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How Your $19.95 U-Haul Rental Could End Up Costing You $1200
I've rented from uhaul a bunch in he last 1.5 years (17' truck & car dolly from Hartford CT to Pawtucket RI, 14' truck from Springfield MA to Pawtucket RI &14' in-town move). Every transaction was simple and painless, even the last 14' truck which was a last-minute emergency where I reserved the truck over the phone while driving to the U-haul store. From the other comments it sounds like I was pretty lucky.
On the flipside we used the uhaul site to find an affiliate storage place for my g/f extra furniture(family heirloom stuff that doesn't fit in our current apartment). I just want to say that BEST STORAGE in CENTRAL FALLS RI is the worst storage location ever. One employee who often disappears during work hours so you can't get in, no maintenance, ice covered driveway & snow blocked access door, dead mice, etc.. etc...
To be fair, they are not an affiliate anymore, but I still hold a grudge against uhaul for steering us there.
The Benefits Of Hanging On To An Older Car
I've always bought used and kept my cars for as long as possible. I bought my '04 Scion xB used in 2007 with 92K miles. It now has 184K and aside from an exhaust gasket has only needed regular maintenance items. I'm planning on making this one last as long as possible so being even more obsessive about maintaining it.
My personal best was keeping a '91 Taurus going from 101K(when I bought it) to 288K(when the engine threw a rod) over 7 years despite having. the worst combination of engine & transmission ever fitted to that car.
Readers Find Lost Money Using Unclaimed.org
An uncle of mine has at least a dozen listings of unclaimed items. My cousin showed him and he refuses to get them. He seems to either think it is a scam or that he'll end up owing the government all kinds of fees/fines/taxes.
This is the same uncle who bitches about not being able to afford stuff, etc. I guess I now understand better why.
TD Bank Charging Customers $2 To Get Cash From A Non-TD ATM
I have an old "free-for-life" TD Account from back when they where American Savings Bank. I just called about this fee and was told it will be assessed against my account. So much for both the "free" and the "for life" parts of that account.
I'm going to discuss it with the local branch manager, but I have a suspicion they are about to lose two more customers (me & my SO) over this. Shame, been with them 13 years and was happy they'd just opened a branch near where I moved to in RI.
Get The Stuff On This Checklist Before The Winter Storm Slams Your House
> Fuel for stoves
Seeing as how "portable stove" isn't on the list, this seems a bit odd.
> Extension cords
Because I might suddenly want to watch TV in another room and not be able to find a plug?
> Rock salt, calcium chloride, snow
The first two make sense, but I don't think you'll need to stock up on snow. I'm thinking there will be plenty around...
> Flares
For signaling for help? This is getting odd...
> Car jack
> Lug wrench
What for? In case your house gets a flat? If you're not the sort who normally changes their own tires(and therefore have this at hand already), why would you suddenly be changing a tire while you are snowed in and can't leave the house?
What's Your Debt Free Date?
Been debt free since I paid off my student loans in 2002. However living without credit cards, car payments, etc. is now screwing my over because I have a completely blank credit report. No one is even interested in talking with me about a home loan. Apparently living within my means and not having had to borrow money for anything since college makes me a bad risk.
Save $2 Per Pizza Hut Pizza By Avoiding Lingo
I did this all the time with a local pizza joint in Hartford.
I'd order a large pIzza with Ham, pineapple & extra cheese(the toppings on their hawaiian pizza), they'd immediately say "Oh, a Hawaiian." To which I'd reply "No, a Hawaiian is $16.99, but a large pizza w/ ham pineapple & extra cheese is $12.99."
Sometimes took a few go-rounds to get it into their head, but I always ended up saving the $4.
Firestone Complete Auto Care Hopes You Don't Notice Your Car's Broken Front Axle
I had my first (and now last) experience with Firestone last week.
I've just moved to Rhode Island, and as part of getting my car(2004 Scion xB in good shape) registered there I had a five day window to get it inspected. Not knowing any shops in the area I simply drove down "repair row" stopping in at every inspection-certified place until I found one with an opening. Firestone said to bring it in at noon the next day and they could inspect it.
Next day I dropped it off at noon and was told the inspection would take "2-3 hours" and since they were busy they wouldn't be able to start on it for several hours(despite my having made an appointment). Left the car anyway and went home.
Five hours later I called and asked about the state of my car and was told their inspection machine was broken and they couldn't complete the inspection. So five hours wasted and no inspection. The shop was both apathetic and unapologetic when I came to pick the car up.
Next day I found another shop and brought it there only to discover that in addition to wasting my time, Firestone had reset the cars computer. This meant the new shop couldn't complete my inspection either until I'd put 200 miles on the car and brought it back again.
I understand that equipment breaks, but thanks to Firestone I had to make three trips to shops to complete my car inspection, despite their being nothing wrong with the car.
How Would You Get Around iPhone 4's Death Grip Problem?
Not be an early-adopter and wait for a better design before buying in.
Comments from Pixel
Thieves Stealing Pickup Truck Tailgates
I don't know if it works on newer trucks, but the old(90's) era trick was to put a simple hose clamp around the pivot of the tailgate so it couldn't be lifted off without unscrewing the thing first. Doesn't stop a thief, but would likely make him just move on to the next truck.