What Dominion giveth, US Bank taketh away.

I phoned Dominion the other day to discuss the excessive amount that I have tucked away in budget payments.  They agreed and they decided to have me skip my budget amount for August, then run a budget payment of $40.00 until the amount is gone.  We'll re-evaluate it in the winter. 

Believe me, that time is coming up quick and the budget excess will be eaten up quickly when it does come. 

So, that left me with a happy extra $115.00 in my account, right?  Um, no.

I got the mail today, thumbed through, found a few cards and an envelope that says in red capitals, "TIME SENSITIVE ESCROW INFORMATION ENCLOSED."  I was on the phone with my friend.  "Oh, goodie!  I hope that I get another check like I did last year!"

Um, no. 

Basically what it said was that I had an escrow shortage of $88.12.  I know that we passed a library levy and it may be partially a generalized increase in property tax.  Home values dipped for a while and I believe that they rebounded a little.  It makes sense and I'm not arguing about it, but there goes a hunk of the extra I thought I had.

Ooo!  To add more fun into the mix, my husbands car decided to blow a power steering line, get a leak in the gas line tubing somewhere and needs another brake replaced.  Since the power steering and gas replacement parts are dealer-only, we paid the dealership that we hate and I thought that we fired $256.00 for the parts.

Ouch. 

On another small financial bit, we've been readying K- for the beginning of her very first soccer season.  I admit that I went into this not knowing what shoes or socks or whatever else she might need.

They may have seen me coming.

After dinner Thursday, we followed my in-law's to a big box sporting goods store.  We went in, found the shoes and though the first pair weren't in stock, a comparable pair were and that was good with me.  I told the girl that we needed socks.  She grabbed some, told us they were the right size and we went onward.  I found shorts and a dry fit shirt.  (Think cheap version of Under Armor.)  I was so tired from hospital duty with mom and I was in a glazy haze.  The bill ended up ringing to $31.00ish, I signed and I went on my way.  I always check bills before I leave and I was so tired that it escaped me. 

I got home and found that I was overcharged on two of the three items that I purchased. 

I went to another store, found shorts for $8.00 cheaper and I decided to take everything back.  When I went to return, I decided to check out the socks to see if there was a size of sock that would work for more than just this year and there were.  They were on clearance and spanned size for a couple of years.  They were $3.00 cheaper than the socks that the associate handed to me.  I was an idiot.  I didn't even double check.

When I reached the register, I explained to the gentleman that I was returning two of the three items because of being overcharged.  "Well, I can get you a sale price on those."  "No, I'm sorry but you've lost the business."  "What about 50%?"  "Uh, no."  "What about 80%"  [I was stunned.  I didn't mean to be car dealershipping the guy.]  "Uh, I'll take the shirt for 80% off." 

The shirt ended up ringing for $3.00 when the original price was $15.00.  I was able to get the clearance socks for $3.97 instead of $5.99 (though the original pair purchased were $7.00) and I found shorts at another big box for $4.00 instead of $11.99.  By taking the stuff back and politely complaining, I saved myself $20.00.

We did cruise by the local Hallmark to get a little somethin' somethin' for my mom.  They had 75% off, with an additional 20% off this weekend.  The items we bought her would have been $24.00, but they were $5.11.  Who knew we could take a giftie for so cheap?

So, have you found any good deals or any bad register goofs lately?  Feel free to share or vent.

Smiles in my day:
-  Mom continues her road to recovery.  We went to visit her today and she had her hair pinned up (it had been flipping in her face) and she put make-up on while we were there.  She said that she ate a decent dinner (clear liquids, of course) and that her nausea seems to be letting up a bit.  I was glad to hear that.

Have a great weekend!