Paying Off the Debt

Bon Ton was having a sale at the beginning of the week on luggage. Prices were 50% off and if you opened a credit account you got an additional 20% off.

DH and I needed luggage for our trip to Mississippi this fall so we took the opportunity to get the luggage now. I applied for the credit, charged the purchase, and then immediately wrote a check to pay the balance. What started out as $200 luggage ended up costing less than $80.

I never shop at Bon Ton and only went this time because DH noticed the ad in the paper so this card will be collecting dust.

I received my refund check yesterday for the 4 containers of Peter Pan that I had that were recalled. I got back $16.45. Not too bad.

I mentioned in an earlier entry that we were getting back quite a large refund from the government this year despite raising the number of dependents we claimed. I checked our checking account on-line last night and the money was there!

So...early this morning (5:30, to be exact!) I jumped out of bed and set about dispersing this money to the areas we had agreed upon. I put money aside for repairs that DH's truck needs, padded a few of my budget accounts that always seem to be in the red, paid state tax we owe because DH works in another state, paid off the balance on DH's truck, and still had $3,000 to send to my Emigrant account!

This money is going to be used to do house repairs. I really would like to have heat in the kitchen next winter, the garage roof needs replaced, we need siding on the house and still need to replace a few windows, etc. The list goes on and on.

Just wanted to warn everyone that if you buy a GE product be prepared to wait an eternity for service should something go wrong.

A few years ago we bought a Hotpoint (GE) refrigerator. We immediately had problems with the ice dispenser. We would wake up in the morning to find that there was water all over our kitchen floor. The water dispenser worked sporadically. The business that we bought it from came out and repaired it 3 times while it was under warranty. We still continued to have problems.

Finally, we got a notice in the mail that GE had a class action suit against them for the very same problems that we were experiencing. We filed our papers and eagerly awaited it to be made right. That was back in January of 2006. We are still waiting...

Originally we started trying to get it fixed with the original company from which we'd purchased it. 6 months went by and they were still waiting for the parts to arrive. So we contacted another repair shop that was listed in the paperwork we'd received from the class action settlement. 9 months later we're still waiting. The refrigerator doors that were shipped to us are still sitting on the porch, where they've been since November.

The repairman has contacted GE several times telling them that they sent the doors but did not send the ice/water dispenser (which is the problem part!). They have sent him 3 more doors instead!!! So now we have 5 doors and no icemaker unit.

Every time you call their 800 number to speak to them about it you are put on hold for at least 20 minutes and quite often over an hour before you finally get someone, if you don't get boiling mad and hang up first.

I have emailed them and complained about their service and have gotten an email back with the same 800 number to call!!!

I have told them that I am informing everyone I know not to buy their products because they do not back them up. Service is terrible and you might as well say, nonexistant.

I got a "free" vacation day today! With all of the snow melting and the steady downpour of rain all night long, roads all around us were shut down early this morning. Here is a picture of what I would have had to drive through to get to work:

Schools were cancelled and volunteer firemen were called home to help with evacuations and putting up signs along roadways.

DH was called home to help. My main problem with that is that his company will not pay him for being called out to volunteer for his community. They use his training that our community pays for when they need him to respond to a medical crisis or fire at work, but yet won't pay him when his community needs him. I don't think that's right. So we'll take a big hit in the paycheck for this week.

I found Start Late, Finish Rich when I was changing the books at a deposit station today. I immediately slipped it into my work box so I could take it home to read.

The claim is that this book has the plan that will help you to build a secure financial future.

Well, the workout DVD that I listed on Ebay is going to sell for at least $14. That's pretty good. At least I'm getting something out of it so it's just not sitting in my cabinet not being used.

I have someone watching 2 of my pilates workouts so hopefully they will sell too. I really don't care what I get from those.

We received DH's term insurance policy in the mail yesterday. We have to send in 2 month's payment and the signed amendement.

Does anyone know if we're safe to cancel the whole life policy we have now or do we need to wait for something else? As long as this whole thing has taken I hate to think how long it will take until we get our money from the cash value of the whole life. Hopefully not nearly as long.

We got notification that DH was approved for his term insurance. They say the final contract will be sent in the mail. After all the paperwork is done and we know the coverage is in effect we will cash in his whole life insurance. The cash value on that is almost enough to pay off the Discover card. We had agreed, way back when we started all this, that if we could get term insurance we would use the money from the whole life to pay on the CC.

It feels good to know that soon these debts are going to take a big hit and we'll see the numbers reduced by quite a bit.

I checked today and I've got a bid on my listing for Leslie Sansone's workout on Ebay.

I went ahead and listed 2 other Pilates workouts and 3 yoga ones that I don't do anymore. I try to keep my exercise cubbyhole from getting overly full. Right now it's bothering me so it's time to pare down and get rid of those workouts that don't get used much.

I got my email today from Pinecone Research to fill out my registration so it sounds like I'm in. YEAH! I'm anxious to do my first survey.

I ordered a new set of Leslie Sansone's walking workouts a few weeks ago and opened all the actual walking workouts, but did not unwrap the toning one. I know I won't use it because I prefer barre workouts.

So I decided this morning to list the toning workout on Ebay. I see that someone else has one that the bids are over $18 already! That would be great to get.

I should list my yoga and pilates workouts that I no longer use too. Any extra income would be nice right now.

DH came home last night with his profit sharing check for $1124.42. Of course, $337 came right off the top to pay for those taxes that our escrow didn't pay. The rest went right into savings for house repairs.

I contacted the collection agency and they assured me that this will not show up on our credit. Anyone know if that is true??? I find it hard to believe. I paid the bill so it's taken care of and now I need to contact the escrow department at the main bank to find out why, if they weren't going to pay the bill, they didn't send it to us so that we knew it was due. I just don't understand that. How can we pay it if we don't know:

#1 how much it is
#2 when it is due
#3 that they didn't pay it
and #4 that the obligation even exists???

Ack!!!!!

For 2 cents I would take the profit sharing check and our tax returns and pay off this little mortgage just to be done with them. Then I would receive my own tax bills and know that they are paid. Too bad we actually need to have heat though and the money has to go for that!

This morning has not been a good one by any stretch of the imagination.

As soon as DH left for work this morning I walked back into the living room to find that the pellet stove was shutting down yet again. It's been doing that every couple of days lately. When it does this DH has to pull it out away from the wall, take all the pellets out of it and take it apart to clean the top auger. For some reason it is getting a build-up of something on it that prevents it from turning and feeding the pellets down so that they burn. So we started the day with no heat and the record lows for March of 1 degree with wind chills of -20.

Then I picked up the mail on the way to work and there are 2 notices from a debt collection agency that our school taxes from last fall were never paid by our escrow account! So I called our tax collector and she said that for some reason the bank did not pay anyone's taxes last fall (which they've always done before) and that she sent out notices so that we would know they hadn't been paid. I never got the notice. So now we've been turned over to the collection agency which is going to mess up our credit.

My question is...why didn't the bank let us know they were not paying them and why aren't they paying them??? This is how it's worked for 7 years now. It would have been nice to know that they changed things. The money to pay these taxes is included in our monthly payment. Would be nice if it was used for what it's intended for.

I'm very close to changing banks right now.

DH gets a profit sharing check tomorrow. We're not sure how much it is going to be, but probably around $1,000. We've decided to stick it in the savings account and use it for home repairs so we can get things done that have really needed done for a long time.

I have been reading Suze Orman's new book

Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny and took her advice and opened an Ameritrade money market account. She has partnered with Ameritrade to try to get women to take control of their finances.

The challenge is to direct deposit at least $50 a month for a year. At the end of that year Ameritrade will give you a $100 bonus! Not bad earnings.

So I checked on-line today and my account is open and active!

I did our taxes last week and despite our changing our number of exemptions last year, we are getting a huge amount back from the government. It is mainly because of the 2 college kids.

So now we are trying to decide what to do with the money. I know that most here would automatically say to pay off the Discover card. I would love to do that, but we also have a house that needs some major renovations. We've been doing a bit here and there a little at a time but it's not making much of a difference. We still have no heat in the kitchen and several days this winter have gone out to find the cat's water frozen! Garage and porch need a new roof, one bedroom is still bare bones (sheetrock, plywood floor, no ceiling, etc.)

One thing we are going to do is finish paying off DH's truck loan. Some of the money we want to put aside for the college kids so that we can help them out when they have a need and no resources to meet the need.

Endless possibilities, but what is wisest?

Suze Orman's newest book,

Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny came into the office a couple of days ago. Knowing that I'm the only one of the library personnel that is interested in it, I didn't bring it home until today. It has a release date of February 27th, so it will be available to the public on Tuesday.

I've only had a chance to glance through it but it looks interesting and has a great incentive for saving money. Perfect weekend reading!

I got a call from our Zander insurance case worker yesterday that my approval for the term life insurance has been postponed due to my recent medical problems. I sort of figured that was coming.

She said that in 6 months I am free to apply again. I told her that I didn't know if I wanted to go through this whole thing again in 6 months. I never dreamed that it would take this many months for them to come to a decision.

No word yet on DH's application.

DH and I had gone to a church conference to hear a well-known radio/TV personality speak on the middle east and afterwards were to go to a couple's house for coffee. We were just pulling into their driveway when DH's pager went off saying that an ambulance was needed at an address on our street for seizures. We both sort of held our breath when we heard the address, but ours is different by one number than the address given so we figured it was our neighbor across the street.

As we walked into our friends' house they said that her mother said we had just gotten a phone call. I knew then that 911 had been told the wrong address. The caller ID showed that my mother had called. DH called the house and talked to the EMT that was on scene and we took off for home. We made it home in 10 minutes, in what normally would have taken 15-20.

Just as we got here they were bringing DS#2 out on the stretcher. He is 16 years old. DH (who is an EMT) jumped in with the ambulance and I drove my mom and I to the hospital. The paramedics met us halfway and got in and started an IV. DH said that DS quit breathing at least twice on the way there. They had inserted a nasal canula and were prepared to bag him if they had to.

By the time we got to the hospital, he was a bit better. And if that was better, I definitely did not want to see how he had been. DH said that DS would definitely have a bruised sternum because the EMT had to give him a sternum rub to get him to respond at all and really had to use a lot of pressure. DH also had to do the same on the way to the hospital.

At the hospital he was barely responsive. His eyes were rolled back in his head and he could barely squeeze fingers or move his feet to push on your hands. His blood pressure was high and pulse was rapid (over 120). Of course, they asked about alcohol or drugs and we explained that he's had this happen before and that it is a migraine, but I don't think any of them had ever heard of a hemiplegic migraine before. They took blood and tested for all kinds of things, including the alcohol and drugs. All the tests came back normal.

By the time they were done with the CAT scan, which was also normal, he was much better. Within 2 hours of being there he was back to his old self, joking with everyone but very tired. They couldn't believe what a difference a couple of hours made compared to the condition he was in on arrival.

He has a sinus infection so they gave him a Z-pack and told us to follow up with the neurologist on Monday.

The EMTs and ambulance crew were all very concerned. Of course, they all know DS since he's a member and spends most of his time helping out at the ambulance building and firehall. He wants to become a paramedic.

We ended up having the follow-up with the neurologist on the day of the Valentine's Day '07 blizzard! We did not want to cancel the appointment since we really wanted him seen as soon as possible.

The neurologist says that he thinks this was a complicated migraine (hemiplegic migraines are a type of complicated migraines) and that it caused a convulsion this time. He said that the severe chest pain that he experienced this time was from the migraine. Migraines can cause pain not only in the head, but elsewhere in the body.

He is starting him on a new type of migraine/seizure medicine that he is hoping won't have as many side effects for him as the Topomax. He has also ordered a 24 hour EEG to see if he is having any mini seizures that we're not aware of.

He offered to send us to a neurosurgeon to get his opinion on Chiari Malformation but is confident that he does not have that. He said that any time we want a referral to just call. We are waiting on that to see if this new medicine works.

So...hopefully this weekend will be a bit tamer than last weekend!

Just a quick note to say I'm still here and still working on whittling down the debt. And still working on getting approval for mine and DH's term insurance. I never dreamed it would take so many months! I got an email that mine is close to being approved and the hold-up with DH's is the driver's report from the DMV. I don't know why that's taking so long!

It was the blood pressure medicine that caused my sudden health crisis in December. I've been off the medicine for over 4 weeks now and feel like a different person.

I was searching one day and found the side effects and symptoms of an overdose of Benicar: fast, pounding or irregular heartbeat; joint pain, stiffness, or swelling; swelling of feet or lower legs, flushed, dry skin; general feeling of discomfort or illness; trouble sleeping; bloating or swelling of face, arms, hands, lower legs, or feet; difficulty in moving; rapid weight gain; tingling of hands or feet.

All of that was exactly what I experienced.

Well, I certainly got a very thorough physical out of the whole thing: 2 MRIs, EEG, nuclear stress test, etc. I'm good for another 100,000 miles I think!

Good news is that I joined Weight Watchers on-line 2 weeks ago and have already lost 6 pounds and 5 inches around my belly!!! I had told them that the weight gain was really unusual and that most of it was centered in my abdomen. They just brushed me off though.

I guess I really did know what I was talking about.

I just made the payoff on the balance of our Bank of America credit card. This is the one that I transferred the balance to the new Discover Card so that it was interest free for a year. It wasn't much but it feels like an accomplishment to me.

My! I didn't realize I was so far behind!

Spending for 1/18:
Tithe= $70.00
Medical co-pay= $15.00
Dollar General= $37.17
Medicine= $13.71

Total= $135.88


Spending for 1/19:
Gasoline= $23.05
Natural gas bill= $83.00

Total= $106.05


1/20 was a no-spend day!

Spending for 1/21:
Milk= $2.35

When I got up today I had 2 emails telling me that my last 2 ING invites had been used so I now have $25 more in my Missisippi trip account than I had at the beginning of the week. Now I just need to send Jeffrey his $25 when I find out how.

When DH gets paid I'll send the matching $25 to my challenge account.

School lunch account= $15.00
Car payment= $298.98
Service for car= $154.82
Groceries= $20.05

Total= $488.85

Groceries for at work= $15.22

I added $9.52 to my challenge account today that I saved while getting groceries. That brings my total Challenge to $98.08.

I used coupons (which I normally don't use) and also signed up for a Top's Bonus Card which allowed me to save money on the tea that I like to buy.

I've also had 2 more of my ING invites used so $20 has been added to my ING account. I decided that I'll match the $25 I'll have made when all 5 are used and put that towards my challenge money also.

I received a notice yesterday that my IRA has officially been transferred to Vanguard so I hopped on the Vanguard site and, sure enough, there is now money in my retirement account! Yeah! Now maybe I'll start making some money on it. The process took much longer than I ever dreamed it would, but it's now done.

1/15:

Car insurance= $208.74
Angel Food= $43.00
Gasoline= $20.09

Total= $271.83