How "12 Hours" of Sleep Cost Me $6500 01-30-10

This entry will shift from my usual comedic writing to that of a more serious nature. . .

As a certified coupon fanatic, I search out ways to save money. Perhaps this was born of neccessity, having lost my job along with countless other New Orleanians in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Our southern roots ran so deep that the decision to leave our families and the only home we had ever known was not easy. We ended up selling our house at a loss. Our heart was in that house. We did much of the building work ourselves to save money. I believed I would die there.

After several good cries, we dried our eyes, packed our bags, headed north and spent the next several years trying to figure out where to settle down. The five of us (me, my husband, our teenager and two dogs) eventually took up residence in a two bedroom apartment in eastern North Carolina.

Fast forward to just three months ago. . .

My father, whom I credit with teaching me the value of a dollar, sent me an article from the New Orleans Times Picayune touting $6500 in tax relief for people who were NOT first time homebuyers. Estatic, I immediately googled for more information. To my delight, everything I read indicated that we qualified.

After touring countless houses, we finally found one we felt we could be happy in.

When my banker called to schedule the closing, I immediately took my husband's schedule into consideration. You see he works nights (7 p.m. to 7 a.m.). On days when he has to work, I encourage him to rest because I worry about him getting on the road tired. The banker and I chose a day and I eagerly began to anticipate it.

The closing date arrived, we settled into the place and finally we felt at peace again.Then, when my husband's W2 arrived, he presented it to me as if we were getting engaged again. Afterall, it was worth as much as a fine engagement ring. Quickly, I sat down to prepare our taxes. I wanted to see the refund looking up at me from the paper. Just invisioning placing the stamp on the envelope to request my check was enough to put me into a state of utopia.

Shangri-la was quickly riped out from under me, however, when I read what felt like a death blow: In order to qualify you had to have closed "after November 6, 2009." What?? My body began to tremble, water flowed from my eyes and I began to scream like a wounded animal. The date I had chosen when the banker called was 12 hours shy of qualifying for the $6500 tax credit. I did not qualify because I cared about my husband getting some sleep. My husband was scheduled to work on the "qualifying day" so I made sure we would have everything done before then.

Nothing I had read, no one I spoke to about it--the bank, the attorney, the realtors (mine and the sellers'), my family, my friends--knew about the date either.

There has never been a time where I have been interested in politics, perhaps that is partially because their promises are much like bread hanging over your head that is always just out of reach.

We had planned to put the money toward a school loan my husband took out. I plan to write about that fiasco in a future blog which I plan to call: "The Turkey Was Pardoned, Criminals are Pardoned, How Bout Barry?" In it I will address the encouragement the government has given to people to go back to school and give a real life example of the worst that can happen.