In the 4th installment of Squirreling Gone Wild, I’ll move away from the example of my college buddy from back in the day. To refresh, this guy was quite a character, and his antics with “frugality” provided for some good stories. Anyway, one of the terms he used, which I had previously mentioned in an earlier addition of this series, was “arbitrage opportunity”. He threw this term around when he saw a chance to “get something for nothing”, or game a system to pay less.
Recently I came across one of these arbitrage opportunities, though it was after the fact and I did not intentionally take advantage of it. Here’s the situation: I was traveling back home to the U.S. from Canada, where I was on a short visit. Since I was visiting a few folks who gave some food and a small gift for my daughter to take back home to the U.S., my carry on bag had gone from being fairly full upon arrival to overflowing when departing. Thus, I had to expand the bag as I finished packing. I had carried the bag on the plane on my flight to Canada, but wasn’t sure if I could carry it on when I returned back due it being expanded.
When I arrived at the airport to check in, I did not check my bag and tried to carry it on. I thought I might as well try it, since I saw others with seemingly bigger bags walking through. So, on I went toward customs/security. Before I could even get to customs, I was told that my bag was too big and would I would have to check it in. I asked if I could proceed and then check it at the gate, but the individual who stopped me said no. Ok, I thought – I guess I’ll have to go back and check in. No big deal.
I backtracked and made my way back to the counter, where I told them that I was sent back because my bag was too big and needed to be checked. At that point, it occurred to me that I might have to pay, and thoughts raced through my mind that the food and gift that I brought would end up costing me quite a bit! I mean, the homemade fruitcake was good (very good, I might add), but were those slices of cake worth the checking fee?
Once I checked it in, the said I was all set – but never mentioned what the fee would be. I asked, and to my delight – no fee! I mentioned to the nice lady behind the counter that if I would have known that I would have checked it in the first place. To my surprise, she told me that if I had checked it there would have been a fee, but since I tried to carry on was sent back, there would be no charge.
Therein lies that arbitrage opportunity – if you simply take your bag through as a carry on and get sent back, you could avoid the charge!
Now, to reiterate – I did not game this on purpose, and did not try to do this. I simply found out after the fact purely by accident, and was happy to take advantage. I believe the savings was $29, if I remember correctly. My conscience was clear because I really did try to carry it on, as I saw others with bigger bags walking toward customs/security.
My assessment is that this is a clear loophole for people to avoid the carry on fee that seems to annoy so many people. That said, knowing this loophole for this particular flight (Canada to US), would you try to take advantage of it and go through carry on – even if you thought you would probably have to check in, Or, would you just check in up front and pay the fee? Personally, I would check in up front if I knew that the bags were definitely too big. But I tend to be a rule follower in those cases, and am wondering if there is a grey area here.
What do you think?
The first two “Squirreling Gone Wild” stories were examples of extreme ways to pinch pennies, both by an old college buddy of mine from 20 years ago, with whom I am still friends. This third story in what is shaping up to be a periodic series, is yet another example that involves – you guessed it, the old college buddy!
This one, on the other hand, is a bit different. A bit more opportunistic, and again, not for everyone. Nevertheless, some good can come from it in our modern day application of these approaches.
So, what else did he do, besides the gas station penny scheme and food couponing I illustrated in the first two “Extreme” posts? Well, he looked for money in strange places. Mostly, it was for effect and shock value, as he knew that it would get a laugh out of us or push some people’s buttons. But he did, on occasion, try to search for coins in offbeat places.
Here’s where he looked:
1) Under the Drive through window. Yes, he really did this. I was with him only once when he did this, but I know he did this other times. Anyway, he had previously worked at a major fast food chain while in high school, so he came to find out about the idea that loose change can be found under the drive through window. Apparently, enough people would drop a coin or two here and there that there was often a decent collection of change by late in the day. He claimed he could pay for his meal with what he found by the window, and I recall him coming close on that occasion.
2) In vending machine coin returns. He would quickly reach down and check them periodically, sometimes finding a quarter here and there. As a corollary to this, he would look at vending machines to find instances where a bag of chips or candy bar was hanging down, having not fallen down when someone before him had put money in. He would then put money in to buy one, and get two for the price of one, as he got the one hanging plus the one behind it which he paid for.
3) In parking lots. For this one, I actually just remember one instance, where he found a $10 bill laying in the lot. He grabbed, held it up, and said “YES!” with the look of someone who found treasure. Pure satisfaction for him, I still remember his reaction.
4) At a movie theater concession stand or fast food restaurant, on the floor by the counter. He probably found some pennies or other loose change here and there.
5) In front of parking meters. Yes, sometimes people drop coins by the curb and don’t pick them up. He told me about this, but I never saw him do it.
You get the idea.
Juvenile? Yes, I certainly think so. What adult wouldn’t think so? I’m not even sure if its ok to take loose change like that from private property – I wouldn’t do so. Regardless, it was all part of this guy’s shtick, and I theorize that it was partially a way for him to draw attention to himself and partially an aspect of him truly being frugal.
Besides being a story of extreme penny pinching (or something of the like), its also a lesson on how money can show up in the most unusual places, often there for the taking like low-hanging fruit, so to speak. As adults, here is something we can do with money we happen to find (not his way!) or obtain as a total surprise or through luck: GIVE IT AWAY.
Yes, give it away. Whenever we come across something unexpected – whether its finding a $1 bill in a public park, or winning something in a free-entry contest – why not give it away? Accumulate it through the year, then at the end of the year, give it to a charity or organization that will make sure that a needy person or family will benefit. Keep loose change/bills found like this in a charity jar, other items in a special container, and then donate toward the end of the year.
A little giving is always a good thing:)
This post was included in Money Hacks Carnival #113 at learnsaveinvest.com
