Holly’s Happenings

I found out the other day just how productive I could be filling out job applications online. It’s funny though, I must have filled out 15-20 job applications in person over the summer and never got a call from a single one. But the other day I filled out about 8-10 online and less than 24 hours later had a phone call from one of them, offering an interview!

What I like most about the job that I’m interviewing for today is the fact that it’s a job doing something I LOVE doing! What is is for, you ask? I’m interviewing for a position as a baker. Can you say YUMMY?? LOL And it’s in a place that I LOVE LOVE LOVE to eat at as well, double bonus!!!

I’ve gotten my clothes for the interview ironed and laid out, about the only thing left to do is use my most current acne treatment, grab a shower and get ready. But it’s a little less than 3 hours until the interview, so it’s too early to start getting ready yet. I know I should start early though because I’m going to make an attempt to do something with my hair to make it look decent. It’s at one of those REALLY fugly growing out stages and there’s not much that can be done with it without putting some major effort into it, which totally is not me….LOL! But I’m totally sick of having short hair again, so it’s growing out again even if it means I have to do fuss with it daily!

But OMG, I’m a freaking nervous wreck! Honestly, the last job interview I went on was over 5 years ago! The most recent job I held that wasn’t working from home was one that was offered to me by a neighbor, so there was no interviewing for that job…LOL! But he moved shop at the end of the year and no longer needed me since he was going to run the office part of it from his home. But we’re in a financial position right now where one of us needed to find a job yesterday! So I’ve been filling out applications and sending my resume out to as many places as I can find to apply online.

Speaking of finances, I’d like to point out my new page here on the site. I know that the economy is the pits for EVERYONE right now, that I’m not alone with what I’m going through financially, but I’m in a bit of a “pickle” right now, so I’m reaching out to you all for help. My new page is title Donations and yes, that’s exactly what it’s about. The biggest reason I’m filling out applications and sending out resumes online is simply because I’m about as broke as you can be. If I do manage to get this job today I’m then left trying to figure out how I’ll get enough gas to keep me going back and forth to work. Besides that I have the fees for my site(s) coming due. I’m sorry to ask, but if you could help me out a bit, I’d really appreciate it!

I’m sitting here this morning watching The Today Show and Matt Lauer is talking about The Misery Index and how it’s at it’s highest point right now than what it’s been since Bill Clinton took office. I’m like, what in the world is this Misery Index and why have I never heard this term before? So, I did what I always do when I hear or read about something that I don’t know about, I Googled it! LOL

What I came up with was an actual website that shows The United States Misery Index and it goes all the way back to 1948 through the current year. Now, for those of you that are as clueless as am I as to what I’m talking about, the misery index in the US is decided by adding the unemployment rate and the rate of inflation. For instance, the current unemployment rate in the US is 5.5% and the current rate of inflation in the US is 4.18%, which means the current misery index in the US is 9.68.

Now, if we look at the misery index comparison on this page which goes all the way back to 1948, the last time the misery index was higher than 9.68% was in 1993, the year that Bill Clinton took office. During the four years that George Bush Sr. was in office the misery index never went below 10.09%, during the 8 years that Ronald Reagan was in office we started out with a misery index of 17.97% in 1981, it went to it’s lowest rating in 1986 which was 8.91%, then peaked up a bit by the end of his term in 1988 to 9.57%.

In defense of the current President Bush the lowest misery index we’ve had since he took office was in 2002 when it was 7.37% and it honestly hasn’t fluctuated very much during his years in office.

The lowest that the misery index has ever been since 1948 was 3.74% in 1953 when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and the highest it has ever been was 20.76% in 1980, the last year that Jimmy Carter was President.

Anyway, that is a very interesting website, you can go as far as to see the different ratings on a monthly basis over the last 60 years. So take the time to check it out and maybe even learn something new today, like I did!

Financial struggles are nothing new to me, I’ve experienced them my entire adult life. I’ve become a person who appreciates what I have and I have learned to make due with what I have. I don’t do this with a bitter attitude, nor do I expect people to feel sorry for me, I honestly enjoy my very simple life, “most” of the time!

We’re finally getting to a point financially where we can keep our heads above water just a little. We’ve never been one for extravagant purchases, nor do I see us becoming that way. But I know that with a little bit of effort and a good budget software program, we’d be able to pull our heads out of the water just a little bit more than what we are now.

It’s difficult though, my biggest “down fall” is grocery shopping! I can go to the grocery store and spend a couple hundred dollars without even thinking about it. And no, I don’t buy all the expensive types of foods or buy strictly name brands, I actually purchase more off brand and/or store brand products than any others. I also do a LOT of my cooking and baking from scratch as often as I can because it’s so much less expensive than buying foods that are pre made! And it’s also more nutritious as well, so it’s a double bonus!

It would be easier if I were to get called back to work, like my boss said he would. Even if it were only for a couple of days a week. But still no word from my boss as to when the new shop is going to be open for business, and after waiting five months, I’m honestly getting tired of waiting! Maybe it’s time for me to go out and find a new part time job. I’d hate to, then have him finally call me back to work, but how difficult is it for him to call me and let me know what’s going on with the reopening? And yes, I have called him, he’s always busy and says he’ll call me back.

Today’s mail was filled with the usual items, bills, bills and more bills…LOL! I also got a FUN package that I’ll tell you more about later, a letter stating that our health insurance is going to be canceled in one week because we forgot to sign something and a bank statement.

First topic, letter about the insurance being canceled. The last piece of paper that I signed for this insurance was in April, over 7 months ago! I immediately got on the phone to find out WTF was going on and the person I need to talk to about this matter wasn’t available and I was sent to their voicemail. I left a very detailed and polite message and hung up the phone. I then called back and asked for this persons supervisor, figuring that if the person I needed to speak to wasn’t in, their supervisor might be able to explain. Once again, I was sent straight to voicemail and once again, I left a very detailed AND polite message. I then went online and looked up an email address so that I could send an email trying to find out what is going on. I mean, for God’s sake, it’s Friday afternoon, no one is available on the weekends, Thursday is a holiday and they’re saying my policy will be canceled on Friday. That gives me a grand total of 2 freakin days to try and keep my insurance policy from being canceled. Am I the only one that sees something wrong with this scenario? So, I sent out a very detailed AND polite email in hopes that between the voicemail messages and the email that someone would get back with me today, to at least acknowledge that they’ve heard from me. I mean, how difficult is that? Apparently too difficult, because it’s been 2 hours now and I’ve heard NOTHING!

But, the other piece of mail brought GOOD news!! Yes, I’m talking about my bank statement. The last time I had checked my checking account, I had a grand total of $1.51 in it. I figured I’d just let it sit there and draw me a penny’s interest every quarter….LOL!!! Imagine my surprise when I opened my statement today to find that my account no longer had $1.51 in it, instead it had MORE! So now I don’t have to fret and worry about how I’m going to pay one of the bills that was due yesterday, which is a HUGE relief!

So, even though I’m really ticked off about the insurance thing, the balance in my bank account made me feel better….LOL!:D

OK, so I’ve only seen the outside, but I was able to look in some of the windows and doors, which I was very glad to be able to do! But knowing what I know right now, I’d gladly buy the house in 2 years! There is a large chunk of land that comes with the house, 2 1/2 acres to be exact, and the house is surrounded on 3 sides by woods, with a decent width of woods between the house and the only neighbor it has.

The house is ideal, with enough land that we can expand and even build a nice little barn if we wanted to! So, if I had my choice of places to live, this would definitely be one of my dream locations! It’s close enough to town that getting there isn’t a hassle, it’s only a couple of miles from the interstate, which makes my drive to school that much easier, and it’s still in the same school district as we are currently in, which means my kids don’t have to change schools. But to me, the biggest plus is the peace and quiet! Being surrounded by woods is going to be a little piece of heaven! With the acreage that the house is on it will help when looking into loans when we are able to buy the house.

Now I just need to make sure I don’t get into a mess when we do go to buy the house, by making sure that we look into fixed mortgages rather than one of the adjustable mortgages that are getting such a bad rap these days! Either way, I have no doubt I have finally found my dream home!

I’m only in my 2nd semester of college and I’ve already taken out more than student loan. Fortunately I don’t have to start paying student loans back until several months after I am out of school. But with the fact that I am averaging 2 loans per year, it’s definitely going to add up. With so many loans there will be several payments, which can get to be a bit overwhelming. That’s why I’m already checking into Student Loan Consolidation.

Student loan consolidation allows you to take your Federal student loans and private student loans and consolidate them into one large loan with just a single payment, rather than having several payments for several different loans. They make paying back the loans that you and/or your parents have taken out to pay for your college education much simpler.

Parents who take out several PLUS loans and college and graduate students who take out several loans over the course of their secondary education are finding out that if they take advantage of Student Loan Consolidation, not only to they make the task of repaying these loans easier because of fewer monthly payments, but they also lower the amount of their payments, which is a definite plus!

One of the things that we lost when my husband lost his job was the life insurance that was provided by his employer. Although it wasn’t a huge policy, it would have been more than enough to cover the expenses if anything would have happened to him. After seeing commercial after commercial on the television lately about life insurance it’s made me realize that it’s something we need to seriously look into purchasing something on our own. Not only for him; but for myself as well.

In todays day and age, it is almost impossible to get by without having credit cards. But the choices we face when trying to choose a credit card can sometimes be confusing. If you watch the commercials on TV, you can sometimes think that every company that offers a credit card has the credit card that is right for you. But you also want to be careful when choosing a credit card so that you don’t end up with one that doesn’t suit your specific needs.

Many credit card companies are now offering 0% credit cards that give you an introductory rate of 0% for that quick shopping spree you were planning, then you can pay off the balance without paying interest before the introductory interest rate goes up.

There are many different options for credit cards, some offer 0% balance transfers, while other offer rewards for using their cards. When choosing a credit card you need to take the time to compare credit cards and get the one that will work the best for your needs.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am totally clueless when it comes to loans. I’ve had a total of 5 loans in my entire lifetime, including the 2 student loans that I currently have. So how does someone like me determine what are the best loans for my personal needs? I’ve read about debt consolidation loans which help you when you have a large number of credit related debts and payments and want to put them all into one lump sum and make one payment on them. But with having no credit related debts, I am pretty sure that this isn’t the type of loan that I would need. I’ve also read about secured personal loans which could be the type of loan that would work for me to help pay off my bills. It works by the borrower securing the loan with some sort of collateral that can cover the amount of the loan in case the borrower is not able to make the payments on the loan. Although they are risky, sometimes secured loans are the only option available if you don’t have a good credit history.