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The no-pants guide to spending, saving, and thriving in the real world.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-01

Misc

  • RT @Dave_Champion Obama asks DOJ to look at whether AZ immigration law is constitutional. Odd that he never did that with #Healthcare #tcot #
  • RT @wilw: You know, kids, when I was your age, the internet was 80 columns wide and built entirely out of text. #
  • RT @BudgetsAreSexy: RT @FinanciallyPoor "The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money." ~ Unknown #
  • Official review of the double-down: Unimpressive. Not enough bacon and soggy breading on the chicken. #
  • @FARNOOSH Try Ubertwitter. I haven't found a reason to complain. in reply to FARNOOSH #
  • Personal inbox zero! #
  • Work email inbox zero! #
  • StepUp3D: Lame dancing flick using VomitCam instead or choreography. #
  • I approve of the Nightmare remake. #Krueger #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-22

Misc

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-29

Misc

The Magic Toilet

Finance

Funny Toilet #1
Image by tokyofortwo via Flickr

My toilet is saving me $1200.

For a long time, my toilet ran.  It was a nearly steady stream of money slipping down the drain.  I knew that replacing the flapper was a quick job, but it was easy to ignore.  If I wasn’t in the bathroom, I couldn’t hear it.  If I was in the bathroom, I was otherwise occupied.

When I finally got sick of it, I started researching how to fix a running toilet because I had never done it before.  I found the HydroRight Dual-Flush Converter.  It’s the magical push-button, two-stage flusher.   Yes, science fiction has taken over my bathroom.   Or at least my toilet.

I bought the dual-flush converter, which replaces the flusher and the flapper.  It has two buttons, which each use different amounts of water, depending on what you need it to do.   I’m sure there’s a poop joke in there somewhere, but I’m pretending to have too much class to make it.

I also bought the matching fill valve.  This lets you set how much water is allowed into the tank much better than just putting a brick in the tank.   It’s a much faster fill and has a pressure nozzle that lies on the bottom of the tank.  Every time you flush, it cleans the inside of the tank.  Before I put it in, it had been at least 5 years since I had opened the tank.  It was black.  Two weeks later, it was white again.  I wouldn’t want to eat off of it, or drink the water, but it was a definite improvement.

Installation would have been easier if the calcium buildup hadn’t welded the flush handle to the tank.   That’s what reciprocating saws are for, though.  That, and scaring my wife with the idea of replacing the toilet.   Once the handle was off, it took 15 minutes to install.

“Wow”, you say?  “Where’s the $1200”, you say?  We’ve had this setup, which cost $35.42, since June 8th, 2010.   It’s now September.   That’s summer.  We’ve watered both the lawn and the garden and our quarterly water bill has gone down $30, almost paying for the poo-gadget already.   $30 X 4 = $120 per year, or $1200 over 10 years.

Yes, it will take a decade, but my toilet is saving me $1200.

Reputation Isn’t Everything

Finance

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

I’m a code monkey by trade.   Software development pays my mortgage.

I’m also–and separately–a small business owner and have been for years.   I’ve actually got several side-hustles going, but only one of them is formal, organized, and incorporated as an LLC.   A few years ago, a friend and I decided to go into business together, got certified by the state and start making some extra money.

I have recently discovered that two of the government agencies related to our business have been referring students to us.  When our customers call the certifying organization, they are–at least some of the time–recommending us over nearly 200 of our competitors.    You can’t buy that kind of marketing. At least, I hope you can’t.

How did that happen?   How did two faceless bureaucracies decide that we were the company to recommend?

People talk. Over the last few years, we have worked to make sure people want to say nice things about us.  What did we do?

1.  We never lie. Our business is training.   If one of our students asks a question I can’t answer, I admit it and promise to find the answer.  Then, after class, I find the answer and email it to everyone.

2.  We are reliable. If we schedule a class and just one person shows up, we hold the class.   We have had classes with two instructors and one student.   Our hourly rate sucked those days, but the students loved the attention and sent us business afterward.   I’d never cancel if even one person is planning to be there.

3.  We give it away. We give a lot away.   If our customers have questions before or after class, we answer them.  I spend time on related forums answering questions.    Veterans take our class at cost.  I try to give away at least as much value as I get paid for.

Now, this sounds like a sales page, but it’s not.    I’m not mentioning the name of my company or even the industry, just so nobody thinks I’m trying to drum up business.

We have dropped a crazy amount of time and effort into building our reputation.  With a firm foundation of knowledge and the 3 items I mentioned above, a good reputation is easy to build.   A bad reputation is even easier.   It’s been said that a happy customer will tell 1 person about his experience, while an unhappy customer will tell 100.   Repairing the damage from the unhappy customer is much more expensive than just doing it right the first time.

Building a good reputation is absolutely critical for a successful business.   Be ethical, honest, and helpful.  Always be there when you say you will be, and try to give away as much as possible without actually hurting yourself.   People will talk, so don’t give them a chance to say bad things without being liars themselves.

Reputation isn’t everything.  You also need knowledge, marketing, and a product.   Without a good reputation, however, the rest doesn’t matter.

Consumer Action Handbook

Finance

Image by ivers via Flickr

The Consumer Action Handbook is a book published by the federal government for the express purpose of giving you “the most current information on all your consumer needs.”  In short, the Consumer Action Handbook wants to help you with everything that takes your money.

The best part?  It’s free.

The book covers topics ranging from banking to health care to cell phones to estate planning.  It covers both covering your butt in a transaction and filing a complaint if things go poorly.   It explains the options and pitfalls involved in buying, renting, leasing, or fixing a car.  You can learn about financial aid for college and maneuvering through an employment agency.  And more.  So much more.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I spend quite a bit of time explaining scams and how to avoid them.   This book has provided some of the source material for that theme.

It’s 170 pages on not getting screwed, either through fraud or ignorance.  Every house should have one. Really, the list of consumer and regulatory agencies alone is worth the price of admission, which–if I wasn’t clear earlier–is $0.

To get yours, go to http://www.consumeraction.gov/caw_orderhandbook.shtml and fill out the form.  You can order up to 10 at a time, so pick a few up for your friends and family.   They won’t complain, I promise.