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Archive for August, 2011

This and That

August 31st, 2011 at 04:59 pm

I don't know what has gotten into me but I have been cleaning my house like a mad woman. I got the family room all cleaned and tackled my bedroom last night. They were both in bad shape because I have been so lazy lately. I must be in the hi side of my bi polar disorder. Hope I can keep it up. Tonight I plan on cleaning the dog corner. Pulling out his crate and sweeping under it. I hope I get home in time to do that. I am going to my mom's tonight to make sure she gets dinner ready. She has her chemo treatment today.

I sent the renters a message this morning that I can not cover the power bill this month and that I would need that money by the tenth. They said ok but we will see. I told them that the power would be cut off if I didn't have it. Maybe that will motivate them. They never answered me about paying 1/2 of the rent on the first and fifteenth.

Speaking of renters, I ran in the the wife at the pharmacy with her two girls. She proceeded to tell me that her DD1 has pnuemonia and they didn't know if they should put her in the hospital or not. I hate to be cold but what I heard is that rent will be late because of personal issues. They have really has a string of bad luck but I am out of patience with it. I am tired of their bad luck affecting my finances.

I managed to save a little bit of potential gas money next week. DD has a football game in Jackson County(she is a cheerleader). That is about 2 hours away. But my EX DH lives real close to that school. SO he is going to go so that someone is there should something happen and I don't have to make the drive. I still have to go to Rabun County which is further and East Hall which is a tad bit closer. She also wants to play soccer in the spring, which means more driving. I have always gone to all of DS away games ever since he broke his ankle at a game I wasn't at. So of course I have to go to DD's games too. I would hate for something to happen and no one be there.

Well I guess that is about it for now. Thanks for reading!

Weekend Update

August 29th, 2011 at 04:20 pm

I had a pretty spendy weekend. I have no money left for the next two weeks. It is going to be tight. But I think I can make it.

I am not counting on the renters money until later in the month. Hopefully they will have some money for me before then.

I was pretty productive yesterday. We got the living room cleaned which is something that has needed to be done for a while. DD cleaned the kitchen and I cleaned off the piano. It had become full of mail and was an eyesore. I have one more couch in the family room to get cleaned off and then I need to start working on my room. I have to do this while the motivation is still there. But it does feel good to have a clean room to sit and watch tv in.

2nd Mortgage Payment of the Month

August 26th, 2011 at 06:40 pm

That is right! I am making my second mortgage payment of the month. It is the August payment and it is on time! I am so excited. The only other time payments have been on time is when I get a lump sum of money. This is because of my careful planning. And hopefully I will be able to keep it current.

I offered the renters a compromise on the rent. I offered to let them pay 1/2 on the first and 1/2 on the fifteenth. If they agree to that I will still be able to take their payments and apply them to the mortgage each month. Maybe it will be easier for them knowing they don't have to come up with a large sum of money. I felt like such a horrible person yesterday. She said that she had $250 for me($20 short of what she owed). I told her I would meet her and get it. She then sent me a text asking if they could only give me $200 so they could get some groceries for her kids. I told her no. It was difficult to say no. But I have gotten to the point that I am not responsible for them. She has local family...let them buy her groceries. And I am not 100% certain that she is not receiving food stamps. I have just reached my limit of being used.

Wednesday Update

August 24th, 2011 at 06:30 pm

I contacted the renters and they should have the rest of the money for me today. I also asked when they will be able to start making payments on the June rent that is still due. She hasn't responded to that question. The good news is that if they give me what is still due for August and the power bill I will be able to make my mortgage payment actually on time, as opposed to 5 or 6 days late. I am excited about that. This will be my second mortgage payment this month in an attempt to get caught up.

I am going to my parents house tonight to make sure they get something to eat and get the dishes done. My niece spent all day there yesterday loading them up with easy things to eat. I will just go make sure they heated something up. My mom gets another round of Chemo next week so I don't see this ending anytime soon. At least she is finally getting some help with my dad. That must be a big relief to her.

Still No Money from Renters

August 22nd, 2011 at 08:34 pm

The only reason I don't evict them is because I don't want to go through the hassle. I think I am going to send them a certified letter laying it all out there. I just hate being a bill collector. It is not my personality. If they are to pay me this week for what they owe me, I will be able to make my mortgage payment on time for a change. I usually fun about 15 days late so it doesn't affect my credit but I am trying real hard to get it set up on time. This would be the second mortgage this month.

I still am having a hard time not eating breakfast out. Everyday I think "okay...tomorrow I am not going to get breakfast". But the next morning my will power is completely gone.

I spent Saturday at my parents house doing laundry and dishes and cleaning. Not only is my dad losing his memory and showing confusion all the time but my mom is going through chemo and is very weak. She is having to take care of him and she is just wore out. When I got there Friday she asked me to heat up some dinner for them because she was just too weak to do it. So my sister and I are taking turns making sure that they get dinner. Tonight is my turn to make sure they get dinner. We also have violin and piano lessons. So tonight will be busy.

Dad is Better!!!

August 17th, 2011 at 06:17 pm

Thank you guys for all your well wishes. My dad seems to be coming out of it and is back to his old self again. The Dr said he thinks that maybe a dose of medicine was missed. It was really scary there for a while.

Still haven't heard from the renters regarding the rest of the rent or the power bill money. Sent them a text asking when they want to meet. I hope to hear back from them soon. HAHA.

Budget is still looking ok for the next few weeks. Just minor changes to it at this point.

My Dad is not doing well

August 16th, 2011 at 02:48 pm

He was transported to the hospital yesterday morning for having alot of confusion and being lethargic. In my non professional opinion I think he may have had a small stroke. Those don't show up from what I have been told. Anyway, they sent him home. He is like a child. He doesn't seem to know where he is or what is going on. he is fighting everything my mom tries to do for him. He can't stand up or walk to the bathroom. He is like dead weight. It took three of us to get him in the house and four of us to get him in his chair. My mom can't continue to take care of him. I am afraid that he is going to have to go into a nursing home. I can't imagine what my poor mom is going through. They have been married for 58 years. As hard as it is on me, It is probably twice as hard on her.

Big surprise...the renters didn't contact me yesterday to get me the rest of the rent. Maybe they will today. Just have too much else on my mind.

Update on the Renters

August 15th, 2011 at 06:54 pm

The renters came up with the money yesterday. They gave me $400 and will have the rest plus the power bill today. I was concerned when I hadn't heard from them on Saturday. But I am relieved that they were able to come up with the rent money.

I have AC in my Car!!!

August 13th, 2011 at 08:59 pm

I went this morning and had it fixed. $45. That is all. If I had known that I would have had it fixed a while ago. They said it was completely out of freon and there may be a leak, but they couldn't find one. Hopefully it will last for a while. It feels so good.

I haven't heard from the renters so I assume they don't have the rent. Bummer. Now I have to go through the eviction process. Unless like someone said they moved out this week.

I had to do some grocery shopping for my mom today. She had her first chemo on Wednesday and doesn't feel real good. As a result I don't feel like doing my own shopping. Might put it off until Monday or Tuesday.

My sister gave DS $500 toward his lawyer. We have the initial payment now so when the lawyer asks for it we have it. My family is so good to me and my kids.

Payday!

August 12th, 2011 at 07:27 pm

Today is payday...but that means little to me. I already have everything set up in bill pay and I am already broke again. Keeping my fingers crossed that the renters will have the rent tomorrow. Really looking forward to getting the air in my car fixed. I hope it is nothing serious.

DD sprained her ankle at cheerleading last night. I took her to the walk in clinic where they did xrays and said that it is just badly sprained. She is on crutches until she can put weight on it. She is very upset as she might not be able to cheer at the game next Friday. Thank goodness she has excellent health insurance so I had no oop expenses, not even for the crutches.

I have been looking at the phones with AT&T and I can't find one that I like that gets good ratings. I just want a simple phone that makes texting simple. Everyone that looks good has terrible ratings! I don't want a phone that is going to have problems. So I plan on going into the AT&T store tomorrow to look at the phones. I don't know what I will do if I can't find one that will work for me. It isn't that i want fancy...i just want a simple phone that has a full keyboard. Most that have a full keyboard require a data plan and I don't want a data plan. I'm trying to reduce expenses, not go from one high plan to another high plan.

Cell Phone Bill Update

August 10th, 2011 at 09:47 pm

You guys got me thinking. So I looked at AT&T to see what plans they offer. Their prepaid phones would be $50 per month per phone for voice and unlimited texting. That is $150/month. However, if I go with a plan, I can get three lines with unlimited texting and calling to any other mobile phone, regardless of the carrier. This would be about $130/month after the fees and everything is added. How can they be that much cheaper? I just don't understand it. But DS contract is up on the 24th of this month so we will wait until then to change. The cancellation fee for the other two lines will be $200. Then if XDH wants to keep his line, he will have to go in and assume responsibility for it, which I don't think he can do because of his credit. Those contracts are up in December.

Cell Phone Bill

August 10th, 2011 at 05:55 pm

I have verizon cell phones with 5 lines. Three of the lines are for me and the kids. My EXDH has the other two lines. This bill is roughly $300 per month for 2100 minutes. We generally go over 1400 but are way less that 2100. So I can't reduce the minutes to save money. However, XDH uses most of the minutes. He used 1052 of the 1488 minutes used. He was just paying what the charges were for his line, 9.99 per month for the line and the ringback tones. This month I asked him to pay $125 of the bill since most of the minutes used were his. He was fine with this. So from now on, I will be getting more money from him for the cell phone bill. That will really help me out and it is only fair I think. I can't reduce the amount of minutes due to his usage.

My budget is looking very good. So good in fact that I think I am going to get the air in my car fixed on Saturday, as long as it just needs to be charged. If it needs extensive work I can't get that done, but it will only be about $50 to get it charged and see if there are any other problems. It is just brutal sitting in a car with no air where the drivers side window won't go down and now the the controls on the driver side won't make the passenger window go down and I am too short to reach across the passenger seat and roll down the window. Even with the back windows open if feels like a sauna in there. Keep your fingers crossed that it just needs some freon.



Reworked my Budget

August 8th, 2011 at 07:24 pm

I have totally reworked my budget. Everything is looking good for the next couple of weeks. I am hoping the renters come through and have the rent for me on Saturday. Otherwise I will have to rework it again. I have decided that I don't like being a landlord very much but I don't think the house would sell either.

I am having a very boring day at work. I am the only one here and I find it hard to start anything. I am so bored!

Why am I so nice????

August 7th, 2011 at 10:15 pm

I had sent the tenants a notice that if they didn't have the rent by Monday I would have to start eviction proceedings. She sent me a message today begging to have until Saturday. I told her that was fine. I mean it would take me that long to get the ball rolling on the eviction. She said that she has no where else to go. She then sent me a message that I have been a blessing to her and her family. She is one of the sweetest people I have met but I still can't continue to cover her. I told her that she would have to have the power bill as well but I doubt she will have it.

Update on Tenants

August 5th, 2011 at 06:39 pm

I sent the tenants a text message to see if they had the rent money for me. She responded that they are currently selling everything they can to come up with the money. I responded telling her that if I don't have the rent by Monday was going to start eviction proceedings. I am hoping that will scare them into paying. I mean they had a whole month of not paying any mortgage because that community action group paid their rent last month. They should have plenty of money to pay this month's rent.

I am afraid that they are going to turn beligerent and act like it is my fault. She has been very apologetic in the past, but I think that my have ended. There is an issue with the dishwasher not working, but really is that enough to not pay rent? I don't think so.

Had to Use the Credit Card

August 5th, 2011 at 02:39 pm

I went to get my dog out of the vet yesterday and the charge was only $140. I was so pleased. They had to neuter him due to where the laceration was. This is something that I had been wanting to get done. As pleased as I was about the charges, I am completely bummed that I had to use the credit card to pay for them. I don't have any extra in my checking account or savings account. They let me break it down into two payments. So I made the first $100 yesterday on the card and I will make the remaining $40 in the next month or so.

I hope the renters have the rent money for me today. I really don't want to go through the eviction process. but just in case...can some of you tell me how to do it? Do I just go to the courthouse or is there papers that I need to fill out that I can find online? Serves me right to not have gotten all of the security deposit up front and "working with them". That is what she always says...if I can work with them.

And it keeps getting better

August 4th, 2011 at 02:02 pm

My dog got out of the fence on Monday and I haven't seem him since. I called animal control to see if they had him. Found out that he got into a fight with another dog and was pretty badly chewed up. He is at the vet clinic and has been there since Monday. Wonder what this is going to cost me? I am supposed to go visit him and they will let me know if I can take him home or not. Problem is I left work early yesterday and I have 2:00 meeting today. There is no way I can leave early today to go visit him. I will have to go in the morning. I think they open at 8:00 and I don't have to be to work until 9:00. I hope they will take payment arrangements.

My name is Amy and I am a spendaholic...

August 3rd, 2011 at 07:11 pm

I feel like I need a meeting for my spending. Some people would look at it and say it really isn't that bad. But I know you guys will understand that any unnecessary spending is bad. I stopped for breakfast again this morning. I think most of my motivation is coming from the amount of stress I am under. But I have food at work to eat. Why can't I just step up and not eat out?

I sure hope the renters give me all of the rent for this month by Friday. I need to make the mortgage payment and I can't make it until they pay me. I hate being relient on other people. But at the same time I stop short of telling them I will evict them. I have such a hard time being firm. I need to grow a back bone and just tell them that if they aren't caught up by September 1, I will start eviction proceedings. Wish me luck on that.

CHarges Have Been Filed

August 2nd, 2011 at 03:19 pm

And the warrant has been issued. He is charged with statutory rape. A misdemeanor. Thank Goodness! he has called the lawyer to find out what to do. If he should turn himself in or if the lawyer wants to be there when he turns himself in. At that point I will file a property bond and get him out of jail. I wish this was already behind us.

I went to the grocery store last night. Spent $145 and my budget was $150. I feel like I got alot of food so I was happy with it. Have to get gas this afternoon.

Out of Control Spending

August 1st, 2011 at 04:00 pm

I had a binge weekend. I had to enter all of my receipts today and it seemed like they were crawling out of the woodwork. I had not idea I spent that much. It is very frustrating. I was doing so well. It was a little here and a little there. No real big expenses.

I haven't gone to the grocery store yet. I have the money set aside for it, just need to go and get it over with. Probably tomorrow I will go.

I have left a message for the renters. I plan on telling her that I have to have at least 1/2 the rent and the power bill this week and the other half of the rent next week. I think that is more than fair. I hate to have to evict them...it is such a hassle. I also am going to tell her she needs to pay the rest of June's rent that is hanging out there. This money is due to my son and he really needs the money for his lawyer.

The warrant was not issued for my son last week as the warrant lady was on vacation. It should be issued this week and then we will know what we are dealing with. The waiting is killing us. We really need to know what he is going to be charged with. Can't get the investigator to return any phone calls. I really don't know how she manages to keep her job. If I didn't return calls, I would lose my job, or at least be disciplined for it. Our city government at work.