That's what the owner of this used book store told me this weekend.

What the hell? What did finance ever do to you? I guess you don't read personal finance blogs ;) Here's how the conversation went down (if you could call it that):

Me: "Hey how's it going man, do you know where I can find your economics or finance section?"
Book Store Owner: "Hah! We don't have that here ... (walks away & starts mumbling) ... All financial books from the past 10 years should be burned."

Ummmm...thanks? I guess you're just gonna walk away and not help me, okay I gotcha. Initially I just brushed it off and went about my business looking for other books instead, but the more I thought about it, the more curiosity got a hold of me. Was he just talking out of his ass? Did he say it cuz it was the "trendy" thing to do? Did he *ever* carry these books? Unfortunately he was long gone by the time these questions started to bubble up.

Instead, I am left posting about it and coming to my own assumptions. Here's what I think. I think Mr. Store Owner got burned by the economy in some form or another, and he's now bringing in much less than he used to. He probably also meant to say that all investing books should be thrown out of the window, not financial ones. How could books promoting savings and proper money management possibly harm anyone? I can't imagine anyone getting rid of The Richest Man in Babylon or The Millionaire Next Door on grounds of horrible advice.

Obviously, I think he made a bad choice of words. The average person may not have picked up on it (or cared for that matter), but I take it as an insult. You run a book store where people go to LEARN and give you money, not to hear you spout out conspiracy theories. The next time someone's interested in buying a book from you, try helping them, not patronizing them.

Labels: cockamamy indeed, crazy economy, education, rant

Yep, not even my beloved USAA can save us from this one. Apparently we're TOO under water to refinance. Since when is $60k in the negative TOO much? ;) haha...ah well, it was worth a shot.

But what's really frustrating, if you'll allow me to say so, is the fact that there are, indeed, people who can/will be able to refi because they made some huge boo-boos.

That's great for them, and certainly for our economy in general, but what about the others who behaved and played by the rules? Shouldn't WE be granted some help as well considering we also took it up the a$$? This affects more than the people who helped us get in this mess to begin with. (emphasis on *helped* here as we all know there were many other factors stirring the pot.)

The Mrs. and I aren't perfect little badgers, but we should still be granted some sort of equal rights. We pay our mortgage on time, we didn't get too over our heads, and we were responsible. Shouldn't that count for something? Are we being greedy here? Whatever....I'll go ahead and stop now. I'm sure everyone's tired of hearing about this stuff. I just had to get it out since it's directly affecting us now.

I'm just hoping Mr. Obama has something good up his sleeves...

Labels: crazy economy, home ownership, mortgages, rant, USAA

HAH! You think by spamming me I'll sign up to your financial doodad?! Come on now - i'm gullible, but I'm not *that* crazy. If your company (cough cough Mvelopes) wants me to sign up to your "free trial", how about you spend the time and find a better way to market it to me? And preferably to ME, not my company.

So no, I won't sign up to your free trial no matter what magical solutions you have for me. I know plenty of other envelope methods that are readily available w/out having to get spammed. I will, however, do you one better - I'll market Mvelopes for you right here on my blog! And just cuz i like you so much, I'll even do it for free (aren't i nice?). The bolded statements below are the three ways in which you state Mvelopes is proven to help with....along with some personal commentary:

1. Take complete control of your money
   Sarcastic J: You'd enjoy having your hands on that, wouldn't you?
   Non-spammy-lesson: Yes, without a doubt this is a great thing for each and every one of us to do. Whether this means tracking it all, creating a budget, limiting your spending, etc. Being in control is the best thing you can do for your financial life :) Just be careful where/who you give your personal information to.
2. Reduce Financial Stress
   Sarcastic J: Your freakin' spam email just ADDED stress to me! Arghh.....
   Non-spammy-lesson: One of the easiest ways to do this is by following the first step - taking complete control of your money. "Knowing is half the battle", and also cuts your stress in half. You won't always be happy with what you find, but at least you can now chip away at it one day at a time. You could also just delete any of your spam and not blog about it as i'm currently doing - that would also lesson your stress ;)
3. Rapidly Eliminate Debt
   Sarcastic J: ...by not signing up to Mvelopes! (that was kinda lame...sorry)
   Non-spammy-lesson: Yup, another great way to sex up your financials! The more debt you can knock off, the better place you'll be - and the more options you'll have when an opportunity arises. No one ever said it was easy, but it's def. worth the challenge.

So yes, you point out three valid reasons for people to pay attention to. But guess what? There are handfuls of other companies out there that do the same - and some even for free. That's not to say i'm opposed to paying for a worthy solution (cuz i totally would if it worked like crazy), but don't think that sneaking your way into my morning email-checking will push me in your direction.

In fact, i'm curious to know - are any of you using Mvelopes? And if so, do you remember how you came across it? Don't worry, I won't bash you or anything i promise :) I just think it would be interesting to see if their system even works. In all honesty i hope it does! I know companies don't spam for the hell of it. Okay, i'm done ranting here... gotta set side another $1.

Labels: money management, rant

Back by popular demand, here's an update on our wedding picture fiasco! I realize it's not the most positive thing to read these days, so feel free to X on out and move onto the next site you're addicted to ;)

So where did we leave off? Oh yes, we threatened our good friend d-head w/ court if he didn't send us our pics by this last Friday, November 14th. And, naturally, he didn't send them.

So we started researching court and mediation and stuff like that, but they all required an address to send the documentation to and all (which we didn't have) and stated that without it, the process could be severely delayed and hard to get started.

Now, i'm no judicial genius, but it seemed like we're pretty screwed without it. That means the little bastard has allllll the power! But before we could get down on ourselves, a very magical thing happened out of thin air!

An idea popped into my head! And this idea told me that if we could create our OWN power/leverage/bargaining chip, that we could get this resolved much quicker.

Know what came to me? The power of the internet! I mean, just blogging anonymously about it gets people riled up and passionate, but imagine stating all the names and company involved and all, right? And then plastering it all over the net, in other blogs, wedding forums, facebook, myspace, and even sending it to newspapers and tv stations! Talk about creating some mad leverage ;)

So that's exactly what i did this weekend - I spent 5 hours creating an entire blog around this issue. And let me tell you, it's not your ordinary one ;) I named names, attached emails and our contract, and linked the HELL out of the whole thing for better SEO and chances it'll rise to the top in Google and such. I even bought a domain name and everything, just to prove how serious i was!

I also talked it over w/ a lawyer friend of mine to make sure i can't get in trouble for slander or anything of that nature. I'm probably still on the border of that, but i was told that as long as i "stick to the facts" and not assume anything or lie or write anything that i can't prove and back up, that it's fair game (What do you think jessica?). I mean, if it works for Consumerist.com, maybe it'll work for me?

The point of this site is simple: We keep this horrible review online until we receive every last picture owed to us.

If we get them, we gladly close down the site. If we don't, his name and company name will be forever brandished online for all to see. (his name is in his company name, so he's pretty screwed even if he re-brands his company name).

And that's where we stand today. The website is created, and i'm about to make it public any minute! I seriously hope this does the trick, we're running out of ideas...

----
ps: I'm sooooo sorry i can't post the site here, believe me i would LOVE that more than anything, but it would totally give away my anonymity!

Labels: rant, updates, wedding

NOT. GOOD. AT ALL. Especially since i was hearing this while watching my 'Skins drop their lead and lose it against our rival Cowboys last night!

Talk about a double whammy. One being more important than the other, ofcourse, but equally upsetting ;)

I didn't know this neighbor, but she sure threw some awesome parties! It was like Cinco de Mayo there every other weekend - at least when peering through our window in jealousy. We were never invited, but now we share their pain....damn economy.

I'm not sure of her entire situation exactly, but from what our GOOD neighbors say (the ones who invited us to watch this so-called football "game" last night) it seemed as if their interest rates reset and they could no longer afford their corner-unit with a glam frontview of our LAKE!!! arghh....so they then tried to "short sell" it, only to find out their lender won't except it!!!

Short Sale: A short sale occurs when a property is sold and the lender agrees to accept a discounted payoff, meaning the lender will release the lien that is secured to the property upon receipt of less money than is actually owed.

So while this neighbor HAD an offer on the table to buy the property at a MUCH lower value (i think it was around $300k for a place that sold for $370 two years ago) she just said "F it" and it is now in foreclosure. ARghhhhhhhhhhhh.....

So now, the minute it sells for buttloads less, all of our places will drop in value!!! I don't know the logistics of it all, but basically if her stupid corner townhouse with the f'ing fantastic view sells for, let's say, $200k (God forbid), and our not-*as*-nice places used to be valued at $350k-$370k, then the next buyers coming into town could value our places around $250-$300k or something equally horrendous. I really don't know how it all works out in reality, just in theory ;) What i DO know is that it hurts us either way...and it really pisses me off.

Again, i don't know her specific situation, but it just sucks when you are a good little citizen and pay your dues on time and diligently, yet you lose thousands because of someone else's mistakes! Why again did we have to buy a house so randomly at the peak of the market? oh yeah - to follow the American dream! F to the F to the F, F, F.

Labels: crazy economy, foreclosure, home ownership, rant

I seriously just don't get how people can treat other people so horribly?!

What is wrong w/ this world? I'm sorry to say, but this is probably not gonna be the happiest of posts today - just keeping things honest up in here ;)

It's not accurate if i only post all the happy happy,joy joy stuff right? This is life, and it's crazy sometimes...i'm also selfishly hoping to feel better when i finish here.

Order #1 on the docket - That d-head of a photographer wrote back after 4 weeks with another sob story and demanding us to stop contacting him as his life sucks. He said he'll send the Proofs (no raw images, prints, nothing - just the proofs) by end of December. Are you on crack, son? I'll agree with him that he sucks @ life, but sorry buddy, i've lost all patience and respect for you. You do not have the right to ask for a thing anymore.

I left him the following note on facebook (his preferred method apparently), email, voicemail, and text:

"D-head (edited),

Our condolences for your losses. December is not going to work. We will give you until next Friday, November 14th, to simply mail us the RAW images and you will not be bothered again. If we do not receive these RAW images by Friday, November 14th, we will see you in court. Apparently filing a BBB complaint was not enough.

Mr. and Mrs. Rockstar (edited)"

Needless to say, i've basically lost my $hit now w/ this turdbucket. But fingers crossed.

****************
*UPDATE: Got the following back within 30 mins (pretty good for someone who has no access to any communication, huh? "As stated. I will not be able to make that deadline." I basically told him that if he does not meet the deadline, the court will decide further action. HAH! F'er.
****************

Order #2 on the docket: My paycheck just bounced, and i am not scared this economy has finally affected us. There's a whole back story here, but unfortunately i cannot risk saying anything more for fear of blowing my anonymous cover. That, and i actually LOVE my job despite all of this - so i'd rather not depart prematurely. Still aggravating as hell. UPDATE: Will be getting a wire transfer within 24 hours...crisis averted.

Order #3 on the docket: The Mrs. is sick :( Made 3-4 trips to dr's, hospitals, you name it. We're going on 3 days now, and no diagnosis has been found - which is both good and bad really. This has nothing to do with personal finance, unless i talk about how i saved $18 remembering to bring my insurance card this time for the drugs!, but it still upsets me :( this is a rant on life moreso than against a particular person. UPDATE: Wifey still sick, seeing doctor in one hour! UPDATE #2: Wifey went back into E.R., and is now staying over night! yikesy mama - prob. have to take her gallbladder out, but we'll know more in the mornin'. time to go join her and have a "fun" sleep!

Okay, that is all. I'm not feeling 100% better now, but it def. helped! Thanks for listening, and PLEASE please PLEASE holler back with some happy stuff if you've got anything. Some of you have to be having a blessed day, right?!

Labels: career, crazy economy, rant, wedding

That's right my friends, Mr. Nice Guy has left the building! It's been 3 weeks since F-Face (aka our wedding photographer) last contacted us, and we've decided to take action now.

For all the new folds reading, you can click here, here, here, or here for an update of your choice....although, sadly, it amounts to a pile of lies on the bridge to nowhere.

So why the sudden urge to do something about it NOW? Well i'll tell you:

1) I've completely lost my patience. We've been more than nice & understanding throughout this whole debacle, and it's obviously not getting us anywhere.
2) YOU GUYS have been telling me to do this from the start! And after trying it MY way for the past 30 days, it's about time i try out YOURS ;)
3) I just found out this D-Head did this same thing to one of his best friends!!! WTF?

Yes, it looks like this guy has been up to a mess of jerkness for the past cple years. This old best friend i speak of was found on Facebook by the Mrs. who knew she had used him for her own wedding. And it turns out, the closer you are to him, the worst he treats you. I know this because the Mrs. hit her up and asked about her situation.

The more i heard about it, the more furious i got! This poor girl got married in Sep '07, and promised the proofs and online pics by Nov. She didn't get ANYTHING until June of '08!!! 9 F'ing months??? They used to talk a few times every single day, so not only did she get f'd over w/ the pics (she never got the actual photos, ONLY the proofs) but she lost one of her best friends :(

Lastly, before i tell you what we're doing now, here are a few of the excuses he threw out to her:

• His mom accidently spilled paint all over her proofs the day he was to deliver them!
• Then there was a "billing issue" w/ the company re-printing them.
• And then there were problems with his cell phone not receiving texts/calls. (sound familiar?)

Pulling the same $hit all over town? What a D-head! There's no way in hell i'm letting this drag on any longer. It's time to take action as many of you have mentioned in the past - no more games.

You'll be happy to know that 2 Fridays ago we filed a BBB complaint! That's right, we gathered all of our notes and dates, and put it all together into a perfect little case. And i gotta tell you, it was damn easy to file! I highly suggest it if you ever go through a mess w/ any company .

The BBB says they'll have an update within 30 days, good or bad, at which point we'll take the appropiate action (aka Court). In the meantime we'll be researching the best & quickest way to file this in small claims. It'll suck, but it's all about the principal now. As soon as i have those bad boys in hand - originals and all - i'll be smearing his company's name all over the net...i've had it.

Labels: cockamamy indeed, rant, wedding

Yes the forms make you wanna vomit, but the money is YOURS - don't be tricked out of it!

If you've purchased a product which guarantees you money back, fill those suckers out and stay on top of it. Those little bastards are meant to look confusing and annoy the piss outta you. But you know what? You're not gonna fall for it!

And i gotta tell you, "they" - as in the people behind these little forms - aren't gonna do it for you. In fact, i seriously think they're making it tougher and crazier as the years go by. I mean, look at that picture i added here - are they insane?!!! They want me to get a salesperson's signature in order to get my rebate?! If that's not meant to throw me, i don't know what is.

The reason i got this rebate was because i bought a set of 4 tires for the Mrs' car. And do you know WHERE i bought these bad boys? ONLINE! So, tell me, how on earth am i supposed to get a salesperson's name, signature, AND employee # (as stipulated elsewhere on the form) from a person halfway across the country? Ridiculous.

But of course, that's not the whole story. You see, that's all that it says in the "3 main steps" in order to process my rebate. 1st - buy the tires, 2nd - enter my zip code, and 3rd - mail a copy of my invoice and this rebate form signed by a salesperson (as shown above). Now, if you had only read that part and then stopped as i initially did, the odds of continuing are now slim to none.

And that's a shame. A shame because had you continued reading on the other side of the page, you would have noticed two stars (**) next to the place where this salesperson is supposed to fill out his credentials. And would you like to know what these stars mean? Well, they mean that this is only necessary IF you bought them in a store aka "in person". That's F'd up man, those stars should have been right next to those words i underlined - not across town on the lines people rarely read.

So while i was relieved i didn't have to finagle a signature out of someone i've never seen, i spent a good 2 hours this morning p-i-s-s-e-d. And that's just not right...piss-poor customer service.

But you know what? I learned something this morning - you REALLY have to read all that fine print, especially when you are asking someone to hand over money. In fact, there are a few things i'd like to share for the next time you go through this process:

1. Fill out the form ASAP - Important for a number of reasons, but mainly so you don't forget and/or lose anything! All of these rebates are time sensitive, so it's good to mail 'em before it's too late. Plus, doing it sooner than later keeps all the info fresh in your head.
2. READ EVERY LINE CAREFULLY - So you don't have to waste any time being frustrated - either before filling it out (like me), or after when you get a note saying it can't be processed for some retarded reason.
3. Listen & fill everything out - Don't be one of those people who just fill out the parts you want to fill out. This allows the rebate folks to happily stamp a "rejected" or "pending more info" notice on it....delaying, if not terminating, your right to the money.
4. Include your email - Not so you can get spammed (don't check that box), but so you can get updates as to when your form is being processed and when it's on it's way!
5. Make copies and date everything - All invoices, rebate forms, UPC's, everything. Be sure to date your copies too, and scribble the date you shoud receive it by too. And if there's a 1-800 # on it, which there usually is, circle it so you know exactly who to call if it never shows up.

That may sound like a lot, but it's not :) Basically, just pay attention and don't forget to grab your money!!! I just dropped mine in the mail, so fingers crossed I did it all right....and that they don't bitch about a freakin' signature! Morons.

Labels: advice, customer service, rant

Every week there's some other lame a$$ excuse holding up our pics. First it was having to sue someone and then moving out of state, then it was losing the proofs when his mother's car got repo'd, then came the apology and promise to make right, and now it's back to the lies and piss poor communication again.

It's been 9 days since my last post on this, and what i SHOULD be writing about right now is how happy we are viewing all of our pictures on collages.net, and even how sexier they are printed out in our proof album! but noooooooooo...instead, i have to (yet again) bitch about how this whole thing is a colossal regret, and how i'm about to turn into an extremely annoying client (think calling every single hour, on the hour, until we get a response).

Is it time to take "other actions" now? I don't know. He really does have all the power here considering he holds our once-in-a-lifetime pictures. One bad move on our end can send them right down the toilet...if they haven't been trashed already.

The sad part is that a couple we know who JUST had their wedding 3 weeks ago, has already gotten their pictures back!!! I'll leave you with our latest correspondence for now, and then pray the next post about this will be something POSITIVE for once. All this negativity just blows :(

• October 2nd: Part of his email to us:

  "Didn't get all the photos uploaded yesterday because I kept losing my internet connection. Working on that more today."

• October 6th: Mrs. Budgetsaresexy's email:

  "D-head (edited),
  
  Will the online pictures be available soon?
  
  Thanks."

• October 8th: Mrs. Budgetsaresexy's email:

  "?? Any response is helpful."

• October 9th: He emails back:

  "Sorry for the delayed response. I'm in la-la land (edited) helping my mom so no phone reception. I'm still organizing the images online. It didn't take the categories I sent it in. Which I know means nothing to you, it's just I have to re-do everything in terms of organizing the images. I should hopefully have all that up and organized by tomorrow at the latest.
  
  Thanks.
  (edited)"

• October 10th (in the pm): Mrs Budgetsaresexy's email:

  "How are we looking on this front?"

• October 11th: The Mrs. send over a pretty detailed and punishing email...if it weren't so long, i'd post it, but it's pretty long :) You can imagine what was inside of it though.
• October 12th: I call a few times, no answer. I call from a different phone #, no answer. i leave a message stating simply, "What the hell is going on dude?". No answer, yet.
• UPDATE: October 13th: left another voicemail, email, text message, facebook msg (which got deleted asap - shocker!) and 2 blog "comments"...i know those will get deleted too, but at least he knows we're not f'ing around anymore.
• UPDATE: October 14th: Starting to file a BBB report now, and then it's on to warn him one last time before we file for small claims court. (THANKS everyone for your encouragement!!!) Will keep you updated...

So another week, another bunch of nothing. But thanks for letting me vent! I promise to hold it all in until the next week or so when we have more solid news :) HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY everyone!

Labels: cockamamy indeed, rant, wedding

Man, this thing just keeps on going! If this is your first time reading about it, here's the part when our photographer started dissing us, and then here's the part when he said the pics were "stolen". Now onto part 3...

He responded within 24 hours of his last email! This is great on two accounts: The first being that he now knows just how pissed off we are, and the second being that he's starting to understand how important communication is with us.

I'm not sure if it was my first email to him (the one where i *sorta* threatened further action), or the second one (where i kinda apologized for being harsh, and asked if the pics were okay), but in any case things are looking up!

Here's the last response we got:

"Most awesome blogger ever (edited),

No worries. You have more than every right to be upset and I'm embarrassed. I went ahead and ordered another set of proofs. Should be about a week. I put a rush on it so you can get your proofs ASAP. All of my original images are backed-up in 3 places. My external hard drive that stays with me, my server farm out in la-la land (edited) and on disc in my storage unit. It's been my backup policy to have everything backed up in triplicate ever since I went digital.

Didn't get all the photos uploaded yesterday because I kept losing my internet connection. Working on that more today.

If you're looking for a refund, and I would understand, let me know and we'll see what can be worked out. Getting a refurbished phone today so I should be able to call you soon.

That's my update as of right now.

Better Communicator (edited)"

Not bad, right?! I don't believe his story 100%, but i AM keeping an open mind and hoping for the best. I just want him to get through whatever's messing up his life so he can get back to taking freakin' awesome pics! That, and so others don't have to put up with this ish...

And we're not gonna accept any sort of refund at this point. We're just gonna keep pushing until we have the physical pics in our hands, and go from there. Maybe we'll get some courtesy pics or something, but i'm not too worried about. Just gimme those pictures!

-------
*Will update in a week or two once the proofs are supposedly due to come in. (or if anything else f'd up hops on the plate - which would really push me over!)

Labels: cockamamy indeed, rant, wedding

The wedding pics debacle continues....

"The last 3 days have been a nightmare-and-a-half. My car was stolen while I was in my photo shoot on Sunday in downtown (edited) -- or at least I thought it was stolen; thankfully I had my equipment with me. My cell phone is in the car too since I didn't want it ringing during my job."

The email gets a little crazier after that, and goes onto say that it was actually repossessed (not stolen) because of bad paperwork, and that he's working on reproducing the prints now, as well as uploading them online so we can at least SEE them.

But it really didn't matter what the next 4 paragraphs actually said, because all i could think at that point was, "$hit, our pictures are lost".

I feel for the guy, i really do, but it's starting to get out of hand regardless if he's telling us the truth or not. Because if he is, his life sucks (his previous email mentioned being out of thousands and thousands of dollars because a client renigged, and thus having to move across country to "live".). And if he isn't, then something's mentally wrong with that kid....which would be a complete 180 as the guy is pretty freakin' smart, not to mention GREAT at what he does - taking pictures.

Either way, i followed up with the following,

"first off, thank you for responding. if you could please do so every day, even if it's a "nothing is new" that will help as we're both extremely close to losing it. in fact, we're even considering other options should this not be resolved in the very near future, which we'd really hate to do.

we have been very happy with your services the entire point up until now, and of course we wish the best for you no matter what is happening. that being said, however, i can't say that i really care anymore what the reasons are, or if i believe them for that matter.

all i know is that our pictures have been due for months now, per the contract, and our patience is dwindling. if there if there is even the slightest possibility that our proofs/raw images do not exist anymore, please give it to us straight so that we can go from there.

again, we sincerely hope things do get better for you, but please keep us updated no matter what.
-(edited)

ps: and just so i understand correctly, are you saying that our proof album is in the car that you cannot get back? because i have to tell you, it seems odd being that your cell phone that was left in there is seemingly turning on and off while it is "lost". And as you know, you certainly have the ability to check your voicemails from anywhere in the world."

And that's where we're at kiddies. The whole thing just blows, and now we are at the mercy of his future responses until we see, or don't see, the pictures online. Once that happens, we'll know what we're dealing with. Happy Wednesday?

--------------------
UPDATE: Oct 1st, evening: The Mrs. and i couldn't sleep, and felt that i may have been a little harsh on him because it's very possible he's not doing so good in life right now. If these pics are low on his priority list, then i'm afraid to ask what's high on it. Anyways, we felt bad and sent him this email before going to bed. At the very least we feel better about it, even if we are being "too nice".

"Hey (edited),

I just wanted to say i'm sorry if i came across a bit harsh on that last email. I hope you could understand where our frustration is coming from. If you could please just confirm that the originals are okay, and that we will definitely get them, it would be really helpful for us in remaining patient.

We have you in our thoughts, and sincerely hope your situation gets worked out.
-(edited)-"

I'll keep ya posted...
--------------------
UPDATE: Oct 2nd, morning: He emails back saying they aren't lost! In fact, he backs them up in 3 different places :)

Labels: cockamamy indeed, rant, wedding

Can you believe that? FOUR months and nothing, not even our proofs. I've been hoping to resolve this for a few weeks now, but sadly it looks like it's finally gotten to me. What makes it worse is that we had finally gotten a hopeful response last week, but then THAT failed as well.

Is it that hard to ask for something you've paid for a YEAR in advance?

Seriously, we're not talking about anything genius here. They're pictures. You take them, develop them, and then give them to the exuberant bride or groom. Here's the dilly so far:

• Mid-June: Back from our honeymoon, we ask how long it may take. His response? 6-8 weeks.
• Mid-August: "It's taken a bit longer to develop the black & white images. A cple more weeks go go" First off, i'm fairly certain it doesn't take that much longer (if at all) to develop B&W over color, and ESPECIALLY not for the 4x5 proofs! I asked my sister who works for a photographer doing weddings herself, and they didn't buy it.
• Early Sep: "I'll call you this week so we can meet up and go over it all". Nothing that week. nor the next. nor the next.

*This is the point at which i jump in and start getting irrated. The guy is an old high school friend of the Mrs., so we cut him some slack thinking all would be dandy. A couple of weeks ago she was done with him, so i got to play bad cop ;) which is perfectly fine as i get it all day long @ work anyways being a customer service manager.

• Sep 11th - I call and leave a calm but important message on his cell phone. no response.
• Sep 13th - Text him "What's the deal, bro?" hoping to get anything at all back. nothing.
• Sep 16th - The Mrs. calls him and leaves a message. nothing again.
• Sep 18th - The Mrs. emails him:

  "D-head (edited),
  
  What's going on? You haven't returned our phone calls/voicemails to you and I haven't heard from you since Sept.1 when you indicated you'd be calling me that week.
  
  We'd really just like to see our proofs. I've been asking for them for months now and have received numerous indications from you that they would be forthcoming, but we have still not received them.
  
  The only thing we've seen at all so far has been a few pictures on Facebook. Though we enjoyed seeing those, we waited until 3 months after our wedding to catch a glimpse of 13 pictures, whereas the other wedding you posted had taken place one day prior and they had 3 times as many pictures up. Clearly, we are not a priority for you right now but this is becoming increasingly frustrating--and disappointing. Our wedding pictures are important to us and we'd really like to see how they turned out.
  
  I would really appreciate the courtesy of receiving some communication from you as to what's going on regarding our proofs, and when we can expect to receive them. We're approaching 4 months from our wedding date at this point.
  
  Mrs. Budgetsaresexy (edited)"

• Sep 25th - Success! An email into Facebook AND gmail. AWESOME! And as much as i'd LOVE to post his sad story of a response, there's too many details that would give up who it is :( I did think about it though ;) He did, however, say he'll be in town for a few days (he said he moved), and will stop by early Sunday morning to review it together.
• Sep 28th, Sunday - No show. We call him at 1pm and he calls back, clearly aggitated, stating he'll drop it off during the day, even if we're not at home. And surprise, surprise, he didn't.
• Sep 28th, evening - The mrs. leaves a voicemail asking for an update. nothing. i text him a "still stopping by?" text as well, but nothing again.
• Sep 29th, evening - I repeatedly try calling him from 7pm-10pm but phone appears turned off - i didn't leave a message...and that's where we are today.
• UPDATE: Sep 30th, morning - The Mrs. emails him again,

  "D-head (edited),
  
  Your phone has either been not working or turned off for the last 2 days, and again, we've left a number a messages. You never showed up on Sunday. Can we please get a status update on the proofs???"

• UPDATE: Sep 30th, evening - I call him every hour, on the hour, for 4 hours straight. just rings and rings and then hits vmail (better than just going straigth there i suppose). I leave one message stating that i basically just want him to drop them off before leaving town, and that i can care less about the reasoning behind it. I also say a call/email/text/facebook/myspace message or whatever is fine. Just make contact.
• UPDATE: Oct 1st, morning - Nothing yet...will wait until tomorrow, and then it's on.
• UPDATE: Oct 1st, afternoon - He emailed us back! but it's not good...

So, now not only has he pissed us off for months on end, but he has crushed our remaining hope of getting this resolved asap. And keep in mind, after getting these proofs, we STILL have to order the freakin' pictures from him!! arghhhhhhhh...what a dick. (sorry, but it's called for here.)

I think the worst of it all, though, is that i'm starting to wonder if something's just wrong with the pics? Like, perhaps they came out horribly? Or maybe his team accidently erased them or something? I'm sure they were all digital, so who knows what's possible.

Whew, that felt good! Thanks for listening, and/or skimming ;) All in all it's not the worst thing going on these days (bailout anyone?), but it certainly is at the top of my $hit list. And if we never get them? Well, at least we've got plenty of other pics from our friends and family that portray the beautiful day! We're certainly not going to let it "ruin" the wedding.

I'll keep ya posted...

Labels: cockamamy indeed, rant, wedding

If you're a check writer, you may not want to read further ;) I'm sooooooooo tired of them holding up the lines at the registers! Why does it seem to take hours to write a simple check?

And even more importantly, don't they know checks are obsolete? haha...okay, so maybe i'm a little biased since being a hardcore credit card fan and all, but i just don't get why people still use them at stores.

Yes, using them to pay your mortgage and such makes sense - i have no beef with that - (i used to do this until mastering the art of online checks through the bank) BUT at the dollar store? or the grocery store?? Arghhhhhhhh...

If i have to wait another 5 whole minutes for someone to whip it out, ask whom to make it out too, and then fill out the register part ONE MORE TIME, i swear i might loose it....or worse, accidently walk out of the store w/out having paid for my items! I almost did that once, until the beeper thing went off and i realized i was still holding the things i meant to buy. i almost got in a lot of trouble, as i look pretty "punky" anyways. yikes.

Everyone has their own method of payment, and if it works for you that's awesome. But please, for the love of money, at least learn how to cut a check faster and be cognizant that you're in the 10 items or less lane and that the point is to get through it quickly. Maybe go early in the morning or late at night? haha.... or learn what a debit card is!

I feel a little bad saying all of this, especially cuz i know most of these people are grandmas and/or busy mothers, but i must admit if feels good getting it out of my system. And to be honest, i'll even take part of the blame since i only add to the impatience with society these days.

But perhaps we could strike a deal? If you, the check writer, can speed up the process a bit on your end, I will promise to be more understanding and nicer about it. Maybe you could even throw in a "sorry to hold up the line" every now and then? hehe...either way, i think checks are the devil. I'll leave it at that ;)

Labels: checks, randomness 3000, rant

Man, this time last year it would have been sold instantly! Leather, heated seats, 3rd row, 6-cd changer, all luxury man - it's a great buy.

But here we are, one year later and it's already got a bad rap. The second you call it an SUV (*ghasp!) it gets discriminated against :( Sure it sucks down more gas than the pretty boy Prius, but it doesn't mean you should hate on it - it's just looking for a new home.

I've been doing alot to get it marketed, as well as cleaned up. I bought a good $25 worth of sponges, towels, leather cleaner, chrome cleaner, brushes, wax, you name it! Then I spent 4 hours cleaning out the whooooooooooole thing, vacuuming and all. It may not sell anytime soon, but I'll tell you one thing, that bad boy is blingin' ;)

I've also listed it online going on 2 weeks now, but not even a nibble. Can you believe that? Not ONE email, call, question, nada. This is very strange for me as i usually have no problems at all selling things online. I never sold an entire, working, nice car on it before, but I know the concept's the same.

The problem i'm having, besides the obvious Gas Dilemna, is that there's just a freakin' ton of cars out there on the market. It's like the housing crisis, especially since I'm stuck on my asking price too. I can try lowering it until it's sold, but then I risk being upside down (even more) on the car....and that just plain sucks.

I'm still happy w/ the Caddy I just picked up, but as it stands I technically just put myself in even more debt - something that's probably not the best idea w/ the Mrs. going into Grad School next month. I just figured I would get at least a COUPLE inquiries, ya know? I gotta keep hanging tight though, and hope that the $100 I shelled out for marketing and cleaning it up pays off soon. If i'm really serious about letting it go, I need to keep giving it my all ...and believe me, the idea of keeping all 3 cars is DEF. sexciting to think about!

1 gas-happy car, 1 SUV for hauling stuff & winter, and 1 bad boy classic to roam the streets on the weekends! MM mmmmmm that's tasty. But, I can't think like that - The Mrs. needs the money for higher education. Just gotta keep telling myself that :)

Labels: car stuff, rant

One hundred and twenty - three dollars, can you believe that?!

And the sad part is, we could have EASILY avoided it altogether! arghh....just thinking of it gives me the heebie jeebies.

Oh well, as soon as I get it out of my system here I'll lock it up in the old "stop thinking about me" department ;)


The whole thing started when we were invited to a combined bachelor/bachelorette party up in Philly at a Dave and Busters bowling alley. It seemed pretty fun all in all, but it also came with a hefty $50/person price tag. While we could have easily, and politely, declined, we were the ONLY friends from the DC area that were left on the list who hadn't bailed. So we RSVP'd w/ a yes, and we started working our frugal magic!

We convinced a friend who lived in the city to let us crash there, even though he would be out of town that night. So that saved us a good $100-$150 from the start! We then decided to just drive the 3 hours up there that night, crash, and then scurry outta there the next morning before any temptation to stay and play came about. Not bad, right?

Had all gone as planned, the whole night woulda cost us $172. That consisted of the two $50 tickets, $40 for gas, $22 for parking, $10 for some pre-party beverages, and zero for the "hotel". Annoying, but do-able. Well, as you have already gathered from my bitterness, it didn't go as plan and we ended up with a $295 bill instead. BOOOOOOO.

Once we got there, here's how the night played out:

• We down our pre-party beverages to get a head start on the night (it's the cheapest way to go!), and walk out into a sea of cabs - Awesome!
• We cab it 3 miles to the downtown D&B, tip the cabby $4 bucks on a $6 ride (I was in a good mood..probably from the drinks!), and got out.
• We walk in and there's a $5 cover JUST TO GET IN! No way jose, we explained we were w/ a party here, and they said we could just go ahead w/ out paying. nice.
• We walk in, can't find the bowling alley, and ask someone to direct us. this is where it gets bad...
• She states, "Oh, there's no bowling alley here. You must be thinking of the D&B outside of town". Come again? there's more than 1 D&B around here? Uh-oh, the fear sinks in, especially considering we're already 20 mins late...
• Turns out the D&B we needed was a good 15 miles away!!! So after blowing $10 on the original cab ride, we now have to grab another and go even further out!
• We flag down another, jump in, and the cabbie explains it'll be around $45 EACH WAY. Now, we had two options here: Continue on our un-merry way, or go back to our friend's place, pick up the car, and drive there our selves. Logic told us to go the latter route, but momentum was telling us to keep going. so we did :( it was a quick decision to make, and since we already had 2 drinks a piece inside us, was it really worth the risk of driving?
• It cost us $48, including tip, to get there.
• Then, because we were pretty pissed, we spent another $15 on drinks while there to help get us in the spirit of things. Luckily, we're both pretty good at keeping it inside ;)
• We bowl a bit, eat some food, talk some talk, and 2 hours later leave.
• It cost us $50, including tip, on the way back.

When it comes down to it all, we just didn't do our homework. We were so focused on cutting costs the whole time, that we didn't even think to google map the address! One simple mistake that cost us $113 dollars. On the plus side, at least we were able to celebrate with the happy couple. Let's just hope they *remember* us being there! haha...

PS: And that's an actual picture from the night too. At least we have that!

Labels: blown money, cockamamy indeed, rant

This whole splitting the bill business is really starting to get to me. It seems to be happening all the freakin' time!

I know it's easier and quicker to pay this way, but in most cases it's never fair for all parties involved. And do you ever notice that the person who brings it up, is usually the one who ordered more than everyon else?! HAH. In case you aren't in the mood to read about last night's adventure, and i wouldn't blame you, I'll start by blabbing the moral of the story:

Always ask for separate checks. That's it.

Many of the frugal-minded may already know this, and i *thought* i did too, but it turns out my actions don't always correlate w/ my brain. Here's a breakdown of how the events played out last night:

Pre-Dinner Planning
Mrs Budgetsaresexy gets an email from Doris (made-up name) asking us to meet up for dinner w/ her husband (Bob) and another couple. We say it sounds fun, and will stop by for drinks only, as we're trying to save money w/ Grad school coming up. According to Doris, though, this is "silly" and we shoud "just eat w/ everyone" as it's not that expensive.

Well true, but only depending on your definition of expensive. If you're comparing a home-made meal at $7 total vs. $15 plates, without drinks, tips, and taxes - it's expensive. To avoid the argument though, we brush it off and say we'll play it by ear.

On the Way to Dinner
Turns out we were STARVING by the time we left work, and we realized that even if we DID hold in our hunger and go for the 2-drink idea, we'd still blow through $20 between the two of us ($5/drink x 4). So we agreed to find the cheapest, but still enjoyable, meals as well as a side of free water ;)

The Dinner
The meals were lovely, the water quenching, and we had a nice evening out for what we thought was $21 plus a little tax and tip. We were wrong.

The Check
The check comes and Bob (Doris' spouse), who had a beer AND a $15 plate brings up the famous "let's split it evenly" deal. All i could think was "$hit! We forgot to get the separate check". I know he didn't any harm by it, the guy's pretty cool, but it's like COME ON!

1. We consumed 2 meals for the price of yours alone.
2. We told you we were trying to save money!
3. And....I dunno... but it's really not nice.

I stood my ground, at first, and said nah I think we'll just pay for our portion. Only problem was i had two $20, and wanted to only lay down $27 thinking i could just get change or something. Again, that didn't fly - at least from the look on Bob's face. The other couple didn't seem to care one way or the other, so it was 4 faces towards me waiting for an answer.

I lost the battle.
F it. I'm not gonna cause a scene over a few bucks, ya know? I wasn't in the mood for any more awkward moments, and i certainly didn't want to explain WHY exactly i didn't think it was fair to split it "evenly". So we paid our $31.00, which was $4 more than we had signed up for, and said our goodbyes. Then, once in the car and far away from anyone, we relieved ourselves of our bitter thoughts and got it out in the air to each other ;) You gotta cope somehow!

The moral here? Again, ask for separate checks when you first arrive. It might be hard to remember at first, but I think if we can start getting used to it we'll be happy in the long run. I'm tired of letting these lazy, not-frugal, people get away with my George Washingtons. Those guys belong in one spot, and one spot only - My pockets ;)

Labels: advice, cockamamy indeed, rant

Please refrain from selling off your investments every time a dirty piece of bad news hits the stands. You are causing a lot of pain and torture to us patient ones. Unless you are elderly and/or about to retire, i do not like you.

Thank you kindly,
J. "My 401K keeps going down the tubes" Savings.

ps: i'm not bitter ;)

Labels: cockamamy indeed, rant, stock market

It's just SOOOO boring at times, ya know?! Every day i hear stories of what a co-worker bought, or where there going to spend even more buckets of money, and it reminds me of being 10 all over again. Man, that was the life! haha.... so carefree, so relaxing.

I definitely don't wanna be one of those people, but the idea of "not thinking" about money sure sounds like a beautiful thing right now...

Labels: randomness 3000, rant

I have two gems to share with you this morning. I will bitch about both, but will then give some handy pointers after as a reward for listening :) Please to enjoy:

Rant #1: Starbucks is gonna get it! Remember all those sexy rewards they started marketing last week??? Well, apparently they forgot about the training of their staff, including the managers. Today marks the 3rd day IN A ROW that they have not credited off our syrups! Not a huge deal, but since we make a run for our co-workers, it's a good $2 each trip.

The best, though, are the looks on their faces when we ask for the credits. It's like fear strikes them and their eyes slowly glaze over in confusion. haha....so, for the 3rd time now, we had to get a manager or senior-level person to credit back the amounts - this, after explaining to them why we deserve the discounts.

Helpful hint: If you want the syrups, soy milks, and other benefits of the new Starbucks plan, make sure to tell the cashier BEFORE paying so they can adjust it for you. Unfortunately (and prob. well thought out by Starbucks) it's not automatic.

----------------------------------

Rant #2: Remember how our flowers budget for the wedding was around $600? Wellll, not anymore! Our flowers person dropped out at the last minute, forcing us to do some spectacularly fast research. I could probably go on and on about how sucky this was, but the circumstances are fair and our new results are even better. Our new price tag is set higher at $950, BUT we found a much better rose package and all is now good in the world! And thank goodness for Mrs. Budgetsaresexy or else we'd have hand picked daisies everywhere :)

Helpful hint: If you ever find yourself needing flower arrangements, be sure to check out proflowersweddings.com. They have some pretty killer packages lined up, and cater to both smaller and larger events.

That is all. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Labels: rant, starbucks, wedding

The IRS is spending $42 MILLION to inform us that the rebate checks will soon arrive!

Direct quote from MSNBC.com:

"The notices are going out this month to an estimated 130 million households who filed returns for the 2006 tax year, at a cost $41.8 million..."

I'm not the smartest man around, but there has gotta be a cheaper way to alert everyone right? I'm racking my brain to come up w/ an idea myself, but crazily enough i can't! haha..... i know posting it online, such as the MSNBC site, as well as in newspapers is a start, but not everyone reads the news. Next i thought about emails, but how would they have ours? They COULD get it off of our tax returns, but not everyone posts it. Plus, not everyone uses email, particularly the elderly. What about calling around using one of those automated messages like those annoying car warranty people? Nevermind, that's stupid cuz we'd hang up anyways even if they DID have our #.

So perhaps sending out a letter IS the most effective way, and i'm just a sucker for statistical headlines? All i know is that it just sounds really freakin' C-R-A-Z-Y!

*more info the the rebates here.

Labels: cockamamy indeed, rant, safeway, stimulus check, tax rebates, taxes