About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
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May 14, 2007
I’m a points rewards packrat. I maximize points earnings, and then I hoard them, planning and obsessing about the various rewards or gift cards that I can redeem them for. Like frequent flier miles, the consensus is that you should not do this. You earn ’em, and burn ’em because you don’t know when the program’s going to change and the earned points/miles aren’t worth anything to you until you redeem. Duh.
I never listen, of course. It always seems like a good idea to hold out for a higher redemption level, because what if I want to redeem for something like airline tickets instead of gift cards, and what if I want to buy from another store? Except 1) I’m already well over the threshold for the best redemption value you can get: there isn’t a better discount for, say, a $200 gift card instead of $100. The difference between $10, $25, $50 and $100 gift cards can be substantial, but $100 for 10k points is the best deal you’re going to get.
2) The only airline tickets I’m going to need for the forseeable future are to go see BoyDucky which costs between $110-$150, which is not worth the equivalent $250 in gift cards. If I were to be flying cross-country, the 25k points for a ticket would be a far greater value but I have no vacation plans of any sort for at least through the end of this year.
And 3) Well, it’s not like there aren’t a limited number of stores to redeem cards for anyway! I may as well start somewhere and redeem some money for each store I’m likely to frequent.
Much like when I discovered that I’d been uselessly hoarding my Discover rewards for more Double Cash Rewards because the $40 for $20 Borders GCs were now $25 Gift Cards for $20 of rewards, I lost out on the premium Citi Redemption because of my nearly pathological need to hoard points. *Tsk* It was to my intense chagrin that I found that the $100 gift cards I’ve been saving Thank You points for were no longer available at the 10k point redemption level. Instead, they’re only available at $50 for 6k points. But of course. I paid 5k more Thank You points than I expected, to get only $250 worth of gift cards, instead of $300.
In the spirit of reformation, I went ahead and ordered the $100 gift card for BoyDucky’s birthday even though that’s not for another 6 months, and I’m going to figure out what to redeem the last 20k points for, before the $100 for 10k goes away entirely. And I’ll redeem my MyPoints for a gift card as well, since I’m well over the minimum needed for a $25 gift card. Target gift card, anyone?
As Moneydummy noted, the price of eggs has been astronomical of late. The local grocery store prices a carton of 18 eggs at 4.50, BOGO. At first, 36 eggs for 4.50 might sound like a bargain, but it’s really not. That’s a dozen more eggs than we need for the next 2-3 weeks, and encourages both the waste of money (1.50) and the eggs (1 dozen).
Luckily, I had my cell phone with me and checked in with MaDucky who advised me to go to Longs Drugs. It turns out that their regular price is less than half that of Vons’, and only cost me 2.50 for 2 dozen eggs. Certainly worth the $2 savings and knowing that none of the eggs will go to waste. Yes, it cost me an extra 5 minutes to stop at another store, but it’s just across the street from my house anyway, so I didn’t go out of my way either.
Another option that just occurred to me is Trader Joe’s. I know BoyDucky always goes to TJ’s for his eggs because they’re 99 cents/dozen, but if they have a few other basics at lower prices than Vons’ sale prices, it’d be worth splitting the trips, again because TJ’s is just across the street from my house. I should have checked it out yesterday instead of making a beeline for Longs but I had juice and yogurt in the car, and tunnel vision to boot.
Next week, I plan to scout Trader Joe’s for their pricing on staples like milk, eggs and bread, while trying to avoid those landmines of specialty goodies they always have. I love good food, but with the price of gas these days it’s important to make sure the grocery dollars are stretched as far as they can go!
May 10, 2007
Though I rarely get to watch television, I’ve been known to enjoy tidbits of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, on occasion. I happened across this hilarious little segment of last night’s Colbert Report. THE most important segment, really:
And the best comment posted has to be:
“Well, Evelyn [Mrs. Colbert] ought to be okay with it. She just won every fight for the rest of their lives, with a handy visual aid. “Oh, really, Stephen? [Flips on large screen tv with freeze frame of appropriate moment.] Fonda. Take out the damn garbage.”
What if you were getting older, and were told you only had a year left? What would you do differently? “Live like you were dying” as Timmy McGraw says?
What a twisted opportunity that presents. You’ve got nothing to lose living life to the fullest, and enjoying your hard-earned savings, right? As all of us ponder, from time to time, what’s the point if you’re not enjoying life? We talk about how aggressively we should save simply because we just don’t know what’s going to happen next, and we don’t want to be caught short in retirement. And that’s a valid point. But what if you knew you only had a year to live? Sorta boils down the questions, doesn’t it?
Perhaps. Or you could be this guywho was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and “quit his job, sold or gave away nearly all his possessions, stopped paying his mortgage and spent his savings dining out and going on holiday.” He then finds out that his diagnosed cancer was actually “no more than a non-life threatening inflammation of the pancreas.”
Oh, the irony! Still, in time-honored tradition, he feels “really pleased that” he’s “got a second chance in life… but if you haven’t got no money after all this, which is my fault — I spent it all — they should pay something back. If he can’t get compensation, he is considering selling his house or suing the hospital that diagnosed him. The hospital has said that while it sympathizes with Brandrick, a review of his case showed no different diagnosis would have been made.”
(Wait, I thought this guy was a Brit, are they as sue-happy as we Americans are? He admits it was his fault for spending it all, but yet the hospital is still responsible for his spending spree. But if he’d really had cancer, they’d be responsible if he hadn’t had a chance to enjoy life, if he had been misdiagnosed with the inflammation of the pancreas. They really can’t win for losin’.)
I notice that it doesn’t mention that he spent anything on cancer treatments, though. I guess he was going to let nature run its course? Of course it sucks that he had to think he was dying, but goodness, did he have to spend himself silly? I can’t help but think that if he’d considered making a will to distribute something to those he was leaving behind or even a worthy charity to receive his wealth after he passed, he wouldn’t be in quite such dire straits: “Brandrick was left with little more than the black suit, white shirt and red tie that he had planned to be buried in…”
Not that he was obligated to leave anything behind, but I’m just sayin’. Charity can still pay off, even if you’re dying. Or not dying.
Moral of the story? Don’t be so quick to believe everything doctors tell you, they’re not infallible. You might end up living.
May 8, 2007
Chatting about the house for sale down the streeet with a friend, I was taken aback at his bald statement: Forget about your 401(k) until you have a house. Your house is your 401(k)!
His logic is as follows:
It took him 10 years after college to buy his home. That was 6.5 years ago. He hasn’t contributed a cent in the last 6.5 years because he and his wife bought a fixer-upper and have spent that time and money tearing out floors, replacing the bathroom, kitchen and deck, and various other housely duties.
They overpaid the mortgage and refi’ed almost every 6-8 months (paying no closing costs each time) until they arrived at what they considered a great interest rate. I’m not sure what that is, but they’re happy with it.
Now, they have 1 little girl and another little one on the way, they’re secure in their home and are comfortable with their house and tax payments even with his wife working on sales commission and making a bit less than usual.
When he’s going to start contributing to his retirement again, or how much he really contributed before, was left unsaid.
I can see how being house wealthy with a growing family in his mid-30’s can create such an air of contentment, but I wonder how he’s going to make up for his lost years of compounding interest, unless he initially contributed heavily in his 20’s and that’s why it took a while for him to save the money needed for a down payment. On the other hand, he’s flexible, focused and driven, very entrepreneurial and creates new income streams for himself really easily.
I’m rather intrigued, not enough to stop contributing to my retirement plans and watch my tax bill shoot through the roof instead, but intrigued nevertheless.
May 7, 2007
Though I spent a goodly amount on a pair of jeans Saturday, ’til death do us part, I did not buy any of the pieces I was trying on from Banana Republic as alternative options for my Nordstrom business suit (in case I can’t creatively fund it.) I found that they DO carry a size that fits me, and a dress that I love for its pockets:
Jacket: 168, regular
Skirt: 68, regular
Dress: 85, sale
I’d say that all these prices are hands-down NOT deals, but it fulfills the other requirements of fitting perfectly, thus negating the need for tailoring (unlike most of my clothing), and being available at a store where creative financing is possible. A call to the Thank You Redemptions center revealed that I have a crapload of points, hostage points notwithstanding, and though they don’t offer the $100 gift card for Banana Republic anymore, I can request larger denominations for that and other stores through Your Wish Fulfilled. The catch is that the special rewards are more than likely at a premium so I still probably won’t get my 1 for 1 ratio of points to dollars like I want, but I have the option of accepting or declining the quote that the representative offers.
I asked for a quote on the $100 and $200 denominations of Banana Republic and Nordstrom. One, I can compare the quotes for the most favorable exchange rate. Two, I prefer to have options with regards to the stores, I don’t want to be limited to having money for one store and wanting to buy from the other, after all.
As I’ve said, I don’t like paying premium prices for clothing but as my options in the business-dress department are so limited, I have to save in other ways like not spending actual cash. And as with most things, that takes time and patience. Keep your fingers crossed!
Long distance relationships rarely acquire the sort of tedium that you experience in a non-LDR from spending every moment together, and there’s always a sneaking suspicion that you’re missing out on some of the more precious moments and underlying nuances that reveal your beloved’s personality. Getting a date is much more complicated than just making a call and confirming dinner reservations, even more so as a working gal on a budget; if the bills aren’t calling, the work deadlines are. We tested a rather reasonable compromise this weekend, though, and it was a rousing success!
I flew up late late Thursday night after work. Friday was a work-from-home day (just not my home) to eliminate my normal 2.5 hour commute, and maximize BoyDucky time. It was so fun! He took a half day while I kept working until 3:45 which is absolutely unheard of. We tried to watch Spiderman 3 even though I knew it was a hopeless quest because we were trying to hit a last minute matinee: of course it was sold out. That was ok, though, rushing to the theatre like a couple of kids trying to make the movie before curfew was fun. Since there is NO WAY I was ok with spending $10.50 per ticket, we skipped the theatre.
He introduced me to the wonders of Draeger’s and their amazing wine selection, so we cruised the aisles for a couple of hours. A bargain bunch of spinach, three cookies and a lemon bar later, we had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant down the street. Their pho wasn’t half bad, and their eggrolls were small but tasty!
Daily subtotal: ~ $20
Saturday, he indulged my need for a (free) mini-facial at Origins, and even underwent the ordeal himself so that we could both get the free full-sized cleansers they were giving away. Like senile old coots, we completely forgot that we’d decided to try for the matinee of Spiderman 3 again before dinner with his family, and instead lunched on soup and sandwiches from Boudin Bistro to while away our overbudgeted hours.
Confession: We went into the Guess store because they had those beckoning 70% off! signs. I couldn’t resist. I’m not admitting that I didn’t try too hard to resist. But come on! 70% off!? It wasn’t that it was a Guess store, it was the 70% off. And then I way overspent on a pair of really comfortable, fits-perfectly jeans that turned out to be 50% off, not the promised 70%. In my defense, I’ve been wearing the same pair of jeans to work for weeks. And they aren’t even really comfortable, so it’s been fat-pants-day for … a while. On the other hand, I was originally so proud of only spending $15 on my last pair of jeans that turned out to be less than comfortable several months later, perhaps spending a little more for a pair I can get LOTS of wear out of will average out. BoyDucky feels like it wasn’t as world’s-end for me to spend that much as I did, but he later felt properly ashamed for encouraging me to spend beyond comfort level.
We had dinner with his very Taiwanese family, so I did my best to intuit the conversation and pretend I didn’t understand when they were asking when he was getting married. That’s always the logical question that follows, “How old are you, 30?”
Dinner ended so early that we even had time to squeeze in a movie rental.
Daily Subtotal: $14 (B), $60 (me)
Sadly, we only had time for brunch and stop in at a friend’s baby shower (there were babies, babies, everywhere!) before I had to fly home. It’ll be nice when I don’t have to go to the airport to go home anymore. That’s a point to the pro-marriage team. Still, I have miles to go before I sleep.
We’ve concluded that we both understand that we have jobs and responsibilities, and if the only way we can spend time together is to be in the same place and working, we’re ok with that. So, we’ll give ourselves a chance to be together a little more, even if it’s with respective laptops. Weekends have always been a complicated affair of cramming work during the week so we can cram a TON of social stuff into a couple days, this should be more relaxing.
