlagDeals.com let's visitors post deals as well as vote on them. The most popular deals are listed on the site as well as the most recent. There's not much more than as it's similar to the sites I just listed, except it's for Canada!
RetailMeNot - http://www.retailmenot.com/
Now that I've found what I'm interested in buying, I want to see if there is anything more I can do to save some more dough. RetailMeNot makes it easy to find Coupon Codes that can be used at Checkout. Just type in the domain name of the site you're at (without the "www"), copy and paste the Coupon Code into the "Coupon Code" or "Promotional Code" field at Checkout, and then Save! RetailMeNot also lets you know the chance that the Coupon Code works. Every little bit counts. And yes, Canadian shops are listed too!
(UPDATE: For those using the Mozilla Firefox web browser, you can install an extension that will automatically display deals from RetailMeNot when you visit certain shopping sites. It can be found on Mozilla's web site.)
FruCall - http://frucall.com/
What if you're not shopping online and standing in a Retail store? This is where FruCall comes in. Using a mobile phone and either placing a phone call, using Text Messaging, or the mobile version of their web site (or maybe sneaking onto a internet-enabled computer at the store itself), FruCall can look up the price of the product you're looking at and let you know if it's cheaper anywhere else. All you need is the Product Name, the Model Number, or its Barcode/UPC Number. Sure, you may look silly as hell looking at the bottom of a box and typing into your Cell Phone at the same time, but I'd rather look silly than be wasting money.
Price Protectr - http://www.priceprotectr.com/
Last, but quite possibly the most helpful of all is Price Protectr. Most stores have a policy in which if they drop the price on a product within so many days of your purchase, they will refund you that amount (and sometimes a percentage on top of that). Price Protectr helps you by keeping track of a product you purchased and the price of that product. If the product drops in price within the store's policy's timeline, Price Protectr will email you informing you of the change. This will now allow you to go back to the place you purchased your product and request a refund. You will still need your receipt or proof of purchase, but this makes the job so much easier.
Right now, the site only protects a few retailers (including a few Canadian shops). A full list is available at their Supported Retailers page.
With the price of daily necessities going up, taking the time to look and compare prices is worth the time.
Gimme (Christmas 2007)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishli
As it's called a "Wish List", some of the things listed on here are a little... well, wishy. Do I actually expect to get any of these things? Of course not! But it's always nice to dream.
If you DO actually plan on getting any of these things, hit me up for my address (which actually should already be listed on the Amazon Wish List). You can find my contact details here. Remember, you don't have to buy from Amazon. If you can find it REALLY cheap elsewhere, for the love of all that is good, buy it cheap! And I'm willing to accept used or refurbished items cus I know those are definitely cheap. Now, get to buying me stuff I don't deserve! :D
(Oh yeah... although I can't really buy things for others this year - you know... the whole jobless thing - I do wanna try and give people things, even if it's homemade. Contact me with mailing addresses so I can send stuffs out.)
Of course, I will still want to do group shots and meet with the staff, but hopefully this will not require as much time now. BRILLIANT!!!
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