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View Full Version : How do you not get mad at yourself for stupid things?



deborah_r
09-30-2004, 02:57 AM
DH thinks I am overreacting, but I realized tonight I forgot to mail in a rebate for $80 on a monitor he bought. I was seething with rage - to me it's like opening the window and throwing $80 out for no reason. I've calmed down now, but if I think about it I get all mad again. I think of all the things we could spend $80 on, and it drives me nuts. And I remembered about it on Monday, then forgot to send it in. Deadline was Tuesday.

I told him to never ever buy anything with a rebate again. They totally stress me out. And one that I did send in on time (for the same da*n monitor) came back saying something is wrong with it, which is not true. I did everything as it stated.

I HATE REBATES I HATE REBATES I HATE REBATES I HATE REBATES

Is it abnormal to get this upset over something like this?

tippy
09-30-2004, 03:58 AM
um....probably not that upset but that being said I'm right there with you! I usually get a bit more emotional depending on where I am in my cycle IYKWIM. I don't mean to be one of those people who blames my period for everything but I really do get way more edgy and sensitive when I'm pmsing. I have gotten into the habit of sitting down and sending in rebate and registration cards the day I get home. Otherwise what happened to you will happen to me. Never fails. If I don't do it immediately I don’t do it at all. Also, if dh told me I was overreacting I would go over the edge! He knows better }(

kijip
09-30-2004, 06:21 AM
I hate rebates too!!!...most go unclaimed and companies know that people will allow their decision to be influenced by a rebate offer but then will forget to use it. It sucks but chalk it up as a sunk cost and do something to cheer yourself up. I have been there with you are being very angry with myself over something that I could not go back and change!

JLiebCamm
09-30-2004, 08:08 AM
Ugh! I hate that. My last faux pas was forgetting about a $50 rebate on my cell phone until 2 days after the deadline. I also hate late fees on credit card bills that I simply forgot to send in. If I could recoup all the money I've lost over these things, I could buy a new car! (OK, exaggeration....but you know what I mean).

jbowman
09-30-2004, 09:14 AM
I totally understand. That kind of thing drives me *krazy*! It seems as if you follow all the instructions and then the rebate gets returned. Ugh! Sorry about the $80--we all have moments like this. It's probably the reason that retailers love these rebates!

Saartje
09-30-2004, 09:43 AM
You forgive yourself and move on. You realize that getting mad at yourself will change nothing.

And in the future, purchase things looking at the *before* rebate price. That way, if you get the rebate, it's a bonus. Otherwise, no big deal. :)

FWIW, my DH (who works in a field to which this is relevant) thinks rebate offers should be illegal for exactly this reason: not the one you forgot to send in (though that's part of it), but the one you did send in that got sent back. They make the hoops you have to jump through to get them ridiculous, and they're collecting information on you that they can sell, thus increasing their profit, whether they send you the rebate or not. DH thinks they should be required to offer coupons, or nothing.

jk3
09-30-2004, 12:20 PM
I cannot let things go - must be a personality defect. Something like that would bother me to no end, then I'd forget about it + later on (months down the road possibly) it would pop into my head + annoy me all over again! I tend to try to focus on remembering everything so when I forget something it really gets to me. For that reason alone, I am a list keeper. I've slacked somewhat but keeping a written to do list really helps!

Jenn
DS 6/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030603/2/5/1/-5/.png

nola
09-30-2004, 04:51 PM
This isn't big change in the overall lifespan.

Next time don't open the box until you have the envelope in the mail.

I try to maintain a dated to-do list in my palm and check on it in the morning and evening. I schedule tasks on days when *I* want to do them. If I change my mind and decide to do it later I change the due date. I will even kill a task if warranted. It increases my hit rate significantly, but it is still not above 80%. So, when something slips I write it off as the cost of doing business. Big Deal.

(Unless, I lose my toddler for about 10 scary minutes at a large outdoor corporate event. See, I told you these piddly rebates are pocket change. )

starrynight
09-30-2004, 05:05 PM
I would be upset, heck I get upset if I bought stuff at the store and forgot to use the coupon I had LOL. I always get mad at myself over stupid things like that.

As for rebates, I always do them the same day I come home before I forget or lose the receipt. I've saved a lot of money that way!

pritchettzoo
09-30-2004, 05:57 PM
I hate rebates too. Although you can now do the ones from Costco online, which is much nicer.

Here's a little story...take from it what you will... We bought a printer with a rebate on it. As I was printing something out, I remembered that we had never gotten the rebate from it. So I went to the file cabinet and lo and behold I had actually made a copy of all the crap and contacted the company. They had me fax over the copies and sent me a check. Well, when I was cleaning out the file cabinet after taxes, I noticed an envelope in the file. THE REBATE HAD NEVER BEEN MAILED! Yikes! I'd made copies and apparently filed the originals with the rebate.

Anna