Keeping Up

After the buying frenzy of Thanksgiving and food for the youth group, I noticed that I had accumulated 700 points on my Safeway card to be used for discount gasoline.  The closest gas station that accepts Safeway points is near my work but it is also 20 cents more than my regular gas station so I only go there when I have at least 300 points.  Today I redeemed my points for 70 cents off and filled my tank for only $1.20 per gallon.  It is too bad that my tank only holds around 12 gallons.  I could have bought up to 25 gallons at that price.  Oh well, it was fun to see the price drop so low anyway.

While checking my bank account online today, I noticed a bounced check from the company that hauled away my old refrigerator.   Not only did the $30 check bounce but the bank charged me $12 for the hassle.  I called the electric company who was running the fridge recycle program and they said that yes, they were aware of the problem and would send me a new check and refund the $12 fee.  It seems the recycling company suddenly closed and went bankrupt.  It sounds like the electric company got scammed to me but I hope that is not it.  The electric company does a lot for its customers like offering rebates, recycle programs, and my favorite, selling $8 shade trees.  I hope they don't stop their good work.

Today was the last day of school for my nephew.  He does have 3 days of finals next week and then he will be flying off to visit his family for Christmas.  I will stay here and let my brain take a break from homework due dates and project deadlines.  Next semester is already looking incredibly busy.  I think that will be a good thing.  Maybe it will go by fast.

To Feel Rich

Today I was chatting with a friend and he mentioned that he buys silver coins.  A lot of people buy gold or silver as an investment so I was not surprised.  I said that I bought a home-made silver coin from the fellow at The Field Lab.  Last year, the Field Lab guy was buying sterling silver silverware off of Ebay, melting them down and making his own Field Lab coins.  My friend completely missed the frugality of my story and decided that he needed to buy sterling silver silverware.  So I asked why in the world he would want that and he said "To feel rich".  So, I start looking online for real silverware sets just to humor him.  He buys a lot of stuff from Amazon so we looked there and most of it is silver plated.  He wanted real silver so I showed him what was available on Ebay.  It suddenly dawned on him that real silver tarnishes and he decided that he doesn't want dingy looking silverware after all.  I suggested that he hire a maid to polish his sterling silver and then he would really feel rich although he would be very poor very quickly.

That conversation got me thinking about what makes me feel rich.  I'm just talking about money here not love or happiness or any of those other things that are important.  What makes me feel rich is the ability to help someone or give someone something when the need arises.  For example, being able to afford the trip back to Minnesota to visit my nephews for the funeral.  That was an expensive trip but I had to money available.  I guess I could say that my emergency fund makes me feel rich, and my savings, of course, but savings are like a giant emergency fund anyway.  So, right now I do feel rich.  My savings have been depleted a little after paying for the trip and buying the car but I am slowly replenishing the fund.  I don't need to eat with a sterling silver knife and fork everyday to feel rich. but knowing I could buy them if I needed them is enough for me.