Navigating life and finances
Choosing to look past the negative and focus on the positive. September was a tough, tough month. Between the costly phone issues with Straight Talk (and then needing to buy a second phone), uber expensive vehicle repairs, balance transfer fees, $195 chimney cleaning/inspection, and finally my 11-month-old Mac crapping out, just keeping our heads above water was a challenge. So how did we do? [Read more…]
Completing my day with not one, but two paperweights.My nightmare service with Walmart’s Straight Talk cell phone service has continued. Yes, even after receiving a replacement SIM card. Ugh! Over three hours on the phone with four different reps, and the problem remained. No, sadly that was not a typo. The last instructions I received were to do a factory reset. Sure, why not? At that point, I felt I had nothing more to lose. To me, the phone was nothing more than an expensive paperweight. [Read more…]
You win some; you lose some. No, I haven’t lost my position. What I did however lose was several hours of anticipated pay. With the canceling of the final event of the season, the focus will now be on closing things down. At best, for me, this probably amounts to only a few hours of filing, checking the mail, and the updating of a report I created earlier this month. [Read more…]
No Internet made for a productive day, but wow, did I ever feel disconnected!Only a few hours after publishing Friday’s post, my Internet went down. Based on the storm we had, it was surprising that was all that went down. Our lights flickered a few times, but thankfully we never lost power. Not much our provider could do as it was the transmitters that had no power. It was pretty much a matter of waiting for the power company to make their repairs. [Read more…]
Two more irregular bills to add to our sinking funds.Today we had our wood stove inspected and cleaned. Having this done is a yearly expense and is also something we cannot do ourselves. We have a vaulted ceiling not only in our living room but also on our second-floor level. These ceilings make for a very steep and high roof and not one that I want either one of us to climb. I’m not sure why (and I’m not complaining!) but this year the bill came in at $195 which was $30 less than what we paid last year. While I didn’t like writing the check, chimney safety is paramount, especially given that the wood stove is our primary heat source during our long Winters. The cost involved is also worth it opposed to potentially breaking who knows what if we were to fall off the roof. [Read more…]
Still searching…sigh.No, I am not still searching for a provider, my provider can’t seem to find service and make a connection. Grr. As I mentioned in a previous post, I made the switch (not by choice) to another phone provider. In trying to be frugal, I went with Walmart’s Straight Service. BIG mistake. [Read more…]
In light of several blogs that have recently seemingly disappeared, I am reposting this. I know that some of these disappearances are the result of the recent security breach of Equifax but others, who knows? I appreciate those who have given their readers a heads up. Yes, internet safety and privacy is a huge issue and one that must be taken seriously. But, while we must be careful with what we divulge, I also don’t want to live my life in fear of the what-ifs. That being said, please don’t leave me hanging!
Car repairs can be good. They remind us that we didn’t pay 40k for a brand new car with fewer repairs but with huge monthly payments! (And yay for 3 paycheck months!)~PriscillaThank you for that comment, Priscilla. You are absolutely right. I had not thought of it in this way, and it made paying our latest repair bill much less painful! While our pickup truck needed some planned and unplanned work (to the tune of almost $1,400-ouch!), this truck has no payment attached to it. And that is a beautiful thing! [Read more…]
Both the week and the money have gone far too quickly.Oh my, it has been quite a week! I wish I could say it has all been good, but life doesn’t always work that way. Unfortunately, there has been plenty of bad to go along with the good. Fortunately, the good still outweighs the bad! [Read more…]
Just a quick update on life here at A Dime at a Time. Not a lot going on right now, so this is just a quick update of the past few days.
I sold two more items on eBay, netting roughly $30 after fees, etc. I found a couple more items to list, so I’ll work on that either later tonight or this coming week. Every little bit helps! [Read more…]