Smile in 60 Seconds - %&$#?@!
Rough week?
They say videos of cute puppies or kittens helps and I totally believe this. Smiling and laughter are very effective, too.
As for me, a funny commercial always puts a smile on my face. Hope this gives you a smile and a laugh, all in under 60 seconds.
Next post next Saturday, 6:30 a.m.
Credit Card Fraud Safety Net
Recently, I was balancing our sometimes precarious budget and there was a charge I didn't recognize. It was from the store WomanWithin. I asked my wife if she had bought anything there and she hadn't. Now, unless I had ordered women's clothes for myself while sleep-walking, we had a problem.
Unless you live in a cave, you know somebody (a family member, friend or coworker) who has had their credit card number stolen. The feelings of vulnerability and financial worry immediately drive up your Pepcid AC consumption. After you get things sorted, you may resolve to never be a victim again. However, once you start educating yourself on the attack vectors, it quickly becomes apparent that your defensive actions can't guarantee your safety. High-tech ATM and gas pump skimmers, data breaches, even shady restaurant employees are hard to foil. Going head-to-head with professional criminals is like playing whack-a-mole with your non-dominant hand after taking Ambien.
I believed GI Joe when he said "Knowing is half the battle," so although the criminals have more ammo, arming yourself with some basic knowledge of scams makes sense. However, if you have time for only one tactic, I think it should be this - track all your credit card purchases in real-time and do a monthly true-up. Today there are several free or affordable apps (YNAB is my favorite) that allow you to enter and track your purchases on your phone and computer. The key is to enter as many charges as you can at the point of purchase. In this way, you will have less items to reconcile at the end of the month and are more likely to spot a fraudulent charge. Beware! Sometimes the fraudulent charges are intentionally small to make them harder to spot, like in the example reported by Brian Krebs in 2014 around suspicious $9.84 charges.
Below are my EZPZ tips for protecting against credit card fraud:
1. Get an expense tracking app
2. Track every transaction at the time of purchase
3. Do a monthly true-up
4. Don't sleepwalk and use the computer
Finally, listen to Shipwreck when he says, "Taking something that isn't yours just isn't right," and "Knowing is half the battle."
Next post next Saturday, 6:30 a.m.
Best $6 I Ever Spent
Why is it that certain things always seem to play out in slow motion? Like the other day when my phone slipped out of my hand and careened towards the cold, hard, unforgiving metal of the shopping cart and the unsympathetic tile floor. "Nooooo......!!!" [Picture extended fingers grasping just out of reach.] Cue deep breath as I pick up the phone to survey the damage. Just as I suspected, cracked screen.
Ever since I've owned a mobile phone I've been dropping them. The most usual suspects are the times I enter or exit my car, but there have been plenty of other mishaps along the way. Smart phones are especially vulnerable to damage because of the large glass screen. And repairing said screen is not cheap. It will typically cost you around $100, give or take. So when I purchased my last phone, I decided to buy a glass screen protector. It's thin, totally clear, and takes the damage that your phone's precious screen would otherwise take. There are plenty of companies that will sell you one for as much as $40, but the one I decided to purchase was only $6. This was $6 well spent because after peeling off the broken screen protector I was pleased to see that my phone's screen was in pristine condition.
My EZPZ tip is if you have a bad case of the dropsies like me, save yourself some heartache and cash by investing in a glass screen protector. You won't regret it!
Next post next Saturday, 6:30 a.m.