Like a phoenix from the ashes

Last week, after 363 days of silence, The Vigilant Consumer emerged like a phoenix from the ashes. This first posting, entitled What Happened to The Vigilant Consumer? left many of you scratching your heads.  Who is Yahoo Serious and why is he buying a blog? Where is Necker Island? Since you are now getting paid, are you going to be buying drinks the next time we hang out?

Alas, this was all an April Fool’s joke. Although I strongly feel that Yahoo! (or Yahoo Serious) should acquire The Vigilant Consumer, I doubt it will happen anytime soon. However, I was inspired that everyone seemed to fall for my innocent prank, and none of you disputed that I offer some value, whether for entertainment of practical purposes.

It’s ironic that my attention to The Vigilant Consumer dwindled as I settled into a new job for a innovative technology company that saves users both time and money- one that I’d likely write about and certainly one to which I’d give a big 3 Thumbs Up. However, the demanding hours have sucked up my time and energy. I’ve recently quenched my thirst to write by launching Carrying On, our unofficial corporate blog. Unofficial is the obligatory word in the previous sentence, because that affords a the freedom to impart a Vigilant Consumersque writing style in this blog, check it out.

The inspiration that resulted from last week’s tomfoolery will translate into more frequent posts on The Vigilant Consumer. I’m shooting for once a week, but If you want to keep up-to-date on all the latest and greatest, and you haven’t already subscribed, type in your email address in the upper right and click “Subscribe.”

What happened to The Vigilant Consumer?

UPDATE: HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S! I do plan to write more.  Perhaps once a week rather than once a year.

Did the economy improve to the point that it was no longer necessary for us to practice the art of proactive consumerism? Balderdash.

Did Madoff’s relocation to a federal penitentiary result in the spontaneous evaporation of all comedic material? C’mon now. With Blago (aka Former Governor Rod Blagojevich) on The Celebrity Apprentice, jokes have never been easier to come by.

Did I jump on the OpenTable IPO bandwagon, make millions, befriend Richard Branson and retire to Necker Island? Wishful thinking.

No, you have it all wrong. Unfortunately, work (the type that pays the bills) took over, making it impossible for this one man show to continue.  Hence, the long hiatus – it has been 363 days since my last posting.

I am resurfacing now for two reasons. First, I’d like to apologize to my readers for abandoning them without any explanation. Second, I’d like to share some very exciting news. Over the course of the last year, the interwebs worked their magic and my musings were recognized by a prominent executive at one of the world’s largest and most powerful web portals (hmm, I’m thirsty for a Yoo-Hoo). This individual felt that The Vigilant Consumer had some great tips for everyday folks that were dealing with the turbulent economy, and he appreciated that they were presented in a unique, lighthearted fashion.

 

This media giant (anyone know what happened to Yahoo Serious) made me an offer I could not refuse.  As a result, I am ecstatic that The Vigilant Consumer will live on! The details have not all been worked out, but stay tuned for more info and fantastic updates.

-The Vigilant Consumer

Everyone loves a Virgin...

A Virgin America (VA) flight that is - c'mon, get your mind out of the gutter! I've been a fan since the airline launched in 2007. Even though Sir Richard Branson doesn't officially run this company (shouldn't the FAA worry about more important things like outdated air traffic control systems), his genius constantly shines through. VA not only provides a hip flying environment (in a time when all the other airlines are more like hip replacements), but the company truly understands the importance of delivering an outstanding customer experience. If you've ever been on a delayed VA flight, you know what I mean. Rather than regressing to the level of DMVesque, bitchy and unaccommodating agents (like I've too often dealt with on other airlines), VA's ground crew leverages the weather or mechanical delay to set its brand apart. First, they provide continuous status updates, but more importantly, they do a surprisingly good job of passing the time with silly, yet entertaining games in the gate area. Even their safety video is entertaining (see below).

Although I could write so much more to express my love of VA or man crush for Richard Branson, that is not the sole purpose of this posting. I recently had to miss a VA flight due to a nasty bout of food poisoning. I am not skilled enough to multitask while praising the porcelain altar (click here for 1,591 other vomiting synonyms), so I did not cancel the flight prior to departure. Two days later, after 10 gallons of Gatorade and 78 slices of white bread, The Vigilant Consumer was back. I crafted a letter (see below) toVA's Guest Care department, and going against all of their standard policies, they provided a credit for the missed flight - they didn't even charge a $75 change fee.

A small win likes this certainly requires a good letter in addition to an understanding customer service representative. When you find yourself in a similar pickle, use the following tips when writing your letter. It takes some extra effort, but it's worked several times in the past:

• Rudeness is your enemy - if the they feel threatened or insulted, you'll be denied outright
• Humor sets the mood - throw in a funny anecdote if appropriate
• Empathy is the secret weapon - make them feel your pain
• Loyalty is valuable - especially in this economy, companies will bend over backwards to retain loyal customers

Enjoy the letter - it saved me $170!
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Dear Guest Care,

I was scheduled to fly on Virgin America (SFO to LAX) this past Friday, March 20. Unfortunately, the day of my flight, I was suddenly stricken with a case of food poisoning. It’s quite an ugly mess, something I could hardly wish upon an arch nemesis. Since I live alone, I needed all my energy to make it to the Urgent Care center at the hospital where, after 4 hours of waiting, a doctor officially diagnosed me with gastroenteritis. By the time I was able to receive the proper medical attention and medication, and return to the comfort of my home, it was too late for me to call Virgin America to cancel my flight.
Being a charter member of Virgin America Elevate, and a frequent flier (my girlfriend lives in LA), I am familiar with Virgin America’s standard cancellation policy. Unfortunately, however, this incident hit me so quickly and with such force, that I was in no position to cancel the flight or find someone to do it for me. When I returned to the living on Saturday, I called your reservation line and they suggested I contact Guest Care this week. Upon speaking with Guest Care yesterday, they suggested that there may be some leniency in the policy if I provided a note from the doctor.
I have attached the note, and hope that you will consider issuing me a credit for this particular round trip. I have loved the Virgin America experience, and since my girlfriend loves to see me on a regular basis, I plan to continue flying Virgin on my regular flights down south (already have one ticketed for April). Please call or email me if there is any additional information that I can provide.
Sincerely,
The Vigilant Consumer

PapaBear Pontificates...Babies aren't cheap? (PART II)

Being the single guy, it would be odd for me to know the tips and tricks on how to save money on all things baby. Plus, I don't change dirty diapers (or clean ones for that matter). Therefore, I am happy to present Part II of PapaBear's posting. If you missed Part I, click here to check it out.

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From the LazyBoy of PapaBear

Here are the baby items you will absolutely need:

1) Car Seat. The hospital won’t let you take your baby home without one properly installed. We got ours for free from the Rich Mother’s Club. Soon your baby will grow out of the infant car seat and have to sit in a bigger car seat. Find another free car seat through the Mother’s Club. Evidently, kids need to sit in car seats until they are 5 or 6 years old and there are different car seats all along the way. Keep finding free car seats otherwise your car seat investment will be in the thousands of dollars.

2) Diapers, lots of them! Steal as many as you can from the hospital. Unfortunately, you will eventually have to buy these yourself. Babies go through about 6-8 diapers a day. Have fun with the changing! Buy in bulk. Diapers.com will save you time, hassle and money.

3) Food: The good news. For the first few months, Baby food is free because it comes out of your wife’s boobs. The bad news. Your wife’s boobs have never been bigger, but not sure when you will ever look at your wife’s boobs the same again. After a few months, baby will start needing solid foods, again, buy in bulk.

4) Clothes: Get as much as you can from the Mother’s Club, hand me downs, use your own old clothes if you still have them. It is amazing how fast a baby will outgrow clothes. Avoid spending money on clothes at all costs! Baby clothes from 0-9 months are the dumbest expense! The baby has no memory and no ability to understand what she is wearing. Putting pretty clothes on a baby is purely for the indulgence of the parent at this stage of life. I've seen parents and babies wearing matching outfits. Some people think that’s adorable, I think that’s idiotic. It’s actually more expensive to buy the same outfit for a baby than it is for an adult if you can believe it. My baby is cute if she’s wearing a pretty dress or if she’s wearing a potato sack, you know why? She’s a baby! Babies are cute! Babies grow up to become people, and if you are a good looking person, you will spend more money on your clothes and appearance because the world loves good looking people. And if you are an ugly looking person, you will continue to wear nondescript clothing and question why the world is so shallow while secretly wishing that you were better looking. That’s just the way the world works. Babies and good looking people always win no matter what!

5) Furniture: Find it for free from someone giving it away from the Mother’s Club or family. You need a crib, a stroller and eventually a high chair for baby to eat solid food. Get these for as little money as possible. Neither you nor baby will remember how pretty baby’s furniture was. Nobody cares.

6) Toys: Babies play with anything. They think that their own feet are foreign objects. There is absolutely no need to buy expensive baby toys. If you can find free toys, give them to your baby. But do not clutter your house! Keep 2 or 3 favorite toys around for baby to play with and that’s it. When a toy gets old, get rid of it and find a new toy. Use an old ball, a small box or an old cell phone. Let the baby use her imagination.

And that’s it. You see, raising a baby can be cheap. Don’t think that you need to spend a fortune on stuff. With a little legwork, all of your money can be saved for her education and that shotgun for when she starts dating.

Onsies and diapers and cribs...Oh my! (PART I)

Yes, I have been MIA for a few weeks - many apologies. Thankfully, I am blessed with eloquent friends who are willing to put pen to paper, or fingertips to keyboard, in my absence. Many thanks to JHO for sharing the affordable beauty of Canada with The Vigilant Consumer community a few weeks back (if you missed the post, click here). I for one know that her tour guide services can cheaply be bartered for some Timmy Hortons or a an ice cold pint (don't forget the lime).

Next up, I am proud to introduce you to PapaBear. He'll bring the fatherly perspective to The Vigilant Consumer - fairly relevant since everyone seems to be popping babies out these days. In his 2-part posting (he must think I am paying him by the word) he'll explore some unique ideas for saving money with a newborn.

Before I turn the mic over to PapaBear, I just wanted to remind you of the two easiest ways to keep up to date when there is a new Vigilant Consumer posting (so you don't have to keep checking back daily, confronted by stale content).

• Simply type your email in the box on the right and click "SUBSCRIBE" (don't worry your email address won't be shared with unscrupulous characters).
• Or, if you are a social media hotshot, follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/VigilantConsume (leave the "r" off the address).

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(From the desk of PapaBear)

I have this friend who calls me up one day and asks me if I want to write a guest blog for his new blog about shopping. So I say to my friend, “I’m too busy, I don’t really have time for you and your crazy single guy lifestyle with your going out to dinner, reading magazines on the toilet, and getting more than two hours of sleep at a time.” You know why I feel this way? Because I am the proud father of a 9 month old baby girl!

As everyone knows, there are three moments in life where you get overcharged… a wedding, a birth and a funeral. I’ll leave the wedding topic for another time, and hopefully, I’ll explore the funeral discussion many years from now. (See video here.)



Step 1: Make sure your baby is born at the best hospital. Then, the minute you bring your wife into the hospital to deliver the baby, steal every piece of baby gear in sight. I walked out of that hospital with 60 extra diapers, 30 extra blankets, 30 extra onesies, boxes of nipples, baby hats, pacifiers, wet wipes, thermometers, formula, and a stethoscope. Oh yeah, and a new baby daughter… and my wife.

Step 2: Join a Mother’s Club in a rich area. Rich people are the suckers who get overcharged for all the baby gear. When my wife got pregnant, she signed up for this Mother’s Club in our area. Mother’s Clubs have postings for free baby stuff that the mothers of the older kids are just dying to get rid of. So immediately, we went on the listserve and started collecting the free stuff that these rich mothers spent a fortune to buy brand new, use for a few months and then give away when their baby got too big. Nothing depreciates faster than brand new $300 infant car seats, $800 strollers, or $3,000 crib sets.

Stay tuned for PART II - How to save on car seats, diapers, baby food and clothes.

Canadian Vacation, eh? (brought to you by the JHO)

Being the awesome blogger that I am, my American buddy (an oxymoron for most Canadians) who runs this blog asked me if I’d be kind enough to contribute a post. “Something good,” he asked, not like the rest of the posts on here (I kid, of course).

Well, if you haven’t noticed or learned here on The Vigilant Consumer, the economy is officially in the crapper, and making sure you get the most bang for your buck is now more important than ever before. If you’re like me, you’re probably scrambling to stuff your mattress with whatever little savings you’ve scraped together over the years and doing whatever you can to avoid having squirrel soup for dinner (as one former Canadian politician has pointed out we may be headed for). That being said, in these depressing times (or, “depression times”, if you will), going out and having some fun, while stimulating the good old economy, may just be what the doctor ordered.

If you grew up in Canada, you already know the benefits of the cross-border road-trip to the mall in the US when the Canadian dollar goes up (see video here).



What you may be unaware of as an American citizen about our home and native land is, the 5-star-type cheap vacation opportunities that present themselves to you when the US dollar is strong – like it is now. Often there is some confusion amongst Americans about what Canada has to offer – it’s not all igloos, beavers, and strong beer – however if that’s what you’re into, that type of vacation deal is plentiful.

Did you know, for instance, that Canada is home to the top skiing and snowboarding destination in the world, Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia? The ways to spend your powerful US dollar in our fair land are endless – shopping in Toronto, skiing in Whistler, Banff or Jasper, fine dining in Montreal, or my personal recommendation: visit our nation’s capital Ottawa and thank our Prime Minister (same job as your president) for driving the Canadian dollar down so low that you can now make a killing on Canadian goods and services.

If you find yourself driving by a tired and hungry looking girl chasing squirrels in your new Mercedes S-Class you bought for just pennies on the American dollar in Vancouver en route to your 5-Star+ accommodations in Whistler…don’t forget to wave “hello” to me.

Money for nothin' and your chicks for free

Who said it is a bad thing to be living in California during this economic debacle? The Governator "a.k.a. Governor Schwarzenegger" is doling out checks to unsuspecting individuals, maybe even you. Although big fat IOUs are still replacing tax refunds (see the previous posting), you may be one of the lucky ones enjoying a different type of financial windfall. Before I tell how to find out if you're a big Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner, just dream for a bit about how you'll be spending the money. Go ahead and buy that famous Christmas Story, fishnet enveloped leg lamp you've been lusting after since your prepubescent days. Or, you could be more fiscally responsible and apply it to some upcoming bills.

Either way, it'll only take you 1 minute to find out. Simply visit the California State Controller's (that's John Chiang to you) Unclaimed Property Search at http://scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP/. Type in your name, cross your fingers and see what turns up. Rumor has it that California alone has $5 billion worth of unclaimed property including uncashed checks, insurance benefits, retail credits, stock dividends, etc. Yours truly only got $2.06, but I know someone out there is going to take me to a nice dinner after I found her $530. Bored at work? See if anyone you know is on the list - it's almost as fun as Googling an ex-flame.

Live outside of California? Check if your state has a similar program. Just type "unclaimed property 'your state'" into Google and hope for the best.