December 18, 2006
We’re coming perilously close to the end of the year and the thought of unfinished business occurs to me. The issue of the overpayment from some months ago is still unresolved. I’d asked Little Boss what he wanted to do about it because he’d expressed doubts about the payroll coordinator’s reliability when she brought me the worksheet detailing the exact amount I needed to pay back to the department a while ago. He didn’t think she could be trusted to correct the error because she’s the one who caused the problem in the first place. He’s got a point because she has a terrible track record when it comes to dealing with our office. He suggested that we take the worksheet to the payroll department (not the same person) and find out if the calculations were accurate. The funny thing is, the secretary experienced the same problem and she pointed out to me that because it was payroll’s error, there wasn’t a darn thing they could do if she didn’t pay it back. I wonder if she ever paid hers back.
For my part, I don’t feel comfortable keeping the money if that’s not really my money. I mean, my job and my reputation is worth more than a thousand bucks – I didn’t work my tushy off just to be remembered as the person who kept some chunk of money that didn’t belong to me! But what he wants is rather ambiguous because he made the comment that he’d considered calling the money (part of?) our bonuses if it didn’t make me unhappy because it was money “already spent.” Well I wouldn’t mind because it’s not spent, though I did throw the money in my e-fund to accumulate interest while we made a decision. I don’t count that money as mine or as part of my net worth. And payroll taxes were already taken out of it so I wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with a big fat 1099 this year, that’d be nice!
I should just go ahead and make out the check and see if he’ll take it. It’s an odd thing, trying to give your boss a payroll rebate.
December 17, 2006
I’ll post the results of the San Diego Getaway challenge when I get back next week (Dimes may very well be right…).
The friends’ gift exchange challenge, however, has been met and I have emerged victorious!! Yeah, that’s dramatic but consider the challenge: Brainstorm, find and purchase a gift(s) spending $50 or less by December 27th. BUT the bonus is that the invitations to the gift exchange were mailed out last week and I still haven’t received mine. The invites contained the mail-it-to-your-gifter wish list, which means I haven’t even mailed out my wish list to whichever poor sap is supposed to get my present(s) by the due date. Luckily, I wheedled my giftee’s name from my friend and dashed off to Amazon to hunt down my targets. I didn’t get exactly what I wanted for her, but I did come close. 2 DVD sets: Harvey Birdman Vol 1, and Venture Bros. Vol 1 (going for about $60 in stores), for $12 including standard shipping. I used my gift certificate because not spending money out of pocket took precedence over getting myself something.
They’re both new and are scheduled to arrive on my doorstep before Christmas so I’ll have plenty of wrapping time. I think that makes me a bargain-shoppin’ winner and not just a cheapskate.
December 15, 2006
Oh holy cow. I wondered what happened when my site hits doubled and realized that not only had I been mentioned in JLP’s roundup, I clearly didn’t finish editing my title and it makes NO SENSE. I really meant:
Much as I don’t like Suze Orman, we have something in common.
I did not mean that was necessarily a good thing. It’s a habit I’ve formed over the course of the years to keep myself from getting over-confident and overspending. It’s worked for me so far, but it’s not entirely accurate as there are a few things I could afford, and I sure could be livin’ the high life right now, but as many a wise saver has said before: the way to really build up a good cushion is to live like a broke college student for a few years after college. And that’s totally who I am in my head: a broke college student.
December 14, 2006
Kira pointed out that Suze seems to think that no one can afford anything. I’m totally the same way. I always think that people spend too much on their purchases even though I keep this to myself (hah! Unlike Suze!) like my coworker’s $50 sheets or well, ok $50 sheets are all I can think of right now. But I definitely always think I can’t afford anything.
This miserly approach to spending really helps when it comes to trying to save as much of my income as possible, but I always wonder if I’m taking my Cash Nazism to extremes. I mean, other people have to make a living too. How happy is that ending if I stashed every dime and dollar and starved to death clutching the laptop with all my bank accounts funded and safely stored away? Yeah ok, other extreme.
Anyway, I was thinking about this because BoyDucky will be home for Christmas and wanted to spend a couple of days together. We don’t usually get much quality time together so that’s a definite yes! But he wants to do a little trip which is a definite *ooh* This isn’t budgeted! (yeah, I know, whatta Scrooge!)
SO, I have rallied my budget travel troops (me) and started researching like crazy to find something affordable that wouldn’t be over the top budget-cheap.
This is my challenge: Can we do 2 days and 3 nights in San Diego, a visit to the Wild Animal Park, renting a car, and eating 3 meals a day in $300 or less??
(Does that sound right? About $100/day for two people’s lodgings, transportation, food, parking, and entertainment during a high demand season?) Hm, that sounds vaguely impossible now that I break down all the categories like that.
It’s about time! Borders has a 30% off any one item coupon good through 12/18.
December 12, 2006
Can you be a serial marriageist?
I just talked to my one of my former coworkers. He’s overworking, as usual, and I asked if his latest wife wasn’t supposed to keep him from doing that. Turns out she turned the tables on him a bit and left him six months ago when she decided that at her age (mid-30’s) she wanted to have another baby. Her age and the baby thing isn’t so much a problem, but his age (60) and existing number of kids (4) would be, one would think. I knew the age difference was going to get in the way at some point but, geez, I thought this would be something that you’d talk about before marriage, especially since she’s the same age as his eldest.
I wouldn’t imagine that this is something you can just *convince* your hubby about after marriage. Besides, there are all sorts of things to consider about having kids at such a late age, being around for one thing. He’s already going to have to work ’til he drops to paying child support for his younger kids. Having a new baby at the age of 60 means he’ll have to work at LEAST until he’s what, 80? And then you get to say “Sorry kid, you’re on your own for college; your dad isn’t Hugh Hefner.” [Then again, being able to tell your kid that Hugh Hefner’s not his papa? Priceless. ‘Cause I mean, yuck!] Not that I plan to put my kids through college, but expecting him to support another dependent at an age when he very well may need care doesn’t seem realistic.
In any case, you would think that he would have learned that divorce is expensive by now. It only cost him his previous two houses before.
December 10, 2006
BoyDucky and I were walking the [big one, not the little munchkin] dog today when a strange dog came bounding out of a sideyard, collar and leash-free, headed straight for us. Of course, I hauled my dog behind me to hide her from the other dog. Of course, she pulled so hard on her leash and collar that the collar snapped free and they clashed amid my shouts and those of the neighbors’ kids. And of course, I broke that cardinal rule of dog fights: NEVER jump in the middle, you will get bitten. It’ll be accidental because neither dog will realize that it’s YOU they’re biting and not the other dog, but the only foolheaded adult stood in the safety of his yard shouting at his dog and made NO attempt to help. But PLEASE, there was NO way that I was going to let my old arthritic dog get hurt. I don’t know if he just got tired or my fury scared him off, but the other dog finally stopped attacking long enough to be driven back to his home while BoyDucky kept her from charging after her attacker.
I was so angry I was shaking. That idiot dog owner never once bothered to come ask if she was alright, he just waited for his dog to come back and then hid in his house. If you’re dumb enough to let your dog run free and attack other dogs wearing NO collar so no one can get a hold of him, have the plain decency to check and see if your dog did any damage!!
What a jerk. His behavior only reinforces my belief that it’s not the dog you have to be worried about, most times it’s the people who own him.
My dog is mostly ok, no real harm from the biting that I could find, but I’m sure her hips and knees are hurting like the blazes. She’d yelped once during the fight, and it was the sort of yelp she can’t hold back when her joints hurt. She’s hanging out with ole geezer now, having had a liberal dose of joint meds, multivitamins and a coated aspirin. Geez. Kids are stressful.
Oh and by the way, if you ever come across a dogfight, don’t ever physically put yourself in the middle. If you can, grab a hose and turn it on both dogs full force, it’ll scare them and force them to break it off long enough for owners to pull them apart. This goes double, triple! if you don’t see any owners in the vicinity: strange dogs may not turn on you but they definitely have no reason to worry about whether that mouthful is you or their antagonist. If you don’t have a hose, REALLY loud noises will usually get their attention and break it off. It’s the best you can do. I remember having to clean up a little old lady who got into the middle of a dogfight trying to save the little dog being attacked and that’s really traumatic too.