Just the other day I met a fellow while working on a production who needed to use a phone as his was out of power. Sure enough, he asked me if it was okay and I had no problems with it. Afterwards, I talked to him a bit more and it was interesting to see that he had skills and knowledge in a field that I am not an expert in but was interested in learning more of. He then semi joked that since I let him use my phone he was willing to help me out.

Upon speaking to him a little further he didn’t really believe in charging people money but rather if someone wants to learn from him then he is willing to do it as time permits. I was just thinking too how ironically when people do this you kind of feel like returning the favor should a time come when they need your help too.

I know for myself whenever I offer help in this fashion the important thing is that it is genuine. Sure, there are situations where you should expect something in return for your services, but there is a time and a place for transactions like that. I have always found that it helps to surround myself with people with similar values as well which helps a lot in finding out who you can confidentially do business with.

For blog updates subscribe to our RSS feed.

This has got to be one of the most perplexing money grabbing fees that I have seen for a cell phone. Coming August this year in Canada Bell and Telus Mobility will be introducing a 15 cent fee for simply receiving a text message on your device. Before, it was free to receive messages but it costs you money to send messages.

Apparently they can’t afford to allow people to receive free text messages or something along those lines. This makes me wonder how it is going to work for text messaging services such as our public transportation system Translink. Nowadays, you can simply send Translink a text message with a special number and it will automatically send you a text message all of the bus schedules. I guess that means someone will get charged for sending the message and then receiving one too.

I wonder how high of a bill heavy Blackberry or other data phone users are going to experience with this.

For blog updates subscribe to our RSS feed.

Today someone was telling me how she was irritated as she didn’t have a credit card and wanted to buy a product she saw on one of those shopping channels. Now they do accept checks as well, but she mentioned how she hated that as the bank charged her about $2 for every check that is used.

I just gave her that puzzled look as that sounded ridiculously high and not typical compared to most banks nowadays unless you were using something such as a certified check. She mentioned how the bank told her that was the best plan to be on. Sure enough, she just went online to see the different plans available to her and realized that she could save a bundle.

I know credit union banks usually have the less fees from what I have seen. I usually opt for one of those keep an X amount of funds to waive all fees accounts, so it is usually not an issue. Always check if there are better plans available as competition usually forces any company to have competitive options compared to the rest.

For blog updates subscribe to our RSS feed.