My life is awesome, except for this one thing

[minxy]

Except for this one thing that happened today.

So apparently we're in a recession, right? And the dollar is worth pants as far as the rest of the world is concerned, and for some reason this means the price of gold is through the roof.

My Mom called to tell me this (she's an economist, bless her.) My Mom is wretched with money, but she loves to advise me to sell everything my grandmother left me so I can stop worrying about money; sometimes I resent this. Today I tried very hard not to resent this because a) Nana's gold charm bracelet is not something I ever remember admiring (but she apparently wanted me to have it) and b) I really couldn't care less about jewelry and also c) I would love to not have credit card debt any more.

So I let her talk me into saving a few things of greater symbolic value than their monetary price, and selling the rest (or at least having it appraised, which my Mom was absolutely sure would finance the purchase of a small mansion. But she's reaaaaaaaally bad with money for an economist.) The nearest jewelry store is four towns over (I am not joking) and the woman I spoke to there was incompetent. Beyond the fact, though, that she was measuring in penny weight and quoting in ounces (WHY AREN'T WE STANDARDIZED TO FUCKING METRIC ALREADY???) and quoting wildly wrong AND worse than my students about math errors (the computer does it. I don't know the computer does it. IdontknowthecomputerdoesitItakenoresponsibiltystopaskingmequestions.)

What really drove me and my grandmother's lifetime collection out of the store was her completely negative attitude and inability to honor (even a little) the metal she was looking at.

Kind of tanked my day, on account of I'm still missing my grandmother, and I'm not entirely rational about things associated with her.

So I'll have to go all the way into the city sometime next week, because that's the first free time I have, but it did give me a little more time to make peace with selling the unimportant bits of the bracelet.

I'm keeping: my great, great, great, great grandmothers thimble and my great, great grandmother's simple (heavy) wedding band (it fits my hand too.)

So there's that. Next week I might have a little less credit card debt. Not a lot, but a little.


On the other hand, and completely irreverently, I think someone should make me a t-shirt that says "and brains too" right across the tits. Because, mijas, I could have done that math in my sleep and the stupid woman in the jewelry store couldn't even think about how to begin to do the math herself.

Comments

[stultiloquentia]

t-shirt that says "and brains too" right across the tits.

HAH. I'd wear that.

Sorry about the stupid appraiser. It does seem like the sort of job where a kindly attitude would matter to a lot of customers. Her loss!

[gigerisgod]

not reassuring. that's like asking my mom to do anything beyond basic arithmetic.

[muck_a_luck]

I saw a thing on this somewhere recently. Be aware that a lot of jewelry is actually worth more as jewelry than gold. I have no idea if there is anything interesting or unique about these pieces, but don't just get it weighed - get it really looked over and appraised by somebody real who can tell you its true value and help you get its true value out of it as a piece of jewelry, rather than just a rock.

[wraith816.livejournal.com]

{{{HUGS}}}

[delphia2000.livejournal.com]

Probably the most important thing I've learned in my lifetime about possessions is that it's all just stuff. If it doesn't make your heart sing, then let it be useful to you in another form. Your memories of your gran are in your heart, not in her stuff. I'd bet she'd say 'sell' in a heartbeat for you.

I had a beautiful opal/diamond birthstone ring that I sold to help pay for baby stuff when I was expecting the sulky teen. It was a gift from an important past boyfriend. It paid for a lot of needed stuff and while I regret that we haven't been able to get me a new birthstone ring, it was from another man other than the one I adore, so I don't regret selling it at all. It's making some other lady happy now.

[raqs.livejournal.com]

If you are going to sell that jewelry (which i think is a bad idea, even for an unsentimental woman, esp. so close to the loss,) don't do it in a cowtown where they have no idea of the value. get at least a little closer to the city.

also: i am sure you are right and that it will NOT fund anything close to what your mother thinks it will - jewelry depreciates like water - but on the other hand gold is at near-record prices. (not actually record when corrected for inflation but pretty fucking high). so it may be quite a bit - but not from a buyer who doesn't know what they're doing.

if you come visit i would be happy to give you my completely amateur opinion on it too. and would give you coffee and not make you sad.

but don't dump it just because you're desperate to get it over with. i cannot TELL you how many conversations I've had with others about "Yeah, I wish I hadn't rushed to... right after so-and-so died."

sorry for the day, hun. :-(