Status Quo

Filed Under Money, Postpartum Depression, Thoughts | 10 Comments

I started off pretty irritated a few hours ago. It was just one of those days. We went to library story time (which was really fun) and then I found out I had a $5 fine from a book I forgot I had. I delivered some Avon and it was freezing cold out, so I left Bailey in the car as I ran up to people’s doors. So she wasn’t thrilled with me. I got home and she dumped out her entire case (yes, case) of ponytail rubberbands and mixed all the colors together. They had been nicely divided into compartments. Then she ate a few of them.

But the icing on the cake? My request to lower my deductible for our health insurance was denied. You have got to be freaking kidding me. Well, it was accepted if I want to pay $130 a month more, since I have now been labeled with a mental illness. Because I got treatment for postpartum depression. I don’t understand what is wrong with these insurance companies. Would they rather that I DIDN’T get treated and then had to be checked into a psych hospital? Oh also I found out that is the reason my premium went up when B was six months old. They just screw you from every direction. It makes me hesitant to ever go to the doctor for anything again, because then it’s a preexisting condition that they can hold against you. She told me after 12 months I can apply again. I told her to forget it, that I would just keep what I had and that they were jerks. Seriously. Mental illness? Can they really find anything and use it as an excuse? That is scary. Also I have to say that I have never had a doctor’s visit because of the postpartum depression, and I have never even taken a name brand medication for it.

So I got off the phone and cried and called Jonathon to complain. I really do think our country has healthcare issues. It is sad when a family at our income level has to struggle to pay for health insurance. I am not saying that we are wealthy by any means, but Jonathon has a decent, salaried job and benefits (although it’s too expensive to add B and I to his insurance) and we own a house in a nice-ish area. What do people who have less than us do? Oh and I also know some people who work the system- you know, they get Medicaid or whatever but yet they are stay at home moms. If you are too poor to get insurance, maybe you should get a part time job. But that is neither here nor there- just evidence that our system is flawed. It’s sad that when you do things the right way, you come in last.

Then through my tears and frustration, I realized something. We are so incredibly blessed. I know that sounds trite, but we have SO MUCH. I can look around me and our house is filled with things we love. Maybe we can’t afford a Wii for Christmas, but look at all the things we DO have. How many families would love to trade with us. (Please know that I am not saying this to brag, I do my clothes shopping at Kohls’ for goodness sakes). And I complain about our insurance deductible but it was worth every penny to have Bailey. She’s even paid off now! I say that half joking. Over the course of our lifetime, $2500 is so insignificant. Even if it seems huge now, our lives are about so much more than that.

I complain that we can’t get affordable insurance through Jonathon’s work. Thank God that he has a job. I am so NOT Pollyanna-ish and do not always look at the bright side, so for me to have revelations like this, well it’s a big deal. I am thankful that he has a job that is stable. he is not in an industry where they are cutting jobs or departments or losing clients. His work couldn’t really function without him, and he is the ONLY one who does what he does. Thank God for that. I am so glad that he didn’t listen to my nagging over the past few years and get a job in the corporate world. He could have made a little more and then lost his job with a company that went under. All those prayers of mine that he would find a new job? They didn’t go unanswered. God answered them by taking better care of us than we knew how to do. By keeping Jonathon where he is.

Just today I found out about a friend whose husband lost his job, and a single mom who lost her job. I wish that I could find jobs for them; I hate to see people hurting like that. But I am glad that I had a wake up call to notice all the blessings in my life. And to just be content with what I have now, instead of always wanting something more or better. Our insurance wasn’t ideal when we had Bailey, but it worked. If we get pregnant again and STILL have this insurance, it will work again. We don’t need more than what we have. We are blessed beyond measure.

***NOTE: I am not pregnant. I know if I don’t say that up front I will be getting questions. We DO NOT have any plans to get pregnant again soon. It might happen, but it’s not at the top of my list right now. We plan to have more children someday, and that is why I talk about maternity coverage.

My Thursday

Filed Under Date Night, Money, Talking, This Rocks | 4 Comments

I feel like I need to update, but it’s going to be in little bullets and bits and pieces.

-Today my mom watched Bailey while I ran some errands. I went shopping (which now equals going to Kohls and Target). I also got my hair cut and it looks really cute! Thanks Ellen, if you read this!

-I spent a half an hour on the phone with Avon support in India trying to get something straightened out. I had to return a bunch of items that a new customer of mine bought from another rep. It was a pain.

-I found a winter coat for Bailey. I was going to try to find a picture of it to post, but the London Fog website sucks! (Also I did NOT pay full price for that coat. I’m cheap.) Her new coat is a few different shades of pink and its a little bit puffy. The only drawback is she won’t be able to wear it in her carseat, but it will be a great coat for playing outside in cool weather. I also got her the mittens with the string that connects through the sleeves of her coat.

-Bailey started saying people, purple, and pee pee yesterday. She also put two words together today- which is very rare for her. She said, “Hot hice” at dinner. Which translates to hot rice.

-Speaking of which, my baby is 18 months old today. That’s a whole year and a half. We’re not going to think about it for too long right now.

I can’t believe she is big enough to sit along in a chair, to wear a Disney Princess jammie shirt, to eat an apple by herself. And those legs? They are not chubby baby legs anymore. They are long, skinny, bruised kid legs. I love her.

-I went in our hot tub tonight after Bailey was in bed. For the first time in about 26 months. It was great. Jonathon sat outside and worked on his laptop, and I sat in the hot tub and read a book.

-Tomorrow night we are having a date night. I think we are going to go see the movie Fireproof. And out to dinner, but I’m not sure where. Nothing too fancy. I am wanting to go to Red Lobster sometime soon to take Jonathon to the all you can eat shrimp. We do that every fall. But if we do it before the movie, I will be stuffed and then I won’t be able to stay awake. I am bad about falling asleep during movies. I am also having a Melting Pot craving.

-Tomorrow during the day, we are going to a pumpkin patch with friends. I am looking forward to it. This is the first one Bailey will go to, ever. Lots of pictures.

-Our trash service changed. I am happy about that because the prices went way down, and now it all gets picked up on the same day. Before, our neighborhood had the choice of three services and so there were trash trucks every day, between the people who had all the different companies, and twice weekly pickup, and yard waste/recycle on different days. I hated it. Now? ONE DAY. No more stupid trucks rattling down the street several times each day.

-We got our tax return. Remember how I had to file an amended return because we didn’t get the credit for Bailey? That whole mess? Well the IRS paid US interest! I guess they felt like it was their fault since Bailey was on our paperwork and they didn’t catch it. I personally thought it would have been Turbotax’s fault for it not processing correctly, but whatevah. I’ll take it. Big fat refund and interest. And now we have $300 coming our way in the next few months for the rest of our stimulus check!

Thoughts on Finances

Filed Under Church, Money | 3 Comments

Jonathon and I (along with some other people) watched a really good sermon online about finances. It was from Church of the Highlands. It focused on dealing with debt and why people get into financial difficulty, and then also how to get out. Here are some quick highlights.

Understanding how you got into debt:
-Being consumed with “more”
-Instant gratification
-Self-destructive behavior
-Spending everything you have
-Being unprepared for storms

*I think the main reason Americans have such problems is because they feel like if they “qualify” for it, or if someone else has it, they should be able to get it. Not to say that some people haven’t had unforeseen hardships. But just because a car dealer approves you for a $30,000 car, doesn’t mean that is the smartest purchase you could make. But now people expect a “bail out” instead of just being responsible. I also think we are set up for failure. Just about every few months, I get a letter that the bank has raised our credit card limit. They want us to spend more than we can pay back. We also could have gotten approved for a house that would cost about 60% of our monthly income, but that’s not smart either.

I am paraphrasing, but Proverbs says something like “riches disappear in the blink of an eye… wealth sprouts wings and flies off.” It can all be gone so quickly. If you base your life on money and your material possessions, you are setting yourself up for unhappiness in my opinion.

Then he talked about developing a plan to get out of debt. He suggested keeping track of expenses for three months to create a budget. He said to do it NOW, and to ask God for help.

The last thing he discussed was tithe. I always have had an issue with God “needing” 10% of your income. I know that’s not what it is really supposed to be. The way this pastor said it, really made sense to me. He said, “God isn’t broke. He doesn’t need your money… but wherever you put your money, your heart will follow.” It is a reflection of the attitude that God is first.

Anyway, I have just been thinking about finances a lot lately. I know everyone has. I thought this message was really interesting and wanted to share.

If you want to check out this sermon here is the link. It is about 30 minutes but seemed much shorter because it was, honestly, really interesting.

Good news about taxes

Filed Under Money, This Rocks | 5 Comments

We are getting almost $2000 more back! There was an error with claiming Bailey as a dependent (as in, Turbotax politely did NOT accept her information and I didn’t realize it because it still showed her name on the “dependent list.” Fortunately, we figured out what went wrong and my 1040X amended form will be going in the mail on Monday. Cross your fingers that we get the money back soon. That would be a huge help in paying some of these bills that we always seem to have. Also, then we get the $300 economic stimulus for B too (that’s how we noticed something was amiss, we got no kid money with it).

House for Sale

Filed Under Future, Home Sweet Home, Money, My Childhood | Leave a Comment

Not ours! My childhood best friend’s old house is now for sale. The one we grew up playing in all the time. So many memories there… This is the house where we went “tanning” on the roof. We played Nintendo for hours until we beat Zelda, sitting on her brother’s top bunk and looking down at the tv. We got locked outside and climbed in through the kitchen window more than once. We jumped off the deck onto the trampoline. It was just the house where we always hung out. She hasn’t lived there since 8th grade when they moved about a half hour away, but when we went to stop by a friend’s house last week we drove past and I saw that it was for sale. I looked at the listing and it looks amazing. And, get this- it’s a SIX BEDROOM house. How cool would that be. We could sell our house now and pretty much trade even, price-wise. It also has all new cabinets, countertops, hardwood, etc. Living room, family room, eat in kitchen, formal dining room, finished lower level with rec room and big storage room…

If I thought we could sell right now we seriously might be interested. I would just be afraid our house wouldn’t sell. We started looking at online mortgage stuff and it looks like we could get even a lower interest rate than what we have now. (Just under 6%). Gah, I know it’s not realistic but it’s fun to dream. I should be content with this house for now. Why is it that we are always wanting the next, bigger, better thing?

There goes our stimulus check

Filed Under Complaining, Home Sweet Home, Money | 5 Comments

Want to hear something that sucks? We have termites. Not actually in our house but in wood right near the foundation, in a big colony under the driveway, and in the mulch in our flower beds. So… time for termite treatment at the low low cost of only $1000 :(  This area (midwest) is apparently pretty bad for termites, and we live in a wooded area with lots of big old trees. The Terminix guy we had out said that was good and bad- there were lots of trees so the termites didn’t have to resort to ONLY eating houses, but also that there tend to be more termites. So. We are going to get a treatment done that lasts 12 years. They come back and check every year and as long as you pay for that visit every year, their service is guaranteed and also you are not financially responsible for any damage to your house. I talked to my dad later and he said we should check with Semo, who they use at their house. It’s a smaller company but a lot cheaper and they offer the same warranty. Terminix wanted $250 a year to keep up the warranty and Semo only charges $60 a year! Big difference. Not that you care about all this but it was just annoying to deal with.

And the other thing our check is getting spent on? A new part for our air conditioner. We were lucky and Jonathon found a guy to do it after work at his cost plus just a flat $75 for labor. Jonathon always finds nice people who want to help him. He’s just a likeable guy Seriously though this is still going to run almost $500. So now you can see that we have no stimulus check left once we’ve paid for these two things. That sucks. There goes my dreams of shopping, vacationing, pedicures, The Melting Pot…

If I were a pretty little girl…

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we used to sing this song in college,

If I were a pretty little girl, and I had lots of money… I’d marry me a (fill in the blank) CARPENTER and this is what we’d do- oh, I’d nail him and he’d nail me, and we’d nail one another…

Classy, isn’t it. Anyway my point is that if I had some money I would buy some Winter Park real estate. And get pre-made dinner every night of the week so I didn’t have to cook. Not that I cook now. Or I would buy Bailey’s entire wardrobe at Gymboree. There are lots of things I would do. But, we are not millionaires. So I guess I’ll have to be content with the way things are now.

Jonathon is my Alexander Graham Bell guy

Filed Under Daddy, Future, Money, Random | 1 Comment

My husband daydreams about being an inventor. He is always having these *big* ideas. Some of them are really good, and others are really weird. (No offense, honey) but like the air-conditioned suit? Now we actually know someone who has made an invention. It’s some type of glue stuff that goes over ink. Jonathon probably knows more about it than I do because he has talked to the guy about “inventions.” Anyway, I like to indulge his fantasy about being an inventor but I also would love to see his dreams become reality. And of course I wouldn’t mind being rich, either.

In order to do any type of invention thing, we’d have to have some extra cash, though, which we don’t have. He told me he wanted to take a year off work but I told him that probably wasn’t a good idea since he is our only income. Am I a horrible wife for crushing his dreams? Anyway, I guess there is always the possibility of getting some type of loan if he does have a good idea that he wants to work on. I don’t know that I would want to do a home equity line of credit, because then I think it restricts how long you have to stay in your house and stuff like that.

I found a website for AmericanOneUnsecured.com and they have unsecured Lines of Credit, which are basically loans that you don’t have to put up collateral for, as far as I understand. I don’t know if there are any other loopholes or gotchas for that kind of loan, but it sounds more like what we would be looking for. This company offers a free consultation, and the approval depends on your credit standing.

I guess this is always something we can talk about in the future. Right now I am looking forward to getting our tax return (we just filed) and hopefully our government $1500 this spring before we do anything else!

A lot about nothing… Happy 2008!

Filed Under Eight Months, Friends, Home Sweet Home, Money | 4 Comments

I don’t feel like posting, but I feel like I owe it to 2008 to make a quick little post. I was feeling really down about New Year’s Eve going into it. Some of my girlfriends were going out together for what sounded like a fun evening. We are pretty broke at the moment, and my mom kind of jacked us around on the babysitting thing, so we weren’t able to make big plans.

My friend Sarah invited us to come over and bring Bailey with us. It turned out to be a really nice night of just snacking and hanging out together. It was very low key and Bailey got to play and then sleep in the pack n play in the other room. She did pretty well going to sleep. We watched Finding Neverland, which I hadn’t seen before.

By the way, Sarah, my friend Faith said it was definitely Tuberculosis.

Today I got to see Faith for a while, I worked on straightening up my office (trust me, I have a long way to go) and we went shopping for new carpet. We went three places and I think we finally decided to buy from GCO but it was getting close to dinnertime and Bailey was about done with looking at carpet. We will probably go back tomorrow to do the paperwork. Tomorrow we are also thinking about taking B to Gymboree Play and Music to try it out. Jonathon has off until Monday so I wanted to do something family-ish at least one day

Tonight has been spent listing on eBay. Not very exciting, but hopefully profitable. I am selling some of the cloth diapers that I don’t like, such as the Fuzzi Bunz which leak horribly out the legs on Bailey. (I have been trouble-shooting and we determined that it is really just that they don’t fit her right).

Wow, enough rambling. I’m heading off to read a little bit before bed.

I just found out

Filed Under Money | 5 Comments

that a friend of ours has a private student loan of over $100K, plus some Federal and/or state loans on top of that. It makes me feel not so bad about paying off Jonathon’s loan. His is microscopic in comparison to that. It just seems like we have been chipping away at it forever and it hasn’t really gone anywhere

Getting Better All the Time

Filed Under Money, Six Months, Sleep | 3 Comments

Today we had a garage sale. We got rid of a TON of junk and brought in almost $400. It was worth my time setting up.

Bailey did not see the need to sleep last night. I went to bed at like 2:15 after working on setting up the garage sale so I could just pull the stuff out of the garage in the morning. She woke up at about 3:00ish and stayed up until 6. She was crying, yelling, grumbling, etc only I would let her cry- which I hate doing but she is a manipulative little girl (saying that with a smile)… but then when I would finally give in after like an hour and go in to try to “fix it” she would smile at me and want to play. Little booger. So I slept for literally 45 minutes last night.

The garage sale was super busy. The first crazy showed up at 6:15 (before we were even open, while it was still pitch black and we were setting up!) and it didn’t stop until about 11:30. Most of the time there were several cars of people there. We stayed open until a little after 1 and a few people kind of wandered in and out for that last hour or so. It was such a nice day so Jonathon and I were just kind of enjoying sitting there with Bailey and chatting with some of our neighbors by that point.

I am convinced that people will buy anything. I sold a bunch of mostly used stuff from Bath and Body Works, used tanning lotion, really old track lighting that we took out of our kitchen, cabinet hinges, stuffed animals (which grosses me out because you can’t wash them- EW I would never buy something like that used!) My personal favorite was the used cat brushes that still had cat hair in them. We sold three of them. Really, I have discovered that you can sit anything outside and someone will want it.

ANYWAY, after all that was over, Bailey took a nap and Jonathon pulled everything back into the garage and let me go take a nap. He only got like 3 hours of sleep, tops, so I was thankful that he did that for me. Then, we found my car keys. YAY, now I don’t have to get another set made tomorrow. I can put that off a few days. Because what’s better than procrastinating?

Now I am going to eat dinner (at 9:30 pm) and read a magazine for a few minutes before heading to bed. Oh, and tomorrow Jonathon and I are going out for lunch and Bailey is going home from church with my parents. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve had a date

My Dad

Filed Under Family, Money | Leave a Comment

My dad is a contractor, and it seems like he has worked with/for/at a million different companies. He does computer stuff and not real estate or insurance or finances, but he is currently working at GMAC. This contract I think has another six months or so on it, and then I guess he will be somewhere else. I think it would be interesting to always work somewhere different, but I wouldn’t like not knowing what was coming next!

Nobody Likes a Quitter

Filed Under Money | 2 Comments

I quit my inventory job. I don’t know if I have ever mentioned this, but I have a habit of randomly quitting jobs like the day I’m supposed to work. Not real jobs, I mean like crappy part-time, hourly jobs. I’ve done this a few times before, like with a job in high school and a job in college. Oh yeah, and this awful sales job I had after college. I swear I’m not a loser though

I really didn’t want to go tonight, and it’s been driving me crazy lately because I hate being gone from Bailey and Jonathon in the evenings a few nights a week. It also makes it too hard to get anything done around the house.

So… no more inventory job. Woo hoo! I was supposed to work tonight and now I’m free to stay at home with my (crabby) husband!

Something New On the Horizon

Filed Under Money | 2 Comments

Jonathon is seriously considering the idea of starting his own company. Not like full-time (or at least not in the beginning) but something to do on the side. All I am going to say right now is that it has to do with computers, which you probably could have guessed. We have been brainstorming a lot lately and talking about how to make it work. It’s kind of fun that my background is PR and marketing, and that I am more of an organizer, because he is the opposite and that would work well together. The only thing we really need to still get figured out is the financial side of it. Most likely we will have to get some sort of financial reporting software and then have someone help us with the taxes. (I currently do our own taxes on TurboTax).

In the meantime, Jonathon has been crazy-busy with his job and he’s also not exactly in love with it at the moment.

Edited to add: Jonathon also wants to know what’s involved in starting an LLC, as he has been researching online but would like to talk to someone who has actually done it. Julie??

Jonathon’s loans

Filed Under Input Needed, Money | 3 Comments

Does anyone know anything about student loan consolidation? We only have one student loan but it’s enough that it annoys me. We constantly get the letters in the mail about consolidating. Someone at my bank (our mortgage person) recommended NOT doing this because then the interest is no longer deductible because it’s not considered a student loan anymore… but that’s really the only input I’ve had so far. It just sucks because over the past few years the interest rate on it has gradually risen to a little over 8 percent!

Any advice?