Monday, December 8, 2014

Money comes and money goes...



Today we had a small example of both.

As many of us at the end of the year do we received a notice of our new escrow if it is a shortfall for the upcoming year and if we have to have that additional amount tacked on to our monthly payments of mortgage, insurances with taxes.

And most every year, like clockwork we do.

Our mortgage is small compared to most people except for those without any, and it stays the same, it’s that taxes and insurances that usually go up.

Our taxes are very low due to being able to declare homestead subtracting 25k per 100K of taxable home you own when you live in this state for more than six months a year, an entitlement so to speak, nice little perk.



Still nothing compared to our New Jersey taxes what they were even nearly thirty years ago!

And here we are waterfront.

Shush, maybe I better hold my tongue!


Any-who, we did receive an increase of  $45.81 a month, but not due to taxes which went up slightly, or of our flood insurance that actually went down $24 a year, or our homeowners that stayed the same, oh no they tried to charge us for reserve requirement?????


 

“DEFINITION of 'Reserve Requirements'

Requirements regarding the amount of funds that banks must hold in reserve against deposits made by their customers. This money must be in the bank's vaults or at the closest Federal Reserve bank.

Also known as "required reserves."


INVESTOPEDIA EXPLAINS 'Reserve Requirements'

Set by the Fed's board of governors, reserve requirements are one of the three main tools of monetary policy. The other two tools are open market operations and the discount rate.”





Never heard of it before and with us paying down our principle all these years and having reduced our interest on our 20 year fixed rate conventional mortgage a few years back to 3.75%, I thought that additional payment they were sneaking in there for 2015 was bogus!

Someone tell me why we should pay the bank to have our funds on hand????

We always pay on time and we are down a few years and months on our mortgage now why this thing I never ever saw before on any of our previous mortgages going back to 1972!

Well that $28.38 a month has been removed when I questioned it and for some reason unknown to us we are also receiving an adjustment check for $194 due to this same item in question being responsible, hmm?



Okay, so we got it down from the additional $45.81 now minus $28.38 a month the new increase is just $17.43 instead additional for the month.

I still feel they made a mistake since even though our taxes went up  for the year another $119.25 for the whole year broken down that is only less than $9.94 a month more, and yet she insisted that the escrow going up to the $17.43 a month, which in my figuring is a $7.49 too much a month.

I know knit picking, hmm, well yes!

If I don’t keep an eye on our money and know exactly where it is going they won’t, as proven with that BOGUS CHARGE!



Moving on…



Sure as soon as you get one thing taken care of sort of than something else comes up…

A phone call that was mistaken for those ridiculous companies that make sales robo calls.

But this one was not.

It was from the hospital asking about my bottom line responsibility of my payment for my physical therapy for all those weeks, my insurance had paid them and I owed them $282.67 and so I paid it on the phone, it was not late or overdue just waiting for the right amount with the mix ups of deductibles going in the wrong directions but now was finally straightened all out and done with!



Gosh this is exhausting!



We did go again to exercise and I increased my weights and reps again!



Then to lunch at Ruby Tuesday I had a coupon, actually three, but the other two were for this month too and one of them was for a child’s meal and so when a Mom and adorable little girl sat behind us, we gave her the one that was for the free child’s meal, and a woman sat across from us being sad about eating out for the first time in quite a while since her husband died, although she was meeting her son for lunch and we gave her the other coupon with 50% off the others entree, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! BIG SMILE HERE!



No big deals but felt good to do a teeny weenie bit of something nice and so now allow us to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask all of you to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know who and we will too!



And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!



PS: Now I have no idea why I told any of you about the coupons, oh yes I do, pass it on, do something no matter how small this holiday season for a complete stranger, say thank you, smile at the world, or open a door, or bake some cookies to take to a shut in, oh I don’t know…or share those coupons that who knows might lighten their load… and feel great about it!

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