Think Outside The Piggy Bank

update III

In one of the comments to my 'money on the floor' post, a reader asked me if I had checked the sofa for change as well, and because I always like to make a short story long, snort, here is my answer. I have found lots of change in sofas (although never any bills), along with the usual pens, Kleenex, candy bar wrappers and remnants of almost every kind of snack food imaginable. Rolled up socks also camped out in sofas on a regular basis, but the one item that gave me greatest pause in my cleaning career was bras. Yep, brassieres. All squished and tangled up and lonely for their owner no doubt. So I asked the offending client why I kept finding bras in her couch (imagining almost enviously a love life much more active and fun than mine, LOL), but apparently she only flung them off because of the heat! Now this I could understand because who wants breasts trapped and swimming in sweat, but down the sofa?! And, I wasn't even able to tell her to go get a hamper (even though that sounds way more lame than telling someone to go get a room) because she had at least three. So yes, I have checked for change, and so much more. ;)

update II

I liked how the article I mentioned in update I's post also emphasized the importance of being a good customer, because really, manners is a two-way street and as much as I might get annoyed with rude cashiers, theirs is a job I wouldn't want for myself on any terms. Being on my feet as well for most of my shifts I can tell you how tiring it is, and the term "retail feet" certainly got coined for good reason. I'm lucky too in that I still get to walk around a fair bit in my job, and am fairly sure that if I were stuck behind some cash machine with rude or condescending customers who don't care if they're loading 25 items onto an express lane or not, then I might not be all that polite either. So I make it a point of trying to be fairly pleasant if I can.

And to be honest I think that is something that the residents of the group home where I work on weekends reinforced for me as well. I was serving a meal one day when one of them asked me if anyone had ever told me how friendly I was, and I replied (indignantly almost because I DO have a reputation as an introverted curmudgeon to protect after all, snort) "No!" (which actually was the truth no matter how fairly nice a person I may consider myself to be), but it made me realize more fully how my interaction style can have a direct impact. From that day on I made a point to try to be cheerful and polite (without being friendly in that forced false kind of way) even when I have to reprimand them for something. And I think it's made a difference. Although even if it hadn't, everyone still deserves respect regardless of the situation.

But what I really meant to tell you before I started rambling on is that being friendly and polite can also pay off. A few weeks ago I was surprised to see that my Internet bill had gone up by two dollars. I couldn't really figure out why as I was on a contract that hadn't yet expired so I decided to find out what had happened. I called the company (who is also my telephone service provider) and politely explained why I was calling. It was a late Friday afternoon and at one point I said to the service rep that she must be looking forward to the weekend coming up and that somehow got us talking about our shifts and jobs in general. In the meantime she had spotted the problem and rectified the situation saying I'd get a credit for the difference and that my monthly Internet bill would continue at the same rate. I thanked her, wished her a good weekend, and went back to what I was doing. Well guess what? I got my MasterCard bill the other day and it looks like I got credit for the whole month instead of just the difference! All for doing what we should do anyway -- be polite and courteous to each other. So there you go. Being nice even pays cash sometimes. ;)

update I

Wouldn't you know it? As I was writing my last post, Monday's money question 4, an MSN personal finance article was floating around without my being aware of it. A shame really, as it talked about the same thing I was--rude cashiers! You can read it here, and discover four more ways customers get irritated. :)

Monday's money question 4

Okay, call me Maxine if you like, snort, but I find it annoying when a clerk in a grocery store or some other retail establishment is busy gabbing with the next cashier as they're doing my transaction. Half the time I feel like waving and saying "hello, over here!" and I'm not even sure why as it's not as if I want to be the center of attention as such. Maybe it's more that I feel they're being rude as they're discussing lord knows what, and should be a little more respectful as I hand over my hard-earned cash. Needless to say I'm not too crazy about cell phones being used everywhere either. I mean, why do I have to overhear your conversation while I grocery shop? You really can't wait until you get back home? Or at least back in your car? Grrrr.

Anyone else feel this way?

money on the floor

It doesn't surprise me as much anymore given how often I've seen it now, but the first time I saw change on the floor of a person's house I was cleaning, it well, floored me. I'm not talking about a single nickel or dime here either, but almost $7 worth of quarters, nickels, dimes, loonies (Canadian $1 coin), toonies (Canadian $2 coin) and pennies. Now the pennies and nickels I could almost understand, but loonies and toonies? Are you kidding me? On the floor? I don't know about you, but you won't find a single coin on any floor in my house because as far as I'm concerned money belongs in wallets, piggy banks, or maybe even on a dresser, but not strewn everywhere!

So what did I do with the nearly $7 worth of change I found? Told the woman (yes, woman, and not some sloppy bachelor like you might expect) that any coins I find on the floor I pocket and consider a tip. I suppose it would have been nicer if I'd given the money back before I issued my warning, but I figured it was a good lesson to learn, and besides, that was a fair bit of change I didn't want to give back after picking it all up! Did said woman no longer leave money lying around after that? Nope. In fact, she let me go about six months after I started cleaning for her saying that she could no longer afford me. Hmmm. Too many tips?

Like I said, after so many times it doesn't shock me anymore, but it still leaves me puzzled. And what does leaving money around on the floor mean or symbolize? Laziness? Carelessness? No need for it?  What does it say about your relationship to money? Because it strikes me as rather disrespectful if you just fling it on the floor. And if you accept the notion that everything is energy, then I would think that how you treat money might reflect how it treats you.

Have a good weekend everyone!

garage and rummage sales

Garage sales: Ultimate proof that you can get nothing for something. --MAXINE

Sorry Maxine, but I gotta disagree with you on this one. Besides the fact that garage and rummage sales are just plain fun (oh the thrill of the hunt!), you CAN get good bargains. In fact, my only major regret in taking on a weekend job is that I've had to sacrifice going to these sales. So what did I do this past Saturday on my first weekend off in almost a year? Yep, sales, sales, sales! Well, only two because it was raining like crazy, but at least I got to feed my former addiction a little bit. And I actually planned last weekend off to coincide with my favourite rummage sale, which is held in a local church every first Saturday of the month.

This time I ended up with three Tabi t-shirts at 50 cents a piece, and two old-fashioned kitchen implements at 10 cents each for a total of $1.70. Not bad eh? I must say though that this church has spoiled me completely because I'm now used to paying rock-bottom prices for clothes. When I was unemployed I got ALL of my clothes there (I obviously don't care about fashion much), and would make people laugh by insisting that paying $4 for a T-shirt at Value Village was simply insane. Can you imagine my reaction then if I ever tried shopping at a regular clothes store? Snort.

I've been very fortunate too in picking up things dirt-cheap and reselling them on eBay for prices that has amazed even me. My best find so far was a T.G. Green egg cup that I bought for less than a dollar and resold for almost fifty bucks. It's true! And a couple of ceramic Melitta coffee filters that someone gave to me for free I turned around and sold for nearly $30 each. As they say, one man's junk is another man's treasure. But I've also kept a lot of what I've found because I happen to love old things, and even though my decor can best be described as shabby shabby chic, visitors usually use words like "cozy", "warm", and "inviting" when they see my place for the first time, so I figure I'm doing something right.

So no Maxine, this time you're WAY off the mark! :)

so I started the new job today

And boy, is it ever nice to be finished before 9am! Found myself walking home in the bright sunlight with a neighbourhood friend I had bumped into (I'd forgotten that her kids go to the same school my charge attends), said hello to Kazumi Joy when I got home (the greatest cat in the world) and fed her a second breakfast, made myself the best cup of coffee ever, and let the rest of the day (my day!) begin. Ah, what luxury. I'm starting to think I've got it made.

In my other post about this position I had wondered if I would like the reality of it as much as the idea, and I believe now that I like it even better. Getting up so early in the morning isn't a problem as my system has gotten used to getting up at five for the weekend job, and at least now I only have to work for four hours instead of twelve. I like the kid I'm looking after (at 8 years of age he's sweet, smart, and not yet influenced by those pesky pubescent hormones, snort), like being able to indulge my creative passions during day-time hours, and like having another source of income that helps me to fit work around life, rather than life around work. Because after all, isn't that how it should be? :)