I recently had a run-in with the law. I was stopped by a police officer for speeding.
(I could end the lesson right here by telling you that if you stop speeding you can save yourself possibly hundreds if not thousands of dollars per year and be perfectly justified.)
- Lower pollution
- Less chance of accidents
- Less wear and tear on your car
- Less tickets
- Less insurance
- LESS COSTS OVERALL = SAVE MONEY
- This list can go on and on!
But that is not what I am writing about today. I am writing about my experience after I got caught speeding.
So I was stopped for going 42 mph in a 35 mph zone. Of course I was on the phone at the time (hands free of course) so I was not paying full attention. The officer was hiding in a spot where it was tough for me to see him but easy for him to see me.
He pulls me over and asks for my license, registration and proof of insurance. I complied with the license and the insurance but I could not find the registration. I knew I had it but where was it?
The police officer began to run my information with whatever technology they have nowadays to find out if you are a fugitive or something. I thought this would be the perfect time to find my registration and then wave it at him once I had it in my hand.
Well, that never happened. I did not find my registration.
The officer came and told me that my speeding ticket would cost upwards of $200 but that he was not going to give me that one. WHEW!!!
But he WAS going to give me the ticket for not having my registration. Which he said would be as simple as finding it and either taking it to the courthouse or mailing it within the allotted timeframe.
I thanked him and told him that he was a good man and that I appreciated the fact that he did not hit me with the $200 plus ticket and I went on my merry way.
Here is where the story gets good…
A few days later I found out that I had to get a copy of my registration from a tag agency. (I just never found the original; I do not know what happened!)
So I went to the tag agency and made the line (which was not too painful). Pulled up to the counter and asked how much it would be to get a copy of my registration.
Without a blink of an eye, the lady behind the counter said…$10.50
WHAT???? I thought to myself. “Ten dollars and Fifty Cents for a copy of a piece of paper?”
I cannot even begin to fathom how much profit they would make on something like this.
Watch this video to get a better feel of my reaction:
[kaltura-widget wid="7p1nvwqw50" width="400" height="365" type="whiteblue" addPermission="-1" editPermission="-1" /]
I fully understand the policeman giving me a ticket for $200 plus dollars. I broke the law, I got caught, I was careless, It made sense.
But $10.50 for a piece, no… a copy of a piece of paper is just an outrage!
The moral of this story is that we really have to pay attention to the little things in our lives that end up costing us much more pound for pound then the things we do pay attention to. Unfortunately, there are people that go through this ALL the time and I mean every month.
Things like:
- Overdraft on our bank accounts
- Overlimit fees on our credit cards
- Insufficient funds on checks
- ATM fees
- Late fees
- And of course, the fee for not having your car registration in order
Now that the new year is upon us, we need to be vigilant with these types of mishaps and oversights. If our goal is to become truly financially independent, we cannot afford to play these types of games. I am sure that you have much better uses for your money than to chuck it up to fees and penalties. We work too hard for our money just to give it up to our financial irresponsibility. This can run into the hundreds or even thousands per year. I have seen in with my own eyes.
Let’s take control, get organized and avoid anything like this happening this year and you will see your money work for you harder than it ever has.
Best wishes!
5. January 2010 at 12:15 AM
omg, you have me laughing so hard at your video! That’s absolutely priceless! Best laugh I’ve had in a while, that needs an award or something. Here I was expecting a long discourse on fiscal responsibility!
Anyways, back to the rest of your post, you make an incredibly good point. This is the financial version of “the slight edge”… that its not really the big things that make or break us, but the compounding of all the little ones, over time, that can land us FAR off course in the end! Thanks for the great reminder to apply this theory to my finances as well!
.-= Kimberly Castleberry´s last blog ..Social Media Metrics, Measuring Your Impact for Maximum ROI =-.
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5. January 2010 at 2:17 AM
Jose,
What a great reminder and opportunity to take a life
lesson and turn it into an blog post. Great job my friend.
Ken Pickard
The Network Dad
P.S. Love the video replay!
.-= Ken Pickard´s last blog ..6 Reasons Why You Need a Blogging Alliance =-.
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5. January 2010 at 4:08 PM
Hahahaha what a funny brother I have!!! That made me laugh SO much. I love it!
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5. January 2010 at 8:00 PM
such a great post Jose,
and your video had me laughing.
thank yo so much for sharing
.-= jean´s last blog ..‘Becoming Part of a Tribe’ =-.
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5. January 2010 at 8:17 PM
Hi Jose,
I know I’ve had my share of tickets (mostly parking) and it’s so important to make sure you get everything in order or else the fines get HEFTY. I’m sure we all had your reaction too (LOL!). Thanks for putting it out there! Can’t wait for the next post
.-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Learn to be a Peaceful Warrior =-.
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5. January 2010 at 8:44 PM
Jose you are so funny! This was a great lesson in where did all the money go! I think sometimes we just don’t even realize the cost of irresponsibility! So pay attention and don’t be irresponsible! Thanks Jose!
.-= Jan Hill´s last blog ..The Initial Call Makes All the Difference in the World! =-.
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5. January 2010 at 8:47 PM
Great job Jose,
I agree with Kimberly, the video is “priceless”
It never fails that if we aren’t paying attention the next thing you know we’re getting nickel’d and dime’d to death. Pretty soon the little fees take a big bite out of the budget and the next thing you know there goes the night out with my wife.
Thanks for a great spin on something so obvious in life.
.-= Don Enck´s last blog ..How To Get Your Facebook Friend Requests Accepted =-.
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5. January 2010 at 10:59 PM
Jose,
I love the message here, and you’ve done a great job at wrapping it around a story.
I consider myself to be a very financially responsible person but you’re right, there are so many little things that many of us tend to overlook that can really add up.
When I first started researching online marketing, I was signing up for things left and right, $15 here, $20 there. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but soon I had so many of these little charges on my credit card that I forgot what many of them were for.
Yes, it took some time to go through the charges and make some phone calls, but I managed to separate the necessary from the unnecessary and save myself some cash.
There are still areas I need to look at, and I thank you for the reminder.
Kathy J
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7. January 2010 at 12:00 PM
Thank you all for the great comments.
Kathy, don’t even get me started on how we nickel and dime ourselves throughout our lives. That deserves a post all on its own. Thanks again!
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7. January 2010 at 5:51 PM
Jose,
such a funny freaking video reaction! I got a call from my college son not too long ago and he was miserable. I asked what was wrong and he told me he just got finished adding up all the insufficient funds fees he had from the bank over the past year. My first reaction was “Why in the world would you do that?” but then I realized he needed to know this information so he will not have another year like that again. And Kathy, I did the same thing as you when I started marketing. Spending 10 and 20 bucks on e coursed and all sorts of useless stuff. It all adds up!
.-= Theresa Moss´s last blog ..Setting Goals To Be The Best “You” Possible =-.
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8. January 2010 at 3:21 PM
How much for a copied piece of paper? $10 What a rip…Good points to ponder. This is an area where I need much help. Keeping track of my expenses. I’ve been better this year. I’m so busy with other stuff, sometimes I neglect the most important things.
.-= Nick Logan´s last blog ..Why all the buzz about Tribe Syndication and Blogging Alliances? =-.
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13. January 2010 at 10:30 PM
Hey Jose! Great post! It is definitely important to be responsible, especially when it comes to your money. I have heard a lot of the financial gurus say that you need to respect money and treat it like it is valuable if you want to be wealthy and prosperous. Thanks for the great reminder and sharing the story of your speeding ticket.
I am looking forward to hearing more of your financial advice and tips!
.-= Melissa Wright´s last blog ..The power of Tribe Syndication! =-.
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14. January 2010 at 7:00 AM
I love your reaction in the video made me laugh out loud. Its amazing how expensive pieces of paper are these days. I might think about selling them at $10.50 a time.
Simple message here watch what we do with our pennies (I am British).
I once got pulled by a policeman for speeding. I felt like the biggest criminal in the world and thought I should be locked up forever no questions asked lol.
Funny thing was I was off to London for a seminar on crime and disorder haha.
You Gotta Love this Life.
Beth Hewitt
.-= Beth Hewitt´s last blog ..What are you doing with your time? =-.
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15. February 2010 at 10:14 AM
What the heck? OMG, Loved the face… Priceless!
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Caraballo & Associates Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 11:15 PM
Actual response! (at least on the inside)
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24. October 2010 at 11:43 PM
What a cool post/video…and funny too!
So very true that is. I have definitely did my share of paying extra money carelessly by not being as organized as I should have. Tax time is a good teacher on that one!
Warmly,
Roshanda
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Caraballo & Associates Reply:
October 27th, 2010 at 5:38 PM
Very true, tax time IS a great time to find out this. Actually tax-time could be used as a tool for monitoring your behavior throughout the year. I always suggest monitoring more times but tax-time prvides a good bird’s eye view.
Thanks for passing by!
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