Redhead at the Piggy Bank

As I was reading the nytimes.com coverage of Sarah Palin’s resignation, something else caught my eye: this column. It’s about a NYT employee who took an entire day to tackle all the financial things we put off, such as changing phone plans to save money and finding a savings account with a higher interest rate. This guy also needed to draw up a will, even though he’s been a father for over three years (helloooo, irresponsible–but at least he admits it’s pathetic).

He hoped his efforts would offset the 5 percent pay cut he had to take this year. Although he fell short of that goal, he wrote, “I got enough done that I now plan to take a fiscal health day at least once a year, 10 hours on a weekday when all phone lines and financial institutions are open, with no interruptions except for e-mail.”

Doesn’t this sound like a smart idea, even if it might make for the most annoying, boring day ever? I don’t know if I could deal with customer service reps for 10 hours straight, but I usually do end up using at least part of my days off to clear up mistakes on bills. (I swear I’m billed incorrectly practically every time I use my health insurance.) I mean, how annoying is it that these offices are only open during business hours? Who wants to haggle over a medical bill during their lunch hour while your coworkers can’t help but listen? No. Thanks.

When do you guys deal with these financial annoyances? Would you ever devote an entire day to it?