“Morals and Money” Archive

Giving back

It has always been important to volunteer in some way for the community since I was very young.  Community service hours were a requirement for high school graduation and I can say that through all phases of my life, I’ve volunteered my time in some way.  I’ve struggled more as an adult finding a way to incorporate that in the kids’ lives.  My son is very active with Boy Scouts so that teaches a lot about community service but I longed for a family “giving back” project. Recently, as part of my daughter’s religious classes we went on a little field trip to a ministry within our Church.  It is called “Mobile Loaves and Fishes” and this group of highly dedicated people put together meals at lunch time and supper time, 7 days a week.  They are made up of all volunteers.  They make meals in their kitchen at the Church and then have a truck that they drive out to various locations to feed the hungry-refugees, the working poor, the elderly and the homeless.

My 7-year-old daughter was completely inspired at this little 10 minute tour.  All she kept saying was how “neat” she thought the director’s “job” was b/c she got to feed people who were hungry.  From that night on (about 2 weeks ago) this is all my daughter has talked about.  So, I reached out to the director to find out where our services might be needed.  As of April 6, we will begin volunteering on the “prep team” on the first Friday of each month.

In addition to teaching the kids about our own money matters, this will serve as a reminder of just how blessed we are to have what we do have and inspire us to live more grateful lives.

Posted by Claire on March 28, 2012 at 7:00 AM in About Me, Giving, Life Experiences, Morals and Money | 12 Comments »
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Excuse me, can I pay this bill?

I enjoy paying bills. I know. Sick. But, I like reducing debt so much that I feel good watching numbers go down. It’s a great feeling.

Anyway, I’m old school. I write checks to pay bills.

Yes, I know you can pay bills online.

I’m a nerd who likes writing checks.

I wrote a check to our utility company for about $60 and it hasn’t been cashed yet. No biggie right? Except, I wrote the check just over SIX months ago. I called about three months ago to make sure the payment was applied to my balance and it was… but the check remains un-cashed.

The friendly customer service person said my account was in good standing but when I asked her when the check would be cashed, she said to keep waiting.

So here we are, inching toward month SEVEN, and I’m confused as to what to do. Do I call the utility company and offer another check? Or do I lean back, kick my feet up, and figure it’s their loss?

What would you do?

*On a side note, this isn’t the first time this has happened to me. I paid another bill and more than a year went by. They never cashed the check and would not accept another payment because their system would not handle ‘double’ payments.

Posted by Beks on January 24, 2012 at 8:43 PM in General Debt, Morals and Money | 18 Comments »
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My Debt

Large Graph
  • Current: $27,305
  • Paid: $70,796
  • Original: $98,101
  • Emergency Fund: $1500
  • IRS Savings: $
  • Broken Down:
  • CC #1: $0 ($64)
  • CC #2: $0 ($240)
  • CC #3: $0 ($650)
  • CC #4: $0 ($785)
  • CC #5: $0 ($1,500)
  • CC #6: $0 ($1,886)
  • CC #7: $0 ($1,984)
  • CC #8: $0 ($2,135)
  • CC #9: $0 ($7,145)
  • CC #10: $8,570 ($14,561)
  • CC #11: $0 ($24,388)
  • Credit Line #1: $0 ($182)
  • Credit Line #2: $0 ($182)
  • Auto #1: $0 ($16,579)
  • Auto #2: $0 ($25,819)
  • Cons. Loan: $18,735 ($20,000)
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