State Farm Review - Some gripes on this insurance company

I have had State Farm insurance for my car as well as my home for several years. Overall it has been ok and I think the costs have been reasonable which is why I have stayed with them, but I do have some issues with them as well.  

One thing that bothers me is they change my policy limits without permission. Every time they send the renewal, they bump up the coverage limits. I have asked them about this in the past and they said they do it automatically from what I remember, to cover things like inflation. That is fine, but it should be an option, not automatic. I don't want my coverage changed so every year they change it and every year I have to tell them to put it back how it was. 

Coverage information is hard to find. I just looked all over the website and it seems there is no way to see the actual coverage details. They tell you your coverage amounts, but it seems if you want to know the details or declarations of what is actually covered you have to request that they send it to you by mail. I have a copy of this from when they first sent it, but I would like to be able to see it online or at least be able to download a digital copy. This should not be that hard. 

Also when viewing your coverage on the website, some of the basic information is missing for descriptions of things like “Loss Assessment”, “Damage of Property to Others”, “Medical Payments to Others”. When you click on them to learn more about what it means, it just says “Sorry a description has not been created for that.” These are just the basic items and there are not that many of them. Someone needs to get on this.

Lastly, and this is just nitpicking, but every year they send me a bunch of address stickers with my name and address on them. It was ok the first time, but they keep sending them. I don't need hundreds of stickers with my name and address on them. It's a nice gesture, but there should be an opt out for something like this as well.

I know some of these may be minor issues, but they are things that could be easily fixed and would greatly improve the customer experience. Hopefully they can address some of these issues soon.

Kasa EC60 Camera Review - Testing the popular security camera by TP-Link

Recently I decided to look into getting an indoor security camera for my home. I wanted something that would be able to detect motion, have recording ability, and connect to wifi to view the live stream from your phone. I also wanted something simple and affordable. After doing a good amount of research I decided to get the Kasa EC60 Spot camera by TP-Link.

There is plenty of information out there about the specs so I will focus this review on my experience with the camera.

Set Up:
For set up, you first download the Kasa Smart app which allows you to connect the camera with your phone and access all the features. Then you plug in the camera and follow all the steps in the app such as making an account and connecting it to your wifi.

I noticed when plugging in the power adapter to the camera it did sound kind of “crunchy” which was not very assuring, but the camera powered up just fine. It did make some clicking noises while setting up which appear to be normal as I noticed it does this when switching to IR night vision mode. The setup process was ok and after a few minutes it was up and running.

Camera:
The camera quality is acceptable. It's 1080p HD and has the option to go with a lower resolution if you want to use less storage space and have faster transfer of data. When you first view the camera in the app the screen is small, but you can maximize it to full screen. I think it would be better if it just defaulted to the full screen right away as it is pretty small on the first screen.

You are able to view the live feed from your phone which is great for checking in on what is going on when you are away. It also has the option to record if you add a micro SD card. I purchased a 32gb micro SD card to use with it, but so far I have not felt the need to install it.

Features:
The app lets you take screen caps of the feed if you give it access to your pictures on your phone. It can also record audio and has a speaker you can use to talk through it if you give the app access to your microphone. I'm pretty cautious with security so I did not use any of these features but they are there if you want it.

One thing I like is it has the option to easily turn the camera on or off using your phone. I did notice however that the camera stays warm even when it is turned off which I found to be odd. I did some research and I don't think it records or live streams when it is off but it's hard to be 100% trusting of things like this so I would recommend covering the lens physically or facing it away when you don't want it recording just to be on the safe side.

The motion detection seems to work pretty good and you can have it send a notification to your phone when it detects movement which is a good security feature.

The infrared night vision also works very well. I turned off all the lights and tested it out and you can see everything pretty clearly. It's pretty amazing how it can do that.

There are plenty of other settings to play around with so you can really customize it to fit your needs.

Conclusion:
Overall I am satisfied with the camera and think it is a pretty good deal for $25. If you are looking for an affordable security camera that can record, stream, and detect motion, I would recommend the Kasa EC60 cam.

Menards Rebate Experience - Claiming the 11% Rebate

Menards is known for their 11% off promotion where you can get 11% off your purchase in the form of a rebate. It seems like a good promotion at first, but it can be a bit deceptive and definitely takes some work to actually claim it. Here is my experience with this rebate promotion.

I usually don't make huge purchases at Menards, but I did save up a few receipts over the past few months so I figured I would try claiming the rebate. My receipts only totaled to about $5 credit but it is better than nothing so why not send it in.

On the receipts it does say you have to mail it in by a certain date. I had some that were older than the date mentioned but I decided to send them all in just in case.

To get the rebate form you have to go to the Menards website and enter in your information and then print out the form. Then you have to mail the form and your rebate receipts to the address they provide. It's not too hard but it does take some time and work, not to mention the cost of the envelope and postage.

So I mailed it in and then waited. After a few weeks I got the rebate in the mail. It looks like a postcard folded, and inside is has your rebate amount with a barcode. The credit can be used for purchases in store so it is not like a check that can be cashed. I was able to use the credit on my next purchase at Menards by handing it to the cashier at checkout.

Overall the experience was ok, but I still think the promotion is misleading. For example when they are running the 11% off promotion all the prices are shown as if you are getting 11% off. This is false. You are still paying the full price. If you save your rebates and mail them in, you can get a store credit on your next purchase. Overall I still like the store, but I think they should be more straightforward about this promotion.