Cash back

After four months, during which I made several phone calls and wrote one nasty email, I finally got a $50 rebate check for the external hard drive I bought last year. The check was two months late, and I can say with near certainty that I had not followed up repeatedly, I never would have gotten the money.

So is this rebate business a scam, or what? The rebates let retailers advertise really attractive prices and gamble that consumers won't be patient, persistent, or (in my case) mule-headed enough to see the rebate process through. I definitely felt silly grubbing for fifty bucks, but my Scots nature triumphed in the end.

Now, what shall I spend the $50 on? Oh yes, rent and food.