I'm Convinenced; All Bills Should Be Paid Through Skype

This proabably isn't major savings, but from what  I noticed is that everyone is switching over to longer and longer call centers. However, there is a savior and it goes by the name of Skype. I recently got Skype to do English teaching and ALT job interviews, but I have to give the devil its credit when due: Skype will save you minutes off of call center hell.

Call center hell is when you are put through  an automated system and you are forced to hear almost all the options of the billing information. (Whoever invented this is a  bad bad man. =( ) I actually lost about 14 minutes (about $1.50 give or take some change) of my minutes and my life. While I can't be reimbursed or the latter, I can pass on who to use Skype which will save tons of money off of International calling and--you guessed it! Call centers. First sign up at http://www.skype.com/ and get a user name. To call all landlines, you can pay Skype roughly $30 for that as an annual service I believe. If you're on a pay-as-you-go minute plan like me, this would actually be worth checking into. There is also one more service called the Magic Jack, but I believe it is only useful in the United States. I would seriously get one if I was trying to leave for Japan.

For everytime you use a call center, a kitten dies... Please, think of the kittens.

To my suprise...

I actually owed the IRS. A whole $4, actually. An epic feat for someone who happens to be in the 10% bracket or so I thought. Turns out I am in the 15% bracket with only the standard deduction (my donations=epic fail this year). The Barack Obama stimulus actually saved me money this year. I would have actually owed $4. All in all, I would have had written off my JLPT test if it was not for the fact the form cost $15 to just write off $4. not quite enough to fly a plane into a building over or is it? This year anything past 5,700 dollars will only count towards standard deduction. In 2011, it is expected (at least occurding to a reliable source at H and R Block), to increase to 6,000. So want an exemption? You have to donate pass 6,000 this coming up year.

Yeah like no one saw that one coming. But enough black humor for one day. Let me reiterate something: I am frugal for a reason. And that reason is to evade to the best of my ability, any suprise attacks on my banking account. While not everything can be evaded, one can at least shave off the unnessesary expenditures.

An Example of Non-spam

Another day here at CB. Just going to post this quick response because I want people to know the difference between what I call spam and what I call legit.

Ok this post here arrived to me today:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Response: Overcoming Fear":


Hey Great Blog. I submitted you to Reddit and Digg. If you want, you can check out my article here: World of Warcraft Mods You Need
 
This person is more than likely legit. He linked to a website with actual World of Warcraft information along with a small request: to take a look at it. (Which I actually did) I am actually more into Facebook RPG apps. when it comes to PC gaming and every now and then I play some arcade games. Marvel Vs. Capcom I is my favorite. Will actually post his blog link so you guys can check out his information regarding World of Warcraft. Go here to see it! 
 
If anyone has any interesting blogs for me to read, submit your link! Who knows; I might even subscribe! 
 

SPAM this post!

  I would like more real human comments. Seriously, I actually read them. I read the spam ones too for just a laugh at how gullible the spamee thinks I am.

No, I will not put up any money towards any high yield program that I do not understand. I will not buy any of your "stock investment magazines". I prefer to get my infromation from actual analysts: like my aunt Jaime. I do not need information that is probably fallacious and fictional.

No, I will not harvest my own organs in order to get a fast 1 million dollars.

No, I will not buy your instructional videos on how to do basic trading in the stock market. I already taught myself.

No, I will not sell my soul for some fake gold.

I have recieved a lot of spam comments as of late. And reading them (and rejecting them) is seriously a waste of time. I'd rather be looking for a better job in Japan or watching South Park or something. That's all today. Peace!

What am I going to do with my bonus/tax refund?

This is just a response post.

First off, I find it funny that people always ask a bunch of questions about what am I going to do with a refund or any type of money I happen to earn or recieve. It is not like these people are really entitled or are asking me for money. I think they are just curious. This is not an isolated incident; I was asked several questions simular to this last year by droves of people that cannot seem to manage their finances. When I tell them the same answer, they always give me the same look as they go into some form of cardiac arrest.

I always tell them, "I am going to save and/or reinvest it".

Then magically their blood pressure goes up about 40 points and their eyes buldge with disbelief. Hey I am not trying to do retail for the rest of my life. Neither should anyone there; unless of course they are shooting for management. Godspeed on that one. It's possible, but there are seriously more better paying jobs out there in other states or countries. I, for one, will not stand by and have my money totally devaluate itself. For that reason, I am trying to seek employment in Japan. If everything goes according to my plan, I should be able to become a full time freelancer in a few years.

If you really must know, the money will a) cover a flight to Japan and b) will cover apartment fees, key fees, etc. If there is a c option, it will be either saving or reinvesting  into some stocks that I have had my eye one since December. I will try to make the most of the situation, however there will definately be some unavoidable costs that I have to factor in. So that is my plan in a nutshell. I could have replied "none of your business", but since everyone are kind of curious as to what I would do with the extra money I would have to reply using the words of L.L. Cool J: "Just smile and accept the money".

As the first official CB tangent for the new decade, I have been approached to write some food comparison articles for a international magazine called Healthy Beginnings. No, I do not know how to cook per se, I just know a lot about different cusine from around the Pacific Rim. If you want to check out their magazine the  link is http://www.hbmag.com/. Maybe you can find some food that is cheap to make that is considered healthy. I would rant about how food is too processed, but I'll save that content for my actual articles should  I get published.

Chuckie's Blurbs Vlog Ep. 2: Sushi Pier #2

This is a video for the review Sushi Pier #2. I know that I did one in the past, but I do not think I really did the place justice by words alone. So, I made these videos. Enjoy the atmosphere and looking at the food!

Also I would like to add that all rights in this video are the property of  Sushi Pier #2 and their affliates.

Overall the rating is
Food 4.5/5
Service 5/5
Frugality 4.5/5 (For all you can eat sushi at dinner time, the price is pretty good.
Cleanliness 5/5

                                  For more info about Sushi, please check out the book The Sushi Ecnonomy, by Sasha Issenburg. It is a really good book!   

I also would like to thank the GM Chris and the waitress Chisato for being such good hosts. Me and my friends really put away the food. So overall I give them 4.75/5! Will be eating there again!

 

And part 2!

The Return Policy of 90 Days at Sam's Club Will Officially Be Enforced

To all of you that think that the LCDs are still "grand fathered in" I am just doing this response to let everyone know  that Sam's Club's old it is not. ALL electronic devises that are not related to software are not grandfathered in anymore. As of today, I get to reject whatever is not covered under the return policy of 90 days or the 1-3 year N.E.W. purchased survice agreement. So for better or for worse,  when you bring an electronic device back to the store make sure your reciept covers it prior to the 90 day purchase. The only exception to that rule is any device purchased before November 1st, 2009. Those items are still "grand fathered" in, but once they are returned, that's it. You cannot bring back anything after the 90 days. So if  you do not get a "service agreement" on the purchased item and it breaks down after 91 days, for better or worse it is yours to keep.