Taking Screenshots When Conducting Online Transactions

Do you use the screenshot function on your computer very often? It's super handy when you want to remotely show someone a program that is malfunctioning and how the results appear on your screen. Screenshots are also super helpful when you need to "prove" something that you read online, after the fact.

I make it a habit to screenshot the final page on an order just before hitting "submit." This is the page that usually outlines the item ordered, the cost per item, and the shipping costs and delivery estimates. If I've used a coupon code, this page also indicates the associated discount.

I recently placed an online order for a bunch of small items that were on sale. I did as I always do, I screen-shotted that last page before submitting. After placing the order, I received an email invoice/receipt for the items. On this receipt, I noticed the prices per items on a couple of like-items were more than what I believed I would be charged. I went back to the website and the prices were now higher than I'd seen just 30 minutes earlier.

I reached out to customer support immediately and offered to send files of my screenshots to verify the prices I had seen online. After a few back and forth emails, I was able to get my account credited for this overcharge. Had I not taken the screen shots, I either would not have spoken up about the overcharge, or if I did, I would not have had any proof of what price I had been offered.

This week, everything was finally settled. I ended up saving over $8 by taking 10 seconds to screenshot my transaction with pricing info, then following up with customer support contact. I just wanted to pass this on for your future online transactions. Screenshots are a quick and easy way to document online information and could save you some real cash should you find yourself in a conflict over pricing with an online vendor.

My Sprout Growing Operation

I know, I know. This may be of no interest to many of you. But for the one person who may be interested, I wanted to show just how un-sophisticated it is to grow your own sprouts.

I keep sprouts at all three stages, at all times. When the finished batch is first refrigerated, I start a new jar of lentils soaking. The middle batch would be about halfway sprouted at this point, and those new ones would be lentils soaking in water overnight. Within 3 or 4 days, the finished batch would be nearly consumed, the middle batch would be a day away from finishing, and the newest batch would be about 3 days in (4 or 5 days from finishing). I will keep this up until our kale comes back in March for a last harvest before going to seed. 

right to left for the sprouts progression -- 1) newly sprouted, 2) almost done, 3) fully done and in process of consuming

I use repurposed food jars and pyrex baking dishes

the jars are from salsa, queso, natural peanut butter, and instant coffee --
these sprouts are 1 day away from being completely sprouted

these sprouts were completed about 4 days ago, keeping fresh in the refrigerator in a glass bowl
lined with a paper towel, then covered with a lid

As for how we use the sprouts, I add them to soups, stir fry, shredded cabbage when making cole slaw, and as is, for an impromptu salad. For a quick lunch on Sunday, I heated 2 cans of chicken and noodle soup (bought from the clearance table due to can dents) and tossed in handfuls of the sprouts as the soup finished heating. Delicious and easy. When I make a stir fry, I substitute sprouts where I might add chopped cabbage. In fall as we were finishing off the garden lettuce, I stretched what little lettuce we had with lots of sprouts when making salads. And now, when I make cole slaw, I mix in several large handfuls of sprouts with the shredded cabbage for taste and texture variety.

my lunch the other day -- reheated baked beans, toasted, homemade
whole wheat bread, and a salad of sprouts with ranch-style dressing

But the way, I most often eat these sprouts as a simple salad plainly dressed with oil and vinegar or ranch-style dressing. I use the sprouts in my lunch nearly every day. A handful of sprouts cost me about 2 cents in lentils and another penny in water for the soaking and rinsing. I can't buy a serving of produce at the market for 3 cents, especially not at this time of year. 

In addition, I haven't bought a single piece of equipment for sprouting. I use previously-used food jars and glass baking dishes. I don't even use cheesecloth or a screen on the opening of the jars. Super-duper simple and extremely little effort -- that's my kind of gardening.