Free tacos anyone?

Mmm, I like freebies. And I like tacos. So that means I am really stoked about the free taco at Taco Bell today. It is currently going on. The details are that you can get a free taco from 2pm until 6pm today only. And this is at any Taco Bell. So if you pass 3 of them on your way home I guess you could get 3 tacos for free! Awesome! Here's hoping someone else steals a base in the World Series! (Is it still going on? I don't watch sports!)

Jumped into the stock market

Well, I did it. I jumped into the stock market on Friday. It was a small jump though. I mean, I do not have a lot to invest. But they say it is a buyer's market. The best case is that I make some money. The worst is that I lose a little. Anyone else jumping in? I think I will also add more to my IRA :)

Free money - use it or let it expire?

I have a $25 voucher for JetBlue. It expires today. In fact, it might expire in 22 minutes. I am on the West Coast so I am just not sure. I also have around $250 in an unused credit that is good till the middle of next month. 

I wanted to use the voucher and the credit to book a flight. But here is the problem - I don't know where exactly yet. So, do I make a rushed decision just to not lose the $25 today? Or wait to make the decision and miss out on the $25 voucher?

I think I am going to let the voucher expire. I just am not ready to make the decision now and if I have to change the flight it will cost $25! Sucks to lose free money though.

JCPenney Card - 21% is no longer enough

I have a JCPenney credit card. It gets used about twice a year. I originally got it a few years back to take advantage of the 10% opening savings. The APR has always been an atrocious 21% since I have had it. Well, apparently that is no longer enough for the people at the JCPenney Credit Card center. Actually, it looks like those people are GE Money Bank. 

Anyways, today I got a little envelope in the mail from them. I was confused when I saw as I know I haven't used the card. Inside was a nice little note and brochure informing me that a change in terms is enclosed in the envelope. Hence the little brochure.

I love how credit card companies send out those 'terms' and they are brochures in super small font that no one in their right mind wants to sit down and read. Plus most of it is written in legal speak so even if you do read it chances are slim that you will leave it with any new knowledge. 

This little brochure actually has a 'summary of changes' though, which I checked out. Change number one is that the rate is going up to 22.85%! Oh, and the late fee is going up. And, by the way, we are changing your month to be only 23 days instead of 30 so your payment will be due sooner. And if all of that is not insulting enough, they are changing from interest being compounded on a monthly basis to compounding on a daily basis. 

And the changes go into effect 28 days after the date of this notice, which suspiciously is October 9th - it just arrived in the mail today. Hrm. 

So, if you have a JCPenney card you might wanna check on this to see if it applies to you too!

Govt to buy stocks in American banks?!

I saw an interesting headline on Fox News. I had the tv on mute so I did not get to hear the news story. But is said that the government is going to buy stocks in American banks.

Yikes.

Is that really necessary? I mean, I do not think I like the idea of the government being that involved with banks. It seems kind of like it could get very 'big brother' if you know what I mean. 

Joffrey's Coffee - super awesome customer service!

While experiencing craptastic Bertolli olive oil last week, I also experienced some disappointment with my current order of Joffrey's Coffee. 

In March I signed up to "beta test" some Jamaican Me Crazy coffee from Joffrey's. In April, I got my sample coffee in the mail. Until Joffrey's, I had been strictly a Millstone coffee drinker (Caramel Truffle and Swiss Chocolate Almond - I hate plain coffee!) By the end of April, I was totally hooked to Joffrey's coffee. It beat Millstone and it beat my fave Tim Horton's butter caramel coffee. And Tim Horton's just hasn't tasted the same after Joffrey's. Since May, my household has been regularly buying Joffrey's coffee. We have also been gifting it - everyone we know that loves coffee gets a bag of Jamaican Me Crazy coffee from Joffrey's.

And last month, I took advantage of a discount Joffrey's was offering and stocked up on three bags of Jamaican Me Crazy coffee. After it arrived though I was super disappointed cause it didn't taste right. It tasted like plain coffee. Two bags were not drinkable at all and the third was drinkable but not of the same quality as the previous shipments. My dad had also just re-ordered (yup, I got him hooked too!) so I called and asked how his coffee was and he said it was the same as usual. See, I thought maybe they had changed something up. 

Since the coffee is $12 a bag, I called up Joffrey's to ask if they were doing anything different and to see if I could get some replacements. I spoke with Rica, who was lovely, and she assured me nothing different has been done to the coffee. And she let me send back two of the bags for replacements! Joffrey's even paid for the return shipping. Rica faxed me over a UPS label and actually had them come to my door to pick up the package (which is nice because Amazon.com charges you $5 for that). So, they picked up the bad coffee on Wednesday and that was also when my replacement coffee was set to go out.

My post on here also caught the attention of Adam over at The Future Buzz. He offered to help me out as well. Thanks again Adam!

And then today, this arrived from the coffee gods, Joffrey's:

Rock on! See that - two bags of coffee AND a french press! How awesome is Joffrey's throwing in the french press?!? While I have not yet opened up the coffee, it smells heavenly - and much better than the last two bags! I suspect someone just got the bags mixed up and some poor person ended up with yummy Jamaican Me Crazy instead of plain old coffee last month. Lucky them!

I rate Joffrey's customer service OFF THE CHARTS! This is really above and beyond. Thanks Joffrey's! I Heart You!

Now - if you want some awesome coffee, just click on the banner below. But I warn you - you will never be able to drink any other coffee again! Joffrey's is THAT good! Or you could just try to get on my Christmas list since I plan on giving everyone Joffrey's! But seriously - there is a promo going on now where you can get FREE SHIPPING on the Pumpkin Creme Brulee coffee. Just use discount code: TRICK-OR-TREAT

A Bertolli update - customer service is above average

Last week I wrote about how I got some Bertolli olive oil and didn't feel that I got what I paid for. I had the impression that Bertolli was a top of the line olive oil and my experience with it reflected otherwise. I thought there might be a possibility that maybe the bottle I had was a fluke though.

So, I contacted their customer service and told them my story. I had gotten a 25 oz. bottle for around $14 or so that I could not use and I asked for a coupon for another bottle of the same size. See, they have different types of olive oil so I thought I could try out another one.

A few days after I contacted them I got an email saying they were sending me out a coupon and they apologized profusely for my experience and noted that the taste I described was not typical of their product.

Yesterday I was happy to see that I had mail from Bertolli. There was a short note and a coupon for a free bottle of Bertolli. The only catch was that the coupon had a redemption limit of $8.99. That means a smaller bottle than what I had paid for. I find that slightly annoying. But I am glad that I can at least get something, so that makes me happy.

So, overall I rate Bertolli above average for their customer service. Thanks for caring, Bertolli!

Wow, crazy financial times

Wow. We have some crazy financial times going on, eh? It was just last week that we had that record drop in the DOW. And now again today it was crazy. I tell ya, it is making me pretty nervous. Pretty nervous.

Bailout Bill Details - HR 1424

I got to wondering just what exactly is in this bailout bill that was passed and signed into law. If you too are looking for it, it is H.R. 1424. You can find the details of the bailout bill at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-1424 and you can download it into a nifty little PDF from the same site at this link. I warn you though - it is super long! And there is some crazy stuff in it. 

For example, look at page 299, you'll find:

20 SEC. 503. EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN
21 WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY
22 CHILDREN.
23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 4161(b)
24 is amended by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub
1 paragraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph (A)
2 the following new subparagraph:
3 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN WOODEN
4 ARROW SHAFTS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not
5 apply to any shaft consisting of all natural
6 wood with no laminations or artificial means of
7 enhancing the spine of such shaft (whether sold
8 separately or incorporated as part of a finished
9 or unfinished product) of a type used in the
10 manufacture of any arrow which after its as
11 sembly—
12 ‘‘(i) measures 5⁄16 of an inch or less in
13 diameter, and
14 ‘‘(ii) is not suitable for use with a bow
15 described in paragraph (1)(A).’’.
16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
17 this section shall apply to shafts first sold after the date
18 of enactment of this Act.

Say what?

Here are some other interesting details that people are talking about:

• Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children. The estimated cost of the proposal is $2 million over ten years. 
• Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility. Where is it? cost: $100 million
• Provisions related to film and television productions. cost is estimated at $478 million over 10 years. 
• Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds . cost is estimated to be $148 million 
• Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa. cost is $33 million
• Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters. $10 Million 

Wait, Wells Fargo wants Wachovia now?

Well, just the other day I wrote that I guess I'm a Citibank customer now with Citibank saying they were buying Wachovia. But maybe I'm not. It looks like Wells Fargo is interested in Wachovia now. Why does everyone want Wachovia? It's like Wachovia is the most popular girl in school. And Citibank is the star quarterback, but wait, what's that? It's Wells Fargo, the also popular but anti-establishment kid that wants to throw his heart in the ring to win Wachovia. It's like watching The Breakfast Club, only with banks.

House passes bailout bill, Bush signs it into law

Well, it happened. The House has passed the bailout bill and Bush signed the plan into law. That makes it one of the most far-reaching interventions in the economy since the Great Depression. And that is pretty freaking scary to think that things are THAT bad! Yikes!

The lawmakers that were for the bailout plan said that it would help Main Street and not Wall Street. Really? Is that true? I just don't know. 

One of the market reactions was that the U.S. dollar dropped against the euro. That can't be good. 

I guess I'm a Citibank customer now

Ah, what interesting financial times we have. Washington Mutual failed. Fortunately I had closed that account a few months ago. And Wachovia was saved by Citibank. So, I guess that means I am a Citibank customer now. I also have a checking account with ING. I seriously doubt they will fail though. I mean, they took over NetBank's accounts when they failed. And they bought Sharebuilder. Still though, it is interesting to watch. Wonder what bank will be next? I'd like to say none, but I know better than that.