Nope, not me, nor any of our folks!
"She was building a castle in air -- a wondrous mansion whose sunlit courts and stately halls were steeped in Araby's perfume, and where she reigned queen and chatelaine." ~ Anne of The Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery
We keep getting all these emails and newsletters from Countrywide wanting us to borrow more money, etc. but funny thing is they are all addressed to the Hubster**.
Now my name is on the note and I'm the one who monitors the account, sends in the payments, opens, reads and filters the mail he actually sees, am the chief cook and bottle washer and basically the financial manager of the home, etc., and I am feeling a bit left out.
"Dear Hubster,
Your time is reserved for a phone consultation to borrow on a HELOC, blah blah blah..."
NO, we aren't planning to call or refinance or any of that stuff, but...
I don't know about you but if I was marketing my company's products to current and prospective customers in this day and age I would hope I'd be smart enough to include the lady of the house or all those included on the account.
Harummpppffhhh! Makes a girl just want to shut her reticule!!
Had I not been the saver in the home we'd not of had the money for closing the loan in the first place!
I'm aware this is a subjective, piddly thing, but it gripes me, ya know? So, I'm thinking I may have to put pen to paper or hands to keyboard and write their CEO AND their marketing department.
What thinkest thou?
**side rant - nowadays they do not even address you by Mr. &/or Mrs. It's by your first name. How annoying. I'd prefer old school style "Dear Mr. & Mrs. Frugalis"!! You people don't even know us, so please get out your manners!!
January 5th, 2008 at 04:22 pm 1199550178
I didn't notice the hubby thing so much, but I was thinking Countrywide sure is desperate. Begging way more than usual to borrow more money.
Since I pay the bills and monitor the account I did find it odd it was addressed to my hubby, by first name as well. Strange on a joint account, indeed.
I know it's tradition to put the hubby's name first, just to keep it easier. I am sure it is the "first name" in their system over the whole female/male thing.
I know this has caused many a peeved client at my work when it comes to taxes. You can't file with your husband's name first and then switch it later. It fouls up the IRS computers. We have had problems with it. I wrote an article about this and got lots of poo-pooing. But if you read the 1040 instructions it says it doesn't matter who is the tax payer and who is the spouse - as long as you don't switch it once you decide. So we get angry female clients who get empowered and think we are keeping them down because we won't switch them (who wants more IRS notices/troubles?????).
I think this is much the same. Men's name traditionally goes first. They just pull the first name. In this case you can maybe ask to switch names, but might screw up their filing system.
But seems to me if they were so desperate they would try all account owners. Maybe hubster isn't interested in a HELOC, but maybe you are. How would they know if they didn't ask?
January 5th, 2008 at 04:23 pm 1199550225
My DH has a 1973 Corvette (stick shift that I can't drive) and it is HIS car. He maintains it is OUR car, but he was SO excited by he fact that he was getting one that he FORGOT to put my name on the title (I was not there, rather home with the three or four kids we had at the time) (now I do believe that he did forget, he can be one-track minded). I bitched about that for several years until he said he was going to pay the fee (don't remember what it was $50 or something) to have me added to the title. My brother is an attorney who assured me that becuase it was purchased during our marriage, should he die, it would remain mine ...
January 5th, 2008 at 04:33 pm 1199550804
Monkeymama, you are so right that your clients have no right to be peeved! It's not a sexist thing. The IRS could not care less whose name comes first, just that it stay consistent. If those women wanted their name first, they should have set it up that way from their very first "Married Filing Jointly" return. My husband was a new immigrant when we filed our first joint return, so my SS was the one the IRS had a record for. It seemed a no-brainer to us to file with my name first, and it has stayed and will continue to stay that way. All mailings from the IRS come with my name first.
January 5th, 2008 at 04:43 pm 1199551424
January 5th, 2008 at 04:57 pm 1199552265
I eventually got my own credit card in my name so that I would have my own credit. Suze Orman encouraged this years ago.
January 5th, 2008 at 06:13 pm 1199556783
January 5th, 2008 at 11:22 pm 1199575341
January 6th, 2008 at 03:05 am 1199588711