Errors in Bank Statements

It is fun to read about all the horror stories that people have faced when they have interacted with their bank via a website or letters or mailed statements.

Take a look at this BBC web page for a nice read.

The latest banking error is here.

The worse thing is that this can happen to YOU. Never trust that your bank statements are correct and banks always encourage their customers to balance each statement manually and report back errors.

Winter: Car Battery Care

In cold winters, batteries bear most of the brunt. There will be situations when your car will not start at any cost and will need to be jump-started. You will see signs of decline in the battery after about 2-3 years of life. This is when your "I will be prepared" attitude will come to the rescue.

1) Buy a cheap "Jump Starter". Not the cables. But you can buy a quality Jump Starter (emergency) for your car in the range $35-70. This should be charged and kept in your car at all times. Imagine situations when your car battery is dead (as an example, one of the doors was not shut properly?). These situations can happen in summer also. That is when an emergency jump-starter will come in handy.

2) Buy a speed charger for around $30. You can reasonably charge your battery in 5-8 hours with this charger. You plug the terminals of the charger to the battery. Then connect the charger to a power supply. Most of the prominent speed chargers will not over charge. So you should leave it for at least 5 hours.

Peep Feet: Peep and The Big Wide World

Apple iPhone at Walmart?

Well, you can get $2 discount on the phones. But you still need the 2 year plan from AT&T or an upgrade. Nothing spectacular here. You may probably save some gas driving to the nearest AT&T center as walmart(s) are plenty.

According to,
http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/12/26/apple-iphone-walmart-markets-equity-cx_mlm_1226markets17.html, an 8GB iPhone will sell for $197 whereas the 16GB version will sell for $297. $10 savings can be achieved at Best Buy. So Walmart is actually $8 more expensive than Best Buy.

Given that various small cities/counties have different local taxes, you should take that in to account also. :)