Putting money in a bag with holes

Hello everyone:

You wouldn’t put money in a bag that wasn’t sewn up correctly. If it had big, gaping holes, your cash would fall right out, right? If you wouldn’t do that with your finances, why would you put your college education in the same pickle? You know, you work hard but not very hard and get the assignments done but not very well.

Why would you waste your time doing things halfway? I had a student recently who had the gift of being mediocre, at best. His bag was so full of holes that he had difficulty keeping his mundane writing assignments turned in on time. He juggled numerous tasks but did none of them well enough to rate anything higher than a C. Apparently, he was fine with being average. When the end of the term came, he was very, very close to the next grade, but hadn’t done quite enough to warrant my curving his grade. So I didn’t.

On a completely unrelated topic, I recently visited some open houses when visiting in Florida this past month. I went into a newly-constructed house and was amazed at the poor quality finishes they used on an otherwise nice-looking house. The builder had the opportunity to build the retirement home of a lifetime for someone but he had made the decisions to use Formica instead of granite, linoleum instead of hard wood, and Bath Fitter tubs instead of tile.  With those cuts in mind, I wondered how the home itself was constructed. Did he do everything on the cheap? I’m willing to bet that he did. His bag was full of holes and those holes showed.

I went to another open house, where I viewed a one million dollar home. Sadly, that bag was full of holes, as well. The owners had made some very unwise design decisions, resulting in a conglomeration of rooms that were oddly shaped and painted in strange colors (who does BRIGHT, neon orange in a home they want a million dollars for? This owner, apparently!).

Do you have a bag of holes for your cash or do you do each job to the best of your ability? This is really your call, you know.

Best,

Dr. Sheri

Planning for Your Financial Future Starts Now

Hello everyone:

You may be a young person who is just starting out in life and planning for your financial future may seem like something to put off for a lot of years……don’t do it.

I recently spoke with a dear friend whose parents did not plan adequately for their retirement years. She and her husband are now responsible for helping them out. It has been a financial strain but, if they had put away some money as they worked, they would not be destitute now.

What plans have you made for your future? How will you avoid being a financial burden to your children in the coming years?  I would love to hear your ideas!

Best,

Dr. Sheri

What is it with banks these days?

Hello everyone:

The question of the day is: what is it with banks these days? I like to chat with tellers and to control my spending, so I deliberately do not have an ATM card. I go to the bank when it is open, for the express purpose of getting cash, making a deposit, and having a pleasant conversation.

A few months back, my bank got rid of its teller lines and made it so I have to go into a tiny office to get my banking done. That is, I go into the little office after I wait in line behind someone who wants to open an account, get a new mortgage, and find out about the latest and greatest trends in banking.

What used to be a few minutes of pleasantries and then going on my way, now takes between 10 and 15 minutes. They tell me to have a seat in the lobby, I guess so that my feet don’t start hurting during the endless wait……where I wait and wait and wait…….

Today, I went into the bank where I have a safe deposit box. I had two questions: are there any larger boxes available and how much do they cost to rent. There were two men in front of me. One of them needed to get his messed up checking account balanced. These things take time.

The other one wasn’t saying what his problem was, but he was settled into the seat very comfortably and had apparently been there for some time (no, no moss was growing up his legs from the potted plants nearby, but he had the glassy-eyed look of boredom that comes upon a person who has been sitting for a while. He also kept shifting his weight in the chair, so I think his bottom was going numb. Can’t be sure about that, though).

After about five minutes and constant reassurances of future service from various employees who were walking by (but who were not actually waiting on someone), the girl behind the desk asked me to take a seat (in a much more stern voice). I explained that I only wanted to ask a couple of questions. Five more minutes went by before she finally said, “Okay, what did you want to know?”

I asked her if they had larger safe deposit boxes available; I had the smallest one and needed a bigger one. She responded “yes.” I asked her how much they rent for, but she said she couldn’t tell me because she had to figure it out (apparently there is a logarithm attached to this task, based on whether or not the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter is aligned with Mars). Translation: sit down lady, and wait your turn.

Forgive me, Father, but I left……only one question answered out of two, and no closer to renting a bigger safe deposit box. So, what is it with banks?

Best,

Dr. Sheri