Restaurant.com FAIL!

So a few weeks ago, my mom bought some Restaurant.com “gift certificates” for me. It seemed like a good deal – $25 gift certificates for just $2. Not bad, right? Well, that is until you read the fine print and actually go to one of their “participating” restaurants…

[Flickr/Twain]

MAJOR FAIL #1
To sum up my dining experience this evening in a nutshell, the restaurant did NOT accept my Restaurant.com gift certificate. In fact, so many customers before me have tried to redeem their coupons that the restaurant has had to post a sign on their front door stating that they would not honor them. What the heck, Restaurant.com?! Seems like you’re just arbitrarily listing any restaurant that you can think of on your site as a participant. What a MAJOR FAIL!

MAJOR FAIL #2
Coincidentally, my mom decided to try and use her Restaurant.com coupon this evening as well. While she had a completely different experience, it was equally as disappointing as my experience.

Rather than telling you the story, let me break it down with some simple math:

Here’s the premise: The Restaurant.com gift certificate for this restaurant requires the user to spend at least $50 and provide an %18 minimum gratuity on the pre-discounted meal.

Cost of the meal: $58
Cost of the gift certificate: $2
Tip: $10
Tax: $5
Discount: $25
Total: $50

In the words of Mastercard, this is “priceless” and ridiculously ironic if you ask me. Once again, MAJOR FAIL!

CONCLUSION
Now believe you me, I have no intention of ever using Restaurant.com again and I am pretty sure my mom feels the same way,  but don’t just take my word for it. Here’s what some other more prominent bloggers have to say:

• Consumerist – Chris Walters calls it “shady” and warns consumers to watch out for a no good, sneaky third-party vendor – Shopping Essentials – that wants $15 from you every month in exchange for a non-existent service.
• WiseBread – As much as I like and respect WiseBread, I can’t help but wonder if Xin Liu and her readers have been force feed Restaurant.com Kool-Aid, ’cause the feedback is overwhelmingly positive and supportive.

The Spender and The Saver

[Flickr/DiamondSheepRebirth]

A spender and a saver – would you say this is a match made in heaven or a future divorce statistic? You’d think that when it comes to saving and spending, birds of the same mindset would flock together. Not really – say some personal finance experts – in fact, polar opposites tend to attract when it comes to money and love.

But what if you’re a spender when it comes to some things (like Blu Rays or vacations) and a saver when it comes to other things (like starting a retirement fund). Given this, could it be that as individuals, we’re all a mix of both? What is it about a relationship that makes one person take on the role of the saver while the other becomes the spender?

In most cultures, men have taken on the role of the saver since they were the breadwinners of their families while women were the spenders as the homemakers. Not the case in Japan. While men are typically the breadwinners, they almost always hand over their paychecks to their wives to manage. The thinking there is that women will put the interest of the family first while men have the tendency to squander their money.

Cultures aside, in this day and age, are money management roles assumed or are they assigned?

Many personal finance gurus recommend engaged couples to have a conversation about money before they actually get married. This way, they can work out their financial differences before a horrible spat leads to splitsville. While it doesn’t surprise me that money is a leading cause of divorce, I really wonder how many people actually have this conversation.

Ron Lieber at The New York Times wrote a good column for Your Money last week about the money talks to have before marriage. In a nutshell, here are the things that couples should go over during these conversations:

• Ancestry: Discuss how your partner’s parents managed their money. This will give you a good idea about how he/she does or will relate to money.
• Credit: It’s now or never – find out what your partner’s credit score is. You’ll either have a big sigh of relief or cry…better to do it now then when you’re trying to buy your first home together.
• Control: Figure out how will you manage your money as a couple. Will the responsibility fall on one person or will both of you have a hand in the bills? Will you keep private accounts or combine everything together?
• Affluence: Know if your financial goals are aligned – in other words, “just how rich do [you and your partner] want to be one day” and how will you get there?

Dang It, I’m Infected!

I went on vacation and learned that the phrase, “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” does not apply to flu-like symptoms. BTW, those flu-like symptoms have since been confirmed to be the actual flu. While quarantining myself for the past few days, I am often asked, “is it swine flu?” Well, to be honest, I don’t know. My doctor says that he wouldn’t be able to tell without a test, but that it didn’t matter since the treatment (Tamiflu) works for both (which was later prescribed to me). So I guess I’m covered for this flu season at least.

[Natalie Dee]

Anyhow, here the highlights:

• Tamiflu, Sold Out? The first Walgreens I went to couldn’t fill my prescription because they were out of Tamiflu. Since I didn’t want to wait until they got their next shipment, I had to go home and look up two other locations to call and see who had it in stock. Once that was taken care of and the prescription was transferred over, I headed over to pick it up. Too bad I got the two addresses mixed up and went to the wrong Walgreens at first. Doh!

• Fever, What Fever? It never fails. Every time I’m sick with a fever, my fever mysteriously goes away the minute a nurse or doctor takes my temperature. It’s like the freaking Michigan J. Frog (aka, the WB frog mascot that only sings when there isn’t an audience). At the same time, it really makes me question whether there’s something wrong with my thermometer since it claimed that my temperature was ranging between 100.8 and 103.8, ’cause I sure didn’t feel that hot.

• Theraflu’s Motto Should Be: “Sweat Out The Flu In You” I must have drunk at least six packs of Theraflu over the last 3 days. Each dose was like taking a trip to a sauna ’cause I would start to sweat like a menopausal woman with a hot flash (more so in my sleep than during any other time). But hey, it did work, so no complaints here.

• Cats Can Get Swine Flu Now this last one is just plain un-be-liv-a-ble! While I may not know for sure which flu I have, I was disturbed to learn today that a cat in Iowa was reported to have contracted swine flu. That means that my little Dolby is at high risk since he’s been hanging out with me in sick bay for the past four days. I’ll have to keep an eye out for any suspicious symptoms. Dangnabbit!