Ask and ye shall recieve

As I was walking into work today I had to go through exhibits. See, since the new year we've been parking in what I respectfully call "Egypt." And the path to get to Egypt is either a lot of up and down stairs or through our exhibit space, which usually isn't a problem, but there's a ginormous show in right now... the biggest one all year, so the path to work is walking down exhibit isles. It makes walking fun. Plus, as I was walking past the New Balance booth, someone said "would you like a waffle?" (that's like saying "would you like a $10 bill I just found?") Obviously, I said I would love a waffle and ate it on the rest of my hike to my office.



Alright, so (confession) this isn't what I wanted to blog about, but I love waffles. They're like my favorite food. And they weren't even Belgian Waffles, they were the Standard Waffle (the Preferred Waffle of Sarah's). Anyway, I thought that might be a pretty good omen to my day. And as it turns out, it was...


Today was a monumental day in the world of Sarah Timms' finances. I paid off a credit card that I put housing/tuition on in 2001. I know, a collective gasp of a) why did I put it on a credit card? b) why haven't I paid it off before now and c) Mostly B. (and I have to say, it's really easy to get a low-interest card, make regular payments on it and forget about it...)

Anywho, not the point. We're still coming to that. So I called to close the card and they said "do you want to leave it open and we'll give you a lower interest rate and 3% cash back and refund your last 3 months of paying for ID protection?" Well I've never said no to free dollars from banks PLUS available credit in case I need it... so I caved and didn't close the card. Instead I just got a lower interest rate in case I need one, and keep a good credit score because I have years of good history with them.

And then I got to thinking... this new rate of interest is pretty low. And they lowered my rate just because I asked... maybe there's something to that...
So I decided I'd just call my bank and tell them I wanted a lower interest rate. So I did and they gave it to me. WHAT THE WHAT!?!? All I had to do was call and say "I don't like my interest rate" and they would CHANGE it for me???

This. Is. Awesome.

And interesting to think about because what awesomeness is just out there in the world for our very asking for it! Sometimes things fall into your lap (you walk past and people give you a waffle) but sometimes by politely asking, people will just hand things to you. It makes sense... after all, people don't know what you're thinking. A best friend who is unhappy with a skirt you've coveted for a year doesn't know that you want to wear it for a while. A man working in a booth doesn't know you want to have one of his nifty bouncy balls he's giving out. A bank had no idea I was concerned with getting a lower interest rate today. And a significant other had no idea you needed a little boost in your self-esteem just because.

I am SO guilty of not asking for things. I never do, I always think it would be rude, or put someone out... but in reality, sometimes it's really easy. After all, the girl at the bank isn't like "ooh my gosh, a crazy lady wanted to lower her interest rate." (if she is screw her). and all I did was ask.

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE!