Pennies from Heaven

One of the side effects of moving is that you keep getting refunds from all those services that you pre-pay – the garbage collection, cable TV, your monthly phone bill. Eight months after leaving Kentucky and three months after closing down the house there, I think I finally received the last refund yesterday. Amazing.

(That’s actually a record in quick processing, believe it or not. In January, we received a credit on one of our credit cards for the over-collection of service fees from ADT for home security protection in California. Two years after we moved. Yes, we really should keep better track!)

Why is it that we are so thrilled with ‘found’ money? People look in coin return slots, ever hopeful for a little gift. We’re thrilled with promotional give-aways, rebate coupons, and coins in parking lots. I once found $16 in single dollar bills in a wad on a sidewalk – and obviously still remember it today! And Mark gets quite a thrill from taking collected loose change in to the coin machine – usually $40+ worth by the time we get around to it.

So what am I going to do with this great windfall of $40.64 from refunded garbage collection fees? Surely this calls for something wonderful.