![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asher553FINANCE, PART 1. Shakia, the fraud agent at Wells Fargo, listened patiently while I unfolded a tale of fraudulent charges to my Amazon Prime account. Quite likely she was thinking "Oh shit, another customer who signed up for too many Prime Video channels." She would have been correct: about five minutes after I hung up the phone, I finally found my way to the webpage where all my premium subscriptions are listed (they don't make it easy to find), and sure enough, I had signed up for about ten channels. I was the author of my own distress. I've got to hand it to Amzaon, they've got a good business model going there: each of those channels only costs around 5 or 6 dollars a month, so it doesn't look like a lot of money, and you never see the whole amount in one place. Also: each channel you sign up for is a SEPARATE recurring monthly charge, so if you sign up for 10 channels, that's 10 charges you've got to keep track of every single month. Better late than never, I immediately unsubscribed from all, so I've now started to save myself a bunch of money and headache. And no doubt I gave Shakia something to talk about with the other phone agents.
FINANCE, PART 2. Signing up for a lot of premium video channels might not have been the best idea, but one thing I did do right was to start keeping a daily ledger. It's just an Excel spreadsheet where I track my activity on my main bank account from day to day. Using the spreadsheet allows me to track pending and scheduled charges and deposits, and of course it makes me more aware of my financial activity. I find I'm enjoying keeping the ledger, and I get a nice feeling of satisfaction from seeing the numbers match up with the bank statement. And it was by keeping the ledger that I first noticed all those Prime Video charges - so the practice has already shown its value.
TECHNOLOGY. After just two months, the USB connection on my new Samsung appears to have failed, and I can no longer charge the device. It's at about 47 pct battery power now. I'll have to take it to the ATT shop at the mall and see if I can get it replaced under warranty.
SOCIETY. The Farmers' Market season is back, and I've started tabling at the local one, along with a new volunteer, D., a woman who contacted us through our website. While sitting at the table last Sunday, D. and I struck up a conversation with a woman, H., who was visiting the Farmers' Market and expressed interest in getting involved. I followed up with H. by email and now she's on the volunteer list too! This weekend's tabling session had to be scrubbed (all three of us had other commitments, mine being the phone) but I'm hoping our new recruit will be joining us next weekend.
FINANCE, PART 2. Signing up for a lot of premium video channels might not have been the best idea, but one thing I did do right was to start keeping a daily ledger. It's just an Excel spreadsheet where I track my activity on my main bank account from day to day. Using the spreadsheet allows me to track pending and scheduled charges and deposits, and of course it makes me more aware of my financial activity. I find I'm enjoying keeping the ledger, and I get a nice feeling of satisfaction from seeing the numbers match up with the bank statement. And it was by keeping the ledger that I first noticed all those Prime Video charges - so the practice has already shown its value.
TECHNOLOGY. After just two months, the USB connection on my new Samsung appears to have failed, and I can no longer charge the device. It's at about 47 pct battery power now. I'll have to take it to the ATT shop at the mall and see if I can get it replaced under warranty.
SOCIETY. The Farmers' Market season is back, and I've started tabling at the local one, along with a new volunteer, D., a woman who contacted us through our website. While sitting at the table last Sunday, D. and I struck up a conversation with a woman, H., who was visiting the Farmers' Market and expressed interest in getting involved. I followed up with H. by email and now she's on the volunteer list too! This weekend's tabling session had to be scrubbed (all three of us had other commitments, mine being the phone) but I'm hoping our new recruit will be joining us next weekend.
