Hits & Misses This Week… Wha Wha

Man, what a week… Full of pros and cons and all kinds of different things going on over here in the J. Money household.  Perfect for another of our hits and misses posts we do on and off here, especially since I don’t have anything grand to divulge to you all today anyways ;)

Here’s a look at all great (and not-so-great) stuff going on in our hood:

The HITS:

  • My wife’s bi-weekly checks are now $828.00! An increase of $78 each time from her part-time gig – I love it! Unlike that term “bi-weekly” which still to this day confuses me… is it “every two weeks” or “twice in one week”?, ugh… I’m using it here as every two weeks btw ;)
  • I got a new coin for my collection! An 1895 Liberty Head $5.00 gold coin! It’s amazing how beautiful these coins use to be back in the day… And a $5 one? Can you even IMAGINE how much that was worth over 100 years ago? Pretty wild stuff… And the best part is that my coin friend let me trade back some coins I had originally gotten from him during my early days of learning this Summer, so I didn’t have to front as much as normal to pick this one up from him :) He really is good to me – without him around I wouldn’t even be in the hobby. Coin people are nice!!
  • My hat got thrown into the ring for some kick-ass gigs recently. One this week, and two the last few all circling around *bigger* media opportunities like radio/tv/etc  – I’m blown away. Who’d have thought a simple blog like this could bring so many incredible opportunities down the road? On top of being able to do it full-time as a living?? Just goes to show that if you’re passionate about something and work your tail off, you never know how far it’ll take you… We’ll see if any of these pan out, but regardless I’m just happy to be in people’s minds :)

The MISSES:

  • Our last remaining hospital bill from baby birth is still kicking our asses… One side (the hospital) is saying they submitted our paperwork and our insurance isn’t responding so we’re on the hook for the money – all $1,300 of it! (the cost of a handful of hours in the hospital nursery, btw, what a racket!) – and our insurance is saying they never saw such a thing before, ugh… But the Mrs. has been a trooper and staying on top of it all, so hopefully it’ll get resolved within the next few weeks. It’s already been 7 MONTHS so what’s another one? (And that reminds me it’s time to update our total baby costs too I believe – gotta stay on top of it! :))
  • Our handyman refuses to be professional and show up on time. Specifically, FOUR different times over the last two months to finish up some work he had promised us late last year… I came REAL close to cutting  him off for good and running with another handyman company, but after our new estimates came up and it was THREE TIMES as much, I was extremely glad we didn’t ;) So I’m putting back on my patient pants and hoping we an finally lock this down and then move on for good… Just amazes me how bad people can be with customer service… Especially when someone’s trying to GIVE YOU MONEY!
  • My car won’t start anymore :( I’m hoping it’s just the battery (my mechanic friend is gonna come take a look at it shortly), but I’m fearing it’s something much worse… I’m just glad it conked out in my house parking lot!
  • Our daycare no longer allows part-time care :( Right when we were finally going to give it a shot too, jeez… One of the main reason we had decided on that one in particular was *because* they allowed part-time care there (every single other one did not), but now it seems they have gone that route as well… Due to “strong demand” for full-time baby care :( On the plus side, I now get to continue spending more time playing with my mini-me twice a week! Which may or may not be good in the long run anyways :) Who needs to work?
  • It’s tax season again. Enough said.

I actually didn’t realize how much has gone down this week until putting it all out there, haha… Hopefully the next one will be more heavily skewed towards that top section :)

How about you guys? What awesome, and nasty, things happened to you this week??

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56 Comments

  1. Jennifer January 25, 2013 at 5:56 AM

    You could use the term fortnightly instead of bi-weekly, because it only has one meaning of “every two weeks”. Plus, it’s old school which I enjoy.

    Reply
    1. Mrs. Pop @ Planting Our Pennies January 25, 2013 at 7:03 AM

      I think semi-weekly would have meant twice in one week.

      Remember, Victoria’s Secret has its semiannual sales (which happen twice/year), a biannual sale would only happen every 2 years. =)

      Reply
      1. J. Money January 25, 2013 at 9:13 AM

        Fortnightly visits to Victoria’s Secret – I’m down! ;)

        Reply
        1. Yana January 25, 2013 at 5:51 PM

          Very funny. But semi-annual means every half year, and I don’t like that term bi-weekly because my brain says that means twice a week! I’d never heard of fortnightly, but I like it better. To me, semi-weekly would mean every other week. Oh well. My husband is told he is paid bi-weekly and the checks come every two weeks, so I guess I have to accept it :)

          Reply
    2. Alex January 25, 2013 at 9:17 AM

      Fortnightly isn’t old school! Maybe it’s a British thing :(.

      Surely bi-weekly is a weekly that likes a bit of everything?

      Reply
      1. Downundersugarglider January 26, 2013 at 3:23 AM

        hmmm …. well here in Australia – there is no bi-weekly (just twice a week), we have fortnights, semi or bi-annually = 6 months and every 2 years is a biennial

        Reply
        1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:27 AM

          I think I’ll have to try and spread the word more on “fortnights” then here in the States, at the very least it’ll make me look a lot more intelligent :)

          Reply
  2. Lance @ Money Life and More January 25, 2013 at 7:19 AM

    Not too much has been going on with me. That coin does look pretty awesome but I was bummed you wouldn’t let me buy it for TWICE what it is worth! That is such a good deal for you J! $10 for a $5 coin? JEEZE! (j/k of course).

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 25, 2013 at 9:14 AM

      I’d sell it to you for $10 if we can transport back in time an do the deal :)

      Reply
  3. Brian January 25, 2013 at 8:25 AM

    Sucks about the hospital bill. Stay on them, sooner or later they will probably give in an agree to pay. We had a similar problem when the insurance company decided to process our son’s NICU stay before we had a chance to add him to our insurance (we get 30 days people!). So they sent us a bill for $55,000. It took about 4 months before the insurance company admitted they did it wrong and paid the bill.

    The Liberty Head is a sweet looking coin. Are you going to add her brother the Indian Head? Besaides the always awesome Saint-Gaudensthat is my favorite gold coin design.

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 25, 2013 at 9:15 AM

      Oh man, I would die for a Saint-Gaudens! Totally my favorite too!! I’ll get there eventually, but for now baby steps :)

      Crazy about that $55k bill too – I sorta remember that going on with you guys. Way to stick with it and resolve it!

      Reply
  4. Michelle January 25, 2013 at 8:29 AM

    That’s great about your wife’s check and all of the other good things. Boo on the car and all the bad things :(

    Reply
  5. Shauna Wekherlien January 25, 2013 at 8:57 AM

    Awww – come on, tax season can be fun! As CPA’s we get to see all of our clients, catch up with everyone, and HELP YOU SAVE MONEY! I love my work during tax season! :)

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 25, 2013 at 9:17 AM

      Haha, I bet you do! :) And actually I enjoy it too, but only AFTER I get all my numbers ready to go to my accountant… I love our yearly meetings and then the suspense of waiting to see how much I’ll owe or get back :) It’s just the gathering of everything and making sure nothing’s forgotten that stresses me out.

      Reply
  6. Stephanie January 25, 2013 at 9:02 AM

    The big hit of the week was thinking that our water heater was dead and needed to be replaced, but our wonderful, honest HVAC guy getting it up and running for us, and telling us that he’s pretty sure the heater is much newer than we’d originally thought and shouldn’t need to be replaced for awhile yet!!

    My miss isn’t awful, it’s only a $35 miss (so net, we’re talking BIG win this week), but my habit of letting our checking account run down super low and refusing to so much as BORROW from savings finally bit me in the butt. My credit card bill was due yesterday, but my husband and I didn’t get our paychecks deposited til today. Up until this month, if I paid a credit card bill one day, it didn’t clear the account til the next day, so I figured it was safe to go ahead and pay that bill at 4:30 yesterday, assuming it wouldn’t clear until sometime today, after the paychecks got deposited. You know, just like how it’s always worked. Well, apparently things have changed, and the payment cleared the account IMMEDIATELY and caused an overdraft. The only one I’ve had in my life. *hangs head in shame* :-(

    Reply
  7. Skint in the City January 25, 2013 at 9:17 AM

    Great news on the media opps – hope they come off for you, big-time. Total bummer re childcare – feel your pain on that one. Our nursery has been reviewing the hours it provides – all been quite mysterious, but there’s a meeting with the parents this Tuesday to tell us more . . . gulp. So, that will either be my hit or my miss for next week, depending what they say!

    Reply
  8. J. Money January 25, 2013 at 9:19 AM

    Wowwww doesn’t it feel good to fail every now and then though? It reminds me that I’m not as hot as I think I am sometimes ;) And yes – much better that it was $35 than shelling a grand for a new water heater! I bet you could get that fee reversed too if you called up and asked – ESP since it’s your first time. 9 times out of 10 they’ll reverse it on the first try, and if not just ask for a manager and you’ll get to that other 1 :) Try it!

    Reply
  9. Joe @ Retire By 40 January 25, 2013 at 10:03 AM

    I’m working with a plumbing company to fix the drainage (flood) problem at our 4 plex. It’s a frigging huge PITA. They are taking forever to start and they don’t communicate very well at all. I hate dealing with home construction people.
    I got an opportunity to host a radio talk show… That’s way out of my comfort zone so I turned them down. Pretty crazy!
    Good luck with the hospital bill. Maybe get the media involve? TV news I mean.

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:29 AM

      Nice man! It always feels good to be recognized for all your hard work on the blog, right? They’re nice little pushes to keep on going cuz we’re on the right tack :) Good luck w/ the plumbing stuff – that sounds like a nightmare!

      Reply
  10. Jane Savers @ The Money Puzzle January 25, 2013 at 10:31 AM

    Coldest week of the year in my part of Canada so the drivers door of my car is frozen shut. It is an annual thing. I don’t have a block heater but it fires right up when it is -22 celsius with a wicked wind. Not going to get rid of a great car just because of one little problem.

    Will the cost of the children affect the number of children you have? I live in Canada so all the birthing, hospital stays, doctor visits, vaccinations are free. There is a charge for circumcision if you choose to go that route.

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:32 AM

      Man that’s cold!!! And here I am freezing my a$$ off at only 20 degrees F, haha…

      And no way!! The cost will never scare me away from having multiple children – I’d rather be poorer with lots of kiddos and rich with 0 or 1. As much as I love money and the thought of being a millionaire, deep down I’m perfectly content with “enough” and a wonderful family :) our plan is to adopt a child once we’re done making them ourselves, so I’ll def. be saving up and working hard in the meantime! Haha… it’s def. not going to be cheap here in the U.S. :(

      Reply
  11. Brian January 25, 2013 at 10:58 AM

    Man I love that $5 coin! I’m carrying around a 1924 Liberty Silver dollar for luck and I gotta say, you’re right on the money (pun intended) with how they’re designed. Seriously, they’re just more beautiful, simple and elegant. I love them!

    Sorry to hear about the pimp daddy caddy. If it can’t be revived, what are you looking at next?

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:36 AM

      Hey, that’s a beautiful coin too! I have a few as well like that – they’re worth a healthy multiple of their face value too :)

      RE: Our next car – It will most def. be some sort of SUV, which we desperately need for our young one and/or future yard sale shopping, haha… I’m done trying to cram everything in my Caddy! Which has an unbelievably large trunk, btw – it’s amazing what you can fit in there! (No wonder the mafia loves ’em). Half of me wants a more expensive luxury SUV (like an X5) and the other half wants something more economical – esp while we continue paying down our house… But we’ll see which side wins. It’s literally 50/50 right now ;)

      Reply
  12. Serena @ Get Your Life Straight January 25, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    Wow….man, you’re going through some “shyt” right now ;( The hospital bill thing is blowing me away, because at my “9-to-5” we have excellent insurance that covered my full pregnancy. Can you believe the bill was $10,000??!! And the only thing I had to pay was a ONE-TIME $25 copay to my OBGYN. Everything else was covered, and 100% of the delivery. I guess it’s a good thing I got my 3 kids out of the way before trying to become a self-employed blogger, huh? LOL
    Congrats on those cool “hits”!

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:37 AM

      Haha yeah it is! My old job covered everything 100% too like that, but apparently my little guys were holding out on me and waited to produce a year after I left ;)

      Reply
  13. Joanna @ Our Freaking Budget January 25, 2013 at 11:40 AM

    Coincidentally, our hit this week was finding out our hospital bills for our baby girl are all settled! (We did a post on it today.) But I have totally been on the flip side, too… nothing makes me angrier than being charged when I shouldn’t! I had something similar to you happen earlier this year with a $350 bill. It took a few weeks and lots of conversations on the phone with the hospital and my insurance (grrr!), but eventually it DID all work out. I’m sure it will work out with you guys, too!

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:39 AM

      Oh wow, very coincidental indeed! And shows there IS hope afterall! haha… If anything at least it’s a good battle worth fighting, eh? I’m sure a lot of people just give up and accept the hand their dealt and cough up the money… Not here though – we fight ’till the bitter end!

      Reply
  14. Angella January 25, 2013 at 12:12 PM

    My one hit this week was finding out that one of my hospital bills was taken care of by insurance, woot! The rest of the week was full of misses! My little boy was in and out of the children’s hospital for fluid in his lungs and a nasty cough, so scary at 2! (On the mend we think!) Missed 4 days of work. Missed his childcare, but still had to pay for it of course. Dreading the bills to come! And the husband’s old mortgage company sent the wrong 1099 form, grrrr. Let’s hope next week is much, much better! Have you considered hiring a part-time nanny for in your home? Might be cheaper too. When the kid gets a bit older, it’s nearly impossible to get anything done with them around. Age 2 = tornado lol.

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:42 AM

      Awwww, poor little guy!! I can’t even imagine how frustrating that is for everyone ;( our wee one has only been sick once so far in his first 6 months and it was exhausting trying to care for him while we were all sick too… Guess that’s just how the game goes though.

      We haven’t put too much thought into hiring a part-time nanny as yet – just cuz we want him to be around more kids for socializing as well as to get more immune faster! haha… – but it may become our only option here down the road. So we’ll see.

      Reply
  15. Shawna January 25, 2013 at 12:49 PM

    Where can I buy myself a pair of these fancy patient pants?

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:43 AM

      They’re right next to the booze aisle at your local grocery store ;)

      Reply
  16. Edward Antrobus January 25, 2013 at 1:06 PM

    Don’t get me started on hopsitals. Our insurance has a $3000 deductible and our local hospital seems to think everyone has the ability to just pay that immediately.

    I’ve also got some car work to do this week. A valve that reciculates exhaust into the engine to increase fuel efficency is sticking and causing the car to stall out when braking. On the positive side though, our buyer was approved for the lot rent. Just the inspection left before we can close on this thing and move on with our lives.

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:44 AM

      NICE!!! That’s some wonderful news! I bet you’ll feel soooo much free’er once that’s done! I hope it all goes well! :)

      Reply
  17. Mom January 25, 2013 at 2:04 PM

    Check if there’s a Chesterbrook Academy near you. Ours still offers part-time care (of course we’re way out in the ‘burbs, so that might affect it’s availability).

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:46 AM

      Oh cool, okay – I’ll check it out once I’m done responding to comments here, thanks :)

      Reply
  18. Aloysa @ My Broken Coin January 25, 2013 at 2:26 PM

    My week was one big miss: returned to work from being on vacation in Costa Rica. This in itself is quite depressing. And, just like you said, tax season is here. So, there we go…

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:47 AM

      Costa Rica!!! I WANT TO GO THERE!!!!

      Reply
  19. Grayson @ Debt Roundup January 25, 2013 at 3:06 PM

    Well, it appears you have been quite busy with things going on. I am surprised you are still dealing with medical bills. Mine have been all squared away within a month, but now I just have to pay them :(. Sorry to hear about your car. I wish I could come up with a way to diagnose car issues over the internet, I would make a killing!

    I don’t know you don’t like tax season. Reading through thousands of pages of tax code to just find one definition and dealing with the idea of getting audited for messing up doesn’t appeal to you? Strange…..

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:48 AM

      Haha right? And I don’t mind battling w/ the insurance (or rather, having my wife do it, haha…) as long as we don’t owe any money in the end ;) If it turns out we have to pay for the crazy bill later THEN I’ll be pissed!

      Reply
  20. Catherine January 25, 2013 at 7:49 PM

    I love getting paid bi-weekly, it means 2 extra pays a year!!

    I hate hate hate hearing about you Americans and paying for medical bills,especially when it comes to having babies. I was in the hospital for a week, private care, c/section, complications etc etc and paid NOTHING. Thank God for universal healthcare…and nothing was billed to my private insurance. Fawk, I get mad for you.

    Hope your weekend is better!

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:49 AM

      Thanks friend :( That hospital visit of yours would have cost you (or your insurance) a cool quarter million here, haha… it’s a racket. I’m sure one day we’ll wise up and things will be better for everyone in that department though. Our lives here are pretty good outside of stupid stuff like that :)

      Reply
  21. Julie @ Freedom 48 January 25, 2013 at 11:32 PM

    I also suffer from the bi-weekly/semi-weekly confusion.
    Luckily, I’ve figured out a way to keep it straight. I think of semi-permanent hair colour. Therefore semi is “less” (than permanent). So if it’s less, then semi-weekly is twice a week – therefore bi-weekly is every other week! I know that sounds so weird, but it works for me! lol
    Good luck on the hospital bills – however, I’m sure the baby was well worth it =)

    Reply
  22. J. Money January 26, 2013 at 8:50 AM

    Haha, I can get down with that! Maybe I’ll change my version of “semi” to less strong hairspray for my mohawk ;) and bi-weekly to the SUPER hardcore stuff, haha.. there we go.

    Reply
  23. Budget & the Beach January 26, 2013 at 11:03 AM

    I’m with you on the tax season. I’m an freelancer so I feel your pain. I’m trying to get ahead of things this year (ps I say that every year). :)

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 27, 2013 at 9:54 AM

      haha… PS: so do I ;)

      Reply
  24. Lukasz January 26, 2013 at 4:58 PM

    Give yourself more credit! Your blog ain’t so simple. Good job!

    To add to your vocabulary confusion :-) try “semiweekly” vs. “biweekly”. I too have given this more thought than I should.

    Reply
  25. kudy January 26, 2013 at 10:07 PM

    I don’t know why taxes are in the “misses” section – they are fun!

    Reply
    1. J. Money January 27, 2013 at 9:56 AM

      They make my brain hurt :(

      Reply
  26. Tony@YouOnlyDoThisOnce January 27, 2013 at 8:44 AM

    Those are some serious hits and misses! That’s what they say about the Ying and Yang….what a swing. I am enjoying this blog so much!

    Reply
  27. J. Money January 27, 2013 at 9:55 AM

    Hey, thanks man! Appreciate that :) Thanks for always dropping by and commenting too!

    And I agree w/ ying/yang type stuff. I always think of life in terms of “even stephen” – lots of ups and downs but overtime it’ll probably even out… and if you find yourself on either side of the equation more in the end, hopefully it’s on the GOOD side!

    Reply
  28. debtgirl January 27, 2013 at 11:52 AM

    Yeah, tax season. It sucks when you have to give your returns to the trustee for the next five years! But after this year, I should be able to come pretty close to zero so I don’t have to hand it over! wha!

    Reply
  29. J. Money January 28, 2013 at 12:03 PM

    To a trustee? Cuz you’re in trouble or something? Or cuz you’re richy rich? haha…

    Reply
  30. Leslie January 28, 2013 at 12:59 PM

    I hear you on the contractor issues. We have had some horrible experiences. Once a reno project is in the works, switching contractors seems like a bigger nightmare than dealing with the existing contractors issues. Good luck!

    Reply
  31. J. Money January 28, 2013 at 9:55 PM

    I know, right? It sucks :( Oh well… all comes w/ the territory of owning a house I suppose.

    Reply
  32. Gen X Finance January 28, 2013 at 11:55 PM

    That coin you just got looks pretty amazing. Good for you J. With regard to your handyman, urgh! It’s indeed annoying that some people are not professional enough to the job that they promised. I commend you for extending your patience.

    Reply

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