Money

I don't wax poetic much on this blog about others. You won't see a Mothers' Day tribute to my mother or grandmother, nor happy birthday wishes to the greatest sister on earth. It's just not something I do. (I'm much better at boasting about myself.) But today I'm going to break that and say something nice about my parents: DANG did they set a good example about money.

I don't really remember them sitting me down and teaching me about saving accounts and credit cards, even though I'm sure they did. But I do remember that they never paid a penny in credit card interest. I do remember that they paid cash for as much as possible. (Don't believe me? My dad still pays cash for gas. I don't even know how one does this.) I do remember that they try to pay off each mortgage way before the 30 years (or whatever). Thankfully all of this rubbed off.

Even though Chuck wasn't so much of a budgeter when we got married, he has quickly seen what a benefit this is to us and is fully on-board and supportive of my (and now "our") financial ways. I am just so thankful that when crap arises, we have savings.

Why this, why now? Among other things, someone stole my debit card number and PIN and was able to use it to withdraw $300 from our checking account this week. Thankfully, the bank smelled a rat when the guilty (but slightly richer) party tried it again for $500 and shut him/her down. And guess what? We're not even responsible for that money. Of course I don't really think I'm at fault, seeing as though the card was still in my possession, but should the bank be? No matter. Had we been responsible, guess what? We have savings. Sure, I'd rather spend it on new countertops or trips west, but that's what it's for. (Remember just months ago when we had to spend nearly half of our tax return on car repairs? BLECH.) Hooray for saving money!

And kinda related: did anyone else out there see this? It's quite interesting. (Click on it to enlarge.) I am the biggest proponent of people studying something they love and are passionate about in college. I got a degree in geography too, remember? But sometimes it's hard to think about all the money we could be making had Chuck liked, or even been able to tolerate, working with his computer science degree. It's crazy to see where those computer/math numbers are. Hooray for math!



Sorry for the boring topic, but like I said, it's been on my mind. Stay tuned for next week when I share some projects, including one just in time for Fathers' Day.