One of the nicest and least expensive ways to personalize a room in your home is to hang letters that either spell out a special word or name, or perhaps an entire saying.  Letters can be made out of cut vinyl, which the popular phrases are made out of that people are putting on their walls.  Or, another choice for a nursery is to hang the name of the new baby in wooden or paper Mache letters.  Sometimes people choose to set the letters on a shelve that has a groove that will hold them in place.  Most of the time, the letters will be hung on the wall.

For a little boy’s room the letters are just usually hung on the wall by a hook or a nail.  However, it is not unusual for the letters for a little girl’s room to be hung by a cording or a tulle or satin ribbon.  This gives the letters a little more flair and designer look to the entire room.  As the age of the child changes, so can the letters.  Wooden letters are very easy to spray paint, changing the color palette of the room as the child grows up.

Many individuals desire letters that spell out a special phrase that may be important to the family.  In a family room, the word “family” or “love” may be chosen to hang on the wall or to sit on the top of a television cabinet or a bookshelf.  Hanging letters can be purchased in just about any size, shape and script.  Sometimes an individual will want a block type or simple shape while still others will desire to have a more elaborate script on their walls.

In addition to the shape of the letters, the colors can be very plain or highly decorated.  Sometimes each letter of the name is painted a completely different color, or the letters alternate two particular colors.  It is common today to also have polka dots, stripes or other shapes painted on the letters.  These letters can be a great baby shower gift, if one knows for sure the name that the parents have picked out is the correct one.  Some parents will purchase plain wooden letters and either customize the letters themselves or let older children have the pleasure.

Another decorating idea is to just use one large letter, usually the first letter of the person’s first name.  This was made very popular on the Mary Tyler Moore show in the 1970’s when the main character, Mary, used a large “M” in the living room by her front door,  Retailers everywhere began to carry the initials, which are making a sure comeback today.

Most individuals will choose to fasten the letters into the wall by a fastener on the back or by nailing straight through the letter.  However, still others will want to use some type of tacky putty to be able to hold the letters without marking or marring up the wall.  This is important if you are a renter and must plug all nail holes before moving from an apartment.  Other people have strung the letters through a strong rope or cording or even hung them on a wide satin ribbon.  There are so many ways to hang letters to personalize just about every space or room in your home.  The only limit is one’s imagination.

Larger phrases are usually put up in adult’s bedrooms, in a dining room or a living room.  However, some people choose to hang the letters in the kitchen, perhaps choosing such words as; coffee, tea, spice, etc.  Some phrases come in script styles making them very nice for softer rooms in your room, such as a bedroom or sometimes in your bathroom.  These phrases are usually very romantic in nature and can be put onto the wall, and repositioned over and over again.  Take care when doing so, as many of the styles are very delicate and can tear easily if you must reposition them too often.

No matter what type or style of hanging letters you prefer putting some up in different rooms in your own home is a great way to personalize your space.  It makes your home uniquely yours.

There is nothing like a real Christmas tree to get you into the spirit of the season. Artificial ones may be quick and easy to set up, but the scent of pine and glistening needles will never be a match for them. It’s like having a little forest in your living room even if just for a short while each year. A wholesale Christmas tree farm can help you choose the perfect tree for your home.

Many people mistakenly believe that purchasing a real tree is harmful to the environment and destroys forests; nothing could be further from the truth.  When you choose a real Christmas tree, you are actually helping the environment and making an eco-friendly choice. Real ones absorb carbon dioxide and put fresh oxygen back into the air. Wholesale Christmas tree farms conserve wildlife and protect water supplies. Many farms grow their trees on soil that cannot be used for any other type of crop.

When you purchase a real tree, you are supporting the local economy. There are farms in all 50 states in the United States. The artificial one in your favorite department store was probably made in Hong Kong or Taiwan. Once the plastic goes into a landfill it does not disintegrate, but stays there forever. When a wholesale Christmas tree farm sells one full grown, they plant two or three seedlings in its place.

Some farms even offer Christmas fundraising opportunities. If you are the owner of a club or organization that relies on fundraising efforts to raise money, why not sell Christmas trees? It’s a great way to bring awareness about the benefits of real trees to your community; and it is a creative and innovative way to raise money, as opposed to traditional bake sales and car washes.

Wholesale Christmas tree farms are not just for organizations and businesses. If you only need one, just choose the type that you want, place your order and it will be delivered right to your door in a refrigerated cargo van. Many farms also ship internationally. Let’s face it; not everyone has a chain saw and a forest that they can go into to cut down their own. Many people don’t have the time to pick their own, nor do they have a truck to carry it home in. You could tie it to the top of your car, but by the time you get it home, many of the precious needles will have been lost and it just doesn’t look the same as when you picked it.

Some of the most popular types are spruce, balsam fir, fraser fir, douglas fir, white pine and noble fir. Your choice will depend on your own preference, and whether you like short, prickly needles, or long softer needles. You can do some research online at the farm’s website to get an idea of the type and style that you would prefer. Some types are fuller, some more sparse.

You will find that when you buy a real tree from a wholesale Christmas tree farm, it will be easy to care for, and will last longer than if you cut it yourself. You will want to put it in a sturdy, quality stand with water as soon as it arrives. The stand should be able to hold approximately one gallon of water. Never let the stand run dry. Plain tap water is sufficient; you don’t need fancy bottled or distilled water. You don’t need to add anything to the water like aspirin or sugar. If your house is very dry, you may want to put a humidifier in the room.

To keep your home safe and free of fire hazards, make sure you unplug your tree lights each night, and never leave them on when you are not home. Never use real candles as decorations.

Purchasing from a wholesale Christmas tree farm can be a great way for you and your family to enjoy the holiday season. You will feel good knowing you are helping the environment and supporting the local economy. It will last through the entire festive season and be a beautiful addition to your overall decor. You will dazzle your friends and family with the glittering structure in the middle of the room.

Integra Insurance Group is a leading independent Arizona insurance agency in the state of Arizona. A company that began in September 2002, Integra Insurance Group provides AZ residents and business owners with a wide range of premiere insurance services across the state.

Services include: commercial auto insurance, motorcycle insurance, RV insurance, boat insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance, small business, personal, professional, and general liability coverage, small business, group and individual life and health insurance, dental insurance, traveler’s insurance, disability and long-term care insurance, and much more.

Today, IIG is partnered with over 20 of the largest insurance carriers in the US, providing customers access to the most competitive insurance rates and best customer service available. At IIG, their independent agents measure success not by dollars earned, but by the number of satisfied customers they serve.

Why is Working with An Independent Insurance Broker Better for You?

As an independent agency, IIG does not work for any one insurance company, but with multiple companies, so consumers are always guaranteed the most competitive insurance premium rates. They find you a plan that gives customers the best return for their hard-earned dollars. Whether one needs vehicle, commercial vehicle, homeowner, personal, or business insurance, the agents at IIG take the hassle and confusion out of shopping for the right insurance because they do the shopping and comparisons for you. With multiple insurance companies to choose from, you are assured of getting the best coverage and rates to meet your individual needs.

In addition to finding you the best insurance plans, agents will also help you with general services such as:

• Updating your contact info when you move
• Completing Insurance Forms
• Requesting a certificate of insurance
• Creating a Home inventory worksheet
• Processing Policy cancellations
• Managing Your Auto Policy
• Ordering your Auto ID cards and updating your driver information
• Adding additional drivers or removing or replacing a vehicle

A Quick Look at Commercial Insurance Services

With over 40 years of industry experience, IIG agents are skilled at providing smart strategic solutions for commercial, personal, and employee benefit services, with the goal of minimize risk and maximize investment dollars.

We Help You Protect Business

IIG also knows the best form of protection for your business assets is prevention. Their team of experienced, licensed agents offer expertise in risk management, account servicing, and they will advocate for you in the event of a claim. The goal is to create a superior insurance solution that will keep a business safe and secure. IIG has a history of assisting business owners in developing specialties in these industries and more:

• Emerging and Green Technologies
• IT Staffing Firms
• Commercial Property
• Manufacturing
• Wholesalers/Distributors
• Retail Establishments
• Restaurants

HR Services That Can’t Be Beat

IIG will exceed your expectations as an employee benefits broker, consultant, and partner. They can act as an extension of your HR team to provide the right benefits results for your employees, and help you by providing services such as:

• Free Human Resources Consulting
• Monthly Newsletters and Legislative Updates
• Customized Client Websites using your brand image
• RIF Services and Expert Claims Analysis
• COBRA/HIPAA Compliance Software and Services
• Employer/Employee Contribution Analysis
• Employee Satisfaction Surveys
• Merger and Acquisition Assistance
• Online Enrollment Options

Visit Us Online for Even More Savings and Services

IIG’s online Health Savings Account (HSA) Toolkit for employers and their employees offers a web-based, interactive tool to calculate and compare an HSA-compatible plan with other plans. With the HSA Toolkit feature, customers can easily and objectively evaluate numerous health care options and choose the one that is right for them. In addition to their online HSA ToolKit, AIS also provides a self-service online resource center. This feature gives you access to their comprehensive, web-based library, which is compiled and maintained by employment lawyers, accountants, and HR experts and provides access to thousands of pages of content about topics to benefit every business owner.

Get Fast, Easy Quotes Online for Those Extra Services

At Integra Insurance Group, their goal is to serve you, the customer, with the highest degree of integrity and customer service, and to provide you with perfect Arizona insurance services, customized to fit your lifestyle and business needs.

To learn more, give them a call at 623-322-5955 or visit us online at http://www.iigroupinc.com/.

Whether you are a first time parent or adding to your brood, your baby is the most vulnerable member of your family. As parents of a newborn, you will strive to give your baby the best you can, ensuring they feel comfortable, happy and most importantly – loved. Although there are many who feel that we do not need to spoil our child with luxurious items until they are of an older age, during which they can appreciate us more; there are many parents who will aim to give their child items that will make them feel like a prince or princess – no matter their age.

When it comes to decorating your baby’s nursery, there are many factors which you will need to take into consideration, one in particular being his or her bedding. Crib bedding can be incredibly important as without a comfortable and safe crib in place, baby could be susceptible to a cold and uncomfortable sleep which may mirror onto their parents sleep also! By investing in some of the luxurious crib bedding and accessories courtesy of top bedding designers such as Serena and Lily, you can guarantee you will get value for your money and baby will be more than happy in his or her dwelling.

When investing in crib bedding for your baby, you will strive to purchase something that is soft, comfortable, durable, attractive and above all, value for your money. Serena and Lily have a wide range of crib bedding that is guaranteed to cater for even the fussiest baby, whilst helping to bring their nursery together with designer patterns and colors. Color is very important when purchasing crib bedding as it is vital for your baby’s visionary stimulation. By purchasing Serena and Lily bedding for your baby, you will be provided with a wide range of colors to choose from, from earth and pastel colors that generally suit traditional nursery décor themes; to artistic and stylized designs that will suit modern interior design nursery themes. Colorful and patterned bedding can not only stimulate your baby’s vision, but may also help to soothe their eyes during night time, helping to aid a long and restful sleep.

One of the most important aspects of crib bedding is the fabric from which is manufactured from. Whereas we may prefer materials that cater to our personal requirements, when it comes to crib bedding, we must ensure that we cater for baby’s needs. Serena and Lily’s collection of crib bedding includes a range of soft, luxurious fabrics that will soft next to baby’s skin. All items from the Serena and Lily collection are 100% cotton making them durable, luxurious and also eco-friendly. Thanks to the high level of quality provided by Serena and Lily’s bedding, your baby’s nursery will be provided with a classic and elegant look that will look great for many years-perfect for any further family additions! The main advantage of opting for Serena and Lily crib bedding for your baby is that you will not need to compromise your desired nursery theme due to a lack of color or pattern options. The Serena and Lily collection consists of a number of unisex and gender specific themes that can combined with other items from their collection from diaper bags, to furniture and much more.

High quality crib bedding like Serena and Lily may come at a higher price than other generic brands, but in paying more, you are getting more value for your money. Your baby will be given the utmost comfort that he or she deserves and bedding that will truly compliment the décor of their nursery. For a great collection of Serena and Lily items, visit Layla Grayce today.

After spending countless weekends brushing and sweeping my parent’s pool as a child, I promised myself that I’d never own a swimming pool. I felt they required too much work. That changed a few years ago when we put in a pool.

What changed in my thinking? Unlike the pool of my youth, this one was self-cleaning and self chlorinating. In other words, it is virtually maintenance free… well almost.

The first year was great. The only maintenance the pool required was occasional skimming of leaves that had gathered on the surface as well as cleaning the skimmer and leaf trapper baskets once a week. The filters are a bit of a chore to clean but that only has to be done twice a year. I can honestly say that in the first year, all my worries about maintaining a pool from my youthful experiences was wiped away.

That changed the second and third years. Year number two brought on problems with high phosphate levels which would not allow the salt chlorinating system to produce enough chlorine to keep the pool’s water in good shape. I would regularly have to add small amounts of shock to the pool just to keep chlorine levels to where they should be. The third year I had problems with algae. This required more chemical treatments and lots of brushing. All the horrid pool memories of my childhood were coming back to haunt me.

At some point, the tile on the spillway for the Jacuzzi began to come off. I started a thread on a local Anthem forum looking for someone who was experienced with pool time. Sam McCraken of Blue Palm Pools answered my post and for about $120, he did a beautiful job repairing the tile. We got to talking about what I did for a living of which I told him that I was a search marketer. This interested him as he had a web site but was not getting any traffic. I explained how my company could help him improve his search visibility which would also help him to attract local traffic.

After some negotiating, we decided to barter. I would provide search marketing services for his site and he would maintain my pool on a weekly basis. I ended up having to completely redesign his site as it was in a crappy GoDaddy content management system, so not only did Sam now have a search marketer looking out for his online marketing efforts, he had a much better looking site that was a whole lot easier to update.

To date, both of us have been very happy about the arrangement. Sam has more business than he can handle right now, which is always a good problem to have. I no longer worry about my pool. In fact I have never enjoyed it so much because I don’t do anything to it anymore except swim in it. I don’t clean skimmer or leaf trap baskets. I don’t brush it. I rarely skim the surface. Most of all, I don’t worry about the chemical balance of the pool. Sam takes care of all those things and does it all very well.

So, if you live in the North Phoenix area and are looking for an awesome Phoenix pool service company, I highly recommend Blue Palm Pools.

There are some benefits to belonging to an HOA (Home Owner’s Association) but often the benefits are overshadowed but the negative aspects of HOAs wielding too much control over homeowners. I live in Anthem, Arizona, one of the best planned master communities in the country and a wonderful place to live I might add, however with one of the strictest HOAs you will ever run across.

I have been received complaints from my HOA because my grass wasn’t green enough, for parking a car on my rockscape in front of our RV gate and even for parking a car on the street in front of our house. Neighbors have reported stories of being cited for not wrapping up their garden hoses properly, leaving garbage cans out when they are supposed to be in and even having as little as 5 teeny tiny weeds in their front yard yard. However this weekend was the epitome of an HOA going too far.

My wife decided to have her third garage sale in our six years of living up here (the last one was supposed to be the last – yeah right). To help market the sale, she placed ads on Craigslist as well as our own community forum, AnthemStuff.com. Even with the ads, you need some signage to direct people in as this is a pretty large community. So we purchased some of those inexpensive but professional looking yellow garage sale signs available at the local Home Depot along with wooden stakes to drive them into the ground. No cheesy looking boxes with hand written lettering or duct-tapped poster board to poles or street signs. These are nice looking signs that are not only professional looking but actually do a great job of drawing people in.

The sale was planned for Friday and Saturday of last week. We got an early start at 6am where I proceeded to place about 8 signs around our immediate area. I don’t think an hour passed before a customer asked us why we did not have any signs directing people in (they came by the Craigslist ad). I thought that they must be blind. These signs are yellow and stand out pretty well. How could they not see them? I jumped in the car to check it out and sure enough, about half of my signs were gone. At first I though it was kids walking to school or maybe competing sellers. I quickly replaced them and returned to the house.

Being diligent, I thought I’d check them a half hour later. More signs gone, including one of our friends real estate sandwich style signs that run about $50. She had placed another one further away from our location so I thought I’d rescue that one before it was stolen as well, however when I arrived, it was gone as well. Who would steal our signs in this manner? It can’t be kids. I wouldn’t think competing garage sellers would be that devious.

To make a long story short, I lost about 15 signs over the two days. Who stole them? Our lovely HOA. Apparently they don’t like them because they mess up the community. So rather than try to discover who is placing these signs and asking them to remove them, they simply steal them without giving you any notice.

We discovered it was the HOA because our Realtor friend called the them and asked them point blank if they had taken them to which they replied that they had. I also discovered that this happens quite often to anyone who has garage sales in this community. Therefore if you live in this HOA or one similar to it, better make sure you have an abundance of cheap signs so you can replace them throughout the day.

If you ask me, it is going a bit overboard. Let’s face the facts: We as Americans buy too much stuff, stuff we eventually don’t want or need anymore and stuff we have to get rid of. Therefore garage sales will always be with us, no matter what type of community you live in. What our HOA should do (if they were smart) would be to develop some standardized signs in which they could then rent or loan to sellers. This way, the HOA knows about it, they avoid tacky looking boxes and signs lying around all over the place and the community can function in a normal fashion. They have already standardized real estate signs such as “For Sale” or “Open Hose” signs. Why not garage sales as well?

One positive thing I did take away from this experience is that if you have any large boxes, pieces of plywood and the like that you want to get rid of, but they either won’t fit in the trash or you don’t feel like taking them to the dump, just write or paint “Yard Sale” on them and place them on the corner of one of your streets. The HOA is happy to dispose of them for you at no cost.

Note: This entry was originally published on my personal blog.

After spending countless weekends brushing and sweeping my parent’s pool as a young child, I vowed to never own a swimming pool myself. They are just too much work. That changed a few years ago when we put in a pool. What changed in my thinking? Unlike the pool of my youth, this one was self-cleaning and self chlorinating. In other words, it is virtually maintenance free… well almost.

The first year was great. The only maintenance the pool required was occasional skimming of leaves that had gathered on the surface as well as cleaning the skimmer and leaf trapper baskets once a week. The filters are a bit of a chore to clean but that only has to be done twice a year. I can honestly say that in the first year, all my worries about maintaining a pool from my youthful experiences was wiped away.

That changed the second and third years. Year number two brought on problems with high phosphate levels which would not allow the salt chlorinating system to produce enough chlorine to keep the pool’s water in good shape. I would regularly have to add small amounts of shock to the pool just to keep chlorine levels to where they should be. The third year I had problems with algae. This required more chemical treatments and lots of brushing. All the horrid pool memories of my childhood were coming back to haunt me.

At some point, the tile on the spillway for the Jacuzzi began to come off. I started a thread on a local forum looking for someone who was experienced with pool time. Sam McCraken of Blue Palm Pools answered my post and for about $120, he did a beautiful job repairing the tile. We got to talking about what I did for a living of which I told him that I was a search marketer. This interested him as he had a web site but was not getting any traffic. I explained how my company could help him improve his search visibility which would also help him to attract local traffic.

After some negotiating, we decided to barter. I would provide search marketing services for his site and he would maintain my pool on a weekly basis. I ended up having to completely redesign his site as it was in a crappy GoDaddy content management system, so not only did Sam now have a search marketer looking out for his online marketing efforts, he had a much better looking site that was a whole lot easier to update.

To date, both of us have been very happy about the arrangement. Sam has more business than he can handle right now, which is always a good problem to have. I no longer worry about my pool. In fact I have never enjoyed it so much because I don’t do anything to it anymore except swim in it. I don’t clean skimmer or leaf trap baskets. I don’t brush it. I rarely skim the surface. Most of all, I don’t worry about the chemical balance of the pool. Sam takes care of all those things and does it all very well.

So, not only do I love my pool guy but I love barter relationships. I did a similar barter this year for sun screens and have bartered in the past for tile floors throughout my first home. Oh, and I regularly barter for wine.

Some of the things I am currently looking to barter for include the following:

• Wrought iron security entrance to home.
• Landscape maintenance
• Auto mechanic to replace front and rear seals for my Mustang’s 289
• Video surveillance

I could probably go on but those are some of the top things on my wish list. So if you happen to do business in my general area and want to barter for search marketing services and/or web development, just let me know. Furthermore, if you live in the North Phoenix area and are looking for an awesome pool maintenance company, I highly recommend Blue Palm Pools.

Note: This entry was originally published on my personal blog.

I am always afraid to open my electric bill in the summer. It is typical to have electric bills in the $500 range but this month’s bill of shocked me a bit. I’m not going to disclose the exact amount but let’s just say that in my seven years at my current residence, I have never seen a bill this high.

I called them of course to see if there was some error. It is not that I will have any difficulty in paying it. I was just concerned that there had to be some error and I hate wasting money. They informed me that I had indeed used the electricity. Even when I suggested the meter may be faulty, they implied that it would send them a signal, of which it did not. Bottom line is that I have nothing to complain about.

This is not my reason for this post and especially what I decided to title it. There are three “other” things that tick me off a bit which is my reason for writing an “APS Sucks” type of post.

1. The Extensive List of Charges

The APS bill provides a “line-item” list of charges that reads like the options you see when buying a car. I have never really paid much attention to this untill now of which I was quite shocked. Here is what it looks like.

• Basic Service Charge – The minimum charge for having service available, whether you used electricity or not.

• Delivery Service Charge – A charge, based on your kWh usage and/or kW demand, to build and operate the equipment for delivering electricity to your home/business, including lines, poles, transformers and substations.

• Environmental Benefits Surcharge – A charge to cover the costs of programs approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission, including: energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

• Federal Environmental Improvement Surcharge – A charge to recover a portion of the cost of investments and expenses for environmental improvements at APS’ generation facilities designed to comply with environmental standards mandated by federal laws or regulations.

• Competition Rules Compliance Charge - A charge, based on your kWh usage, to cover costs associated with compliance and implementation of the Electric Competition Rules.

• System Benefits Charge – A charge to cover the costs of programs approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission, including low-income assistance, demand side management, customer education, environmental, renewables, long-term public benefit research and development, nuclear fuel disposal and nuclear power plant decommissioning programs as well as other programs approved by the Commission.

• Power Supply Adjustment * - An adjustment mechanism to recover fluctuations in fuel and purchased power costs. (i.e., fuel, natural gas)

• Metering * – A fixed fee for providing and servicing the meter.

• Meter Reading * – A fixed fee to determine your energy usage.

• Billing * – The cost of calculating and providing your monthly statement.

• Generation of Electricity * – The cost of producing the electricity you used this month.

• Transmission and Ancillary Services * – The cost for moving high voltage electricity from generating facilities and other sources to the APS distribution lines

• Transmission Cost Adjustment * – A cost, based on your kWh usage, to adjust for annual changes in transmission-related costs procured to serve retail customers.

• Franchise Fee - A charge by a municipality for APS’ use of the public rights-of-way for its facilities.

• Regulatory Assessment – A cost imposed on customers of state regulated utilities to help fund the Arizona Corporation Commission and Residential Utility Consumer’s Office.

Oh, and let’s not forget about good ol’ Uncle Sam. He has to have his cut as well.

• State Sales Tax
• County Sales Tax
• City Sales Tax

Now I can understand the Basic Service Charge, Generation of Electricity, and the taxes but what about all the rest of these charges?

Take the Delivery Service Charge for example which allows them to collect additional fees from me so they can build and operate the equipment for delivering electricity, including lines, poles, transformers and substations. This is so bogus. How many companies do you know of charge their customers additional fees so they can build and maintain the methods they use the goods and services customers seek? It would be like Wal-Mart charging me an extra fee on top of the cost of goods sold so they can not only maintain their stores but build new ones as well. Isn’t that what profits are for?

There is the Competition Rules Compliance Charge which charges me an extra fee so they can compete? WTH? At least that is the way I read it.

Why do I have to pay extra for the System Benefits Charge? What do programs for low-income assistance, customer education, long-term public benefit research and development and others have to do with me, especially if I am not using them?

The Transmission and Ancillary Services really gets me – an extra fee for moving high voltage electricity from generating facilities and other sources to the APS distribution lines. What do they have to ship the electricity or move it in trucks? Another bogus charge

On top of all these “extras” I have to pay APS extra so they can measure how much electricity I use and so they can bill me. Isn’t this simply a cost of doing business.

How the Arizona Corporation Commission ever approved all these “extra” charges is beyond me. I mean, does this commission have any real concept of business in the real world?

2. You Can Choose Another Electrical Provider, So Long As It Is APS

You might wonder what the asterisks are for in the line-item list above. They indicate that “the services are currently provided by APS but may be provided by a competitive supplier.” This is more of a taunting however as there is no other provider where I live. APS is the sole provider – a monopoly.

So why even taunt me like that? Reminds me of when Henry Ford starting making the Model T and offered consumers the choice of any color “so long as it is black.”

3. They Waste Money They Could Be Giving Back To Their Customers

I very often see commercials for APS on my television. Everyone knows how expensive television commercials are. They do other advertising besides all of which is ironic due to the fact that most of the areas they supply electricity to, they are the sole provider.

I completely understand why companies have marketing budgets and advertise – because there is competition. However, in APS’s situation, the only competition they have, at least where I live is NOBODY. There is of course another major electrical provider in the Valley – SRP, but as far as I understand, APS has their power grids and SRP has theirs . So where is the choice? And what is the purpose of wasting tens of thousands if not millions of dollars on ad spend when people HAVE TO use their service? It’s pure stupidity and waste , all of which are passed on to the consumer.

So what can I do about this? Nothing really.

I am starting to think very seriously about solar power and may be exploring how I can outfit this home so that it is completely powered by the sun. If not this one, certainly the next. I do live in the desert so why not take advantage of natural energy as opposed to making a company like APS richer and richer.

In the meantime, APS – you suck, not only for wasting money on advertising, money that could be put back in our pockets in the form of savings, and not only for lying to us that we can choose another provider when the exact opposite is true but most of all for sticking us with just about every bogus add-on fee you can get away with.

Note: This entry was originally published on my personal blog.