$0.30 Surcharge for a Plastic Grocery Bag
This is another story from my vacation in Ireland. I bought some fruits, yogurt, and bakery from a convenience store. The clerk asked me if I wanted a bag for what I bought. I said "Sure." because that's the way it is in the U.S. Then I noticed there was a charge for 0.22 Euro on the receipt. It was labeled as a government mandated fee for the plastic bag. At 1 Euro = 1.40 US Dollars, that was like $0.30 for a bag. Some people call it PlasTax. According to one source, implementing the fee cut the plastic bag usage in Ireland by 90%.
In the U.S. I get a discount of $0.05 per bag if I bring my own bags to the two grocery store chains near me. It's not by law, just store policy. Technically not getting the $0.05/bag discount is equivalent to paying a $0.05 surcharge for each bag. But I bet most customers don't know about the surcharge because it's not on their receipt. If we increase that surcharge from $0.05 to $0.30 like in Ireland and make it a true surcharge which shows up on the receipt, not just a lack of a discount, I'm sure it will change people's habits really fast and cut down our consumption of plastic grocery bags significantly. It's a strange phenomenon. People don't mind missing out on some discount but they will change their behavior if they pay a surcharge. Economists say it has to do with framing.
By the way I love their yogurt. Not too starchy or too sweet like the Dannon and Yoplait yogurt I get here in the U.S. It was cheap too. 0.87 Euro for a big 16-oz jar. I will try some different brands at Trader Joe's and see if they have yogurt made in that style.
Signed Mortgage Refinance Documents
I signed the documents for my mortgage refinance yesterday. A recap for the process since the beginning (sorry for lack of updates when I was on vacation):
Week 1. Found a good rate. Filled out application.
Week 2. Locked rate. Signed disclosure documents. Faxed supporting documents.
BBG Communications: $27 for a 1-Minute Phone Call
I survived driving on the left in Ireleand, its narrow, winding, and bumpy roads, and what must be more than 300 roundabouts.
The GPS maps for Europe I bought for $110 turned out to be a good investment. My vacation would have been much more stressful without the GPS.
As far as money is concerned, things worked out OK. They accepted my World MasterCard for rental car insurance. That saved me about $300. There are a few stories and observations I'd like to share over the next few days. The first story is $27 for a 1-minute phone call.
Rental Car Insurance Options
By the time you read this, I'll be on vacation in Ireland. I will rent a car and drive around the country. Naturally I don't want to expose myself to losses resulting from a car accident while I drive a rental car in Ireland. I did some research in rental car insurance. I'm sharing this here with you.
1. Liability vs. Theft, Collision and Damages. On any auto insurance policy in the U.S., the coverage for liability and the coverage for the car are separate. If you have an older car, you may not have coverage for the car itself, but you should have coverage for liability, i.e. damage you cause to others. This liability coverage may or may not follow you worldwide. You have to call your auto insurance company to find out. If you are covered, there is usually no deductible on liability coverage. Theft is covered under comprehensive while damage caused by a collision is covered under collision. There are separate deductibles for comprehensive and collision coverage. Your collision and comprehensive coverage from your auto policy also may not follow you worldwide. I called my insurance company. They told me I will be covered for liability worldwide but I won't have collision or comprehensive coverage outside of U.S. and Canada.
2. Primary Rental Car Insurance. Your own auto insurance usually covers you when you rent a car, at least in the U.S. If you don't want to use your own auto insurance (and subject yourself to premium increases in case you file a claim), you can buy primary rental car insurance. I found two places that sell primary rental car insurance:
The Finance Buff Blog on Kindle
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Nightmare with Apple iPod Shuffle
I know many people swear by Apple products, the Mac, the iPod, and the iPhone, but my first introduction to Apple products went very badly. Maybe some Apple fans can set me straight.
I was looking for a small mp3 player for jogging and working out in the gym. Because I heard so much about iPods but I never had one, I wanted an iPod to have that Apple iPod experience. I went to Apple's web site to see its product lineup. The iPod Shuffle looked like the answer. I watched its video demo. The controls are built into the earbuds? Whose brilliant idea was that?! What if the wire breaks or I don't like their headphones? I can't use it with a different pair of headphones? Fortunately they are still selling the older model, the so-called 2nd generation iPod Shuffle. I saw it doesn't have a LCD screen for selecting tracks. For jogging and the gym, I'm OK with that. So I bought one.
After I got my iPod Shuffle, one surprise came after another. Perhaps I'm not up to the Apple experience. I plugged in the Shuffle and I wanted to drop some podcast mp3's onto it. What, no drag and drop? I have to install iTunes? Why? I just want to put some mp3's on it. I don't need to buy any music right now. I already have what I want. Apple says no. Got to install iTunes. I reluctantly obliged.
Looks and Talent
By now you probably all watched the popular video on YouTube of Susan Boyle singing. It's a shocker because she sings much better than she looks. It reminds me this guest lecture from Robert Shiller's Financial Markets class at Yale.
Is an Escrow Waiver Fee Worth It?
Last week was week 3 for my mortgage refinance. Here's what happened in week 3 with a brief recap for week 1 and week 2:
Week 1. Found a good rate. Filled out application.
Week 2. Locked rate. Signed disclosure documents. Faxed supporting documents.
Voting on Vanguard's Proxy Proposals
I received in the mail a booklet from Vanguard. They are asking me to vote on some proposals they put in front of the shareholders. I actually read the booklet. Here's how I'm going to vote.
Proposal 1 – Elect Trustees for Each Fund. I have nothing against the trustees. I don't know exactly what they did but the funds are doing alright. I'm going to vote for all of them.
Proposal 2 – Update and Standardize the Funds' Fundamental Policies. Each mutual fund is actually a separate legal entity. It has its own policies. Vanguard wants to adopt a set of policies that apply consistently to all the funds. This way they don't have to worry about the minor differences in different funds. I like simplicity and consistency. But the proposed new policies all go toward the lowest common denominator. They impose the least restriction. Basically as long as it's legal, the funds are permitted to do it. That's not cool. Other than inconsistency, I don't see how the funds have been limited by the policies currently in place. I don't see any good reason to relax the policies. If Vanguard had gone to the most restrictive policy, I would vote for the proposal. This proposal has seven sub-proposals:
IMF Report on US Bailout Costs
Financial Times reported last week that the IMF estimated the total bailout cost for the U.S. in the next five years at $1,900 billion or $6,200 per head.
Efforts to stabilise the financial system could end up costing US taxpayers about 13.3 per cent of annual output, or $1,900bn over the next five years, according to analysis by the International Monetary Fund.
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