Redecorating the Blog

Oh.

Maybe you thought from the header that I'd finally decided to get rid of all the PINK???

Nah!

Maybe someday, but in the meantime. . .

I've run through my blog list and made some additions and subtractions.

I gave Fighting Foreclosure--Getting Nine Hundred nine months to start posting again but it was not to be. I hate it when some of my favorite bloggers fall off the face of the blogosphere, but I can't keep clicking on their site forever.

Tony Cassise died. Though his blog remains online, I'm removing it from my list. It was a pleasure to have known him, even if only via the internet.

The young veteran and newly minted CPA at "$647,000 in Debt" has taken his blog private, having encountered real-life consequences to the airing of his financial information. That's one of the unfortunate hazards of blogging, but I will continue to wish him well as he recovers from the pre-recession euphoria and gets himself on a stable financial footing.

I'm going to hang onto Oh, My Aching Debts" for another couple of months. Ditto Betty at ""Bouncing Back from Bankruptcy" who assures her faithful readers she will be blogging again--This reader is waiting most impatiently.

I've added some new blogs, most of them related to retirement, like the view from Australia in "Towards Retirement With Debt," and Texas with Frugal Texas Gal.

Then there's "Grumpy Rumblings of the Untenured" wherein Nicole or Maggie or both wax eloquent on various topics. It is certainly NOT a retirement blog, nor exactly a financial blog though both topics come up. As do shoes, academic cheating, science fiction and whatever is on these two academics' minds. Plus, of course, they are prone to leaving comments on MY blog.

If you have seen some blogs (or are the author of some blogs) that I should know about, let me know.

2010--The Final Wrap-Up

The last quarter of 2010 made the rest of the year finally look good. My net worth is up $10,921. This is primarily due to my 401(k) which is still stock-heavy, increasing over $20,000 in three months. It is certainly not due to the real estate market in the Pacific NorthWest--both my home and my rental have decreased in value for the fourth straight quarter. But my rental is paid for, and my residence will be in three and half years.

So, my current net worth is $565,851.

I do love the sound of that--Hey there! Grace is worth over half a million!

Of course, Grace still has much too much debt and not enough in her retirement funds.

I managed to stick to my Christmas budget so I also managed some minor debt reduction during December.

Hmm, minor, indeed! A whole $317! But at least it was moving in the correct, downward direction.

As for 2011--I've made the usual resolutions, and I'm hoping for better than usual results.

I want to reduce my debt by at least $10,000;

I want to increase my savings, both for retirement and my emergency fund.

Speaking of which, I'd like 2011 to be the year I actually keep a baby emergency fund. Right now, it's there, but contains only $700.

Here's Grace, raising her cup to all of you, and wishing everyone a truly great and enriching (in every sense of the word) new year.

Some Thoughts on the Christmas Season

Christmas was quiet but pleasant this year. The best part was that I stayed within my budget.

1. My very best Christmas bargain was at The Body Shop. First, I purchased a $40 Groupon for $20. Then, when I went to the store, they were having a special promotion. If I donated $5 to their "Stop Sex Trafficking" charity, they gave me a small bag. Anything I put in the bag was 50% off. The end result was that I purchased $70 worth of stocking stuffers AND donated $5 to a worthy charity, all for a grand total of $20. That may be the best deal I got all year.

2. I broke with the "Grandma provides Christmas dinner and feeds everyone" tradition. This year, I made a ham rather than a turkey, and set up a buffet. Family could come by whenever they wanted. It went so well, I may do it again next year.

3. There are so many free events and things to do during the Christmas season. I made a special effort with my grandkids to check these out. We drove around looking at 'over the top' Christmas decorations. We went to the Zoo to ride the Zoo Train and look at all the lights they put out (free with my annual pass). We hit every church Christmas concert within half a mile of my home. I did get a tad overdosed on frosted sugar cookies, but the kids and I had a blast.

4. I caught a post-Christmas cold from one of my grandkids. You'd think that was the bad news, but it has allowed me to stay on my couch, away from work and away from people, watching all the bad television I want. Rather a nice Christmas present actually!

Retiring with Debt

The Christmas season is probably NOT the best time to bring this up (or maybe, it's the perfect time!) but a surprising number of seniors are retiring notwithstanding the fact that they have not paid off their credit cards. In fact, according to this article in USA Today, some seniors are accumulating debt during retirement that they have no way or intention of paying.

I do find this shocking.

My general scenario (barring job loss or crippling health issues) is that one pays off the house, credit cards, etc. BEFORE retiring.

It's not like retirement is likely to bring in EXTRA income--that pie we spent our working lives accumulating is being sliced into ever-smaller pieces once we retire.

I will say that the part of the article I don't have a lot of sympathy with is the failure of retirees to leave an inheritance for their children. While I want to give my children something, and do expect to, it is NOT my children's right to expect that I will. My retirement funds are meant to fund MY retirement, not anyone else's.

Right now, working is important to me, both emotionally and financially. I could not fund my current lifestyle (meaning, my current debt payments!) on what I will have during retirement even counting Social Security and my 401(k). In fact, I've always wondered about folks who expect to rent throughout their retirement. Having my mortgage paid off (which it will be in 3.5 years) is a major factor in my ability to retire.

I wonder if this has to do with being a Baby Boomer? Do we just consider credit cards and credit card payments and mortgages part of life--that lasts until we die?

And beyond?

What to Give the Person You Love But Don't Like

Suppose there is someone--a family member, or, maybe, a longtime friend--with whom you've had a strong and loving relationship and to whom you have to give Christmas gifts.

Then suppose that for some valid reason--addiction, mental illness, criminal behavior--it's become impossible to like this person even though you still love them.

What IS the perfect gift for the person you care about, but no longer care for?

Sadly, some of us get to contemplate that question this year.

My second daughter, whom I adopted when she was 11, has had a chaotic life. Too many truly evil things happened to her in her first 10 years to make the next 25 years easy. In addition to a high level of continued emotional disturbance, 2010 was the year she turned to methamphetamines. That led to the state removing her children and placing them with their fathers.

She has yet to address her addictions.

Right now, she is angry at the judicial system, angry at the world in general, and, in particular, angry at me.

Needless to say, I'm not very happy with her, either.

But she IS my daughter. And I've never NOT given my children Christmas presents.

So--what to give her?

She could use a good pair of shoes, but the last time I bought her a pair of Nikes, she turned around and sold them. Ditto for any electronics.

I could save my money and skip the gifts for her.

Or I could be snarky and donate money in her name to some treatment program.

In the end, I got her socks, underwear, pajamas and a robe. My thought was that these were quintessential 'mother' gifts, having the requisite intimacy that befits a loved family member without spending a fortune or making it easy for her to come up with money for drugs.

Next year I hope to do better for her. But first, she has to do better herself.

Asking How You Feel May Not Give You the Right Answer

Three months ago, after being on diabetic medications for eleven years, I moved to insulin. Instantly, my glucose numbers went down--which is good. But the question I most often get is "Do you feel better?" Well, given that I didn't feel particularly bad when the numbers were high, and given that there hasn't been much of a change in my vision and some mild neuropathy, the truthful answer is "No, I don't feel any better." That's how I feel. But medically, things are much, much better for me. That's the real truth, never mind how I feel.

I was thinking of this while reading PoltiFact's take on President Obama and the state of the economy. I love these folks, and their 'plague on both your houses' approach to monitoring what politicians tell us for the truth (or NOT!) in their statements. Democrats and Republicans are equally irresponsible when it comes to saying what's on (in?) their minds, notwithstanding the actual facts.

Questions like "Are you doing better this year than last?" seem simple enough, but like questions about my diabetes, the answer is more complicated. Yes, I'm doing better, but No, I can't really tell that I am. I don't FEEL any better financially this year than last. I don't FEEL like the economy is getting better.

Yet, in significant ways, it is. While housing and jobs lag, the economy IS growing. That's not clear if one listens to the 'Obama is the devil-incarnate and nothing he says or does will ever be right' types.

Sometimes, it's good to remind ourselves to take a good look at the facts, and not just let our personal feelings be the gauge of what is actually happening.

That's true when it comes to our personal lives, and our financial lives, not to mention our political lives.

This Post is for ME, Not YOU

OK, I admit it. I love journals and writing books of all kind. The prospect of getting a Daycraft journal for free from Notebook Stories just by posting this on my blog was entirely too enticing to pass up.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed till Friday.

Hmm--which does make keyboarding a tad harder!

The Best Presents Ever

I mean real ones--NOT some sappy "the smile in my darling child's eyes' kind of presents.

My sister spent a week over Thanksgiving with me, and at one point, we talked about the best Christmas gifts we ever received.

My sister remembered the Kodak Swinger camera she got when she was in high school in the '60's. I remember that one, too, because I was SO jealous. It was a Polaroid camera that allowed us to see the (small, black and white) pictures immediately after she took them. It was quite the process--take the picture, lay it out flat, rub it all over with this tube of gunk, then sit back and bask in the admiration of all her friends. I know it doesn't sound like much in this age of camera phones, but you have to trust me--it was a really big deal and a wonderful gift.

I can think of two gifts I've received in the past ten years that I love and still use--one is a very slender 4 cup Nissen thermos bottle. It fits in my briefcase and has saved me untold amounts of money that would otherwise be spent in coffee shops.

Another is a pair of YakTrax. These are essentially chains for one's shoes. They fit over the bottom of boots or shoes and keep me upright on icy sidewalks. (The picture shows them being used over heavy shoes, but I've worn them on the bottoms of my work flats.) I'm a large and clumsy woman at the best of times--if it gets icy outside, forget it! But I've never fallen, never even slipped, while wearing these great contraptions.

I've asked a bunch of folks over the past week about their best-remembered gifts. Funny how none of the responses were about big-ticket items.

One woman treasures the (umm, can you say UGLY? I can because I saw it!) Christmas pin that her then-four year old son bought her one year. He's 35 now, and still sends her, among other presents, one ugly Christmas pin per year--that collection has made her laugh for two decades.

Another woman is still using the one-cup Chem-Ex coffee-maker her two step-sons bought her nearly twenty years ago--she says she thinks about those kids every morning when she uses their gift.

But the best gift I think is the magnifying glass an old friend of mine got from her big brother one Christmas. He really wanted it for himself, but he bought it for her. Up to that point, she was a girly-girl, and, in fact, I first met her when she offered my doll a ride in her doll's baby buggy when we were both five years old. But that one little gift opened up a world of science to her at at time when most girls didn't go there. She's been a biologist her entire adult life. Three weeks ago, she retired from a mid-west University.

Yes, she still has the magnifying glass. These days, she uses it to read the daily paper.

Managing the Many Moods of Christmas

Maybe it's just me, but I seem to have so many different moods when it comes to Christmas spending.

I was thrilled to pick up two Christmas ornaments at Hallmark for 95 cents each using two $5 off coupons that were in my local newspaper. (I traditionally put a new ornament in each daughter's Christmas stocking.) Then I turned right around and paid full price ($99)for a Wii FIT for my oldest daughter even though I've seen it on sale for $20 and $30 less.

Obviously this makes no fiscal sense.

At various points during the Christmas frenzy, I get tired and just want to get the shopping done, never mind the cost.

The other day, I could not locate the one document I needed for a $30 rebate on a telephone for one of my kids. I was ready to say "Forget it," when calmer heads prevailed and I did, indeed, manage to locate the errant barcode.

But it is SO easy to just let things go, pay the full price, and move on.

I'm still within my budget this Christmas, but I'd better get a handle on my moods or that may not remain true.

Some days, I'm with Scrooge!

Bah Humbug, indeed!

Monthly Report and Miscellany

1. My total indebtedness is down $705.50 for the month of November--right direction if not a big enough amount.

2. After taxes and other charges, I didn't save quite as much per month on my change to bundled cable TV, telephone and internet. My increased expense for adding the internet will be $9.48, rather than the 43 cents I thought it would be.

3. Is anyone else watching "Downsized?" I am fascinated by it, and I think it shows a rather accurate portrait of a family that has never known financial hardship finally come to grips (albeit SL0WWWLLLLLYYYYYY!) with the reality of their situation.

How Grace Got her Internet for 43 Cents a Month

Well, let's start with the fact that Grace has been using a combination of dial-up from AOL and theft from an unwary neighbor to get online for the past 16 years. Said unwary neighbor recently wised up and secured their system. Dial-up alone suddenly became a slow and unnattractive option.

SO--I began exploring various options for internet. Verizon Fios has not yet reached my neighborhood, so that was out. Pretty much, Qwest, Clear and Comcast were my best sources of internet service. Clear has such negative word of mouth that I rejected it even though its monthly $35 charge is among the lowest available. Both Qwest (who handles my landline service) and Comcast (through which I currently have cable TV service) have regular specials, so it was a matter of sorting through all the plans, specials, new deals, etc. to see what would work best (and longest) for my household.

I settled on a Comcast introductory package that offered a bundle of cable, telephone and internet for $99 a month on a two year contract.

There was a 'cheaper' package whereby I could get the same package for $89 a month, but it lasted only a year and did not include free installation (which runs anywhere from $89 to $149.00).

Naturally, the $99 a month did not turn out to be $99. (If you think any of these special deals actually cost what is advertised, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale that you might like!) There's an additional $5 'rental' fee, which brings the total up to $104.99 a month. There is also a one-time $10 shipping charge for the 'free' router (which I have to give back if I cancel the internet service).

But that was it. And there are a lot of nice perks. For example, while I had Qwest for my landline, I didn't have long distance--for that I used a calling card or my Tracfone. Now I have long distance, caller ID, and call waiting. I was able to port my telephone number. It would have been a deal-killer if I hadn't been able to do that--I've had the same number for the past twenty years and do not want to give it up. The only disadvantage is that if the electrical power goes out, I won't be able to reach 911 on the landline. But I figure my cell will work for emergency calls should that happen.

I also get HD for the first year. I plan NOT to renew it after that, though my cynical daughter has a bet that I will! If I do, it would add $9.99 a month to the bill. In addition, I get HBO, Showtime and Starz movie channels free for three months. I'm enjoying them, but there's no way I'll continue with them when the free trial runs out.

So, here's the math:

I currently spend $67.25 for cable TV; $14.49 for AOL; and $27.35 for Qwest which (provided I am doing the arithmetic correctly, which it might be a mistake to assume) totals $109.55 for my current expenses.

Under my new package, I will pay $104.99 for the package plus an additional $4.99 to AOL to maintain my security software, e-mail address and some other perks I may ultimately decide to forego. So, my total going forward will be $109.98.

Hence the internet (not to mention free long distance service) for $ .43.

Such a deal!

Adoption for Cheapskates

Do you hate that title? Are you appalled that anyone would consider applying frugality to the adoption of children?

What if it turned out that being frugal about adoption actually helped those children most seriously in need of parents?

Welcome to Grace's world, where the desire to adopt and rear children ran smack into financial reality. Don't worry--this is a story with a happy ending. I wound up adopting five daughters, and we all survived.

I was 30 years old when I adopted my first child out of foster care.

I was 50 when I adopted my fifth and last child, also out of foster care.

They are all adults now, ranging in age from 43 to 20. They are mostly on their own. (OK, so the 28 year old returned home and is currently living with me, but the plan is for her to be gone by spring!)

Rearing children is never cheap and my children are no exception.

But the adoption process itself can run into thousands of dollars, particularly for children from foreign countries, and even more particularly for the near-mythical 'healthy white infant.'

My children's adoptions cost me not one dime.

My state paid the attorney fees.

My state provided health insurance until they were 18. (I put each child on the insurance provided by my employer and used the state coverage as secondary insurance, which meant I had no co-pays!)

My state provided psychological testing at no cost.

My state even provided a monthly stipend for each child.

If you're curious about your state, the National Council on Adopted Children maintains this website.

The federal government also provides tax benefits for families that adopt. It benefits those of us who adopt special needs children from foster care most of all. (Special needs can mean the child has physical, intellectual or emotional issues. It can also mean that the child is above six years old, is African-American, or comes with siblings.) Everyone can get a tax credit up to $12,150 per child, but those who adopt from the state can get it whether or not they actually spend that much (which they won't--they may well not spend anything) and they can even use it for costs incurred for an adoption that winds up not happening. Check it out here. The credit can also be carried over to the next year if one's tax bill doesn't come up to the credit.

All states require that prospective parents thinking about adopting from foster care take a series of classes meant to introduce families to the realities of rearing adopted children. (No, it is NOT the same as rearing biological kids--neither better nor worse, but different.) These classes are free and provide a great deal of information about the available children. I would encourage everyone considering adoption to take the classes even if they think a state adoption is not for them.

There is so much more to be said about adoption from foster care, and so many other aspects to factor into the decision, but this is a financial blog, so this post is focused on the finances of adding adopted children to one's family.

Cheapskates can adopt. Grace is proof of that. Would I have adopted had the state aid NOT been available? You bet. But I would have stopped with the first, maybe the second child. I could never have adopted all five without the benefits provided by the government, so I am grateful for the programs that were and are available.

November is Adoption Month.

Consider it!

Hitting a Mental Benchmark

The retirement funds in my 401(k)'s are now past the $200,000 mark. To be exact, as of yesterday, I have $200,451 to get me through my dotage.

I know that that figure could be less tomorrow, but, emotionally, it feels like I have met some sort of financial milestone. In my head, and for no particular reason, I've always felt that I needed to have at least $400,000 in my retirement accounts before I retire. Due to my late start on savings, there has been considerable doubt that I'd get there. But reaching the halfway point gives me more confidence that this is doable.

I have 8 years to go until I retire, and I'll be contributing all the while.

Realistic or not, I'm feeling good this lovely Friday!

October Update--It's Halloween and It's Scary

This should be my last month of increased indebtedness, now that the final payment on the rental's new roof has been made. That's assuming that I don't borrow any money for Christmas.

Well, heck, let's assume that, OK?

My total indebtedness increased in October by $1044,85.

That means my year-to-date decrease in debt is a mere $1158.

Basically, I scrambled to pay off debt for 8 months, spent like crazy for two months, and here I am!

But I have slashed my Christmas budget (remember, I'm the major buyer of gifts for 12 folks!) and I'm thinking I'll get through the holidays without using credit cards, lines of credit or any other form of debt.

After that? A whole new year with new frugal resolutions!

Groovin' on Groupon

I love it when great minds get in the same groove! Witness Donna Freedman at Surviving and Thriving. She and I are both having great experiences with Groupon.

I've been a member of Groupon for awhile now, but haven't actually used one of their coupons until last week, when all of a sudden there were two coupons that would save me money for things I'd buy anyway. One was to a local restaurant that my soon-to-be 26 year old daughter already told me was her choice for her birthday dinner. (This is my Halloween baby--it was so great when she was growing up--I never did have to decorate for her birthday!) The other was today's coupon for The Body Shoppe, where I do a fair amount of my Christmas shopping. In both cases, I paid $20 for a $40 coupon. In both cases, I saved 50% on items I was already going to buy, even at full price.

The point of Groupon is to get folks to try new places and new services. From a frugal point of view, this is not always good. It can be hard to resist a bargain on something I didn't know I wanted until the coupon became available. At least in my city, many of the trendiest salons and restaurants are featured. It would be easy to overspend on things I was interested in trying were my finances not an issue.

I'm excited to see what other groupons may be available between now and Christmas.

Cheers for Happy Hour

I'm a bit late to this party.

But late or not, I've become a huge fan of happy hours.

I remember when the only folks dining before 6:30 p.m. were seniors and families with young children. It was a sure sign that one lacked culinary sophistication if one showed up earlier. And if it was a buffet? Well, never mind, but keep on wearing that polyester leisure suit!

There's been a lot of employee turnover in my office recently, which has resulted in many new, younger hires. One of the side benefits has been a lot more interest in happy hours at local bars. No, this isn't the local buffet--much trendier than that! I live in a city that prides itself on its food options, so virtually every 'happening' restaurant has a bar, with a happy hour that mostly runs from 5 p.m. to 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. (Often, another happy hour kicks in around 10:00 p.m. but by then, this senior is in her jammies, parked in front of the television set.)

I've been amazed at the food and drink options as well as the prices. Yesterday evening, for example, seven of us went out. Cocktails were $5. Wine was $4. Beer was even less. The food prices topped out at $6 for the calamari. I had Phad Thai ($3) and french fries ($2) plus a drink (OK, so neither the diet police nor the nutrition monitors were around!) for a grand total of $12 including the tip. I sneaked a peak at the dinner menu where the same order would have cost me over $20. As long as the food and drinks were served before the end of the happy hour, we could hang out as long as we liked.

Going with a group is part of the fun and saves one from the singles' "are you dating material or not" action at the bar. (Of course, if you're into that, there's another reason to go!)

If, like me, you find going out to eat to be one of life's special pleasures, happy hours are an especially frugal way to do it.

Roadblocks to a Successful Retirement

I always enjoy reading Liz Pulliam West's financial columns, but this one hit nearly everything one must consider when retiring, and all in one post!

Liz covers the 5 ways to wreck retirement:

(1) Think only about the financial side. Certainly saving for retirement is a preoccupation of mine, but Liz is right--it is important to consider one's health, one's relationships with friends and family, and the hobbies or activities one wants to continue or newly develop in retirment. It would be a shame if I finally get to my retirement with sufficient money but lack the health or brain cells to enjoy it.

(2) Fail to get a second opinion. Mea Culpa! Before I get to retirement, I have to remind myself to set a date with a fee-based financial planner. I'm pretty sure I'll do this. BUT will I follow the advice I'm given? For someone who has never been good with numbers, I still trust myself to manage my finances--I need to consider that this may NOT be a good thing.

(3) Fail to understand Social Security spousal benefits. OK, not everything Liz says is relevant to Grace! No spouse, no issue for me here.

(4) Skip formulating a Plan B. Hard as it is to imagine, I agree that one must have a back-up plan for contingencies. Can I count on my health being stable? I've already had major heart surgery--what if I need more? What if my job goes away? It could happen since I work for a non-profit that is dependent upon public funding. What if the need to provide a home for my grandchildren requires that I cut back on my work hours, and therefore my earnings? Too many possibilities to be safely ignored. And

(5) Gut your nest egg early on. This is a warning that too many failed to heed in the first days of our recession. My plan is to try to maintain my lifestyle on what I get from Social Security--something that may be doable when I get my home paid off and erase all of my debts. That way, my 401(k) withdrawals will be largely for the extras like travel. But I also have to realize that it is in the earliest days of my retirement that I will be most likely to travel or pursue more expensive activities. So, at the exact time I should NOT be withdrawing funds, I'm going to want to. Definitely something to think about.

The "Am I Ever Going To Get Out Of Debt" Blues

How many times have I read bloggers who make statements about how their life is going, and say they're fine with it, when anyone can read between the lines and easily see that they are not fine at all?

Time to count Grace in that crowd.

I took a look at where I was financially when I started this blog in June, 2007. I then compared it to where I am now.

The picture is NOT pretty!

It is, in fact, worse than I expected.

On the savings side, things are the brightest. I had $167,166 in my 401(k)when I started. That fund now stands at $195,871, an increase of $28,705.

But debt?

I kinda thought that paying attention to my debt, becoming frugal and entering a learning curve regarding smart financial practices would put me on the right path. If so, there have been a lot of potholes on that path!

My total debt HAS gone down in the past 3.3 years--a whopping $1034!

Longtime readers know that's not the whole story--I HAVE been paying down my debts, but along the way was the van that dropped dead, a rental that needed first a new furnace and then a new roof, children that needed various bail-outs, not to mention a wonderful but not exactly frugal trip to Japan.

But what am I telling myself?

That I'm OK, that I would have been in even worse shape had I NOT paid close attention to my spending, that once my mortgage is paid off (in 4 years) I'll be able to throw that entire monthly payment at my debts and have them cleared out by the time I retire.

It's not a great plan, but at the moment, it's all I've got.

Annuities? From Never to Maybe

There are various ways to grow financially.

And not all of them are actually financial!

Sometimes, there's emotional grow as well, a matter of changing one's mind.

I'm getting there when it comes to annuities.

I know that we old fogies are supposed to be set in our ways but life has a habit of changing things. Witness my previous, long-held aversion to bonds. Nothing like a recession to rearrange one's priorities! I'm now upping my bond quotient, which, at my age (Ahem! Umm--61) is probably long overdue, though it has taken me some time to come to that conclusion.

Now I'm rethinking another aversion--to annuities.

This article, by Money Magazine's Walter Updegrave, not only mentions my major concern (that annuities are too expensive for the benefits they grant, particularly if I exit this mortal coil sooner than expected) but has some solutions that provide safety while not tying up all one's funds.

I expect to retire with around $400,000 in my 401(k), which, with my Social Security, should provide me with about $50,000 a year. Since I calculate that I really only need about $36,000 after taxes to live comfortably in retirement, I could afford to put at least $100,000 into a guaranteed annuity. Unfortunately, there is no pension in Grace's future.

I haven't made any final decisions, and don't intend to for a few more years. I figure the payouts can only get better, given how low they currently are.

But unlike past decisions to never consider annuities, these days I'm listening. And reading. And, yes, considering them.

When Two Wrongs Turn out Right

This story from the Sunday Oregonian caught my eye today. It contains so many financial lessons about rebates, how our minds work when it comes to using rebates, and the power of polite preseverance even when we're in the wrong.

I am a rebate-queen. While I understand that some corporations count on buyer inertia to keep many from applying for their rebates, they won't make money off Grace. I read the rebate forms carefully, cut out all the necessary UPC codes (Yes, my darling children, that explains the holes in the boxes of your birthday gifts!) and mail everything the day I make the purchase. I even xerox the forms and attachments before I put the rebate in the mail. Then I track the rebate online.

But at least once, I fell into Brent's trap of not using the rebate card when it came in the mail. Checks are different--I deposit those immediately. Why? I couldn't tell you. It's the perverse way my mind works--checks are meant to be deposited; Gift cards? Sure, I should use them right away. But I don't always, and I sometimes lose money when I delay.

What I haven't done in the past (but will, I hope, do in the future) is ask for the gift card to be credited anyway. It just never occurred to me, but Brent is right--what is there to lose by asking?

Several good lessons to be learned here.