Decided to move this block here as I felt it deserved its own entry.
I’ve been an avid reader of a new blog: The Consumerist. They have a lot of interesting stories regarding the consumer, what we should now to protect ourselves and how we can fight back giant corporations. Often times, consumers like us don’t know what laws protect us and are bullied by the giants into accepting whatever they say. Interesting stories and helpful hints.
Speaking of which, I was at Costco this weekend. It’s been my 1st time to Costco since the blackout (well, Christmas Vacation came along, and last week there weren’t any coupons plus the roads weren’t exactly in good driving condition). Anyway, I was reading their entries on Skin Care: All You Need Is Soap and Sunscreen and Save Money By Exfoliating With Baking Soda. Guess what? Costco has $4 off coupons for Cetaphil. Though I will admit that I was surprised to find out it was $16.46 for 2 bottles, but I decided to pick up one making it $12.46 for 2 just to see what it is. The coupon makes it $12.46 for Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, 16-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 2) or Cetaphil Fragrance Free Moisturizing Lotion, 16-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 2), a total of 32oz with a limit of 6 per customer (12 bottles). I don’t really know what exfoliating is, but it sounds like a facial. Now all I need is some baking soda.
Some other interesting entries include:
- HOW TO: Make A Fake Infomercial – shows how easily it is to make an infomercial selling a fake product
- Amtrak: No Cheap Rail Pass For You – another place where we’re treated as 2nd class citizens
- Conserve Energy By Watching Hourly Rate – Given that there are peak rates and non-peak rates, it’d be a swell idea to store energy during non-peak rates and use them during peak rates
Another interesting article by them which I decided needed more than just 1 liner is: Free International Phone Calls By Calling Iowa. Services like AllFreeCalls.net have been popping up everywhere. Iowa for once is the leading the game. Due to a new law, telephone companies will receive money for every incoming call. Companies are taking advantage of this and by providing you free international calling over VoIP, they are actually making money. Check out the list of countries that you can call for free. Most people can take advantage of this through their unlimited nights and weekends on their cell phone. If you’re part T-Mobile’s myFaves plan, then you can set this number as one of your favorites. I suggested on the MS newsgroup today that if you really want to take advantage of this, you should sign up for SkypeOut which is currently $15 for the 1st year with unlimited outgoing calls to any phone number in the United States and Canada. If you sign up past 1/31/2007, the price will jump to $30 for the 1st year.
Another similar free international phone service is Free Call Planet.