Is cellphone bill of close to $400 a month typical?sm
Posted By: Sherry on 2008-11-01
In Reply to:
I'm curious to know this. It isn't mine nor DH. I find it very high, but DH says it may be from texting or whatever. Person has state of the art "phone", which does many things, but $400?
Thanks.
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We are close in that we live about five miles from each other, but we aren't close like good frie
By husband and BIL WERE pretty good friends, though.
If you are set on closing, do not close the old ones, close a newer account first.
Your credit is based on a mix of things like history, types of accounts, mix of credit (revolving vs installment), usage/utilization of credit available, and payment history. Where closing could hurt your score is the part of the score that averages history of accounts/length of credit. If you decide to close, close out a newer account first.
The best way to protect from ID theft as far as credit is to freeze your credit reports. It's around $10 per agency to freeze them. Each credit reporting agency tries to sell your their own monitoring plan when you get to the how to freeze information, so make
sure you are freezing it.
You can't freeze it over the net they each require a letter by registered mail. It takes about 1 month to freeze it.
Right now you can place a fraud alert on your reports for free. The credit *should* not extend credit or do a credit line increase without calling the phone # on your credit report first. You only need to do it at one credit reporting agency and the other ones will be notfied. The number for equifax fraud alert 1-888-766-0008. It's automated.
If you are concerned about ID theft try one of the monitoring plans. I've tried a few of them and Equifax has the best one. Their Score Watch is great, you set the limits to be notified and any change they send an email literaly the next day. I used it after I discovered ID theft. It might be a waste of money for you. I would place the fraud alerts, then the freeze, and check your reports 2x per year.
I've had ID theft as far as my name/social but what concerns me more than credit ID theft is bank account theft. I don't know how we can fight that. It seems like consumers get the raw end of the deal as far rights when deposit accounts are stolen.
Could she use a cellphone?
Maybe one of those kid ones that only dials home, then she could just hit one or two buttons.
Only take a cellphone and computer away?
She would be sitting in a room without anything, no television, no books, no activities of any kind, nothing except 4 walls. She probably has been "mouthy" for sometime and it seems like she has gotten by with it. Sorta late in the game to rein in now cause at 18 she basically can be on her own. I would cut off any funding to vehicles, phones, etc., etc. if she completely go against your wishes. You have a child out of control but this has not just happened, right?
Yes, they do. 10-month teachers make more than 9-month
teachers. I know that for a fact. One of my sisters was a 9-month, one is a 10-month. They are compensated for working more scheduled hours.
Not all of us ENJOY being cellphone maniacs sm
I have gone to a friend's house for coffee. Yes, I carry a cellphone and yes, I text frequently. I talk some too. Where I live we all have to have Verizon because nothing else works. If you don't have a Verizon cell, no one will talk to you. There are only about 15 land lines in a town of 1400 people. I carry it with me and I have a tone for the text messages so I know the difference. Do I enjoy this? No! It is necessity and I consider a cellphone a necessity, but not a toy.
Back to the story...at this friend's house, her daughter is there and so is another adult. That is 4 of us. During the hour I was there, each of them had more than 2 calls and many texts. They interrupted our conversation for EVERY SINGLE CALL AND TEXT. I found it very disruptive and RUDE.
Your so-called friends were RUDE. If they really wanted to include you, all they needed to do was actually call you and ask you to come to them. Instead, they tried to show up by using a text when you are not a texter. When I add a new friend to my cellphone, I ask if they are text capable because you'd be surprised how many people are not. They don't understand that no everyone is a fanatic about texting or technology.
So how many times did they interrupt conversations for the stupid cellphone?
One way to turn off people from texting you is to use all your Expander shortcuts and all the weird stuff they use on IMs and texts. R U hom? hv u got cof on? cmg ov nw. Gets them every time!
He takes his cellphone in the shower????
What the heck does he do for a living? If it does not require constant use of his cellphone, then no, you are not being paranoid! Do you always hear him on his phone? Does he make it a point for you NOT to hear him?
I don't know you, him, or the situation but something about this is bothering you to the point of putting out feelers here. I would not let him know about your **paranoia** yet, but I would not let him move in permanently either. You need to take some time to find out about this feeling you have. Could be nothing, but you need to find out on your own before discussing it with him.
Is Sprint the cellphone provider? Thanks for responding!
dd
Not typical hillbilly
Most of us were taught to say yes ma'am and no ma'am, don't speak to your elders unless spoken to and then they were Mr. or Mrs. so and so, never first name. But I'm from the older generation and things have changed an awful lot. Sad.
Typical kids!
That's funny - only cause its not my child! You should apologize to your mother cause I'm sure you gave her atleast one headache over that. lol
typical of abusers
as long as (you) don't curse he will be fine.
So he's saying, "You made me do it." This is so typical. Everyone around them has to change, but they never have to. It's on the same continuum as rapists who say they did it because "she was wearing a short skirt." Utterly irresponsible.
20% is pretty typical, but if you are a first time
home buyer there are programs that can get you in for less. Also, if you buy into one of the cookie cutter housing developments the builders usually have deals where you can put down as little as $1500 and they pay closing costs and maybe some other perks as well, like free washer and dryer, or no payments for 6 months.
I didn't get a mortage through Lending Tree, but did get a home equity loan. You just fill out their forms on-line and you get 5 quotes. They come one at a time and sometimes over a period of 2 to 3 days, some may even call, but every day you also get a comparison chart from LT that shows you all the terms of the different lenders so you can compare. We own our home, have excellent credit, and weren't seeking full equity, but some still offered high interest rates. There was at least a 3% difference in rates, some had free closing, others charges various fees. It doesn't cost anything to go through them and you aren't commited to anything. I would also check out ditech dot com. They advertise good rates and low closing costs. Supposedly Countrywide also has good rates, but I have heard of lots of problems with them from lots of people, so that would not be my first choice.
typical male response
X
She looks like your typical meth-head. (nm)
.
Typical multilevel - good products but...
high in price. Melalueca is just like every other multilevel company. The people at the top make a lot of money. The ones at the bottom don't. I never liked trying to sell things, especially multilevel programs, to my friends. :)
She'll be the typical 15 minutes of fame...
person. Jessical Hahn, Amy Fisher, etc., known forever for their sexploitation and scandal. They all play the poor victim, troubled home life, drug abuse, no one loves me - wah wah, poor babies- but sure are smart enough to make a buck selling their stories, taking off their clothes for magazines and then pleading to be "left alone" and then want to be taken seriously. Prostitute, high class call girl, escort, whatever, you can dress the pig up, but it's still a pig!
Yes, especially if you are on a month-to-month basis
My mother had rental properties and has evicted tenants twice because her daughter (sis) decided she wanted to live there. Those tenants were pretty upset at the time too, because they didn't want to move. A landlord isn't required to have a reason for taking back their property or raising the rent. They will likely give you a good reference since you're been a good tenant.
A year after Katrina, all the landlords on the Gulf Coast decided to double or triple their rent, just because they could. Due to the housing crisis rents are going to continue to rise, because more people are losing their homes and looking for apartments. Its all about supply and demand.
The bright side is that working at home allows you to live "anywhere", so you could see this as an opportunity to move somewhere completely different. That's what I did, and I haven't regretted it.
If it is a month-to-month lease -
If there is no signed lease stating a specific time (1 yr, 2 yr, etc.) then it is implied as a month-to-month least and either the tenant or LL can terminate at any time.
I would look for a place pronto if I was the OP.
And she should get another job pronto too if the one she got ain't paying the bills. No reason to let it go on month after month, paycheck after paycheck, until you are in the street, that is just plain stupid.
If she is getting evicted --- there is more to this story I believe.
It's actually something like a second job to get the bill that low.
I spend a lot of time studying sales and clipping coupons (doubled and sometimes tripled in our area). And I use bonus cards and shop at places like Aldi's for staple items. I never go into a grocery store without a plan, and I never buy on impulse. A lot of money can get away from you when you just browse up and down the aisles. Also, the $321 does not include cleaning products, pet food, or any paper products. That's strictly our people food. We only eat meat 3 or 4 times a week. I also cook nearly everything from scratch. That's just part of my Italian family's food tradition. I will pay $12 for a chunk of really good cheese, though! LOL It's a balancing act. I can make a really nice platter of gnocchi with just some flour, water, egg and a baking potato. For a "sauce" I just use olive oil, salt and pepper, GOOD cheese, maybe a little bit of chopped ham or dried sausage as a flavoring. Add some sauteed spinach or escarole, a little salad from whatever veggies looked good at the market. Add some beans to the salad to boost the protein, and we're eating very fine! I also haven't bought canned soup in .... probably ever. I save up chicken carcasses or buy the backs to make stock. I also make veggie stock and buy beef soup bones and make my own beef broth. The home-made stocks make all the difference when cooking from scratch.
I keep the grocery bills low by planning my shopping expeditions and cooking from scratch. It depends on how far you want to go with it. I love to cook. It's a creative outlet for me, so I find it relaxing. Someone else may not, in which case, buying convenience foods would lower their stress level and would be worth the extra expense.
I bet she won't get a bill from the
Bet the hospital writes this off.
Gas Bill
I also live in a small apartment (not a complex, up and down situation) of 2 bedrooms, living room-dinning room, kitchen, bath. My gas bill usually runs about $175-200 a month in the winter. My last gas bill for February was over $600. I found out that my contract with the gas company I was using ran out, and they did not tell me. I called another gas company who gave me a deal at half the price. That is still way too high. I am moving back to Oklahoma this next weekend. I now live in Ohio. House payment alone will save me $300 a month, and my gas payment will probably be about $100-150 a month. I can get a huge house for $300 a month, where as I pay $550 now for a tiny apartment. With all the cuts in pay at MQ, I just cannot afford living here any longer.
I use the bill pay also but
when at the bank today where you have to enter your account number do not think enough space to enter what you need for another banking acct. Oh, well will only be transferring money say every 3 or 4 months and the 3.00 extra charge will not be that bad, especially since if you wire transfer in bank I think they charge around 20 or so.
Me again, tell you what I did about paying a bill for a dog
like I said above, huge animal lover. I have 3 furkids but a friend of mine whose son is a druggie, was not seeing about his dog. The dog needed an operation for a growth on his foot. I paid over $1000.00 for that and now I buy my newly adopted doggie its medicine each month. I never give my friend money because want the money to go for the doggie, not drugs for her kid but you can believe I am seeing the doggie is comfy!
How we cut our power bill...sm
The bill arrived yesterday and it was $40 less than it usually is when compared to any summer month last year. Here's how we did this:
- I enforced people turning off lights when they leave rooms.
- We switched the light bulbs in the living room and bedroom to the energy saving energystar rated bulbs.
- When the washing machine died we replaced it with an energy saving one.
I was suprised that the power bill went down this month... especially with it begin summer and having the A/C running.
To help the kids remember to turn off the lights when they leave a room and to not leave water running that is not being used I gave them the incentive that if the utility bills came in what our usual budget is then they can have the excess money for extra activities this summer. That has sure gotten their attention!
Maybe someone else paid the bill for you.
no msg
Hospital bill
As long as you pay something every month, there is nothing they can do to you.
I would not take my money out of the CD's or move it. Just keep paying something every month.
Quicken Bill Pay
I use that site. It's worth the $9.95 a month to me for all the bills I write.
I have 2 gifts that fit this bill.
Back in the 80s my mother made 2 quilts, one side silky and the other side imitation fur. You talk about warm! Have used those since. The best gift ever was not Christmas but my husband (actually called first to make sure ok) and then bought me home my 2 tuxedo cats- they were really small when he first got them but they have grown into big lovable guys. One a Christmas and the other just a gift. I am blessed.
I have 2 gifts that fit this bill.
Back in the 80s my mother made 2 quilts, one side silky and the other side imitation fur. You talk about warm! Have used those since. The best gift ever was not Christmas but my husband (actually called first to make sure ok) and then bought me home my 2 tuxedo cats- they were really small when he first got them but they have grown into big lovable guys. One a Christmas and the other just a gift. I am blessed.
Electric Bill
Bill was $64.00!
$33.00 for actual electrical usage
$31.00 for Cust charge, Standard Metering charge, Distribution Facilities Charge, Transmissions Services Charge, Purchased Electricity Adjustments, Environmental Cost Recovery Adj, Energy Efficiency Programs, Franchise Cost, State Tax and Municipal Tax.
lol, I meant - nice that it is all on one bill : )
x
Not the poster you replied to but I do like Bill O.
p
I heard that in some states you can bill the MD
I heard this quite a few years ago, never tried it....but our time is as valuable as anybody else's time (outside of emergencies/extenuating circumstances) and I worked for an MD who kept the patients waiting for 5 hours in his waiting room....the elderly were the victims in this case....it was 20+ years ago. And don't you just hate waiting in the waiting room for over an hour and then waiting in that examining room for any length of time beyond 10-15 minutes?!?! Usually a 30-45 minute wait and I don't like that either....
Most of us have places to go, people to see, things to do.....all as important as anybody else.....they are not gods....far from it, actually.
Yeah, they pay our bills/mortgage/rent but doesn't mean we have to like 'em....*l*
thanks for the place to vent...
just know that you all can bill an MD for wait time
really - it's being done now - whereby you, the patient, can bill the doctor's office for exhorbitant time waiting.............gives them back a taste of their own medicine (with them billing you for not canceling an appointment in a timely fashion) - TWO can play that game....*lol*
I know all about that bill they tried to pass and failed so far,
I am against it being mandatory, and yes, I am part of the breed/show world, and did mixed breed rescue, volunteered in a few shows for a long time and it is heart breaking. But, in all the years I volunteered in them, the pedigree cat was rare, I only saw a persian once and a siamese once. I am not out West though. Mandatory spay and neuter will only create a black market. In CA there is already a problem with smuggling puppies in from Mexico, imagine how much worse that will get. And yes, breeders can get a license, but not everyone will get one and unfortunately, it will knock out the good ones, the bad ones always find a way around things. The better answer would be low cost spay and neuter programs so that it is more affordable. I don't know costs in CA, but here in PA they are getting very high. My vet loves me, I spend a fortune there and if somebody gets sick on the weekend, I don't think twice about going to the emergency vet and paying extra costs. I do recall, however, in the pounds I volunteered in that there more pedigree dogs, particularly large ones. In these cases, it seemed people did not do their homework and did not realize the puppy would get so big.
As for pet stores, I would never buy a pet in one of those, nor would I ever let one of my kittens go to them. In fact, my breeding is very small scale, I am most definitely not making money on it, and I am very picky about who let have one of my furry kids, and I do have high quality within my chosen breed, good health and show.
Good luck in CA, but I don't think that bill will ever get passed. It is really not cost effective to the state and like you said, how could they enforce it? People find a way, sad, but true.
they called Bill a pig but Condi and GWB have been
those in glass houses should never throw stones, eh? *lol* -
ty...problem not the phone bill though...psm
We are fortunate that we have unlimited texts, so the problem isn't the phone bill. The problem is I feel he is running his life into a ditch. I know he has to make his own mistakes but we raised him better than to be rude, disrespectful, and lie. At least I thought we did :(
I know they say you have to let your kids make their own mistakes but it is so hard to do that when you know disaster is on its way.
The only real problem with taking is phone away is he will be 2 hours away and I won't have any way to contact him or him us at any time. They don't even put phones in the dorms these days.
I was at a football game last night and his girlfriend was there texting away to him. I heard her tell her friend "I am talking to him on AIM since we can't talk on the phone anymore." Which meant she can't text him (we set him a limit of 200 a day) so he is sitting in his room talking to her on the computer instead. I can't stop it. There is no way I can take away his computer. I just have to let him do what he's gonna do at this point I guess........thanks for the help! Any more advice would be greatly appreciated.
I really do appreciate any help!
I saw that Bill Maher episode too
I recently started watching him and he really puts things into persective. Especially the comment about about Colonel Sanders and chicken going up. Has some fascinating guests on.
One thing I did say to DH after I heard Bush say that people could use the stimulus to help pay for gas I looked at him and said "Of course he wants us to spend it on gas. He's an oil guy."
Can't wait for Bill Maher to come back on.
SAVE ON HEATING BILL!
A friend told me about these and my husband brought an article home today. They are Heat Surge Fireless Flame miracle heaters produced by the Amish. I will try to attach the link to the web site so you can check them out....don't panic at the price! You can order the mantle right now for $298 and get a FREE heater (normally around $600 together) The mantle (which goes around the heater) is solid wood. Right now you can order 2 per household. Click on the link that says "do not have claim code" to see where in the country you are and get the phone#. You only have 48 hours to order, and mine started yesterday.
I sure hope he wanted me to order one, cuz I did!! We already have a wood stove but this will help me not have to get up to put wood in it all night long to keep it going since I have not turned on my house heater in 3 years and refuse to!!!!
Post again when you get your electric bill and
DON'T FORGET to send your warranty in. Hopefully, it will last longer than my Eden Pure. Do a follow up, please. I'm still thinking about it.
No, you can not be held responsible for their bill -
nm
I can use bill pay to pay to a specific account #
at any bank. Its free, too.
Too bad...I have used bill pay to transfer money...
this way, but after reading your post, I looked into it and can only do it from one bank and not the other. They all have their own rules, I have just never had the need to do it the other way around.
Ha! Just wait till the bill comes in.
xx
Bill Maher addressed this end of show...sm
Bill Maher at the very end of his show Friday night (Real Time With Bill Maher) addressed this very thing in the final new rules of his show...the seriousness about the bees dying off...and what will happen if pollination no longer occurs. VERY SCARY indeed.
Not looking for a Bill Maher like or dislike flame....just stating he brought this to MY attention Friday night....I didn't know about the bees/pollination issue nor exactly what that all meant.
Thanks for mentioning the bees/pollination issue here.
Who is on the $10 bill? According to two seven year olds, it's President...(sm)
George Clooney!! Ha!! My daughter said it the other day, and tonight I heard her friend say the same thing. They sat in the back seat of the car arguing with my 10-year-old that they were absolutely sure. My son, also slightly misinformed said, "George Clooney is a comedian" to which my daughter's friend replied, "No, a comedian is someone who works with animals." These really are pretty smart kids most of the time - but I got a huge kick out of their "facts" tonight! HA!
My only bill is the house payment, which is quite taken care of
with one of our checks each month. So, think what you will; our life is good. We save and know how to manage our money. Merry Christmas!
Huge increase in utility bill
What would you do? I just opened my gas bill yesterday and found that my gas bill is 6 x last month's. I live in an apartment and the only gas appliance I have is the water heater. There have not been other people visiting me (I live alone) and I use cold water for clothes washing 99% of the time. I do use my dishwasher about 3 times a week...trying to eat at home! I would have to take 10 long showers a day for this kind of increase. In other words, I do not believe my consumption has increased so much or the rate has recently increased this much!
Many years ago I had a similar thing happen, instead of gas it was an electric bill increase, and it turned out to be a faulty air conditioner. I paid 3 outrageous power bills before that problem was solved and I didn't try to recoup what I paid from the apartment complex. This time I'm not going to do that, as I'm now older and meaner : ) If it turns out to be some sort of leak, can I take the apartments to small claims court? Any similar experiences? TIA...
Do you live in Texas? Our electric bill
for our tiny 2 bedroom house, trying to keep from running the air conditioner too much, using spiral bulbs, turning everything off as much as possible & being careful, is still about $250-$300 in the summer months. I don't know why some states have cheap electricity and some are so high! It's crazy.
Nastier than normal bill collector sm
When I was first on my own, I got in over my head with my phone service and had it go to collections. The debt got bought by another agency a while later, and when the first person called and said how much was owed, I said I could make the 4 payments of whatever it was they offered. Well, the "supervisor" wench who came on the line next said that was unacceptable. I explained that I could pay the amount they wanted for 1 payment but not the whole thing or I would not have groceries for my kids. I was calm and asked if she wanted me to pay her instead of having food for my kids, and I kid you not, she said yes!!! I explained that she was being ridiculous and how was I supposed to do something like that? Basically it all boiled down to she didn't care about anything other than getting the money and that I should have paid my bills back then, even when I admitted to her that I had made a bad choice at that time and was wanting to take care of it. I ended up getting hung up on and was so ticked I couldn't see straight.
You like Bill O'reilly?(Former host on Inside Edition)
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