Hey, weren't you going to switch cell-phone plans? There's a thing from Verizon (NYSE:VZ) here in the mail that you might want to look at.
Yeah, I told you. My contract with the other guys ran out and one of your fellow Fools said that Verizon could end up with the iPhone. The guy on the TV says that Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) not too happy with AT&T (NYSE:T). I'll get around to it one of these days.
Dude, Verizon's got the BlackBerry phones from Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) right now. The new Tour isn't bad if you want a phone you can use when you travel. But if you really want an iPhone, AT&T's the company you have to get with. Apple may switch carriers someday, but it's going to be Ma Bell for a while longer yet.
Yeah, I need to get around to that. But not today, I'm busy.
Um, you're sitting on the couch watching BBC Top Gear reruns.
Yeah, so what?
I think you could be a little busier, or at least a little more productive.
Hey, quiet. Jeremy Clarkson's driving that little euro Ford (NYSE:F) and liking it. Isn't that the one that your guy Mulally is bringing here?
Yeah, the Fiesta. Looks like a great little car. It'll be nice for them to finally have something to compete with the Honda (NYSE:HMC) Fit and the Toyota (NYSE:TM) Yaris. I bet that thing will run rings around the Yaris.
I think this is the one where he storms the beach with the Fiesta and a bunch of Royal Marines. Turn it up, will you?
Not right now. Listen, you've got more mail here. Something from your bank --
I hate those guys. All those stupid fees. I should switch to a credit union.
-- an electric bill, and ... wait, isn't this one of those bounced-check notices?
Oh geez. No, it's an overdraft thing. I get a lot of those. They take it out of my savings so the check doesn't bounce, but they charge me some stupid fee every time.
So you had the money but it cost you $30 or whatever because it wasn't in the right account? You know, if you used Mint.com or even Quicken you'd be able to get on top of that stuff.
Yeah, I keep meaning to set that up.
You "keep meaning to" do a lot of things. Maybe you should take a day and, y'know, do them.
What do you mean?
I mean take a personal day, or a little vacation, or just quit watching Top Gear reruns and take an hour after dinner every night for a few days. And then use that time to do all this stuff.
That would be the most annoying vacation ever. What are you, the Annoyance Fairy?
No, dude. The most annoying vacation ever is the one where the credit card company cuts you off on the third day of your trip because you forgot to pay the bill before you left. If you would just take a little time to get all this stuff in order you would save yourself a whole lot of annoyance down the road.
I don't even know where to start. This is stupid. Look, now they're testing the new Aston Martin. I really want one of those.
If you don't get your financial life together, then that's as close as you'll ever get to an Aston Martin. Did you look at the new issue of Rule Your Retirement yet?
I don't think I subscribe to that one.
You should take a free trial and go look. Robert Brokamp has an article about this in the new issue.
Robert wrote an article about annoying vacations?
No, he wrote a great article about taking a little time off to get your financial life in order. Look at all the stuff we just talked about -- you could figure out the phone stuff and make it happen, set up automatic payments for your utility bills, set up a Mint.com account to get your spending under control and maybe start saving for a new car ... he's got a whole list of other stuff.
Other stuff?
Just go read the article. It's all those little financial things that drive you nuts all year. If you just took a day or two, maybe not even that long if you use his checklist, and took care of them boom, boom, boom, the level of annoyance in your life would go way down.
Hmm, maybe I should.
And you'll save money, too. Maybe not enough to buy an Aston, but enough to start buying some stocks that could give you enough money in time.
OK, so you say this article shows me where to start?
I do say that. Grab a free trial and check it out -- it's on Page 4 of the new issue. While you're in there, follow the links to his other "Year of Fiscal Fitness" articles and checklists -- they'll show you the quick and easy way to fix a whole bunch of financial nuisances. It could save you thousands of dollars, and all it costs is a little time.
