I am going to be poor

Recently the Fazolis by our house closed and they started stripping the inside of it. We had been wondering what would take its place. I don't think I can afford a Chickfila within 3 minutes of my house.

3 days or $135

So, a little history here, I got a speeding ticket about a month ago. Just a little one. 13 miles over the limit (53 in a 40) and the officer marked it down to 5 over. The real story is that I saw the cop way up in front of me and checked my speed. I was going between 40 and 43 miles per hour (no more than that). I was completely surprised to see the cop pull out behind me and flip his lights on (there was other cars that pulled over as well to let the cop through, when he stopped behind me, I was pissed).

I, of course went to court and contested the ticket. Today was my court date. I got to the court pretty early (I wanted to get a feel for the "judge" - he was really just a court officer). Let's just say that after 10 minutes I knew I would not get far with this guy. Let me recap: he took away one guys keys because he was driving with a suspended license (the guys swears he got all the paperwork in) and then the "judge" threatened to arrest the guy if he did not hand over his keys. He basically screamed at a big rig driver that he was stupid for getting a ticket and that there was nothing he could do for him, it was going on his record and that he would not even offer him traffic school. There was a lady that barely spoke English that he intimidated into paying the full fine and going to traffic school when she originally said she did not want traffic school. He was nice to the two 18 year old girls that came in and both got their fine reduced and like three months to get traffic school done (1 had kids and it would be hard to get to traffic school, the other did not have a job so she got 3 months before she even had to pay her 1st payment on her fine).

I looked down at myself and noticed that I was not a young girl. I am screwed. When it was my turn I got up and tried my best to be polite, but this guy was a jerk. He told me I was going to pay the whole fine and to sign the sheet under guilty and that I waive my rights. I then told him that I would not do that and gave him my explanation of what happened. He said if I wanted to plead not guilty just tell him. I told him that I would not be taking this to trial, because the officer has his report and that will be believed over me. The guy basically said that I was right so I might as well just sign the guilty line and pay my fine. I told him that I wanted to make a plea in abeyance - which means that I will not say I am guilty, and then throw myself at the mercy of the court. I asked for community service which he answered with a, "I am not authorized to give that out." He told me my total fine was $135. I asked him what the jail time would be if I did not want to pay the fine, he said, "that would be three days, and if you take that option, I will make sure you serve all three days."

I decided to go with the plea in abeyance.

I paid my $135 and I still have to traffic school in November, but when I am done, the ticket will be dismissed and life will go back to normal. I was not a happy camper as I left.

I Am Doing Chores

At the beginning of summer Diana wanted to find a way to have the kids do chores, but not have to fight with them about it. We thought that if we raised their allowance up enough that they could get some good money, the fighting would end and the kids would actually like to do their chores. We raised their weekly allowance so they are eligible to earn $20 a week (big jump, they were getting $3 or $4 a week before this. Chloe has embraced the idea and regularly makes $12-$15 a week from doing her chores and not fighting about it. Jordan, on the other hand, just does not care. He fights tooth and nail and sometimes just down right does not do his chores. Last week he told Diana he did not want to do chores and did not care about the money (remember, he still owes me $40 for Mill Hollow this summer). I heard him say that and jumped at the chance to make $20. I told him he did not have to do his chores, I would, but I get the money. Diana quickly agreed and I am doing Jordan's chores this week.

This week Jordan has the downstairs living room and bathroom for his chores, as well as kitty litter box and feed and water the cat. Pretty easy. I don't know why he is so against it, I did all of them in about 10 minutes last night. Here is the downstairs after I was done last night:

Yes, I know the door is broken off the cabinet in the bathroom. I always meant to fix that, but there is sits. Diana knows that at some point when it is not at all convenient I will decide I am not going to do anything else until it is fixed. Probably about 10 minutes before I receive a Nobel peace prize or something like that.

The Tooth Fairy

Jordan recently lost a tooth. The Tooth Fairy did visit him that night. Left a little something under the pillow. Did you know that on the average Tooth Fairy visit $2.09 is left? That is outrageous! For a tooth! Get more information on this here: http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2009/04/28/the-tooth-fairy-s-rates-have-gone-up.aspx.

If I was the tooth fairy I wouldn't leave more than a dollar, unless it is extenuating circumstances. Maybe something like this:

Soccer and Chloe

Chloe is playing soccer. This is her first year playing real organized soccer. She is improving quickly. She plays midfield and does a good job. Today, during the game she was in the midfield and the coach told her to move up and play forward as well to help out with the offense. The team was down 2 to1. When I saw Chloe line up as a forward I told her that if she scored a goal she would get $100. I was joking of course, as Chloe never scores and usually never gets close to scoring. Today would be different.

Chloe was right in the middle of things as a forward. She was right in the middle getting the passes and shooting, she was getting tripped by defenders and she was passing to open team mates. The crowd was cheering her on (they all heard my $100 pledge). Suddenly a pass goes into Chloe from Michelle (another girl on the team) right in front of the goal and Chloe kind of pokes the ball into the air. The goalie for the other team tries to get it and it knocks off his hands and into the goal. The crowd goes wild, Chloe is happy and I cannot believe I now owe my daughter $100.

All the other parents were asking me if I was actually going to pay. I told them that I would have to ask my wife. After the game I called Diana and she quickly says that I have to pay. We go to the ATM and now Chloe has her$100. See the pictures below:

Another Great Sign

I went to Costco today for lunch. It was good. A nice combo slice and a lemonade. I really like it. I have been to Costco like 6 of the past 7 Fridays for my little treat, and no I am not addicted, I could stop anytime. After I did my window shopping at the Costco (no actual windows, I just walked around) I get ready to leave and here is the sign I saw:

Now, this sing could have been up for months, or it could be brand new, all I know is that today is the first day I noticed it and how funny it was. This sign is telling me that if I invest with Costco and CapitalOne I will have so much money I will be able to use 50 and 100 dollar bills as my mouse pad. The question I have is, "How much money do you have to have to use actual bills as a mouse pad?" I don't even want to guess.

Real Rich People

Why do people that have so much money not do the right thing? Prince Fielder needs to pay his bills. I know that it is hard to pay a $400,000+ to the IRS, but do the right thing. I pay my share for the money I make. It is a joke. Why did he not just pay the money when he made the money. I know that is I got paid 2.4 million or even 670,000 I would ensure that everything got paid off the top so I know that I have the rest to spend.