Finance Gets Personal

The latest cost of chronic lateness:

A speeding ticket yesterday morning.

78 in a 60, with a $150 fee. $300 if I want to get it taken down to a non-moving violation.

Ouch.

Co Signer Needed
Reply to: sale-746982363@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-07-08, 11:50AM CDT

I was going through a young and stupid time- co signed on stuff with my ex- and now I’m paying about $900 a month in debt payments. I can’t get a loan from the bank- to get settlements on my payments due- because of bad credit- from my ex not paying his bills. I just need a small loan to get settlements on all of my payments- or a cosigner on a personal loan. I do have two jobs, and I work very hard- I’m just still short. I’m just trying to get my life back on track and I’ll try anything. I would sign a professional contract with you- so that I would pay you everymonth. I would agree to an interest rate if you were to give me the loan or cosign the loan (so you will be making something on this- and I would add in cleaning every week, or painting your home, or something. Please, I don’t have a family to help me, I just want to get this paid off and put behind me so that I can move on with my life. I know this is a weird request, I just don’t know where else to turn anymore. Just please give me a chance.

Just to be clear, Finance Girl does not think anyone should co-sign this (or any other) loan.

You know that person that comes into work 20 minutes late every day, keeps you waiting at the restaurant and interrupts church by trying to find a seat during the prayer?

That’s me.

I am chronically late.

I don’t do it to piss you off, because I think my time is more valuable than yours or because it gives me some kind of power trip. I actually hate being late.

The problem is, I don’t like being early either.

Lateness is a problem I’ve struggled with my whole life. My parents were always late, I’m always late, and I admit that I often don’t think it’s that big of a deal.

But tell that to my high school aerobics teacher who gave me detentions for it, my old boss at the bank who told me that being late could keep me from getting a big raise someday (so far it hasn’t), and the annoying morning people at my work who think it’s a sin for me to be more than two minutes late (but who also think that it’s OK for them to leave early, take half-hour personal phone calls and go to the gym during work hours).

I have to admit, however, that there are some financial costs associated with being chronically late. Like these, for example:

• Speeding tickets - I’ve only had one, but my husband has not been so lucky. He once had three in a three-month period. When I’m late, I am much more likely to speed.
• Missed appointment fees - Since I don’t get home from work until after 6:00 p.m. and work far away from my home, I have to schedule my appointments early in the morning. This is not a good thing. A few years ago, I had to go to physical therapy for my shoulder three times a week. Getting there by 7:45 a.m. was tough, and sometimes I had to cancel because I didn’t wake up in time. After the first few incidents, I started getting charged missed appointment fees, and my physical therapy came to an abrupt end.
• Getting fired or missing out on a raise - As I mentioned earlier, most of my bosses have been pretty flexible with my problem because I’m such a good employee otherwise. But I have had at least one instance where my lateness affected my pay. Back when I worked in retail, there was an employee incentive that if you were only late two times between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you’d be paid an extra 25 cents an hour (or something like that). Well, I busted my ass to get to work on time because I was broke. I was only late once. However, they counted me as being late two other times - once because I was late after getting lost on the way to work coming from the company Christmas party at another store location (!), and once because they called and asked me to come in for someone who had called in sick and I told them I could probably be there by 4:00 but was actually in a few minutes after that (!!). I didn’t get the incentive money and, boy, was I TICKED!
• Late pick-up fees - This one doesn’t affect me too much, because my husband usually picks up my stepson from school, but parents are charged $1 for every minute they are late in picking up their child from the after-school program. We’ve probably paid about $30 for this over the last four years.

I’ve tried a lot of things to break my habit, but here’s one that might actually work: charging myself money when I am late. But, as Idub pointed out in a comment about going to the gym, that money would have to be donated to charity or something, otherwise I’d be snowflaking (and who doesn’t love that)!

(This post was included in the Money Hacks Carnival, hosted by Quest For Four Pillars.)

Photo Credit: my favorite t-shirt by Johnn P, used under Creative Commons licensing

It’s Saturday night and your team isn’t in the Final Four (or didn’t even get invited to the tournament - sigh).

Let’s find a way to drown your sorrows…

Presenting: Financial “I Never” with Finance Girl

In order to play Financial “I Never,” you first need to find the hard liquor of your choice.

There, that will do nicely.

Next, read the following statements. For each “I never” that you have done, take a shot. I’ll play along too. Here we go…

I’ve never bounced a check:

Damn.

I’ve never carried a balance on my credit cards:

Damn again.

I’ve never taken a cash advance on my credit card:

Who’s drinking now, bitches?

I’ve never borrowed money from relatives:

Give me a break, I was 17.

I’ve never co-signed a loan:

Thank God!

I’ve never financed a new car:

Whoopsies!

I’ve never had an Old Navy credit card:

Take that!

I’ve never taken a payday loan:

What do you think I am, stupid? Don’t answer that.

I’ve never borrowed money against my 401k:

Please - if I wanted to borrow money, I’d use my credit card. duh.

I’ve never had a home equity loan or home equity line of credit:

How else are you supposed to buy a house with no down payment?

I’ve never bought a pair of $100 jeans:

Well, I did once, but I returned them. Does that count? Fine…

I’ve never taken a refund anticipation loan:

Please. I’m too cheap to go to H&R Block in the first place.

I’ve never paid for a groceries with a credit card:

A girl’s gotta eat!

I’ve never charged up a bunch of concert tickets on my credit card and not gotten paid back for all of them:

If you tell me you’re going to go, you better damn well go! If you don’t go, you still owe me for the ticket (and the convenience fees - Ticketmaster ain’t cheap!). It’s also not my job to find someone else to buy your ticket.

Sorry, drunken rant…

I’ve never gambled:

I am probably the cheapest gambler ever to visit Vegas though. And I’m too scared to play the tables.

I’ve never signed up for a credit card to get a free t-shirt:

Dude, it said “College” on it. Like Animal House, you know? And I was in college! Get it?

I’ve never signed up for a “pay no interest ’til 2030″ credit card in order to buy a big-screen TV:

Watching Kansas or North Carolina lose tonight will be so much better in high-def.

Sorry, I meant to say, “I LOOOOOOOOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to find someone to hold my hair.

Photo Credits: no chase, bitches! and jr and amanda by theogeo, used under Creative Commons licensing

Ah, spring…that lovely time of year when I’m again reminded that buying this house was perhaps not such a good idea.

What do they say? April showers bring May foundation leaks?

Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Our naive first-time homebuyer, no-down-payment, 2005 height-of-the-housing market purchase has quickly turned into a real-life version of The Money Pit.

Here’s the plot synopsis:

May 2005
Home-buying fever hit us hard. All our other friends had already bought their first homes and were urging us to do the same. “But we don’t have a down payment,” I protested. “Oh, you don’t have to have a down payment anymore - we didn’t.” Because we were making $80,000 and living in a rented townhouse with a brown recluse problem, I didn’t need much convincing.

July 17, 2005
My boss recommended a realtor, we got preapproved for a loan and it was off to the races. As part of my husband’s court-ordered mediation with his ex, we had agreed not to move out of my stepson’s elementary school district if she would agree to let him attend its far superior schools. At the time, we didn’t realize that his elementary school district encompassed only two subdivisions: one preferred by the city’s professional football and baseball players, and a small neighborhood of homes built in the seventies. After broadening the search to a neighboring elementary school that would allow us to apply for an in-district transfer, we visited eight homes in our price range and made an offer on the fifth.

When viewing the home, we had noticed a few hairline cracks in the foundation wall near the window, but our realtor told us it was very common and probably not something to worry about. Besides, the home inspection would alert us to any issues.

July 25, 2005
The home is inspected by our realtor-recommended home inspector. She does not think the foundation cracks are a problem. Her only recommended repairs are to have the homeowners fix the seeping kitchen faucet and re-attach the guest bedroom’s smoke alarm.

Slight settlement noted. There are cracks in the south wall on the outside and inside of the basement and one at the NW corner. These indicate slight settlement. Monitor for future movement and maintain exterior drainage. No repairs recommended at this time.

August 2005
Less than one week after closing on the house, the city is deluged with rain storms and a large puddle forms on our foundation’s floor. We are freaking out, and my husband is convinced that the previous owners ripped us off by not disclosing the problem. I call ourrealtor. She says that she’ll call the other realtor , but that there’s probably nothing we can do because the previous homeowners only lived there for two years, and they really might not have ever had a problem. Besides, it’s been an extremely dry summer followed by a ton of rain, so a little water in the basement is nearly unavoidable. We probably just need to check the slope of our yard and then call The Crack Team to seal up the crack for good.

Summer 2006
We do some work on the drainage under the deck and re-grade the dirt near the foundation. No signs of water entry. The Crack Team gives us an estimate of $800 for sealing the main crack, and $500 more for the hairline cracks by the windows. Since we don’t have the money and think we may have fixed the problem, we decide to wait a year or so.

Summer-Fall 2007
A noticeable crack develops at the peak of our living area’s cathedral ceiling. Doors are not closing easily, and small hairline cracks are developing above some interior windows. Water occasionally enters the basement, though there has only been one other instance of a puddle on the floor.

We look into having a structural engineer assess the situation for $300-$350. My husband’s aunt and uncle recommend that we call a reputable foundation repair company and get a free evaluation instead. I am worried that this is a conflict of interest and that we won’t get honest feedback, but my concerns are laid to rest when the company looks at the house and says there’s probably nothing to be worried about. The foundation cracks are minor settlements that have likely stabilized , and the ceiling crack is the result of extreme temperature fluctuations between the outside and inside of the house in a spot where not much insulation can fit. Their advice is to seal the foundation cracks with a special caulk, then pour buckets of water outside the foundation in the spring to see if the crack leaks. If the problem persists, it may be due to pressure from ground water, and they can give us an estimate for a water lock system (typically around $3,000).

March 2008
A new discovery: A long, winding crack has formed on our foundation floor, and it looks as if some water came up from under the slab in the last week or so. My husband is ready to the foundation repair company and have the water lock system installed as soon as possible, so I’ve temporarily cancelled our monthly debt snowball payments. However, I think we’re going to call in a structural engineer to diagnose the problem before we start shelling out money for repairs.

So here’s the short list of home repairs that will need to be made within the 5-6 years that we are planning to get completely out of debt in: Evaluate/Fix Foundation Problem, Paint House, Replace Carpet, Replace Roof, Replace Water Heater, Replace Heat Pump, Replace Appliances…oh, I can’t go on. Is this the dirty little secret of home ownership: you never stop paying?

We’re on the $4.99/month 2-disc plan from Netflix.

The last movie we rented was I Am Legend, which we watched a few days ago.

Tonight, I went out in the backyard to see if there were any chewed up tampons back there (seriously - my dog steals them from the bathroom trash can), and I saw a CD (well, I thought it was a CD - I was hoping it was one I burned off iTunes). Flipped it over: I Am Legend, all scratched up with two piercing tooth marks. Dammit!

I might just send it back and see if they notice. If they do, I have to pay $20. Why, why, why is my dog such a rere?

What’s that ya have?

A St. Patrick’s Day t-shirt.

A St. Patrick’s Day t-shirt? Brilliant!
What do you do with it?

Well, I have found a way to get thousands of Americans to purchase a shirt that they can only wear one time!

So you charge them five bucks and make sure “2008″ appears in the middle of the shirt so they can’t wear it again next year?

Yes!

A 2008 St. Patrick’s Day t-shirt that you can only wear once? Brilliant!

So here’s where finance gets personal.

I tend to cut it a little close in my bank account during the pay period that the mortgages are due. I fully realize that I’m doing it, because I keep track of everything in Quicken. But I usually check my accounts online daily, and transfer money from savings if necessary (look for my upcoming post: 10 Signs You Have Financial OCD).

Well, I kind of forgot to check my account for the last few days and got a little overzealous about purchasing my blog’s “official” domain name (www.financegetspersonal.com).

Then, my husband’s song purchases for our Rock Band party last weekend came through, and I had spent the cash he gave me instead of depositing it (see my previous post, Times When I Just Can’t Say No).

$75 in fees later, here we are. Yes, I know it’s my own damn fault. But $75 in fees for three little debit card transactions that all posted on the same day?!?

I called my bank to complain and to try to finagle my way out of the fees, and it worked to an extent. I got $50 of the $75 removed, and customer service agent got to say “Let’s see, you made a purchase of $7.15 at GoDaddy.com” out loud.

So there you have it. You are officially the reader of a personal finance blog whose author paid $32.15 for the privilege of using a domain name without the word “blogger” in it.