Ha! That story gave me such a delighted chuckle! This one's mine (via my grandmother):
My grandma was ahead of her time and voluntarily worked a full-time job her whole adult life, even after becoming a mother in the '50s. At some point, in some decade after that, she had a hysterectomy. She had health insurance both through her own employer *and* my grandpa's. And at that time (a very different time!), BOTH policies paid for the surgery as though they were each, in today's language, the primary insurer. And so the hospital was essentially paid double, and they then cut a check back to my grandma for the overpayment. She took that money and ran off to the jewelry store to buy herself a beautiful ring. She left that ring to me and I still wear it today.
I was always broke in college. My senior year I finally had a car: a 1980 Chevette my parents gave me as a combination wedding and pre-graduation present. One day I was stopped at a light when a dumbass ran into me and busted out all the rear lights. His insurance sent us a check. Naturally, I didn’t have it fixed — used cheap replacements from a junk yard instead! That infusion of cash really helped. There was normally not enough grocery money in my budget and I had to scrounge for expired food I could get free and whatever I could cadge from restaurant jobs, so that cash meant I could actually go to the grocery store and buy everything. What a luxury!
In my area, so many old, beat up houses have new metal roofs because of a hail storm that clobbered the area about 10 years ago. Insurance companies paid out the nose that year when anyone with a tiny ding in their shingles got a whole new roof 😁
Partner and I were allowed to get a mortgage right before the housing bubble burst in 2008. Small house was purchased in 2004 with a mortgage that we mysteriously qualified for despite both of us being in school at the time and having P/T jobs.
Fast forward to 2007: We of course could NOT pay our monthly mortgage (which was under $1000 a month) since we had student loan debt to tackle. One day our neighbor strolls over and asks would we want to sell our house? Um YES. I've never said yes that fast to anything.
We told him a price. He said fine. 2 months later we sold and starting renting. RIGHT before the housing market crashed. We would have lost that house to foreclosure for sure if our neighbor hadn't wanted to buy our house. Nothing but dumb luck saved us.
Apparently the corner lot we owned used to be part of a BIGGER parcel of land that included his house next to ours. So he wanted to put the piece of property back together. Which was fine by me. LOL.
I think back to that time often and realize how narrowly we missed being houseless. It's sobering to think that nothing but sheer luck saved our butts. No one ever knows what is REALLY going on with other's people's finances, no matter what things look like from the outside.
My father was walking home on his last day of high school. One of his teachers saw him and offered him a ride home and he accepted. His teacher asked what my dad’s plans were and he said he didn’t have any. His teacher said he thought he was bright enough to go to college. My father hadn’t taken two of the required courses (chemistry and physics, I think) but his teacher said if he was interested, he would get him the textbooks and help him study for the entrance exam over the summer. When he got home, he told my grandfather and asked, if he got in, could he go to college and he said yes, he’d pay for him to. So my father ended up being the only one of my grandparents 12 children to get a college degree. He majored in education and was in ROTC. When WWII started, he was an officer. He was never in combat because he had a congenital defect that made him unable to sight a rifle (another bit of luck). Ordinarily, this would have excused him from service but they needed officers badly. He spent 5 years occupying islands the Japanese might have attacked but didn’t. When he got out, he got a job teaching high school where he met my mother, a teacher with a Masters degree from Columbia. His life would have been very different if he’d told his high school teacher he’d rather walk.
Late to the party, but here’s my proudest story of dumb money luck and unplanned good timing: I bought my home in 2009, when first-time homebuyers could get a tax credit via Obama admin legislation. I got an FHA-backed loan (3.5% down) on a home in a brand-new HOA, and the HOA covered my closing costs. My FHA loan was luckily a very low-rate ARM with an interest rate that remained low until I refinanced in 2020…somehow to an even lower interest rate. My housing costs are less than half the average rent on the exact same kind of property in my town.
Mine is pretty simple. I also got married in college and divorced shortly afterward. During that time one day, someone left a $20 bill in the ATM tray. At that time, it was huge.
Ha! That story gave me such a delighted chuckle! This one's mine (via my grandmother):
My grandma was ahead of her time and voluntarily worked a full-time job her whole adult life, even after becoming a mother in the '50s. At some point, in some decade after that, she had a hysterectomy. She had health insurance both through her own employer *and* my grandpa's. And at that time (a very different time!), BOTH policies paid for the surgery as though they were each, in today's language, the primary insurer. And so the hospital was essentially paid double, and they then cut a check back to my grandma for the overpayment. She took that money and ran off to the jewelry store to buy herself a beautiful ring. She left that ring to me and I still wear it today.
What luck for you both 💖 I love that!
I was always broke in college. My senior year I finally had a car: a 1980 Chevette my parents gave me as a combination wedding and pre-graduation present. One day I was stopped at a light when a dumbass ran into me and busted out all the rear lights. His insurance sent us a check. Naturally, I didn’t have it fixed — used cheap replacements from a junk yard instead! That infusion of cash really helped. There was normally not enough grocery money in my budget and I had to scrounge for expired food I could get free and whatever I could cadge from restaurant jobs, so that cash meant I could actually go to the grocery store and buy everything. What a luxury!
Yes! Insurance payouts are such a boon!
In my area, so many old, beat up houses have new metal roofs because of a hail storm that clobbered the area about 10 years ago. Insurance companies paid out the nose that year when anyone with a tiny ding in their shingles got a whole new roof 😁
Partner and I were allowed to get a mortgage right before the housing bubble burst in 2008. Small house was purchased in 2004 with a mortgage that we mysteriously qualified for despite both of us being in school at the time and having P/T jobs.
Fast forward to 2007: We of course could NOT pay our monthly mortgage (which was under $1000 a month) since we had student loan debt to tackle. One day our neighbor strolls over and asks would we want to sell our house? Um YES. I've never said yes that fast to anything.
We told him a price. He said fine. 2 months later we sold and starting renting. RIGHT before the housing market crashed. We would have lost that house to foreclosure for sure if our neighbor hadn't wanted to buy our house. Nothing but dumb luck saved us.
Amazing!
Apparently the corner lot we owned used to be part of a BIGGER parcel of land that included his house next to ours. So he wanted to put the piece of property back together. Which was fine by me. LOL.
I think back to that time often and realize how narrowly we missed being houseless. It's sobering to think that nothing but sheer luck saved our butts. No one ever knows what is REALLY going on with other's people's finances, no matter what things look like from the outside.
My father was walking home on his last day of high school. One of his teachers saw him and offered him a ride home and he accepted. His teacher asked what my dad’s plans were and he said he didn’t have any. His teacher said he thought he was bright enough to go to college. My father hadn’t taken two of the required courses (chemistry and physics, I think) but his teacher said if he was interested, he would get him the textbooks and help him study for the entrance exam over the summer. When he got home, he told my grandfather and asked, if he got in, could he go to college and he said yes, he’d pay for him to. So my father ended up being the only one of my grandparents 12 children to get a college degree. He majored in education and was in ROTC. When WWII started, he was an officer. He was never in combat because he had a congenital defect that made him unable to sight a rifle (another bit of luck). Ordinarily, this would have excused him from service but they needed officers badly. He spent 5 years occupying islands the Japanese might have attacked but didn’t. When he got out, he got a job teaching high school where he met my mother, a teacher with a Masters degree from Columbia. His life would have been very different if he’d told his high school teacher he’d rather walk.
Incredible! And what a wonderful teacher!
Late to the party, but here’s my proudest story of dumb money luck and unplanned good timing: I bought my home in 2009, when first-time homebuyers could get a tax credit via Obama admin legislation. I got an FHA-backed loan (3.5% down) on a home in a brand-new HOA, and the HOA covered my closing costs. My FHA loan was luckily a very low-rate ARM with an interest rate that remained low until I refinanced in 2020…somehow to an even lower interest rate. My housing costs are less than half the average rent on the exact same kind of property in my town.
TIMING!
Mine is pretty simple. I also got married in college and divorced shortly afterward. During that time one day, someone left a $20 bill in the ATM tray. At that time, it was huge.
What a gift! I wonder if they did it intentionally? 💐