Day 127+40 – (AD 1,289) – 20.0 Miles Today – Jim’s Trek Part V – On My Schwinn 170

Good Day,

This morning I cycled 20.0 miles on my Schwinn 170. I have now comfortably, sort of, fit into my regime of 5 pedaling days a week, each for 60 minutes.

At my average of a little bit more than 100 miles a week I should be pedaling another 108 more days to complete my over-goal of 38,201.6 miles. To date, I have cycled 27,442.5 miles; 44,164.5 kilometers.

And on Mars, I have now completed 81.8% of the distance from Ada Crater to Mädler Crater. I think I have chosen my next goal and destination point. It is about 320 miles from Mädler Crater.

Soapbox –

I just went online to pay my Spectrum bill. The payment is a simple EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) which is usually performed through the ACH (Automated Clearing House).

I initiated the instructions. All went as planned.

I then received an email (electronic mail) response from Spectrum confirming my payment. But there was another sentence included in the confirmation email that sort of bothered and perplexed me. "As a reminder, you'll be charged a $5.00 processing fee when a call center representative assists you with making a payment."

Not sure what this means. Does the intent mean to a reference to levy on my EFT or does it mean that if I call Spectrum (aka Bright House) and a Customer Service Representative who has to assist me to pay them Spectrum, in turn, will now charge me an additional $5.00 for the Customer Service Rep's time?

I have since sent a message to the Spectrum Chat Line with my question about the $5.00 charge. All-things-being-equal they, Spectrum that is, has been processing my request for the last 2+ hours.

This nickel and diming is getting out of hand.

From NerdWallet “ACH Transfers: What It Costs to Send Yourself Money Between Banks Online”, by Spencer Tierney, Sep. 26, 2016.

“In general, knowing the cost of ACH transfers between your bank accounts — and which banks don’t charge for them — might help you save money. Although the outgoing fee generally goes up to $3, you’ll want to avoid having this or any other bank fee add up over time.”

I am sure that the banks in turn more than likely roll-up the transfer costs to its corporate customers, obviously to play the float, and I am sure that the $3.00 levy is immaterial. The $5.00 charge by Spectrum is just another way a corporation tries to nickel-and-dime a customer while trying to explain their inflated and associated costs.

On the menu last night for supper – Smashed Asian Cucumber Salad and my version of Mission Chinese Food’s Kung Pao Pastrami.

This is my 1,392nd post. Per Blogger Jim’s Trek has recorded, as of this writing, 143,523 Pageviews.

I welcome comments or thoughts or ideas. Please feel free to contact, email me at Jim’s Trek. (This link is my email address - jsmith58@gmail.com.)

Have a healthy day and smile,

Jim