I hate my job and I have the same mentality as you. Im going to try that especially talking to my boss thats my type of personality anyways. Thanks for the post.
I once called the local Barnes & Noble, and Borders, and asked both managers why they had the policy of letting people sit around and read without having to buy anything. They both told me that it was to encourage people to buy, but that they really didn't have a problem with people who didn't end up purchasing anything because that's simply the store's mandate. I pressed a little and they still didn't give. Hey, they said it was a go, so I don't think that's unethical at all.
Now, it would be cool if music stores started allowing all CDs to be sampled too (not like the small sections of B&N, but Best Buy putting everything into a sampler).
I make soup from random leftovers all the time too - except I don't limit myself to vegetables. I've thrown in leftover minced beef, sausages, salami, shredded roast chicken pieces etc etc.
I find beans and lentils are great to give soup extra heft - especially in winter (it's winter here in Australia). I always keep a few cans on hand to throw in - chickpeas, canellini, butter etc.
When blending, I love to add pickled jalapenos or similar, adds a nice bite to the vegetable mash.
And if there is a clear enough, flavourful broth, I turn it into a noodle soup thing - using rice noodles or even pasta + a dash of soy/oyster.
I live in a townhouse, and my trash is on my driveway until I put it out on Wednesdays. My driveway is my property. In those cases, I believe that you would need a search warrant.
They told me that my credit score was 675 (last I checked it was 710) and that they didn't/wouldn't negotiate unless credit scores are over 680. SO ANGER MAKING!
"Most of the commenters seem to think that dumpster diving isn't illegal or immoral. If I see someone going through my garbage, they'd better be a cop with a search warrant."
In the U.S., if you've put your trash outside, it is fair game. The cops don't need a search warrant to go through it. You have no reasonable expectation of privacy (or ownership) once you've put the trash out at the curb.
Now, obviously, if someone is going through your trash to find personal identifying information in order to open a credit card in your name or steal your identity, THAT is a crime. But the act of rummaging through the trash, in and of itself, is legal.
Glad you liked it. I think about this subject often, and will probably write more along these lines. I think that you can live large on a small budget because (and I'm not fond of clichés) the best things in life really are free.
Well, except maybe that really good espresso I had this morning ;-)
I think Tyler had the right idea as far as not letting your stuff define who you are. There's a quote from Lao-Tzu that I always try to keep in mind when work gets crazy:
"Do your work then step back. The only path to serenity.” - Tao Te Ching
My husband called and told the credit card rep that we had an offer for a much lower percentage, and would they like to match it, or should he just close the account & transfer? The rep instantly lowered it 3%. My husband said "thank you", but that the other offer (yes, there really was another offer) was 5% lower, and could the rep lower it more? He said he was authorized to do it 3% himself, so my husband very politely asked to speak to a manager. He was on hold for probably 5-7 minutes, and when the manager came back, he said that he would be happy to lower it 3% more (total of 6%, or 1% lower than the competing offer. BTW: I would guess that they did a quick credit check/payment history check in those on-hold minutes, but I'm not sure.
We are happy because we now have a very competitive rate, and got to keep the (old) line of credit open which is good for our credit rating & our bottom line.
They are happy to keep customers who pay on time.
So it's all good.
My "hint" would be that the first person you talk to may either not be able to offer anything, or may only be able to offer a certain amount or percentage, so it pays to politely ask for the next person up the ladder.
Me: "Hello. I'm transferring all my debt off this credit card and putting it on another one. Is there a penalty or transaction fee for closing my account?"
Rep: "um.... none. But why would you want to get rid of your balance when we have these cool rates coming up..."
OK, it doesn't always work out that perfectly, but usually the credit card company will blink first.
1. Unethical - You clearly paid for only one movie (look at your ticket) and therefore you shouldn't see more than one.
2. Depends. The law is actually a bit unclear. For example, if you buy a CD do you have the right to make copies of the songs for yourself? If you lost the CD, do you have the right to download new copies? Those are legal issues that are still being worked out.
3. Unethical - You're getting a service that was clearly intended for someone else.
4. If you do it without their knowledge, that's wrong. However, my neighbors asked me if they could use my wireless and I said fine. They even offered to pay but I said no need.
5. Give it back. Again, you're clearly getting something you shouldn't.
6. Same as 5.
7. Give back. The bank will find out sooner or later and that's trouble you just don't need. Plus it's not your money.
8. Depends on the rules of the venue and event. Some don't mind scalping, some do.
9. Sure, this is fine for me. I paid the price for the item (the price being my time and attention).
10. This is normally unethical and can get you into a lot of trouble at work. If you're going to do something like that, clear it with work ahead of time. I stayed at a friend's house once while on a business trip. My boss authorized taking him out to dinner since the company saved on the hotel bill. Still, I checked in advance.
11. Work puts it there for your usage. Therefore, it's fine to use it. It's not fine to take stuff home for other people though.
12. No clue. I didn't even know about these coupons.
13. As far as I'm concerned, sample food is fair game. Non sample food is stealing.
14. No clue. I suppose it depends on the store and their rules.
15. If it's for working at home, I suppose it's ok. Otherwise, it's stealing.
16. That's fine. Book stores expect you to do this. That's why they offer coffee and such, so they can still make money on you. Free magazine perusal is one of their tools to entice you into the store.
17. If it's garbage, it's fair game. Still, might be nice to ask permission first, and trespassing is definitely illegal.
18. If I remember the law correctly, anything growing over your property is yours. Anything growing over the street is free to all. Even if the roots of the tree are in someone else's property. Plus you can always just ask permission. I've never had anyone say no when I asked.
19. No clue, don't go to starbucks.
20. You're lying to get something you shouldn't, so the answer should be obvious.
I guess these all boil down to "are you following the rules of the establishment you're dealing with?" If you are, then it's ok. If you're not, then it's probably unethical and/or illegal.
Downloading and using music and movies for free from the internet is wrong. I have see so many people claim to be "frugal" by buying a DVD burner and downloading all their movies off of uusenet.
It is morally wrong and illegal.
Frugal is dropping cable and getting netflix, frugal is dropping mega-fast cable modem for an inexpensive, but slower DSL line.
Of the other here are the ones I think are ethical assuming you are not witholding any information.
9, Freebie vs Spiel, it's their rules. Also if you think you will get off after an hour of timeshare info good luck... they will follow you for years.
16, Yep, been there, done that. As long as you are purchasing drinks and not messing up the magazines I see nothing wrong with reading
17, It's garbage. If you can find use then good for you/him! If people are too lazy to eBay/craigs list items that are of value then let someone else.
4, Why not just go next door and ask? Maybe you can take 5 minutes and mow their lawn and they would be ecstatic to GIVE you access.
Everything else is cut and dry wrong. 20 I have seen this in florida with immigrants that are here and making a good living (illegally) telling others to lie to collect WIC/Foodstamps since they have no good way to check.
#14: There's a grocery store near my house with an excellent produce section that has signs near the portobello mushrooms that say if the stems are missing, you will pay twice the posted price. Seems some people have been trying to get away with the old cut-n-buy.
MediaCarts are going to be evil. They are going to pitch them as something that will help you shop, remind you of what you need, but yes, they will track everything - where you are, what you bought, AND they may eventually allow competitors to see where you are shopping and send targeted ads to your cell phone ("Wait! We'll give you a two-fer-one deal!").
Trust me. I was working for a company that was developing the backend hardware and software for those things - I know just how insidious the plans were.
1 - Do it lots, although I don't have to go in the wee smalls to get the deals, I must live in an area where the discount stickers say "bad" to people
2 - Give it a try if I ever go
3 - EWWWW, I don't like beer THAT much!!!
4 & 5 done it
6 - Do it, also yard sales are great!
7 - I rescue furniture, found a great chair roadside once! I also snagged a glass display that I later sold for $75. I can't drive around on big trash day because I will stop at least once, dh picks on me!
8 - Do it
9 - Made pancakes & tossed in a handful of dandelion flowers, does that count. It's supposed to be cleansing!
10 - I sew a lot, I recycle clothing especially for my kids. I am learning to knit & feel that by winter time I should be ready to knit up some socks!
If you take money that was accidentally deposited in your account, the bank will eventually discover it and can press charges. Trust me, my friend did it (it was $3500) and he had the option of community service with restitution or jail. The bank may not come after you for $20, but it is theft and they do have the right.
Here's how movies work: first week of release most of the ticket price goes to the studio. Each week the movie is in release, the theatre's percentage increases. That's why the studios make huge blockbusters that flame out in a couple weeks and the theatres prefer the sleeper hits that play to decent audiences for several weeks.
So, if you sneak into that movie that's been out awhile, you're actually stealing more than if you'd paid for that movie and snuck into a blockbuster (not that I recommend either one).
Just so you know
the phantom wallet one is a fake, as I assume most of them are. Watch it REAL close.
I hate my job and I have the same mentality as you. Im going to try that especially talking to my boss thats my type of personality anyways. Thanks for the post.
Hello. You take on more debt (ELOC) but I did not see the extra interest rate/fees that you would pay, or the net result.
Thank you.
I once called the local Barnes & Noble, and Borders, and asked both managers why they had the policy of letting people sit around and read without having to buy anything. They both told me that it was to encourage people to buy, but that they really didn't have a problem with people who didn't end up purchasing anything because that's simply the store's mandate. I pressed a little and they still didn't give. Hey, they said it was a go, so I don't think that's unethical at all.
Now, it would be cool if music stores started allowing all CDs to be sampled too (not like the small sections of B&N, but Best Buy putting everything into a sampler).
I make soup from random leftovers all the time too - except I don't limit myself to vegetables. I've thrown in leftover minced beef, sausages, salami, shredded roast chicken pieces etc etc.
I find beans and lentils are great to give soup extra heft - especially in winter (it's winter here in Australia). I always keep a few cans on hand to throw in - chickpeas, canellini, butter etc.
When blending, I love to add pickled jalapenos or similar, adds a nice bite to the vegetable mash.
And if there is a clear enough, flavourful broth, I turn it into a noodle soup thing - using rice noodles or even pasta + a dash of soy/oyster.
Soup's the best...
I live in a townhouse, and my trash is on my driveway until I put it out on Wednesdays. My driveway is my property. In those cases, I believe that you would need a search warrant.
Are they ALLOWED to tell you your credit score? I didn't think that they could. I might be wrong though.
I've had zero luck with Chase and Capital One. So I got a new card and transfered the balance. Much happier now.
And here I thought te pig would appeal to everyone. Man, some people are picky.
Seriously, though, thanks for the mentions. We dig you. In a totally platonic way.
Relatively new to your blog, and so far I am enjoying what I find.
With that said, I just wanted to pipe in as an SC resident and say thanks for mentioning what appear to be two interesting blogs from my fine state.
That sounds naughty. Then I looked at the Wise Bread logo with that pig in it ... and decided maybe I'd skip out on the torrid love affair.
They told me that my credit score was 675 (last I checked it was 710) and that they didn't/wouldn't negotiate unless credit scores are over 680. SO ANGER MAKING!
I feel the need to comment on one issue:
"Most of the commenters seem to think that dumpster diving isn't illegal or immoral. If I see someone going through my garbage, they'd better be a cop with a search warrant."
In the U.S., if you've put your trash outside, it is fair game. The cops don't need a search warrant to go through it. You have no reasonable expectation of privacy (or ownership) once you've put the trash out at the curb.
Now, obviously, if someone is going through your trash to find personal identifying information in order to open a credit card in your name or steal your identity, THAT is a crime. But the act of rummaging through the trash, in and of itself, is legal.
I used my own script and got my rate lowered on Discover and American Express. I could not get it to work with Capital One though.
Glad you liked it. I think about this subject often, and will probably write more along these lines. I think that you can live large on a small budget because (and I'm not fond of clichés) the best things in life really are free.
Well, except maybe that really good espresso I had this morning ;-)
I think Tyler had the right idea as far as not letting your stuff define who you are. There's a quote from Lao-Tzu that I always try to keep in mind when work gets crazy:
My husband called and told the credit card rep that we had an offer for a much lower percentage, and would they like to match it, or should he just close the account & transfer? The rep instantly lowered it 3%. My husband said "thank you", but that the other offer (yes, there really was another offer) was 5% lower, and could the rep lower it more? He said he was authorized to do it 3% himself, so my husband very politely asked to speak to a manager. He was on hold for probably 5-7 minutes, and when the manager came back, he said that he would be happy to lower it 3% more (total of 6%, or 1% lower than the competing offer. BTW: I would guess that they did a quick credit check/payment history check in those on-hold minutes, but I'm not sure.
We are happy because we now have a very competitive rate, and got to keep the (old) line of credit open which is good for our credit rating & our bottom line.
They are happy to keep customers who pay on time.
So it's all good.
My "hint" would be that the first person you talk to may either not be able to offer anything, or may only be able to offer a certain amount or percentage, so it pays to politely ask for the next person up the ladder.
I tired it all. Politeness, proving my loyalty, going up the ladder, threatening to switch - they never blinked. Unlike, say, Comcast.
This is my script:
Me: "Hello. I'm transferring all my debt off this credit card and putting it on another one. Is there a penalty or transaction fee for closing my account?"
Rep: "um.... none. But why would you want to get rid of your balance when we have these cool rates coming up..."
OK, it doesn't always work out that perfectly, but usually the credit card company will blink first.
I really like this post. Especially the first paragraph. Well-written, well-thought out.
Just my 2 cents worth of opinion:
1. Unethical - You clearly paid for only one movie (look at your ticket) and therefore you shouldn't see more than one.
2. Depends. The law is actually a bit unclear. For example, if you buy a CD do you have the right to make copies of the songs for yourself? If you lost the CD, do you have the right to download new copies? Those are legal issues that are still being worked out.
3. Unethical - You're getting a service that was clearly intended for someone else.
4. If you do it without their knowledge, that's wrong. However, my neighbors asked me if they could use my wireless and I said fine. They even offered to pay but I said no need.
5. Give it back. Again, you're clearly getting something you shouldn't.
6. Same as 5.
7. Give back. The bank will find out sooner or later and that's trouble you just don't need. Plus it's not your money.
8. Depends on the rules of the venue and event. Some don't mind scalping, some do.
9. Sure, this is fine for me. I paid the price for the item (the price being my time and attention).
10. This is normally unethical and can get you into a lot of trouble at work. If you're going to do something like that, clear it with work ahead of time. I stayed at a friend's house once while on a business trip. My boss authorized taking him out to dinner since the company saved on the hotel bill. Still, I checked in advance.
11. Work puts it there for your usage. Therefore, it's fine to use it. It's not fine to take stuff home for other people though.
12. No clue. I didn't even know about these coupons.
13. As far as I'm concerned, sample food is fair game. Non sample food is stealing.
14. No clue. I suppose it depends on the store and their rules.
15. If it's for working at home, I suppose it's ok. Otherwise, it's stealing.
16. That's fine. Book stores expect you to do this. That's why they offer coffee and such, so they can still make money on you. Free magazine perusal is one of their tools to entice you into the store.
17. If it's garbage, it's fair game. Still, might be nice to ask permission first, and trespassing is definitely illegal.
18. If I remember the law correctly, anything growing over your property is yours. Anything growing over the street is free to all. Even if the roots of the tree are in someone else's property. Plus you can always just ask permission. I've never had anyone say no when I asked.
19. No clue, don't go to starbucks.
20. You're lying to get something you shouldn't, so the answer should be obvious.
I guess these all boil down to "are you following the rules of the establishment you're dealing with?" If you are, then it's ok. If you're not, then it's probably unethical and/or illegal.
Just my opinion.
Gal
Downloading and using music and movies for free from the internet is wrong. I have see so many people claim to be "frugal" by buying a DVD burner and downloading all their movies off of uusenet.
It is morally wrong and illegal.
Frugal is dropping cable and getting netflix, frugal is dropping mega-fast cable modem for an inexpensive, but slower DSL line.
Of the other here are the ones I think are ethical assuming you are not witholding any information.
9, Freebie vs Spiel, it's their rules. Also if you think you will get off after an hour of timeshare info good luck... they will follow you for years.
16, Yep, been there, done that. As long as you are purchasing drinks and not messing up the magazines I see nothing wrong with reading
17, It's garbage. If you can find use then good for you/him! If people are too lazy to eBay/craigs list items that are of value then let someone else.
4, Why not just go next door and ask? Maybe you can take 5 minutes and mow their lawn and they would be ecstatic to GIVE you access.
Everything else is cut and dry wrong. 20 I have seen this in florida with immigrants that are here and making a good living (illegally) telling others to lie to collect WIC/Foodstamps since they have no good way to check.
#14: There's a grocery store near my house with an excellent produce section that has signs near the portobello mushrooms that say if the stems are missing, you will pay twice the posted price. Seems some people have been trying to get away with the old cut-n-buy.
MediaCarts are going to be evil. They are going to pitch them as something that will help you shop, remind you of what you need, but yes, they will track everything - where you are, what you bought, AND they may eventually allow competitors to see where you are shopping and send targeted ads to your cell phone ("Wait! We'll give you a two-fer-one deal!").
Trust me. I was working for a company that was developing the backend hardware and software for those things - I know just how insidious the plans were.
1 - Do it lots, although I don't have to go in the wee smalls to get the deals, I must live in an area where the discount stickers say "bad" to people
2 - Give it a try if I ever go
3 - EWWWW, I don't like beer THAT much!!!
4 & 5 done it
6 - Do it, also yard sales are great!
7 - I rescue furniture, found a great chair roadside once! I also snagged a glass display that I later sold for $75. I can't drive around on big trash day because I will stop at least once, dh picks on me!
8 - Do it
9 - Made pancakes & tossed in a handful of dandelion flowers, does that count. It's supposed to be cleansing!
10 - I sew a lot, I recycle clothing especially for my kids. I am learning to knit & feel that by winter time I should be ready to knit up some socks!
If you take money that was accidentally deposited in your account, the bank will eventually discover it and can press charges. Trust me, my friend did it (it was $3500) and he had the option of community service with restitution or jail. The bank may not come after you for $20, but it is theft and they do have the right.
Here's how movies work: first week of release most of the ticket price goes to the studio. Each week the movie is in release, the theatre's percentage increases. That's why the studios make huge blockbusters that flame out in a couple weeks and the theatres prefer the sleeper hits that play to decent audiences for several weeks.
So, if you sneak into that movie that's been out awhile, you're actually stealing more than if you'd paid for that movie and snuck into a blockbuster (not that I recommend either one).