This is the shortened version of how I fought Bank of America and won. It saved me an unknown amount of money.
I am not one to take things lying down. When my child was born, she spent three days in NICU, at which time numerous doctors visited her. One of these doctors wanted to charge me over $1,000 for a visit no one ever mentioned to any of us. I fought this one like crazy and ended up not having to pay it: you see, they weren't supposed to charge separately since they 1) never obtained parental permission to even look at my child, and 2) were considered a part of the hospital/NICU bill. It took me MONTHS and numerous phone calls, but I know my consumer rights! AND if I don't know them, I will research and learn them quickly!!
Several years ago, I took out a debt consolidation loan through NEA/MBNA. Bank of America bought the loan, and everything was fine, until one day they sent a letter stating that they were going to change this fixed rate loan to a variable interest rate. We all know what could have happened from there. My low 6.99% fixed rate would have hiked up to 30%. It would have been absurd.
I didn't take this! I emailed everyone I could find. I researched names of officials who worked for Bank of America, all the way up to the President. I emailed my Attorney General and every Congress person in my area...and then some. It took me several weeks and was incredibly stressful. I was not alone. I found message boards and blogs about this and similar Bank of America issues. I found out that a few people were able to get their fixed rate FIXED permanently, yet the rest of us were still struggling with this.
So, in one of my pleas, I mentioned this and the utter unfairness of it all: if ONE person could remain fixed, so should ALL persons. Otherwise, it is unfair business practices. The 95 year old man who can barely see and hardly has the energy to fight this battle should not suffer while I'm enjoying my fixed interest rate.
I found the right name at last. I emailed this name. Truly, this isn't very difficult. Once you figure out the suffix to email addresses and how they format the name, you can pretty much email anyone within a company. So, if they are Bob Duckers and they work for Duckorama.com, their email address could quite possibly be bob.duckers@duckorama.com. You get the drift.
I found the right name at last, in a news article. This person was a government liason with BofA. He took action.
Within two weeks, I got a letter in the mail stating that Bank of America was retracting their decision and all of these particular fixed rate loans under this category...ALL...not just mine....would remain fixed. I didn't fight this battle alone, but did I have SOMETHING to do with the outcome? Damn right I did!!!
My point is that you should NOT take things lying down, especially when it comes to money. Businesses will try to screw you: not all, but many. Stay informed and take the extra steps to ask questions and gain information that is rightfully yours. Information is power. Without it businesses can AND WILL screw you: many industries are counting on people just paying bills and not being informed.
According to Time Value Software's Loan Payoff Calculator, the one month difference in interest COULD have looked like this:
6.99% - monthly interest on this loan = $151
10% - monthly interest on this loan = $217
15% - monthly interest on this loan = $325
30% - monthly interest on this loan = $650
We'll go on the conservative side and say they would have only raised it to 10%. (Let's face it: this is Bank of America, and we ALL know they were doing this so they could raise the interest to at least 15% and make a tons of money....this is right around the time of the bailout!!)
At 10%, I would have been paying an extra $66 a month. NO, I wasn't already paying this out and gaining the money back. But imagine what my monthly bill would have been had I not been so proactive! I'm counting this as savings!!!
Where are we now with monthly savings?
Tip#1 - Dish Towels $5 per month
Tip#2 - Dump Cable $92 per month
Tip#3 - Homemade Goodness $24 per month
Tip#4 - Esurance.com $139
Tip#5 - Eat at home $70
Tip#6 - Insulation $50
Tip #7 - Interest Saved $66
Total per month: $446
Total per year: $5,352 (AT LEAST!!!)
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Tip #6: Up to $4,560 SAVED PER YEAR - Insulate your windows and garage
This is a do-it-yourself activity. It does take money up front, but the savings is AWESOME!
Keep this in mind: I live in Central Texas, where summer temperatures can easily stay above 100 degrees for more than two months.
We moved into our home in 2006. Before this we were living in apartments, and our electric bills weren't high. Honestly, I was expecting our electric bills to go up in our house drastically, but they weren't as TERRIBLE as I thought. Yes, there were months that we paid $225, and it did hurt; but I've heard horror stories about the bills being over $500. I was afraid of this, but we did move into a smaller home without vaulted ceilings: I know this made a difference.
The first summer was hot in the house, mostly because he had no curtains or decent blinds: we had those plastic blinds that don't do much at all.
We watched for sales and finally lucked out. I'd signed up for JCPenney Rewards, and they started sending all sorts of coupons. One month, I had a coupon to save $20 off of a purchase of $75 or more, and I also had a coupon to save $10 off any $10 purchase (I get these once a month: it's how I buy new clothing for my daughter for next to nothing. THANK YOU JCPENNEY!!)
We noticed that JCPenney had wooden blinds on sale, so we talked the people into letting us use both coupons. We spent $75 on blinds that could have easily cost us $375. We used these in the living room. A couple of weeks later, I found some AWESOME insulated curtains for our sliding glass door at Bed, Bath, and Beyond on their clearance table. I was able to get these for $30! I also got curtains for two other windows at Target for $40. Anyone whose ever bought curtains: you know this is a bargain!
Yes, this was an investment, but it cut our electric bill down the next summer. The highest it went that summer was $195. Still high, but it was lower than the previous summer.
The problem was that we were still having to run our A/C on 74 to cool the house. This was putting an incredible amount of pressure on the A/C, and it froze up. The repair person was able to fix it, but we knew we needed to reduce its workload.
We decided we needed to insulate the garage. My husband and I spent one Saturday in the attic laying insulation. We didn't insulate the attic ceiling; we merely rolled out insulation on the floor of the attic. We opted for rolled because it was on sale at Lowes. We also bought insulation panels for our garage door, and custom cut them ourselves. The kits were too expensive for the same grade of insulation. We spent under $200 on all of this insulation.
NOTE: DO NOT STAPLE IT DOWN!!!!!!! You could electrocute yourself. Too, cut the insulation around fixtures so that it is not touching them. And roll it out such that the paper side is facing down. If you're too nervous about doing it right, pay someone. We weren't nervous, and it turned out just fine. Do some research. We watched many videos such as these on YouTube before embarking upon this adventure.
Immediately, we felt the difference. I mean IMMEDIATELY. We were able to run our A/C that evening on 78 instead of 74 - a HUGE difference. Then came the moment of truth: our HIGHEST summer bill that summer was $174, down from $225 - a $50 savings!
In the last thirteen months, eight of our electric bills have been BELOW $100 and NONE of them have been over $200. A remarkable difference: the insulation paid for itself within four months.
Where are we now with monthly savings?
Tip#1 - Dish Towels $5 per month
Tip#2 - Dump Cable $92 per month
Tip#3 - Homemade Goodness $24 per month
Tip#4 - Esurance.com $139
Tip#5 - Eat at home $70
Tip#6 - Insulation $50
Total per month: $380
Total per year: $4,560
Keep this in mind: I live in Central Texas, where summer temperatures can easily stay above 100 degrees for more than two months.
We moved into our home in 2006. Before this we were living in apartments, and our electric bills weren't high. Honestly, I was expecting our electric bills to go up in our house drastically, but they weren't as TERRIBLE as I thought. Yes, there were months that we paid $225, and it did hurt; but I've heard horror stories about the bills being over $500. I was afraid of this, but we did move into a smaller home without vaulted ceilings: I know this made a difference.
The first summer was hot in the house, mostly because he had no curtains or decent blinds: we had those plastic blinds that don't do much at all.
We watched for sales and finally lucked out. I'd signed up for JCPenney Rewards, and they started sending all sorts of coupons. One month, I had a coupon to save $20 off of a purchase of $75 or more, and I also had a coupon to save $10 off any $10 purchase (I get these once a month: it's how I buy new clothing for my daughter for next to nothing. THANK YOU JCPENNEY!!)
We noticed that JCPenney had wooden blinds on sale, so we talked the people into letting us use both coupons. We spent $75 on blinds that could have easily cost us $375. We used these in the living room. A couple of weeks later, I found some AWESOME insulated curtains for our sliding glass door at Bed, Bath, and Beyond on their clearance table. I was able to get these for $30! I also got curtains for two other windows at Target for $40. Anyone whose ever bought curtains: you know this is a bargain!
Yes, this was an investment, but it cut our electric bill down the next summer. The highest it went that summer was $195. Still high, but it was lower than the previous summer.
The problem was that we were still having to run our A/C on 74 to cool the house. This was putting an incredible amount of pressure on the A/C, and it froze up. The repair person was able to fix it, but we knew we needed to reduce its workload.
We decided we needed to insulate the garage. My husband and I spent one Saturday in the attic laying insulation. We didn't insulate the attic ceiling; we merely rolled out insulation on the floor of the attic. We opted for rolled because it was on sale at Lowes. We also bought insulation panels for our garage door, and custom cut them ourselves. The kits were too expensive for the same grade of insulation. We spent under $200 on all of this insulation.
NOTE: DO NOT STAPLE IT DOWN!!!!!!! You could electrocute yourself. Too, cut the insulation around fixtures so that it is not touching them. And roll it out such that the paper side is facing down. If you're too nervous about doing it right, pay someone. We weren't nervous, and it turned out just fine. Do some research. We watched many videos such as these on YouTube before embarking upon this adventure.
Immediately, we felt the difference. I mean IMMEDIATELY. We were able to run our A/C that evening on 78 instead of 74 - a HUGE difference. Then came the moment of truth: our HIGHEST summer bill that summer was $174, down from $225 - a $50 savings!
In the last thirteen months, eight of our electric bills have been BELOW $100 and NONE of them have been over $200. A remarkable difference: the insulation paid for itself within four months.
Where are we now with monthly savings?
Tip#1 - Dish Towels $5 per month
Tip#2 - Dump Cable $92 per month
Tip#3 - Homemade Goodness $24 per month
Tip#4 - Esurance.com $139
Tip#5 - Eat at home $70
Tip#6 - Insulation $50
Total per month: $380
Total per year: $4,560
Groupon, Mamapedia, LivingSocial, and other EXTREME couponing
I'm signed up for almost all of these services, yet I rarely have the "extra" money to spend on the items they're offering.
I want to know: how many of you are actually "SAVING" money using these services: or are people spending money on services they wouldn't normally buy just because there is a coupon attached?
Seriously. I want to hear your savings stories. I am very interested!
Too, I've been looking at Amazon's couponing books: which of these are the best reads?
living
I want to know: how many of you are actually "SAVING" money using these services: or are people spending money on services they wouldn't normally buy just because there is a coupon attached?
Seriously. I want to hear your savings stories. I am very interested!
Too, I've been looking at Amazon's couponing books: which of these are the best reads?
living
Life's little reminders...
I'm straying a bit from my typical blog entry. I need to vent.
It's been one of those months, the kind that reminds you of just how easy it is to be thrown under a bus by the economy, the kind that reminds you of just WHY it is so important to cut spending where you can. I'm glad that I have cut SO much from our spending, or I'd be hurting even more right now.
My husband just opened a new business on April 1. Amazing the journey he's gone through to get to this point! Of course, we're bootstrapping this simply because NO BANKS would give him any sort of a loan. Oh, I take this back: Bank of America would have given him a loan if he'd had over $100,000: WHY WOULD HE EVEN NEED A LOAN IN THAT CASE? (This just speaks to the fact that Bank of America is PURE EVIL, but then again, so are all banks...) So, we opened with little money and are taking a HUGE leap of faith. The business is growing very, very slowly...but maybe the "Slow and steady wins the race" theory will work to our benefit here. I hope.
As soon as he opened, my daughter became incredibly ill with a 104.5 fever. Three doctor's visits later, we still didn't know the diagnosis, but we owed nearly $300. Don't even get me started on the medical industry and how much they're overcharging those of us with insurance to make up for those who are on medicaid or medicare.
Then, of course, my husband's car breaks down. When I say breaks down, I don't mean breaks down but is fixable. I mean it needs a new engine. Like that can happen right now. It's not under warranty. In fact, we have not had a car payment for a couple of years, so I guess it is just that time. That's what I get for finally putting a few dollars into savings. And any of you that say I should have a savings account to cover this, you've clearly never lived paycheck to paycheck, barely getting by anyway. You've never had to trim costs down to the bare bone just to make ends meet. Some people simply don't have EXTRA money to put into savings.
I lost my position at work (I'm the sole breadwinner right now), but THANK GOD another position was created that I was eligible to take. It's not as "good" as the other one, but it pays the same. Beggars can't be choosers: I'll take it! I'd be crazy not to.
AND of course, there are the rising gas prices, which are also driving the cost of pretty much everything else up, making it such that my money will not stretch as far as it used to.
Regardless, I'm thankful for what I have, despite my very mild misfortune.
Sound familiar? I'll bet you this is the story of over 1/2 of American right now. It sucks. How many of you are tired as hell of being broke and getting screwed by different big industries? I know I am. SICK OF IT....and I don't really see the light at the end of this economic tunnel in the US yet.
It's been one of those months, the kind that reminds you of just how easy it is to be thrown under a bus by the economy, the kind that reminds you of just WHY it is so important to cut spending where you can. I'm glad that I have cut SO much from our spending, or I'd be hurting even more right now.
My husband just opened a new business on April 1. Amazing the journey he's gone through to get to this point! Of course, we're bootstrapping this simply because NO BANKS would give him any sort of a loan. Oh, I take this back: Bank of America would have given him a loan if he'd had over $100,000: WHY WOULD HE EVEN NEED A LOAN IN THAT CASE? (This just speaks to the fact that Bank of America is PURE EVIL, but then again, so are all banks...) So, we opened with little money and are taking a HUGE leap of faith. The business is growing very, very slowly...but maybe the "Slow and steady wins the race" theory will work to our benefit here. I hope.
As soon as he opened, my daughter became incredibly ill with a 104.5 fever. Three doctor's visits later, we still didn't know the diagnosis, but we owed nearly $300. Don't even get me started on the medical industry and how much they're overcharging those of us with insurance to make up for those who are on medicaid or medicare.
Then, of course, my husband's car breaks down. When I say breaks down, I don't mean breaks down but is fixable. I mean it needs a new engine. Like that can happen right now. It's not under warranty. In fact, we have not had a car payment for a couple of years, so I guess it is just that time. That's what I get for finally putting a few dollars into savings. And any of you that say I should have a savings account to cover this, you've clearly never lived paycheck to paycheck, barely getting by anyway. You've never had to trim costs down to the bare bone just to make ends meet. Some people simply don't have EXTRA money to put into savings.
I lost my position at work (I'm the sole breadwinner right now), but THANK GOD another position was created that I was eligible to take. It's not as "good" as the other one, but it pays the same. Beggars can't be choosers: I'll take it! I'd be crazy not to.
AND of course, there are the rising gas prices, which are also driving the cost of pretty much everything else up, making it such that my money will not stretch as far as it used to.
Regardless, I'm thankful for what I have, despite my very mild misfortune.
Sound familiar? I'll bet you this is the story of over 1/2 of American right now. It sucks. How many of you are tired as hell of being broke and getting screwed by different big industries? I know I am. SICK OF IT....and I don't really see the light at the end of this economic tunnel in the US yet.
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