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Pickup and raked the fallen tree branches in the wife's pet cemetery and burned.
Pealed the paper off drywall removing a motion sensor. Boy did that stick tape work!
Move motion sensor to a better location, wider range of coverage. Test OK !!!
Figure out the best way to patch drywall. Next trip to Town...
Replace handwritten labels on the ammo cans with printed labels. Legible!
Read 10 page of legalese confirming I had moved money from "A" to "B".
 
Working on decluttering.

My mom had 3 boxes full of stuff for me to take but I just don't have the room. I took a little because I know I can use it but most of it will be donated when my mom gets a chance. I figure why bring it home just to donate it after it takes up room in my home.

I still have a lot to do. The goal is to get the school room back in functional order and not be cluttered. That is just the start since I am working on a whole house declutter and purge.
 
Just throwing this out there about interest… When I had to leave work in 2000 almost no one knew about CFS. I spent more than a year seeing specialists after specialists. I had many tests that insurance refused to pay before finally getting a diagnosis. Rather quickly I ran up some very serious debt. In the 90’s I moved often for my job and had bank accounts/credit cards in several states. I noticed that the cards with zero balance would send me balance transfer offers, 1 year, interest free etc. Wanting me to transfer my debt from another card to their card.

I started playing “musical chairs” with my debt. After a year of no interest payments I’d simply transfer the debt to another card offer. I had credit cards from 5 different banks.

The balance transfer fee was usually 2%. Basically, I was paying only 2% a year on all that debt while making payments as fast as I could. I paid off many thousands in debt this way until the economy crash in 08/09.

This last time I saw an offer like this the fee was 5% but was interest free for a year. Still, this is a lot better than paying 10-12% monthly on credit card debt.
-------------------------------------

Didn't do much today, planted some onion bulbs, cleaned up my porch. Got a couple of cane poles out. They need a new coat of polyurethane, need some new fishing line also. I've been thinking of taking dad bream fishing I know he'd like to go and bream will be bedding real soon.
 
Just throwing this out there about interest… When I had to leave work in 2000 almost no one knew about CFS. I spent more than a year seeing specialists after specialists. I had many tests that insurance refused to pay before finally getting a diagnosis. Rather quickly I ran up some very serious debt. In the 90’s I moved often for my job and had bank accounts/credit cards in several states. I noticed that the cards with zero balance would send me balance transfer offers, 1 year, interest free etc. Wanting me to transfer my debt from another card to their card.

I started playing “musical chairs” with my debt. After a year of no interest payments I’d simply transfer the debt to another card offer. I had credit cards from 5 different banks.

The balance transfer fee was usually 2%. Basically, I was paying only 2% a year on all that debt while making payments as fast as I could. I paid off many thousands in debt this way until the economy crash in 08/09.

This last time I saw an offer like this the fee was 5% but was interest free for a year. Still, this is a lot better than paying 10-12% monthly on credit card debt.
-------------------------------------

Didn't do much today, planted some onion bulbs, cleaned up my porch. Got a couple of cane poles out. They need a new coat of polyurethane, need some new fishing line also. I've been thinking of taking dad bream fishing I know he'd like to go and bream will be bedding real soon.
I don't like debt and discourage it. Actually hate it.
Reader Digest version

X threw me out owing $5 more a month than I made.
Worked mega overtime paid off highest.
Piled that money after paying it off on the next.
Lather rinse repeat until I was debt free.
Poured that into savings
Purchased handy man special fixed it up.
The Princess moved and her rent payment went to savings
Purchased the other half of my house and remodeled it.
Rented it out and the rent went in savings again.
Purchased a wood lot
Purchased a wreck of a place (still working on that).
Purchased the place next to the wood lot and fixed it up. We did get a mortgage but it bugged us so much we paid it off a few months ago.

Staying out of debt let us pay ourselves what we would have paid to others.

All credit cards paid off each month.

That allowed me to retire last year and The Princess may retire in June.

Paraphrasing Jesus

Owe no man nothing

A man can not serve two masters.

When one borrows money we promise to pay it back and become a slave to that promise.

Step down off the soap box Ben!

Ben
 
The financing is how a lot of the car dealerships make $. They have their own finance companies. My friend went to buy a vehicle (after his wreck) and the dealership did a soft credit check first to find out what his score was & realized he could get financed through a real bank so they deliberately did a hard check right after which dropped his score 20 points-- just enough he wouldn't qualify for a loan from a bank so they could try to stick him with their finance company. They were trying to push a vehicle on him that wasn't even remotely what he was looking for. They told him it didn't matter how much he paid total for the vehicle (bc it was *way* more than the car was worth) so long as the monthly was OK. I told the sales guy he was full of $*** & that I wasn't going to let him screw my friend over like that & we walked. Friend was still in recovery from TBI in the wreck & wasn't thinking clearly.

Speaking of him and cars, I thought he bought a car from a dealership for $12k, but it turns out he bought a different car in a private sale for $1200. It was an angry wife who's husband just got deported because he didn't keep up with his green card paperwork. He waited too long & she was selling all his stuff before she files for divorce. I wouldn't have bought something under those circumstances, but it worked out for my friend. He hasn't had to borrow any $ from us for awhile.

Jim, I hope you can get things worked out with the finance company. Sometimes they will allow you to pay off early, but they still want you to pay all the interest that would have accrued had you not paid it off early. Total crap, but it's their scam & how they make money. Also, again big F U to Jimmy Carter for making it so banks can charge more than 10% interest without it being considered Usery. There's a reason his own mother didn't like him.

Got mom out of the house to take her dog to the vet for his vaccines. They have the heartworm shot available again. Got the year long one for him.

I befriended the vet's new office cat-- which surprised the vet bc he apparently doesn't like people & doesn't let them sit on his bench. She came out and I was on the bench with the cat on my lap. I let him sniff my hand first and after he nuzzled me, I sat down & he climbed all over me sniffing my cardigan, shirt, hair, face, pants, socks, shoes, etc then he made himself comfortable on my lap while I petted him.

Mom went shopping for the first time in years by herself (while I waited with the dog & walked him for a bit). I had to go back in bc she didn't want to wait in line at the pharmacy but we finally got her meds.

Stopped by Burger King so she got whoppers. She gave half of a whopper to the dog to make up for his ordeal. He was very well behaved. He had quite the adventure walking around in his Batman harness peeing on small trees in the grassy area near Walmart.

We both got overheated so we sat in the truck with AC going to cool off.
 
The financing is how a lot of the car dealerships make $. They have their own finance companies. My friend went to buy a vehicle (after his wreck) and the dealership did a soft credit check first to find out what his score was & realized he could get financed through a real bank so they deliberately did a hard check right after which dropped his score 20 points-- just enough he wouldn't qualify for a loan from a bank so they could try to stick him with their finance company. They were trying to push a vehicle on him that wasn't even remotely what he was looking for. They told him it didn't matter how much he paid total for the vehicle (bc it was *way* more than the car was worth) so long as the monthly was OK. I told the sales guy he was full of $*** & that I wasn't going to let him screw my friend over like that & we walked. Friend was still in recovery from TBI in the wreck & wasn't thinking clearly.

Speaking of him and cars, I thought he bought a car from a dealership for $12k, but it turns out he bought a different car in a private sale for $1200. It was an angry wife who's husband just got deported because he didn't keep up with his green card paperwork. He waited too long & she was selling all his stuff before she files for divorce. I wouldn't have bought something under those circumstances, but it worked out for my friend. He hasn't had to borrow any $ from us for awhile.

Jim, I hope you can get things worked out with the finance company. Sometimes they will allow you to pay off early, but they still want you to pay all the interest that would have accrued had you not paid it off early. Total crap, but it's their scam & how they make money. Also, again big F U to Jimmy Carter for making it so banks can charge more than 10% interest without it being considered Usery. There's a reason his own mother didn't like him.

Got mom out of the house to take her dog to the vet for his vaccines. They have the heartworm shot available again. Got the year long one for him.

I befriended the vet's new office cat-- which surprised the vet bc he apparently doesn't like people & doesn't let them sit on his bench. She came out and I was on the bench with the cat on my lap. I let him sniff my hand first and after he nuzzled me, I sat down & he climbed all over me sniffing my cardigan, shirt, hair, face, pants, socks, shoes, etc then he made himself comfortable on my lap while I petted him.

Mom went shopping for the first time in years by herself (while I waited with the dog & walked him for a bit). I had to go back in bc she didn't want to wait in line at the pharmacy but we finally got her meds.

Stopped by Burger King so she got whoppers. She gave half of a whopper to the dog to make up for his ordeal. He was very well behaved. He had quite the adventure walking around in his Batman harness peeing on small trees in the grassy area near Walmart.

We both got overheated so we sat in the truck with AC going to cool off.
Good move by your freind!

Driving a beater is better than a loan driving you.

Ben
 
The last car I bought was a Lincoln MKC , $50,000.
No interest for 6 years.
Paid it off in 2. Years.
Maybe that helps our credit score.

This car was $60,000 , but because it was a 2021 . No interest wasn't available so I got 2% for 6 years. I owed $30,000 .
Made 2 payments now owe $24,000. But they refuse to bill me again until March 2022. That ain't gonna fly.
They will let me make payments electronically from my bank. That ain't happening.

I did learn that I can send them a check with account number as often as I want for any amount I want, and they will pay it to my account. I'll pay it off in 2 years .always have. Usually about the time factory warranty is getting close to ending.

That's what we're gonna do.
The only reason I even finance a car is to maintain my credit in case I need it some day. It's the only credit debt we have.
I'm tired , worked with grandson 2 hours.

Jim
 
Last edited:
I don't like debt and discourage it. Actually hate it.
Reader Digest version

X threw me out owing $5 more a month than I made.
Worked mega overtime paid off highest.
Piled that money after paying it off on the next.
Lather rinse repeat until I was debt free.
Poured that into savings
Purchased handy man special fixed it up.
The Princess moved and her rent payment went to savings
Purchased the other half of my house and remodeled it.
Rented it out and the rent went in savings again.
Purchased a wood lot
Purchased a wreck of a place (still working on that).
Purchased the place next to the wood lot and fixed it up. We did get a mortgage but it bugged us so much we paid it off a few months ago.

Staying out of debt let us pay ourselves what we would have paid to others.

All credit cards paid off each month.

That allowed me to retire last year and The Princess may retire in June.

Paraphrasing Jesus

Owe no man nothing

A man can not serve two masters.

When one borrows money we promise to pay it back and become a slave to that promise.

Step down off the soap box Ben!

Ben

Kind of sounds like The book by Kyosaki,Rich Dad Poor Dad. I read that book years ago and I liked it.
 
The Princess and her sister attended one of his presentations many years ago and decided we can do do without his hand holding .

So far so good.

Ben

By the time I read his book it was a little late in my life to use it. I tried to get the family to read it but only one did. Her husband didn't he was the bread winner, but he did just fine without it.

Wonder why she wasted all that time going to his presentation,she must have heard something good about him.
 
I've read that book too - and quite a few others. I'm with Ben as far as my disdain for debt. We do still owe a bit on the mountain house, but would rather have the $ in savings in case we need earnest $ on a new place. When people want to get out of debt &/or saving, one of my first suggestions is "look in your garbage". You've spent $ paying for that garbage and you'll next have to pay (again) to get rid of it. That's something I figured out that not one of those fancy books suggested.
Got some spuds planted today.
 
I worked as a mechanic for a car dealer years ago. The shop and selling used cars they took in trade was where they made their money. They figured they had no money in the used cars. I bought cars from another dealer at one time to resell. He said it cost too much to have someone clean them for auction. I sold all of them for 3-4 times what I gave for them.
 
I've read that book too - and quite a few others. I'm with Ben as far as my disdain for debt. We do still owe a bit on the mountain house, but would rather have the $ in savings in case we need earnest $ on a new place. When people want to get out of debt &/or saving, one of my first suggestions is "look in your garbage". You've spent $ paying for that garbage and you'll next have to pay (again) to get rid of it. That's something I figured out that not one of those fancy books suggested.
Got some spuds planted today.

Like I said a little late in life for us to really benefit,but it made lots of sense faar as living above your means. I liked him alot more than Suzy Orman though. He also beleived in using or hiring smart people too.
None of them cn help anyone now anyway.
 
Realized this am when I washed my hair I need to cut my hair again.Also need to do some spring cleaning upstaies.It has become the store all room.
Spent most of am on the phone with friend and son. He is really glad to be out of isolation in London said it was a very nice place and appt but cooped up for 5 months was roo much. I think with all the crap going on he needs to stay in the states. I feel sorry for the Wynns the couple we have watched for 12 years is now stuck in Tonga since 2019,trying to get pemission to enter Austrailia now. No way would I want to be out of country now.
 
Jim, did you try going to a credit union to refinance? I don't know if Barksdale is available in your area, but that's the one I use. I will say for the record that Capital One bank absolutely sucks. All that crap about no hidden fees-- it's a lie. With the exception of one time, we have never bought a car new. The one time we bought a car new was when they didn't have used ones of the same type & the new one had some typhoon damage so they couldn't charge the sticker price of brand new & they had to fix the damage. They even sent us a refund later when they found out it erroneously listed a package it didn't have (some sort of sealant on the bottom). Salesman didn't dick us around. Just took off all the things that were deducted, didn't try to upsell, and transaction was over with quickly.

I tried to go to bed early last night but Mom woke me up around midnight wanting food again. And she insisted I couldn't go back to bed after feeding her. I had to wait for her to finish in case she wanted something else to eat. I wouldn't mind if she would do this during decent hours, but she always has to do this when I'm trying to sleep.

It got too warm last night so I tossed & turned and woke up sweating. I'm trying to get myself to wake up more but feel like I'm in a fog. Cats are Ok with that because they have parked their behinds on me.
 
Took mom to a new primary care doc this morning, same one my husband uses. I was having concerns over the mobile med people that offer their services to the residents where she lives, so basically fired them. Her check up went well, goes back in six months, and got her blood drawn, although it took three tries. Brought her back home, came back to my place and husband and I went back to the clinics to get his allergy shots. Grabbed some lunch, and stopped in to Hobby Lobby for some bathroom stands/side tables for next to our sink. Almost time to get little granddaughter from school, so I don't know where my day went.
Mom was amusing: the nurse asked if she had any allergies, and she said she's allergic to men. She's been divorced twice and widowed once, although the men she divorced are now dead, too. She said that her last husband was supposed to be quitting smoking, and she caught him buying smokes, and he lied about it, so she got rid of him. Hmmm. The last husband died in a rest home a couple of years ago, and he was in another state.
 
Listed my Corvette for sale at 10 am. Marketplace on FB.

By noon I had 3 guys interested.

By 1 pm got a guy coming to look and most likely buy it.

Be here any minute.

Just had a late lunch with my awesome wife.
Can I show you our lasted photo from last Sunday?
image.png


Jim
 
Listed my Corvette for sale at 10 am. Marketplace on FB.

By noon I had 3 guys interested.

By 1 pm got a guy coming to look and most likely buy it.

Be here any minute.

Just had a late lunch with my awesome wife.
Can I show you our lasted photo from last Sunday?
View attachment 63101

Jim

Good to see yall both up and at em.Nice picture too.

I'm busy broadcasting the news and now time to take a break and do some work.
 
Worked solo today because my brother had to ensure the fire hall was ready for the first bingo post China flu. Wired up all of the installed boxes and switches.

20210407_142942_HDR.jpg


I had some time to spare so took a walk about The Ridge to see how things are doing with the odd early spring like weather. If the stays reasonable we could get a nice harvest of pears.

20210407_160515_HDR.jpg


I took more pictures but they are too large to up load. Garlic and Egyptian walking onions are doing well. I also found flowers on the young cherry trees.


20210407_162339_HDR.jpg


I walked over to the north end of the forested part to see how the ginseng is doing. None spotted but there should be some 5 and 6 year old plants that developed berries and seeds last year.

I love walking in the woods.

Behave

Ben
 
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Well, I am glad to do my part to stimulate the economy.
Went and paid taxes on new to me car.
Made principle payment on said new to me car of $350.
Bought meat bundles for the freezers to the tune of $185.92.
Meat bundles averaged out to about $2.78 pound.
The meat bundles fill my freezers for 6 months or better.
Put extra money into savings account.
Got oldest grand daughter a surprise for her birthday in June.
Crocheting blanket for my Dad for Christmas.
Still working on Christmas sweaters for the little girls for Christmas.
Finally got Strawberry's sweater done for this next winter.
Dishes are done.
Floors are steam mopped.
Bathroom is deep cleaned.
Resting,sipping coffee waiting on blood work test results.
 
Well, I am glad to do my part to stimulate the economy.
Went and paid taxes on new to me car.
Made principle payment on said new to me car of $350.
Bought meat bundles for the freezers to the tune of $185.92.
Meat bundles averaged out to about $2.78 pound.
The meat bundles fill my freezers for 6 months or better.
Put extra money into savings account.
Got oldest grand daughter a surprise for her birthday in June.
Crocheting blanket for my Dad for Christmas.
Still working on Christmas sweaters for the little girls for Christmas.
Finally got Strawberry's sweater done for this next winter.
Dishes are done.
Floors are steam mopped.
Bathroom is deep cleaned.
Resting,sipping coffee waiting on blood work test results.
When do you get to go to Bingo?
 
Not to alarm you guys and gals.
When they take blood out me they have to do it with Pediatric Butterfly needle.
I have teeny tiny veins.
And my veins like to roll.
That's why they take it when they can get it.
On a happier note, this time around I have no bruising, none what so ever.
Lab lady was really good, she got that vein on first jab.
 
Well, I am glad to do my part to stimulate the economy.
Went and paid taxes on new to me car.
Made principle payment on said new to me car of $350.
Bought meat bundles for the freezers to the tune of $185.92.
Meat bundles averaged out to about $2.78 pound.
The meat bundles fill my freezers for 6 months or better.
Put extra money into savings account.
Got oldest grand daughter a surprise for her birthday in June.
Crocheting blanket for my Dad for Christmas.
Still working on Christmas sweaters for the little girls for Christmas.
Finally got Strawberry's sweater done for this next winter.
Dishes are done.
Floors are steam mopped.
Bathroom is deep cleaned.
Resting,sipping coffee waiting on blood work test results.
I need a nap after just reading about all you did.
 
Not to alarm you guys and gals.
When they take blood out me they have to do it with Pediatric Butterfly needle.
I have teeny tiny veins.
And my veins like to roll.
That's why they take it when they can get it.
On a happier note, this time around I have no bruising, none what so ever.
Lab lady was really good, she got that vein on first jab.

Sounds like my wifes veins. She got bad dehydrated in late 1980s and ever since it is a major ordeal to get blood or set up an IV. Hers roll, scoot around. Butterfly is just about all that works. And she always ask for the best sticker they have.

Jim You clean up nice. Good to see you to up and at em.

Been really busy at work this week and it's gonna continue. Got home and set on the porch with the wife and chewed the fat for a bit. Went and tilled the spot next to the raised beds.Planted a row of okra, half row of green beans, row of cucumbers, and got the raised panels and post in for the cukes to climb.
 
Nice photo of Mr and Mrs Phideaux!
It took three tries to get mom's bloodwork done, and glad they got it on the third, or we would of tried another day. The RN got it on the last attempt, using a teeny tiny thing and on her hand. Mom didn't seem bothered. I bet dehydration plays a parts. She lives on apple juice and soda pop. Never touches water.
Weather was wet, windy, and cold today, so didn't get kale seeds in the ground. Twins are at Bible Study, getting ready to go pick them up.
 
Listed my Corvette for sale at 10 am. Marketplace on FB.

By noon I had 3 guys interested.

By 1 pm got a guy coming to look and most likely buy it.

Be here any minute.

Jim

Corvette sold in 3 hours from time I posted ad.

I'm in mourning.

Now I gotta find another project.

But this guy stayed and talked for 3 hours. Wore me out. He was a disabled Viet Nam veteran.

I'm absolutely beat.

Jim
 
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