Steve Scalph

So my wife tells me today that she heard on the radio that two-thirds of the people in the United States receive a tax refund and that the average is between $2000 and $3000!

So I asked about 9 people today and they look at me like I am crazy. Where are these people? Who are they? How do they do that?

Oh, we ended up paying not only the Federal Government, but also the State of Indiana.

What gives? I guess I am just one of those WEALTHY Business Owners who end up paying.

Do you a lot of people that fell into this AVERAGE?

A few days ago I received 3 bills from my new insurance company; one for my car; one for my home; and an umbrella policy. I elected to pay quarterly.

I grabbed the three bills today and decided to pay them. As I opened the first, I noticed a statement on the back of the enclosed envelope for mailing in my payment . “GO GREEN” it stated. Online Paperless Policy Viewing, Online Paperless Bill Viewing, Electronic Bill Payment.

This company is looking to GO GREEN, yet they send me 3 separate bills in 3 separate envelopes with 3 separate advertising flyers and 3 return envelopes. Not to mention 3 times the postage. Now I understand that Auto-Owners Insurance is large company and they probably rationalize that it would cost them money to multi-stuff (my word) one envelope to one customer. I would think a simple computer program could ALERT them of this process.

Who is paying for this? Oh, that’s right ME, the CUSTOMER!

I just find it ironic that they want me to GO GREEN, but they are not taking the initiative to GO GREEN. I would suggest that you look within to promote GOING GREEN!

Dave, friend of mine who I was having trouble getting in touch with on his cell phone over the weekend told me that he was using hot water spraying from a hose to clear the ice from his gutters. Of course it was splashing back on him quite a bit so he was getting soaked. Result: cell phone fried!

But he did save $500! Well, less $400 for a new cell phone.

When is it we (especially men) determine it is time to pay someone to do the work for a project instead of trying to rationalize that we can do it for less.

I learned my lesson many years ago while laying on a cold concrete floor in upstate New York in the winter trying to change an exhaust system on my vehicle. Being in the Air Force at the time, we did not have a lot of disposable income, so every penny counted. But after several hours of sawing, cussing, busting knuckles, I got up off of the floor, went in and called to ask a muffler shop how much it would be to put a new exhaust on this car.

It was then and there that I realized I was saving less than I made (and it wasn’t much) to take the car in and have an expert replace the exhaust for me.

I was extremely proud of myself for making this decision when I drove out of the muffler shop about 25 minutes later!