SF Parking-Woes-Workaround: Tip-of-the-Day #342

A few days ago a friend told me she downloaded an app called SpotHero and then parked her mom's car at the Embarcadero for 24 hrs for a mere $22. I was impressed but didn't think to install it myself since I generally park in the same lot by my office every day (also $22) and I have a garage at home.

That said, I realized I'm meeting this very friend for happy hour just off Union Square tomorrow at 5:30, and historically this outing always hits me hard with a $36 parking fee. It *is* Union Square after all.

I decided to download SpotHero to see what kind of parking options they could offer in the heart of the city. I was NOT disappointed. After entering the address of the bar along with the date and time that I was interested in arriving, the app pulled up more than a dozen parking locations ranging from as low as $8 to as high as $45.

Thinking the $8 lot was too good to be true, I clicked on it and sure enough, I could park from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM at a lot right around the corner from the bar for $8! AND, I didn't need to create an account with SpotHero - just pay the $8 in advance using Apple Pay!

Best yet, they make it super easy to use the voucher because with one click you can add it to your Apple Wallet! The simple instructions explained that I just pull a ticket when I enter the garage and park anywhere that isn't "Reserved". When I'm ready to leave I show the attendant my SpotHero reservation, along with the ticket I pulled upon entrance. The gate will open and away I go!

Hard to believe I haven't used this app before, but I can tell you I will be using it again!

Amazon Funding Workaround: Tip-of-the-Day #341

I recently took part in a 4-hour focus group for which I was paid a handsome $350. It was presented to me in the form of a pre-paid Visa debit card. Great! (I thought). The only hitch: my plan was to add it as a payment method to Amazon and fund my most heavily trafficked shopping destination. DENIED. Not once, but half a dozen times because I stupidly kept trying, assuming it was user error. Nope! I called Amazon and they blamed the issuer. I called the issuer (Visa) and they blamed Amazon. Gah!

Long and short, seems Amazon changed their security settings and you can no longer add your three-digit code to their payment profiles and for a credit card it doesn't matter but for a debit card, the bank won't approve the transaction without it! Serious fail.

I Googled "best ways to use a pre-paid Visa debit card" and found a whole host of ideas I'd already thought of: shop at retail, create a pin and extract the cash value from an ATM (minus the handling fees), etc. etc.

But I WANTED to use the card to fund my Amazon account because I'd been able to do that very thing a few short months ago!

Then I realized that I could march myself over to Walgreens, and use my debit card to purchase an Amazon gift card worth $350. Circuitous? Yep. But, it worked. And I didn't have to pay fees and I didn't have to worry about the value expiring (the card expires in three months so if I had tucked it away for a rainy day I would have been very disappointed!).

All by way of saying, where there's a will there's a way. My recommendation for using a pre-paid debit card is to go to Walgreens, CVS, Target, etc. and buy one or more gift cards with your favorite retailer(s). You can use them yourself or gift them. Voila! 

Stain Remover Extraordinaire: Tip-of-the-Day #340

I've tried just about every stain remover on the market - from Shout, to Resolve, to Tide To Go and Wine Away. Resolve did a fairly decent job on carpet stains only, Shout worked its magic on clothing, Wine Away was hit or miss on furniture and clothing, etc. I couldn't find one solution that works universally across materials. That is, until I was introduced to Folex.

Folex is different/better than any stain remover I have ever come across. I have been able to *safely* remove spots and stains from colorfast carpet, rugs, upholstery, and clothing, without excessive scrubbing or washing with water afterward. This product removes virtually any stain, from practically any surface or material.

I primarily use Folex on my rugs and furniture because I have cats and often times it's vomit, the occasional accident outside of the litter box, food spill, etc. Just yesterday I realized that I'd inadvertently spilled some of my cat's bright pink antibiotic on my cream colored linen sofa and when I went to grab the Folex I was met with a nearly empty bottle. Crisis! I happened to have a Shout wipe on hand and figured that would probably do the trick. WRONG. I should have remembered that cleaners like Shout may remove the stain but also tend to leave a ring around the area, almost like a sweat stain, that is often times worse than the original stain (check out this photo after using Shout and then promptly using Folex once that had dried).

Folex is sold at most hardware stores and grocery stores. I strongly recommend it for any house with animals, kids, people who entertain, or those of us prone to accidents. It's the best $9 investment you'll ever make. Really.

Plan to Get Perks on Your Bday: Tip-of-the-Day #339

My bday just passed in early March and I was sent gifts that ranged from a free food/beverage item at Starbucks to a free necklace at Stella and Dot. Offers rolled in from Anthropologie (15% off during your bday month), Gap (extra savings), even my gym offered me a free Pilates session. Had I taken up all these free offers I would have been a very busy woman. That said, I went for the necklace at Stella and Dot and signed up for a Pilates session that I will likely never use.

However, I just opened an email from Thrillist (great resource for local happenings if you aren't already subscribed) and I saw a round up of all the restaurants that will hook you up with freebies on your big day. The list is fairly exhaustive and mostly features chain restaurants (no judgement) but if you're looking for some great deals, you may want to check it out!

Some of my favs from the list include:

• Free burrito at Baja Fresh
• Free ice cream at Ben & Jerry's
• $30 gift card to Benihana
• Free stack of pancakes at IHOP (my fav will always be the rooty tooty fresh and fruity)
• Free smoothie at Jamba Juice
• Free entree at P.F. Chang's

Just one more way to make your day!

Combine Insurance Policies Pronto: Tip-of-the-Day #338

About a week ago I got a bill in the mail for an insurance policy I was certain I had just paid. I picked up the phone (I still do that sometimes!) and dialed my agent in San Rafael. Lisa, best agent ever, confirmed that I had just paid my premium and this bill must be for something else. She asked for the policy number and when I provided it, she quickly deduced that the policy was in fact my home insurance versus my auto insurance. She also noticed that it was held with a different Farmers agent. She asked if I'd like to combine policies and I agreed that she could look into it (not understanding the benefit of combining, of course).

Several days later, I got a call from Lisa saying that she was able to combine the policies, saving me 25% (!!!!) on the premium and that she also put in a request for retroactive savings dating back to December of 2016, which had been accepted. A very innocent (albeit naive) phone call on my part turned into a $1000 savings overnight.

I had no idea that combining policies could save so much money, but now I do! And, you do too. :)

I was beyond thrilled with the outcome and rewarded my favorite agent with a big box of Mrs. Fields cookies. (The smart shopper in me found a 17% off coupon, lol.)

Happy saving!

Cast a Wide Wine Net: Tip-of-the-Day #337

For all you fruit-forward wine lovers out there, you know that Rombauer makes an incredible zinfandel - I liken it to drinking dessert. That said, it's been out of stock for months in the Bay Area because it's very popular during the colder months and a new release isn't slated until April. You can't even buy it on their website!

Soooo, the other day I got a bee in my bonnet (still love that expression) and I decided to cast a wider net in my search for this liquid ambrosia. It didn't take long for me to find my nectar in a small, obscure wine shop outside of New York (thanks, Google!) and not only was it available by the case but it was ON SALE! I had literally hit the jackpot of all jackpots.

Plus, I remembered to always search for coupon codes online because even small, podunk wine shops in God-knows-where may offer a discount on shipping or a case of wine. And, drumroll, this one did! So, with a little more sleuthing I found a discounted shipping coupon and between that and the sale price, I paid nearly half what this very wine is selling for (if you can find a bottle) here in San Francisco. (Remind me to tell you the story of how I got my hands on a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle, too.)

Live nearby? Come on over for a cup of dessert any time.

Cheers!

Maximize Benefits During Transition: Tip-of-the-Day #336

I recently decided to part ways with my former employer. I gave my two weeks notice, wrapped things up (professionally), and then went about creating a checklist of all the things I would need to take care of (personally), in short order. I strongly urge you to consider the following when you're leaving a job (for any reason):

1. Health insurance. Your company was paying it. Now you've got to pay it yourself. You'll typically have access to your benefits through the end of the month that you were employed. Then, it's on you to enroll in COBRA or Covered CA or the equivalent. Health insurance is NOT an inexpensive proposition. To continue getting the same coverage I was enrolled in through my employer, I will now need to pay $810 each month, out of my own pocket (and that does not include vision or dental). My plan is to become employed very quickly, so I'm going to opt out of the insurance-that-could-be-a-down-payment-on-a-car option and go with something far cheaper (with fewer bells and whistles). HOWEVER, I am going to maximize my benefits while I still have them. Sooo, I got my cavities filled, my eyes examined, picked up new frames/lenses as a result, and moved up my appt with my dermatologist. It's SMART to position yourself for wellness so don't ever feel weird about leveraging benefits that are already yours to use.
2. Commuter benefits. I was on a commuter plan through payroll that deducted $255 from each check to help me cover my parking costs downtown. At the time of separation, I had @$350 in my account that I WASN'T going to have a chance to use. Well, there was no way I was walking away from MY MONEY. So, I read all the fine print regarding what those funds could be used for, how much time I had to use them, etc. The only viable option for me was to bill back the days that I parked in the garage and paid cash. I cross referenced the recorded transactions through Zenefits with my own calendar and filled in the blanks. Then, I used a professional receipt template and submitted a very official account of the days I was seeking reimbursement. In exactly one week, those funds were in my bank account. Hallelujah.
3. Out of pocket expenses. When you leave a job, be sure you've accounted for ALL of your out of pocket expenses and get them into accounting for reimbursement. A colleague of mine (I won't name her) had been sitting on a YEAR'S WORTH of unsubmitted receipts that amounted to nearly $10K. When she realized the company wasn't doing so hot, she dedicated an entire weekend to getting them in order and submitting them to finance. Lucky for me, I was already up to date on mine because I'm pretty fastidious about that kind of stuff. But, I made sure my gym and cell phone subsidies were up to date. 
4. Company shares. If you have them, and you have any faith that the organization you just spent a year or more of your life working for may actually succeed, it's in your interest to exercise your option to purchase shares. I have 3500 shares and the strike price is something like .32. I would be silly to walk away from those. So, I have every intention of buying them within the 90 day window I have to do so. Yes, it's an outflow that comes at an inconvenient time, but could pay out long term. I say, take the risk! And, again, I anticipate being employed within that window so it shouldn't be impossible for me to allocate that money.

That's a pretty succinct roundup. I hope it proves useful to you. I found it reassuring to know I could take good care of myself during an otherwise semi-stressful time.

Here's to the next best thing!