(not) playing the game
Sep. 29th, 2003 07:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ocelotCredit ratings suck. I've been the leaseholder on an apartment and had my name on various utilities for two years, and I still don't have a credit rating because I refuse to use a credit card (no, I'm not looking for advice about credit/credit cards at this time. I already know how to get a good credit rating if I want it. I don't think I should have to. Shouldn't not being in debt after several years of being financially in charge of myself count for something? In fact, I'd probably qualify for more if I did have debt. Grr).
We want to switch cellphone service to Sprint for a number of reasons. However, they require a security deposit since I don't have a credit rating, and they don't allow you to add an additional line to your account if you have to have a security deposit. You have to have to separate accounts, which dramatically increases the cost (adding a second line to the plan we want is $7.50 a month, the next lowest account that does what we want is like 5 times that).
So now we have three options: 1. stick with our current AT&T plan, 2. keep my line AT&T and switch![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
koyote to Sprint, or 3. do two lines with Sprint.
1 isn't going to work sincekoyote needs the data capabilities that Sprint offers for work. 2 may or may not be practical if we have to pay extra to downgrade our plan, or if we can't get down to a lower cost than the lowest Sprint plan.
We could always just drop my phone entirely and use long-range walky-talkies (not as silly as it sounds...we saw some with a seven mile range, which is more than enough for our usual needs), our landline, and a calling card for emergencies.
Probably not going to happen because we like our cell phones too much. Plus radio reception inkoyote's office apparently sucks.
Askoyote mentioned yesterday, we're seriously thinking about getting rid of our car. Trader Joe's and the ghetto K-Mart (plus other things) are within a 20 minute walk. That's all we really *need* on a regular basis. All of our favorite restaurants except one are also within this 20 minute range. A whole bunch more of our favorites (koyote's work, the library, a shopping mall type place, Barnes&Noble/Starbucks, Target, Whole Foods) are within an hour's walk. We discovered today that it may actually be quicker to walk to the pediatrician's office than to drive (we can get there more directly, without having to deal with traffic). Public transportation is close, too.
If we sell the car, we can afford to get good, comfortable bikes and trailers, which will cut down the time to all these places significantly. We'll also be able to do things like take a taxi if other transportation isn't a a good option for whatever reason.
We're going to try to avoid using the car as much as possible until January. If things are working out well, we'll sell it.
I was carless for three years before I metkoyote, and for part of the time after that, so it isn't really something new to me.
My initial reaction to the idea is that I don't want to lose the safety net of having a car. But really, it isn't a safety net. The ambulance is the safety net. The car is the lazy net.
We're also thinking about withdrawing large amounts of cash from an ATM as needed, and using that instead of the ATM card for most purchases. Avoids ATM fees, helps with budgeting, and keeps Big Brother from tracking our purchases (unless they track cash now, in which case we're just screwed).
This does nothing to solve that pesky credit rating problem, however.
The weather suddenly switched from hot to comparatively chilly. I wore a long sleeved shirt the whole time I was outside today. I'm so spoiled from growing up in Coronado. When it was hot, I was dying for it to be cooler. Now that it's cooler, I'd prefer it to be just a little warmer.
We want to switch cellphone service to Sprint for a number of reasons. However, they require a security deposit since I don't have a credit rating, and they don't allow you to add an additional line to your account if you have to have a security deposit. You have to have to separate accounts, which dramatically increases the cost (adding a second line to the plan we want is $7.50 a month, the next lowest account that does what we want is like 5 times that).
So now we have three options: 1. stick with our current AT&T plan, 2. keep my line AT&T and switch
koyote to Sprint, or 3. do two lines with Sprint.1 isn't going to work since
koyote needs the data capabilities that Sprint offers for work. 2 may or may not be practical if we have to pay extra to downgrade our plan, or if we can't get down to a lower cost than the lowest Sprint plan.We could always just drop my phone entirely and use long-range walky-talkies (not as silly as it sounds...we saw some with a seven mile range, which is more than enough for our usual needs), our landline, and a calling card for emergencies.
Probably not going to happen because we like our cell phones too much. Plus radio reception in
koyote's office apparently sucks.As
koyote mentioned yesterday, we're seriously thinking about getting rid of our car. Trader Joe's and the ghetto K-Mart (plus other things) are within a 20 minute walk. That's all we really *need* on a regular basis. All of our favorite restaurants except one are also within this 20 minute range. A whole bunch more of our favorites (koyote's work, the library, a shopping mall type place, Barnes&Noble/Starbucks, Target, Whole Foods) are within an hour's walk. We discovered today that it may actually be quicker to walk to the pediatrician's office than to drive (we can get there more directly, without having to deal with traffic). Public transportation is close, too. If we sell the car, we can afford to get good, comfortable bikes and trailers, which will cut down the time to all these places significantly. We'll also be able to do things like take a taxi if other transportation isn't a a good option for whatever reason.
We're going to try to avoid using the car as much as possible until January. If things are working out well, we'll sell it.
I was carless for three years before I met
koyote, and for part of the time after that, so it isn't really something new to me.My initial reaction to the idea is that I don't want to lose the safety net of having a car. But really, it isn't a safety net. The ambulance is the safety net. The car is the lazy net.
We're also thinking about withdrawing large amounts of cash from an ATM as needed, and using that instead of the ATM card for most purchases. Avoids ATM fees, helps with budgeting, and keeps Big Brother from tracking our purchases (unless they track cash now, in which case we're just screwed).
This does nothing to solve that pesky credit rating problem, however.
The weather suddenly switched from hot to comparatively chilly. I wore a long sleeved shirt the whole time I was outside today. I'm so spoiled from growing up in Coronado. When it was hot, I was dying for it to be cooler. Now that it's cooler, I'd prefer it to be just a little warmer.
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no subject
Date: 2003-09-29 08:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-29 08:43 pm (UTC)Remember that California is a *huge* state. Coronado is about as far south as you get, and coastal, which makes the weather more temperate. Davis is far enough north that we got winter there. We didn't often get snow, but that was because cold weather and precipitation rarely happened at the same time, not because it didn't get cold enough.
It may be significantly worse here. Last winter here was appparently horrible. This is the main reason we're waiting till January - it's entirely possible we'll decide that the expense of keeping the car is worth the convenience during winter (or summer, for that matter - a 20 minute walk in the summer sun and humidity isn't always nice).
Re: (not) playing the game
Date: 2003-09-29 11:40 pm (UTC)Have you got around to getting your license yet? I don't remember seeing anything. My learner's permit has expired and I haven't got around to renewing it yet, cause I have to sit another test.. bleh.
Re: (not) playing the game
Date: 2003-09-30 07:50 am (UTC)We'll see what happens.
I haven't gotten my license. At this point, I probably won't for a long time, unless I somehow come up with a lot of time to practice on my own. I wouldn't feel comfortable driving Leif around till I'm a lot more sure of myself as a driver.
Re: (not) playing the game
Date: 2003-09-30 09:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-29 08:44 pm (UTC)I think someone upstairs knows when the first day of school is.
no subject
Date: 2003-09-30 09:09 am (UTC)I seem to remember you having a bit of driving experience..
:)
(hides)
no subject
Date: 2003-09-30 09:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-30 09:54 am (UTC)