Money Matters

First of all, I'm very grateful for the money we have.

Next, I will just say it's not a lot.  It's a modest amount, but I'm grateful to have it, along with our pensions.

But, I don't want to lose or waste any of it.

And, this year, we have made a couple of rather foolish sort-of innocent mistakes - the kind you learn from.

1.  We didn't understand, nor take the time to figure out, what the little icon on our year-old-car dashboard meant when it lighted up.  Allen thought it meant the tires should be rotated.  What it ACTUALLY meant was one of the tires was very low on air.  Oh, yes, there was a screw in it and by the time we went to fix it, it had ruined the year-old tire.  IF we had taken it in when it first lighted up, we would have saved ourselves the cost of a brand-new tire or about $175.00!

OUCH!

2.  One day an email showed up from my sister-in-law who worked at the church office building.  So, right off, somehow I thought it MUST BE SAFE and real!  If it was being sent to hundreds of workers in the church, SuRELY it must be authentic.

It was a FABULOUS travel deal.....oh, yes, it was incredible!  For $599.00, we would stay at a resort in Hawaii for one week, with airfare included.  WHAT?!?!??!  Seemed too good to be true.  I called the number several times asking about the reliability of the company, checked the website....etc., etc., etc.  They were even a member of the Better Business Bureau, and they told me on the phone that they had been in business for seven years.  Yeah, right?!?!??!?!?!??!

So, foolishly, I sent in the money.  Like your momma always said, "If it sounds too good to be true, you better watch out!"

Of course it was a SHAM!  SHAM CITY....and we are out the $599.00.  I'm still shaking my head over that one.  I mean, I made many calls, talked to salespeople, checked out the website.... But, man, was I taken on that deal!  We spoke to a person in the same office complex; the doors on the sham business had been locked and shuttered....

OUCH!

So, of course, I was very skeptical when I received a postcard declaring that CHASE Bank would put $200.00 in my account if I opened an account for $1500.00...there were a few stipulations, but one of them sounded reasonable...just leave the $1500.00 in for six months.

I went in person, I talked to the people, and I signed up.  Sure enough, in a few days, there in the account was $200.00!  Now, that was easy.  In six months - which is one month from today, I will take the money out and put it back in my regular savings where it will continue to earn a whopping %.00003 or something ridiculous like that.  But, we MADE $200 just like that!

We have since done that two more times with Chase.  In fact, we have earned five hundred dollars!  When the six months on each of the accounts is over, we will take the money out and put it elsewhere where it will earn a teeny bit more interest.

BUT, my point is, we did latch on to something that is good and FOR REAL!

I like this side of it much better than the losing side...thank you very much!