Aspirational Housing

Great article by author Michael Lewis of The Blind Side fame regarding the perils of expensive housing.  Even a very rich man like Michael Lewis couldn't keep up with renting a landmark mansion in his home town.  Mr. Lewis' fun essay also documents the hidden costs of utilities, maintenance and furnishings for a much larger house.  

I'm in a phase right now where many of my friends are selling their first or second home and upgrading into McMansion world.  It is somewhat surreal for my husband and I to visit our friends/peers who have moved from reasonable rancher to gated community McMansion.  Some of them bought during Florida's real estate bubble deflation so they got good deals, but it is still a whole different world.  One of my friends, who moved into McMansion world in the last couple of years mentioned that she felt like she had to buy (or lease) a new car to keep up with her new neighbors.

My friends' homes are beautiful and sometimes its hard not to think envious thoughts about those new chef kitchens and especially the walk in closets.  But, I have no desire to take on that kind of debt.  I did have a refreshing conversation with a college friend recently and she is just a couple of years away from paying off her home in full.  Great motivation for me as not having a home mortgage is a goal that is always in the back of my mind.

Holiday Cheer - 401K Match

For the first time in my corporate career, this year I received a 401K match.  My employer contributed "profit sharing" in the amount of $5,500.  

That was a surprise and certainly welcome holiday cheer at the end of somewhat tough financial year for us (with Mr. Sam's layoff).  

Pedi Toes Lead the Way

Pedicures certainly should be classified as a want when one is doing a budget or a spending plan.  But for a South Florida gal, like me, they nudge into the category of need since my toes are exposed on a regular basis.  I wear peep toe pumps at work and sandals and flip flops on the weekend so unsightly toes are something I "need" to avoid.

Over the last year or so, having a regular pedicure has turned into a regular habit for me.  While I strive to avoid lifestyle inflation, I have just worked this service into my regular expenses, as part of my allowance.  Said another way, while I am spending more on my toes I am not spending more in general.

I pay quite a bit to have my hair cut, I've got long hair complicated hair and this is an expense that has been part of my regular budget since college.  So the spa/salon where I get my hair cut offers a very nice pedicure service which I have used with some regularity over the last few years.  Basically, when I get my hair cut, every six weeks, I often get my toes done.  The cost at this location is $55 ($65 with tip).  A pedicure at this spot is a luxury experience, super nice massage chairs and thorough and pampered experience.  The pedicure lasts quite a long time, normally at least two and half weeks or so.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is a no-frills nail salon near my office which charges $22 for a pedicure ($27 with tip).  This spot is very convenient and has later hours so it is an easy stop after work. But, there are no massage chairs and I don't find it to be a relaxing experience.  The pedicure from this place lasts a week or so.

So recently, I bought a Groupon for a day spa located near my home (I had no idea it was there) and had a great pedi and mani for $30.  It is a great spa, new and well appointed (meaning that it had great massage chairs).  My Groupon pedi lasted for more than two weeks (really almost three weeks) and I was very happy with the quality of the services.  Even though I only had a classic pedi, the treatment and time almost reached spa level pedi in my mind.  So, the Groupon worked, and I went back for another pedi this past weekend.  The regular price for a classic pedicure is $40 ($50 with tip) so this spot falls in between the prices of the spa/salon where I get my hair cut and the convenient spot near work.  But, I would say that this new location provides similar quality and level of service as the $55 pedi.  The only down side is that this place is not open late so it has to be a Saturday stop for me and my Saturdays are always busy.

I've really found that paying a bit more for quality is saving me time (since I don't have to have a cheap pedi every week or so) and increasing my joy in that I really enjoy the experience.

Diamonds and Dollars - Update

Back in August of 2012, I wrote about a claim we had submitted in the DeBeers diamond price fixing case. Well, yesterday Mr. Sam received a $270 settlement check.

I have no idea if this is a fair or reasonable settlement for the damages suffered by the consumer class (I understand, from my research that the wholesaler class is getting much larger checks) since I never studied the claims or undertook any analysis as to Mr. Sam's damages.  I understand from the diamonds class action web site that "payments were calculated based on several factors, including how much you paid, the quantity and quality of the diamonds you purchased, the amount of money that is available for your Class or Sub-class, and how many Class Members filed claims."

Anyways, assuming we never would have thought to bring a claim related to the diamond in my engagement ring, we are happy to recover $270 and we are putting it into our vacation fund.

This is the second time I've recovered more than $200 in one of these class settlement scenarios, so I'll continue to fill out the paperwork.

Happy Days - Part III

Earlier I posted about my recent raise and retroactive pay, related to my raise, and how I wanted to spend those monies. I decided that I would put 2/3 of my retroactive pay towards the art that I've been stalking since Memorial Day and the rest would be put towards our 2012 IRAs or other 2012 savings goals.

Well, I am pleased to report that I have more than enough in my ING savings account to purchase the art work and I've already e-mailed the artist and made the purchase.

And, yes, I put the other 1/3 of my retroactive pay into our 2012 IRAs.

Diamonds and Dollars

Have you ever received mail alerting you to the fact that you are a presumptive member of some class action lawsuit?  If yes, what did you do?  Did you ignore the mail, toss it, investigate and then toss, respond, file a claim, opt out?

Maybe you have heard news reports about the Nutella class action lawsuit (over the issue of whether chocolate nut spread is nutritious or not), wherein the settlement to the class was for coupons to buy more delicious, but not nutritious, Nutella.  In fact, many class action settlements involving retail wrong doing involve discounts or coupons for future services or products.  As a result, in some class action settlements, response rates are lower than 25%.

Yesterday, Mr. Sam received follow up mail from the Diamonds Claim Administrator for the DeBeers diamond price fixing settlement.  While neither of us have any recollection of submitting a claim, I assume I filled out the paperwork and submitted it back in 2008 (my research indicates that claims were due in 2008).  I have been prone to submit class claims ever since I received a check for almost $200 for a test prep class I took years ago in advance of professional school.

So, now the claims administrator is looking for actual proof of purchase for the engagement ring diamond that Mr. Sam purchased back in 2005.  Since my engagement ring is our most expensive piece of jewelry I do have a detailed file.  I have the GIA grading report and the Gemprint Certificate of Registration for the center diamond.  I also have the documentation regarding the wedding band and insurance paperwork, but nothing in my files that documents how much Mr. Sam paid for the main diamond.

Part of the problem is that Mr. Sam went through a diamond broker and bought the center diamond from a wholesaler and then had the engagement ring designed by a jeweler. As such, there is no receipt for the ring as a whole.  Thank goodness for Yahoo email, after I dug through our hard copy file and came up empty, he was able to go back to his 2005 e-mail records and find a receipt.  Hooray!!

Today, I will copy all of the diamond material and will send it off to the claims administrator.  Who knows how much we will get, but something is better than nothing.