Little things add up.
Your faithful Republican Reporter doesn't normally provide consumer economic advice. But over the weekend, a lesson in savings, from long ago, was reinforced to me. It resulted in a 11% savings, just this weekend
It was probably 25 years ago that my sister Jane and I drove to Colorado to visit our aunt and uncle, who lived there. As we made the 1,200 mile journey, we stopped at various eateries along the way. At the conclusion of each meal, my sister would scan the bill like a tax auditor. And she called out the waitress when we were overcharged.
It was, frankly, a little embarrassing. When I challenged her on the practice, Jane said, "Okay, let me check the bill at the next two stops, if they are both accurate, I'll stop. But, if they have overcharged us for an item at either stop, I get to continue." Agreed.
In fact, our next two stops at diners both resulted in a bill that had an extra item or two, or a miscalculation (always in the business' favor). She convinced me of the need to be vigilant. In fact, for the remainder of our journey, we were overcharged nearly 50% of the time.
On Sunday, I accompanied my wife to a national retail chain. Our purchases came to a little more than $120. LIke my sister, my wife is diligent on making sure the charges at the register reflect the prices on the shelf. WOW! Was I stunned. For two minor items, the shelf price listed $5.99. At the register, one was correctly scanned at the $5.99 price, while the second was scanned at $8.99. (A 50% increase over the listed price!)
For a larger purchase, a $105 listed item was scanned at the counter for $115. Another $10 mistake. When we pointed out the discrepancies, the clerk gladly made the correction. But the lesson was learned. In just seven items, we were overcharged on two of them by $13.
It was probably 25 years ago that my sister Jane and I drove to Colorado to visit our aunt and uncle, who lived there. As we made the 1,200 mile journey, we stopped at various eateries along the way. At the conclusion of each meal, my sister would scan the bill like a tax auditor. And she called out the waitress when we were overcharged.
It was, frankly, a little embarrassing. When I challenged her on the practice, Jane said, "Okay, let me check the bill at the next two stops, if they are both accurate, I'll stop. But, if they have overcharged us for an item at either stop, I get to continue." Agreed.
In fact, our next two stops at diners both resulted in a bill that had an extra item or two, or a miscalculation (always in the business' favor). She convinced me of the need to be vigilant. In fact, for the remainder of our journey, we were overcharged nearly 50% of the time.
On Sunday, I accompanied my wife to a national retail chain. Our purchases came to a little more than $120. LIke my sister, my wife is diligent on making sure the charges at the register reflect the prices on the shelf. WOW! Was I stunned. For two minor items, the shelf price listed $5.99. At the register, one was correctly scanned at the $5.99 price, while the second was scanned at $8.99. (A 50% increase over the listed price!)
For a larger purchase, a $105 listed item was scanned at the counter for $115. Another $10 mistake. When we pointed out the discrepancies, the clerk gladly made the correction. But the lesson was learned. In just seven items, we were overcharged on two of them by $13.
Pretty shocking. In my one rare trip for shopping, more than 25% of the items resulted in overcharges. Little things add up.
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My recent article on unions, prompted this response from an Illinois reader:
Found your article about unions interesting and wanted to share a local one with you and why the State is broke. I was at the State Garage and it was after hours with a mechanic working on a snow plow. His supervisor was also there. I asked the supervisor why he was still there. He told me they can't have a mechanic working without a supervisor on duty. That is overtime for a supervisor also. The "CMS" Central Management Services animal is huge. Most state workers call it the Central Mafia Services. Little things like that add up.
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My recent article on unions, prompted this response from an Illinois reader:
Found your article about unions interesting and wanted to share a local one with you and why the State is broke. I was at the State Garage and it was after hours with a mechanic working on a snow plow. His supervisor was also there. I asked the supervisor why he was still there. He told me they can't have a mechanic working without a supervisor on duty. That is overtime for a supervisor also. The "CMS" Central Management Services animal is huge. Most state workers call it the Central Mafia Services. Little things like that add up.
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During the 2008 Campaign, I had several Obama supporters lecture me on the horror that was the Patriot Act, signed by President George Bush. This bill was the overreach that proved that Bush was a dictator for this nation. So said Obama's supporters.
Quietly, last week, guess what President Obama extended for another full year? Tha's right! The Patriot Act!
Does that make Obama a dictator too?
My mom taught me to scan the receipt, too, to be sure that things ring up correctly. It's amazing how often they don't!
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