Archive for March, 2009:
That one time I was on The Price is Right
At some point in high school, I came up with the grand idea of trying to get on The Price is Right. Why? More like, “Why not?”
I opted not to run track or cross-country during my senior year, and instead got a job at Osco Drug. I wanted to save money for college — and for my big trip to Los Angeles. In June 2003, my mom, grandma, and friend flew west with the hopes of meeting Bob Barker.
On the morning of my 18th birthday, we showed up at CBS Studios in Hollywood with our “tickets.” These tickets don’t guarantee a spot in the studio. They’re just good enough for getting in line, basically. We were there at about 5 a.m.
After waiting around for several hours, the staff let us know that we wouldn’t even make it in the studio that day. Meep! It was a bummer but we picked up tickets for the following day and resolved to try again.
We returned at some ridiculous hour — 3:30 or maybe 4 a.m. We spotted our new pal, Kevin, who we had chatted with the day prior. He also wanted another shot at making it into the studio audience.
As luck would have it, we were early enough to make it in the studio. Hooray! Each person in the audience had a quickie interview with the producing staff. We were supposed to tell him a little about ourselves and show our charming personalities and the like.
My mom and I later noticed that Producer Man had a code word for people he wanted on the show. He’d say, “I hear ya,” in response to something a potential contestant said. He said this to me and Kevin!
Going inside the studio was such a surreal experience. The set was as cheesy as it looks on TV, but it looked much smaller inside. It was also as cold as a refrigerator ! I thought about putting on my sweatshirt, but I realized that it would cover up my name tag, and what would happen when they called my name to come on down? Bad things, that’s what.
They called the first four contestants to come on down, and I wasn’t among them. I wasn’t worried. They called someone else. Hmm.
Next thing I know, I hear “Kacie (Lastname!)! Come on down, you’re the next contestant on the Price is Right!!!!” Wooo! I couldn’t believe it, and yet, I sort of knew it would happen. It had to happen.
We bid on a dinette set. I lowballed a $600 bid. Whoops. The lady who won that round ended up getting it exactly right for a $500 bonus! She won a car in her game. Oh, and she was the very first person in line that day. Yay, her!
Who was the next player to come on down? None other than my line friend, Kevin! I was happy for him, but I wanted to be a better bidder.
The next round, I was in it to win it. We were bidding on a La-Z-Boy chair and ottoman. I happened to be the last bidder. Serious as a heart attack, I looked Bob in the eye and said “$951.” Yes, I was “that” bidder, the one who bids a dollar higher than the highest bid. That’s how ya get on stage, sorry.
I won! The chair was something like $1,100.
On stage, I played a game called “Magic Number.” I had to set my number between the price of two prizes — a ginormous queen-sized bed and an elaborate set of dishes. Um, do any 18-year-olds have any idea what either of those items cost? I didn’t.
The audience yelled at me, but I couldn’t hear them. I just set it to some random number and I hoped for the best. $1,271, I think it was. Thereabouts. Again, I’d have to check the tape.
My number was magic enough! It was between the price of both prizes. I won! Wheeeeeee!
I spun the big wheel, and boy, is it heavy. No wonder some people have a hard time with it. It landed on $0.10. I spun again, this time getting $0.95. Over by a nickel. (Click for sound effect ). Oh, well. I had won three prizes every 18-year-old could want, and I had followed through on a rather absurd life goal.
I was pretty happy!
Kevin made it on stage as well. He ended up in the showcase but overbid.
My total prize value was around $5,000. I had to pay California sales tax, and I had to claim the prize value as income on my income taxes. In all, I think I paid about $500 for my prizes. Yuck.
Since I went away to college shortly after that, I didn’t have a place to keep my loot. My prizes lived with my parents for several years. Finally, when Shane and I moved to Pittsburgh, I got to bring my stuff with me.
The bed is super-comfortable. It’s also extremely heavy and I’ll probably have to hire movers to get it out of here when we move out of our apartment someday. The dishes are unique and fun. The chair is hideous, but I love it because of how I got it.
Moral of the story? Don’t just say, “I want to be on The Price is Right someday.” Save money, go to L.A., stand in line, and do it!
Do you enter sweepstakes?
I consider myself to be a lucky gal when it comes to winning stuff. I’ve won all kinds of nonsense for being the correct caller on the radio, and then there’s my crazy story of being a contestant on The Price is Right.
So how come I’ve never been much of a sweepstakes entrant?
I guess I’m too lazy.
After reading this post on Freebies4Mom, I became a bit more intrigued. Maybe I can win things to help my family save money. Some companies give away thousands of free product or free product coupons as sweepstakes prizes. And, somebody has to win those grand prizes.
I’m going to start entering sweepstakes by following the suggestions of Heather at Freebies4Mom and Sweetie Sweeps.
Will I win big? I won’t count on it. But surely I’ll win something eventually. I’ll keep track of my efforts and report back to y’all.
Do you enter sweepstakes? Have you won?
No bailouts for people who can pay their mortgages
A factoid on CNN.com states that 1 in 5 mortgage holders owe more on their houses than they are worth. Ouch. I like that the wording is “mortgage holders” and not “home owners.” It seems as if anyone who has a house and doesn’t rent is called a “home owner.” Sorry — until that mortgage is paid in full, you own a mortgage, not a house.
With 20 percent of mortgage holders upside-down in their mortgages, some people are questioning whether they should receive a bailout.
I don’t think a bailout is appropriate.
Some people who bought houses at way overinflated prices are considering walking away from their houses — even though they can still afford their payments — since their appraised value has dropped so much. Shame on you people! You signed a contract agreeing to pay your bill. Nothing in that contract stated you could walk away if you owed more than it’s worth.
Where will you go if you walk away? Good luck trying to get another mortgage ever again. If you can pay your mortgage, be happy that you have a place to live. Don’t abandon your house. Be responsible.
Say someone owned a house outright and paid $300k for it. It’s now worth $150k. Would they just walk away? Uh no, that makes no sense. They would stay put since they have a place to live, and if they wanted to sell someday, they’d hopefully wait until their house starts to appreciate again. That’s how the upside-downers who can pay their bills should carry on. Live in your house. Sell it on down the road and maybe you’ll break even or make a profit instead of deciding to be homeless and bankrupt.
Ashley at Wide Open Wallet compares being upside-down in a mortgage to being upside-down in a car loan. When people buy brand-new cars, it’s generally understood that the car will drop in value at a fairly rapid pace. If you took out a loan for most or all of the value, you’ll probably owe more than the thing is worth for awhile.
So why don’t you see more people abandoning their semi-new cars and just declaring bankruptcy? Because they understand that it’s a depreciating asset, and they probably would still like to have a car to drive around.
How is this different from walking away from a house? For one thing, a car is much cheaper than a house. Another thing: People often view their houses as investments. WRONG. Your house is a place to hang out in your pjs. It’s a place to park your butt at night. It’s where you keep your stuff.
For people who view their houses as investments, they must realize that investments might decrease in value. Sometimes that happens, and it stinks, but it’s how investments work.
Your house should not be treated as an ATM. And if you want to call it an investment, fine. But you’ll only be able to enjoy the returns on that once you sell it and get someone to pay a higher price than you paid.
Note: I do think that bailout money should be used to help people who cannot afford to pay their mortgages due to job loss or an unaffordable ARM reset. The lenders should lower their payments and maybe tack on a few years at the end of their loan, for example.
