I had a disconcerting experience with an area small business merchant.

Over the holidays, I was gifted a number of items from a very nice, upscale gift shop (you might call it a boutique) in my area. It's actually not the kind of place I would shop at, as the prices are kind of high and filled with things I wouldn't normally buy myself: pretty scented candles, a curated clothing collection, colorful change purses made in Nepal, handbags, scarves, miniature felted animals and the like. And it's really not local to me but was located in the hometown of the person who purchased the gifts for me.

I needed to return 4 items because none of them fit me. Even the mittens and hat seemed to be made for a child, plus there was a shirt and camisole top that might fit a teenager. (I wear petite-sized clothing, but still, these were too small.)

I went there in January to make the return. I had folded up and placed the 4 items in a shopping bag and off I headed.  The shop is located right on the green in the center of town, and the owner greeted me in a friendly manner when I entered the store. I explained to her  why I was there and she asked me for the bag of items, which she took with her behind a tall counter. I was looking around the shop at other things while she processed my return, but then she said, "So, just the 3 items, then?" I said, "No, there are 4 items in the bag."  She insisted there were only 3 items, and she showed me what she had, and what was missing was the camisole top. She said maybe it fell out. 

There wasn't much I could do about it.  I know I put it in there, and no, it didn't fall out somewhere between my home and her store. Something told me she did something with the camisole behind the counter when I wasn't paying attention, and was counting on the fact I wouldn't go back there to check myself.

I just let it go, partly because it wasn't my money at stake here (these were gifts) but I was feeling rather mistrusting about the whole thing. Now, after a 2nd visit, I know my instincts were right.

So on that first visit, I bought a few small items with the store credit, but couldn't find enough I really felt I wanted, so I asked her how long the credit was good for and then told her I would return again as she said her inventory changes every week. I still had a credit of $68.

I returned to the shop yesterday, making two loops around as I browsed. Back in the day, I used to love all sorts of little cutesy things, but these days, I only purchase what I feel I can use, and even though I was using a store credit, I still feel the same about "stuff."

So eventually I made my way up to the counter with 4 items: facial cleanser, two pretty dishtowels and some soap, all of which I thought I could use as gifts. I was tallying up the total in my head as I picked each item out because I did not want to exceed the $68 store credit by too much. So according to my mental calculations, all these items added up to $61, so I grabbed two lip balms, too ($6 ea), but held back on giving them to the owner until she could verify the total of the other stuff.

She tells me the total was $70, which didn't sound right, but I figured I must be wrong, so I paid her $2, took the receipt and left, still having a nagging feeling that something wasn't right as I was driving away.

I eventually did check the receipt once I got home, and while the prices she wrote down for each item was correct, her math was wrong. The total was $61, not $70.

I might have given her the benefit of the doubt, but given what happened with the mysteriously missing camisole, I feel she did this intentionally to cut her losses. The money doesn't matter to me, but no one likes feeling they were taken advantage of, least of all by an upstanding member of the business community.  By all appearances she had a successful business in a prominent location in an affluent town, but times are tough. Of course, that's no excuse for ripping off your customers.

So live and learn: regardless of the setting, the circumstances or the person you're dealing with, always be aware of the cost of goods you're buying, and that includes items you're returning for credit, too. And TRUST your instincts.

The only other time something like this has happened is with a local pizza place in my town. I sometimes order a pizza to go, and since I've accumulated a lot of loose change over the years, I used to check the price online when I ordered, and then calculate the sales tax so I knew wht I was paying. The guy at the pizza place would, more than once, overcharge me by a dollar or two. Nothing outrageous, but I guess it does add up over time in their favor. When I called him on it, he acknowledged the mistake and that was that. But it kept happening, nonetheless.

Yesterday, I went to the state flower and garden show at the convention center with a friend of mine, M. It was nice to wander around there for a few hours on an especially dreary, gray, late winter day. Lots of stuff to see. My friend bought the admission tickets and treated me to lunch at a New York-style deli/restaurant. I have treated him to lunch a few times when going out with my father, so this was nice.

Updates on a few outstanding things going on in my life:

1. I was able to set up my immediate annuity account online and am expecting to receive my first monthly payment direct-deposited March 1 (next week). I've very happy how smoothly things went, although for a while there, I was beyond anxious, because Vanguard sent my money ($200K) in a check SNAIL MAIL to Guardian. I mean, really, in this day and age? What's wrong with electronic transmission? I started imagining that maybe my Guardian agent was going to abscond with the money until I reassured myself the check would be made out to Guardian, not my agent. This annuity is such a big move in my transition from "working" to "retired." It really marks a turning point.

2. I learned just a few days ago that the university I wrote my first story for does indeed want me to continue with them, so I'll be able to count on that income moving forward into 2023. She is assigning me another 6 stories to complete in the 2nd quarter, and I can do them at my own pace, so that is good. (Actually, she also asked me for some story ideas, which I sent to her.)

I got electronic notice of my 1st paystub for that first story, but have not yet received the actual paycheck, because they'd explained to me that the first check only would be snail-mailed; the rest will be electronically deposited, and I have already set that up with my info online. I'm so happy they are deducting taxes for me, so I'll get a W-2 (much preferred), not a 1099.

With these 2 income changes, I'll need (once again) to report a change of income to my state's Obamacare program. I'll do this on Mar 1. It's very important I do this so I don't end up having to repay the state money at year's end when I do my taxes. I anticipate needing to move to a different health insurance plan.

Next up: I've decided to move forward with bunion surgery. I've had one for years, and it's really beginning to bother me. I shied away from the thought of surgery years back because the recovery time was rather lengthy, but now they are doing minimally invasive bunion surgery which greatly shortens recovery time. I mentioned to M. I was thinking of waiting til the fall to do it, since I'm always so busy in the garden in the summer months, and he said, why wait til then? Why not do it now? And after mulling it over, I am thinking I'd rather get it done sooner rather than later. Recovery involves basically keeping your leg elevated most of the time (80% in the 1st week; 50% in the 2nd week) for the 1st 2 weeks, then gradually walking around more and more, as tolerated. This reduces swelling and allows time for healing. Crutches aren't necessary, but you do need to wear a post-op boot that prevents you from injuring your foot.

I figure I'd do some big grocery shops prior to the surgery and freeze a bunch of meals ahead of time. I usually go to the dump with trash once a week, but I guess I could put the trash in galvanized trash can that's used now for other things in the garage, and maybe even move it to the basement, where it would be easier to get to, if it didn't stink (?). It will include dirty cat litter, so I don't know.

So for 2 weeks, aside from feeding myself, using the bathroom and feeding the cat, I'd need to stay in bed with foot elevated. Still seems like a long time, but much better than what it used to be like. My friend M. said he'd help, which is great. I think the main thing I'd need to ask him to do is drive me to and from the surgery.

"M." is someone I met via online dating; we actually cooked Thanksgiving dinner together and had my dad over. We spent a few months doing fun things together, but it never really progressed from friends to "romantic" for a few reasons (on my part), and we fell out of touch in early December (on my part again) for various reasons until I renewed our friendship very recently.

The only other challenge with the surgery could be maintaining my new job or otherwise, letting my employer know what's going on, which I'd rather not do since I just started the job. She should be sending me 6 story assignments for 2nd quarter in a day or two. So let's assume I have the surgery scheduled for end of March (optimistic thinking). If I can get 3 of these stories done and submitted by end of March prior to the surgery, I can take that 2-week break and not have to worry about writing until around the 3rd week of April, when I'l need to start working on story #4. I might even try to get 4 stories done in March, giving me all of April to recover without worrying about it. It shouldn't be that difficult.

I'll be scheduling an appointment with the podiatrist as soon as I get the health insurance squared away.

PS Actually, there will be one more issue with the surgery, depending on when it might be scheduled. I am scheduled to have my kitchen cabinets refinished the last week of April, and will need to clean out most of the cabinets prior to that week. It's a 4-day job. If the surgery cannot be scheduled until April sometime, I would have to see if I could reschedule the cabinet refinishing, and we'll be entering into his very busy springtime, so I will really need to contact him the minute I have some idea of when the surgery could be to see if i could possibly reschedule for BEFORE  my surgery. This guy's already booking out well into the season, so rescheduling could be a problem unless, again, I ask a friend to be on hand in case they need me. Hmm. Have to think about this. Otherwise, if surgery took place AFTER the cabinet refinishing, we're already into May, which is a fairly busy time planting and all.

I continue to make sure my small home offers maximum space-saving ideas, and here's a new one.

Living alone, I seldom use the dishwasher because it would take several days to collect a full load of dishes, and dirty dishes sitting around would attract ants. So I handwash everything except if I am entertaining company.

So.....my latest space-saving solution:

I already use my rarely used big oven for storage of infrequently used pots/pans. Most of my cooking is done using the microwave, my countertop toaster/convection oven or the stovetop.

I decided to part ways with the company I hoped would replace my old kitchen countertop, sink and faucet. I'll still have the other guy refinish the cabinets, but the counter people actually suggested I sign their contract without reading it, and once I did read it, it was full of onerous terms, 4 waivers of responsibility (like if they damaged my backsplash when removing the counter) and not disclosing the extra $250 for the countertop removal in their original quote.  It was so clearly written in their best interests, and I'm sorry, I think they SHOULD be responsible if they cause damage.

It's a bit more inconvenient/time-consuming for me to treat that as a separate project, but that's what I will do. The guy got a little angry/defensive on the phone with me, which I didn't care for either.

Currently, I'm shopping these incredibly attractive vinyl vintage floor mats to match the new gray cabinets. I think I'm really growing to try to remove my shoes routinely upon entering my home to try to limit tracking in grit, dirt, etc.

I received the overnight package from Guardian Life for my single payment income annuity, signed everywhere I needed to and fed'exed it back this afternoon.

If all goes smoothly, my first annuity payment will come in March. I will have them deduct federal and state income taxes so no big tax bill at year-end. I will have to tweak my asset allocation afterwards at Vanguard to make sure I'm at about the same place as I am now, but not a biggie since this is all IRA money and can be moved around with no tax consequences.

Here's a projection of my future income situation:

From ages 63 (now) to 65:
Annual income will come from 4 sources:
Annuity: $ 13,700 (net of taxes this will be more like $1,000/mth)
Investment income (dividends, interest, cap gains) $5,500. I will change my current reinvestment of these and redirect these into my checking account as soon as I get the annuity all squared away.
My new p/t job (still not set in stone but will know in a few weeks): $18,000
This is my hoped-for income from 2 stories a month. If she doesn't like the other writer's work, she will ask me to do 4 stories a month, which I really don't want to do, so I'm hoping she likes us both and will keep us both on, which she explained is a possibility.
Dad's Xmas gift: $5,000
Total income: $ 42,200

From ages 65-69:
Annual income will come from 3 sources only since I plan to retire completely at age 65.
Annuity: $ 13,700
Investment income: $5,500
Dad's Xmas gift: $5,000
Total: $24,200
Obviously not enough to live on so will start taking withdrawals of about $17,800 annually from a combination of traditional IRA/taxable mutual funds and Roth monies.

Municipal property tax credit: $2,900 (Right now I pay $6,600/yr, so that's a 44% reduction)
State property tax credit: ??
My town offers property tax credits based on a sliding income scale for low-and moderate-income seniors age 65+. You have to reapply every year, but I think it's well worth the effort.

From age 69+2 mths - 73 (69+2 mths is the best age for me to begin SS)
Annual Income:
Annuity $13,700
Inv income: Let's say $3,000 due to withdrawals the previous 4 years
Social Security: $ 39,108 ($3,259 a mth) (It will be a bit higher when they factor in 2 more years of work by me that's higher than a string of really low earning years when I was in college and in my 20s), if all goes well, but just using this number for now.)
Total: $ 55,808

Municipal property tax credit: $1,500.
State property tax credit: ???

From age 73 - for the rest of my life
Annual income:
Annuity: $13,700
Inv income: $2,500?
Social Security: $39,108
RMDs: Around $34,000??
Total: $89,308?
(Actually, Dido calculated my total income at $100k so need to go back and study her numbers. There are so many moving parts.)

I guess at this point...age 73...I will no longer qualify for a municipal property tax credit, which phases out after an income of $70,000.

Nice income! Of course, I have no debt.

But taxes will rise, too, at age 73 with RMDs. I hope to continue strategically withdrawing each year from traditional IRA or taxable mutual fund money (fully taxable) up to the 2nd lowest tax bracket  (well, right now that's just 12% for earners up to $41,775 but that will surely change), and then "topping off" as needed using Roth (tax-free) money.

After what seems like a lifetime of planning (at least 30 years!), everything is beginning to fall in place. It's kind of exciting.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled to have finished my taxes, state and federal, today. I overpaid both by quite a bit, but the truth is, it can be very difficult to estimate income when you're self-employed, you get laid off from one job mid-year and the next job you get fizzles out after about 4 months. My "total expected income" was indeed a moving target.

So I am expecting a federal tax refund of $1,306 and a state refund of $1,282, for a total of $2,588 deposited to my checking....sweet.

I'm glad I was able to once again do my own taxes; last year, I paid someone, and she made a number of mistakes, including overlooking a traditional IRA contribution I made and indicating I paid out 1099s to someone as part of my self-employment when I am solo.

I'm relieved to have this behind me so I can now more fully focus on the first writing assignment I've been given by my new employer. I have a little less than 2 weeks to do it, which is plenty of time.

It's mighty chilly here in New England; temps were about -3 this morning when I woke up and with the wind chill, about -15 or -20. But temps will moderate quickly and tomorrow will be warmish again (for winter) in the 40s.