Archive for July 2005

Check Writing Tips

Written by Nickel - 4 Comments

While there’s currently a lot of concern about identity theft, the hijacking of electronic accounts, and other forms of modern day fraud, not as much attention is being paid to good, old-fashioned, low-tech fraud. So… As a followup to my previous post on being careful about who you pay with a check, I thought I’d [...]

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Published on July 29th, 2005 - 4 Comments
Filed under: Banking, Identity Theft
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State Sales Tax Holidays

Written by Nickel - 5 Comments

Eleven different states (plus the District of Columbia) will be offering sales tax holidays in the coming weeks as shoppers stock up on back-to-school items. Note that the tax-exemption applies mainly to things like non-luxury clothing, books, school supplies, and sometimes computers. This is a great deal for those of you who can take advantage [...]

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Published on July 28th, 2005 - 5 Comments
Filed under: Taxes
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Recent Slowdown

Written by Nickel - Leave a Comment

Just a quick note to explain the recent slowdown in activity here at FiveCentNickel. First off, I was out of town much of last week and didn’t have internet access. Second, my primary computer (a PowerBook G4) has been in for service, thereby making it difficult for me to work on the site in my [...]

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Published on July 27th, 2005 - Leave a Comment
Filed under: About/Admin
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Appeal Your Health Insurance Denials

Written by Nickel - 3 Comments

Over the past few years, I’ve received a few denials of coverage from health insurance companies, and each time I’ve appealed the decision. Doing so doesn’t take much effort, and the payoff can be substantial. In one case, I had just started a new job and didn’t yet have an insurance card despite the fact [...]

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Published on July 25th, 2005 - 3 Comments
Filed under: Insurance
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Yes, Virginia, There is a Two Dollar Bill

Written by Nickel - 11 Comments

A funny thing happened at lunch the other day… While waiting at the counter for the cashier to take my order, I overheard an interesting exchange between the guy next to me and the cashier that was helping him. He ordered his sandwich and then went to pay with a couple of two dollar bills. [...]

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Published on July 22nd, 2005 - 11 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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$4.60 Worth of Laziness

Written by Nickel - 6 Comments

A bunch of overdue library books just cost me $4.60 in fines. Fortunately it’s only a dime per book per day, or it could’ve really hurt. While it’s cheaper than buying all those books, and it ultimately supports a worthy cause, I still find it a bit irksome. Maybe I need to create a new [...]

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Published on July 20th, 2005 - 6 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Free Access to Consumer Reports (and More)

Written by Nickel - 10 Comments

I never make a major purchase decision without doing a bit of background research. Thus, I was pleased to learn awhile back that I could get free online access to ConsumerReports.org (as well as a large number of other publications) through my local library’s web site. As it turns out, many other public libraries do [...]

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Published on July 18th, 2005 - 10 Comments
Filed under: Frugality, Online
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Google Currency Converter

Written by Nickel - Leave a Comment

Maybe this is old news to some of you, but I just ran across yet another cool Google function… Currency conversion! Simply enter the conversion of interest (e.g., 1 USD in Euros) in the Google search box and out pops your answer. Google lists a few examples of acceptable query formats, including:
3.5 USD in GBP
currency [...]

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Published on July 16th, 2005 - Leave a Comment
Filed under: Banking, Online
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Washing Machine Repair, Part Deux

Written by Nickel - 5 Comments

Well, it turns out that I was wrong about our washing machine… The motor was shot, and the repair estimate was $270! Actually, we had already incurred $70 of that for the visit plus the repairman’s time diagnosing the problem. This left us in a bit of a quandary — lay out an additional $200 [...]

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Published on July 15th, 2005 - 5 Comments
Filed under: House & Home
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Washing Machine Repair

Written by Nickel - 3 Comments

When I got home from work last night, my wife informed me that our washing machine is broken. It seems to go all the way through to the spin cycle, but then it won’t spin. You can hear the motor whir, but it’s accompanied by a grinding sound and the tub just sits there. My [...]

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Published on July 14th, 2005 - 3 Comments
Filed under: House & Home
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