I Did It!

One morning I saw a few minutes of Good Morning, America, while eating breakfast. You may have seen it too. It involved several couples and/or individuals (I wasn't watching that closely as the TV is behind me but faces my wife). Nice guy, huh?

Anyway, these people were hopelessly (and I mean that) in debt, overextended on credit cards to the tune of thousands of dollars. One of them I believe was $61,000 behind. Fortunately, they were well counseled and were whittling down their debts. This of course involved more than money; it meant a whole new lifestyle. But there was hope.

Then, I received a letter in the mail. I was overdue on paying our semi-annual property taxes. The letter was mailed June 1 and the penalty began on June 1. I received it on the second so out of luck. I reasoned to myself, if they would have given me a warning prior to the penalty date, I could have saved that penalty money. I also argued to myself that with home values heading downward, but my tax based on the value of our home was rising, that meant a good deal for them but not for me.

Of course, these arguments were made with myself and so were inconsequential. Then, I reasoned, I had a good excuse for missing the payment. I could blame it on my health, my chemotherapy, my mental anguish causing me to miss the payment. Now, wouldn't that be enough to soften the hearts of those who issue those County Delinquency Tax Notices? Probably not.

What remains is another senior (medical) moment. Did I get a bill? If so, what did I do with it? Where is it now? What could I do? Only one recourse. I went to my check book to look for that entry. I searched. My dear wife searched but it could not be found. So, I went to my online account with the bank. Surely it would be there. Nope. No entry (it was big enough so I could find it easily).

The moral of the story is clear: I didn't pay it. My wife didn't pay it. My fairy godmother didn't pay it. Nor did my banker. So now my checkbook balance will take a beating but at least no one will repossess our dwelling place. Besides, we have no unpaid balances on any of our credit cards and no outstanding unpaid bills (that I know of).

But then, with this kind of a senior moment, who knows what the mailman will bring tomorrow. Maybe I should remove our mailbox. Do you think that might ward off a potential senior moment? Maybe? Maybe not.