Comments on: 8 Convenience Items We Pay More For

By: My Life ROI

My Life ROI — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:35:20 +0000

Kristy –

I meant the warranty on the printer itself… I don’t think I have ever had a printer cartridge with a warranty either :)

For the clogging issues it happened to me when I used to have an Epson. Can’t remember the model it was 10+ years ago. And I also could have been using bad quality cheap stuff.. no idea.

MLR

By: Kristy

Kristy — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:26:39 +0000

@ Jonathan – I don’t know if that’s really true – you know how those “truth” exposes are. But, I have read that from a number of places.

@ MMK – It’s not really hard to refill them, just takes a little of your time and an open space to do it. But, $36 instead of $90 is a great savings, so at least you went the frugal route there.

@ My Life – I have never had a printer cartridge that came with a warranty, so I’ve never considered this aspect. But, to the rest of you, if you have a warranty, be careful that you don’t void it by trying to refill it yourself. As to the alignment and clogging issues, I’ve never had a one. Perhaps it’s the type of printer that makes the difference, I don’t know. Thanks for bringing these points up, though!

@ J – LOL…why am I not surprised???

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:11:31 +0000

haha….i fall for 7 of the 8 ;) but i guess it’s just too worth it for me!

By: My Life ROI

My Life ROI — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:21:38 +0000

In regards to #1 and #2… *
I have to agree that personally I can not see the point. I just use a nalgene bottle and carry it with me most places. Occasionally I will use a normal water bottle. The crazy thing about it all, though, is that the marketing behemoth that is the food and beverage industry have convinced people that filtered city water tastes significantly better. Whereas the major beverage bottlers do have pretty expensive water filtration systems (cost in the millions of dollars) that are much more thorough than a Brita filter… I just can’t taste the difference! I am sure there is a difference in the water contents but what I don’t know doesn’t kill me!

For the leaking plastic… you only need to worry about #1 PET. #2, #4, and #5 are fine. So just check the bottle. Soda is #5 a lot of the times, water is #1 a lot, though. So you could always refill a soda bottle with water!

In regards to #6 …
Might want to warn your readers that most printer manufacturers will void your warranty if you use 3rd party ink. I used to think this was a scam to make me buy the brand ink BUT I have had bad experiences with 3rd party. The color quality can sometimes be off, the page yield can sometimes be off, it can clog more, and you lose your warranty… for me that just is not worth the savings! I eBay the name brand ink and its usually pretty affordable.

* Disclosure: My means of income is related to the food and beverage industry

By: MoneyMateKate

MoneyMateKate — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:55:03 +0000

Looks like the only thing on this list I’m vaguely guilty of is the one about ink cartridges. I didn’t even know it was possible to refill it yourself. I’ve looked into the $15 refill service at…I think it’s Walgreens?…but they don’t do it for my particular printer. I do, however, buy refurbished cartridges online – they cost $36 instead of $90, I can usually find an online coupon that at least makes up for the shipping charge because my order is a bit too small to qualify for free shipping, and my mom earns 10 United Airlines miles per dollar spent at that particular retailer (which, when you’re just 1000 miles short of a free flight, is significant!).

But refilling my own…mm, now that I know it’s possible, I just might give it a shot.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:11:59 +0000

Are you serious about the water bottle thing? I do this all the time.

No wonder I’ve forgotten how to tie my shoes :(

By: Kristy

Kristy — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:56:38 +0000

@ FB – I’ve heard it’s bad to refill water bottles…something about the plastic leaking toxins into the water, so I don’t know. Either way, I’ll stick to the cup.

@ Dawn – I love my Netflix. I don’t think it’s a convenience item, though. I think it’s a more frugal option than BUYING DVDs. But, I collect DVDs so that’s why I think of it as more frugal.

@ Converting – Ooh, there’s one I didn’t even think of! Valet parking! It’s highway robbery in my opinion. I can park my own damn car for free, thank you very much!

@ Weakonomist – Yes, I’ve been on a few toll roads like yours! Those are no fun. But, toll roads are fairly new to Austin so we don’t have any of that. Plus, people here aren’t using them as much yet…partly in protest I think. But, in your case, I’d find an alternate route!

@ Slinky – I don’t have all that fancy stuff, so I guess I’ve never thought about it. But, yeah, I could see that.

@ Denise – http://www.wikihow.com/Refill-and-Reuse-a-Printer-Cartridge

That’s just one website that I found with general instructions. I buy the refill kit myself, just makes my life easy. Though, I guess it’s still a convenience. I could save even more by doing it myself, but it depends on the type of cartridge you have, too. Hope the link helps.

By: denise

denise — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:51:05 +0000

I am intrigued. Any sources you can offer that show how to refill our own ink cartridges?

By: Slinky

Slinky — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:33:56 +0000

RE: number 8. I agree that a lot of people dry clean things that they could easily just wash (*cough* dress shirts and pants *cough*), but my down comforter, silks, velvets, brocades, leathers, suede and heavily embellished items will still be going to the dry cleaners. :) Not because it’s easier, but because it’s better for them and they’ll last longer and they don’t need it all that often anyway.

By: The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:46:49 +0000

Toll roads might be convenient for you, but they are a pain in the arse for me. The few times I’ve had to deal with them it’s a mad dash to 4 lanes from 8 booths. I lose a year from my life each time I have to do it.

I laugh at the concept of paying bills over the phone. My insurance company allows you to pay online for $10, over the phone for $5, or via snail mail for free.