Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Windfall

wind-fall (wind'fol') n. 1. something blown down by the wind, such as fruit from a tree 2. an unexpected stroke of good luck

Yesterday's mail brought a windfall, of the second variety, an unexpected stroke of good luck. Money. A check.

It's seems I was part of a class action lawsuit and never even knew it. According to the accompanying paperwork it seems that someone sued EBay Motors and everyone who made transactions with this particular EBay seller was awarded a settlement.

Honestly, I don't remember ever ordering anything from EBay Motors, but perhaps the Son did in the past. The settlement was based on the final value fees I paid during a certain period.

Windfall. Just before Christmas and just after we found out that one of the garage doors needs to be replaced. Perfect timing.

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I look a little closer.

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Do you see it? The amount.

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A two and some zeros. Actualy a zero, a decimal point, a two and a zero.

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Twenty cents. Woo hoo...... 20 cents!!!

The Farmer knows alot about these sorts of things - cutting checks and such. He assures me that it cost at least 60 cents to cut this check. Think of all the man hours involved in compiling the lists of people involved, computing the amounts, cutting the checks, paper and ink, machines running the checks, folding them and inserting them in envelopes. Let's not forget the postage. I've already pitched the enveloped but I'm sure it was at least 14 cents. So, let's just say 74 cents to send me a 20 cent check.

Well, it's not quite the windfall I had in mind but actually it falls under my category of found money. We've talked about this before. Found money is money that I neither earned nor was expecting to come to me. It's money that's meant to pass through my hands into someone else's.

Please read more about found money here:

FOUND MONEY

If you follow that link you will also be rewarded with a black and white photo of a friend's aged but beautiful hands. Oh my, the work those hands have performed. They are beautiful to me.

The 20 cent check will be combined with a small bit of my own money and sent on to my favorite charity, TRICKLE UP. It will be used to provide small business loans to women in third world countries, empowering them to change the future for themselves and their children.

Thanks for visiting with me today. I appreciate your energy and your friendship.

6 comments:

Terri said...

We have gotten a few of those checks over the years... doesn't even pay for the gas to take it to the bank.

Terri said...

I meant to add that you are a very nice person, and thank you for the link to your very worthy charity. Sometimes it only takes a little in the right direction to make a very big difference.
Hugs!!!!

Vee said...

Are you going to cash the check? I am always inclined to mess with someone's bookkeeping.

Leslie T. said...

The whole purpose behind those class action lawsuits is so that a lawyer can make a bundle of money. Attorneys go looking for things that they can file a class action lawsuit for, knowing that each individual person who gets "paid" will only get pennies. But the attorney gets a hefty sum out of it. That's the whole game right there.
Life is interesting, no? All kinds of people in this world.... many of whom need a good spanking. :)

Julie H said...

My husband got one for a dollar something. He must have spent more money ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi! I wandered over from Tip Junkie to see your gingerbread house posts, but couldn't pass this one up. I received my .51 settlement check in the mail a couple of days ago. We're living' large, I tell ya!
Geneva