Money Matters
Metro Bank
I went to a bank on a Sunday afternoon and not only were the doors open but I managed to open a new current account and receive my debit card within 30 minutes! This would be the “revolutionary” Metro Bank. A new high street bank that came to London earlier this summer and currently has … Continue reading
Ryanair and Santander
I’ve been rearranging my finances recently. Two issues have been somewhat annoying. 1) Ryanair changes card charging policy – I literally applied for a new Visa Electron card the day before this was announced. I couldn’t believe it when I read that article. Everytime I hear some news from Ryanair, it’s always BAD news for … Continue reading
Interest free loan
I just realised that student loan interest rates have dropped to 0% – that’s an interest free loan from 1st Sept 2009 – 31st Aug 2010; though I guess they could change rapidly if interest rates were to suddenly rise again. Interestingly, those with student loans before 1998 have a negative interest rate! Which means … Continue reading
Bank security
You may remember a post from me earlier this year where I was pleasantly surprised after I received an automated call from my bank. It was a standard security check but I was left wondering how much that it cost ME because I was out of the country and therefore would be charged at roaming … Continue reading
12000 yen richer
A little while ago I wrote about free money. Well today I got a notice in the post that it was transferred and it was indeed in my bank account. Pretty good timing considering I’ve only got one week left in this country. Lots of work still to do and almost a party every night … Continue reading
Automated security check
So I booked some flights yesterday using my AmEx card from Lloyds TSB. About 5 minutes later I got a call on my UK phone. I wondered what it was for a while, as I hadn’t heard it ring for over a year but realised it was a phone call and picked it up eventually. … Continue reading
NHK licence fee
So I’ve got just under a month left in Japan now and last week I started calling around to cancel my subscriptions etc. Even though the Japanese themselves don’t pay the TV licence fees, I was caught out one day when I was expecting the postman but answered the door for a NHK representative who … Continue reading
2000 Yen bank note
This rare, 2000 Yen bank note finally circulated into my hands at yesterday’s BBQ. It’s readily available at most Japanese banks but it doesn’t seem to be used at all. In fact, this was the first time I saw it in the 14 months I’ve been in this country and I’ve handled more than a … Continue reading
Application for free money arrived
The forms for my free 12,000 Yen arrived. Now I just have to figure out how to fill it in and hope they transfer the money to me before I leave the country!
Google AdSense
For those observant readers amongst you (yes, there are a few), you will have noticed a slight addition on the right hand side of my website. That would be the Google AdSense advert thingie-majig. Ever since I started my proper websites – proper meaning something more than “Website under construction” + many moving gif’s + … Continue reading
