My first lesson in managing credit was at the expense of my younger brother because we were close in age and we shared a lot of our lives. He got married at a young age and in the interest of giving his family the best of everything, he ran up his credit cards to the maximum and had trouble making the payments. Once you fall behind, the extra penalties and high interest rates can make it almost impossible to pay them off.My dad was still alive back then and he stepped forward to help out my brother with a personal loan. My dad made him give up all the credit cards and live on a budget. He had to pay back my dad out of his paycheck every week for almost three years. It was a tough lesson for my brother but he was lucky to have my dad here to help him.
Since my dad passed away several years ago, I’ve always felt that if I was to get into financial trouble there would not be anyone in my family today that could step up and help me out. Most of my brothers and sisters lived a careful and modest lifestyle, and although they are successful in their own ways, none of us has the deep pockets that my parents had when we were children. So I have been extra careful with my credit cards to keep the credit card payments up and not ever get behind.
The good part of that is that if there was to be an emergency in my family and I needed money, my credit history is very strong and I am sure that I would qualify for personal loans from traditional resources, like a bank or online finance company. So I take comfort in that.
The celebrating of my nephew’s 1st birthday is in the planning stage, my sister is extremely excited about this event, she tried for so long to have a baby and is loving the whole experience of motherhood. She wants to hold the party here at the farm, in the spring, I believe the date is May 28th, a reallygood time to have an outside party, if the weather doesn’t interfere, the springtime rains do come and go as they please.
A farm barn and animal theme birthday party will do just fine, we have a few ponies here that we can give pony rides on, which is always a hit with the kids. Spring time brings with it new life with several of the farm animals here, there will be baby goats, cows, ducks, geese, pigs and hopefully a few colts or fillies will be gracing us with their company by that time. So we will have our own personal “petting zoo” for them to enjoy.
There hasn’t been a party around here for some time, it will be good to have a large group of friends and family around the place for the day, a lot of work, but worth the time and effort and I’m looking forward to it come spring.
My cousin was discharged from the Army after 8 years of active duty – almost all of it was in Iraq. He went into the Army to learn a trade and take some time to find himself. I’m not sure he found what he was looking for while in Iraq, but the whole family is so proud of him for serving our country and doing his part. And he did find a job right away, so that helped, too.
Now that he has been home for a few months, he stopped by to visit last week and we had a nice dinner together. He was all talk about how he wished he could meet a nice girl and start putting together a regular life. All of the kids that he went to school with have moved away or gotten married and moved on with their lives, so he doesn’t have many people to hang out with anymore. I suggested he try one or two of the online dating sites. He looked shocked at first – he said he doesn’t want to find a wife – just make new friends. I told that some of the sites are more for finding a wife but some of them are better for just finding new friends.
There is an issue with the old bed and mattress that I have had to sleep on since coming back home to the farm. My aching back is telling me that I need to plunge ahead and purchase a new set, in an effort to save my health. There is too much to do around here, I’ve been taking Aleve day and night, it helps a little, but this nagging back ache has got to go, and soon.
Since I don’t live close to any sizable town to drive into and shop around for the perfect bed and mattress set, I will take advantage of the Internet and seriously start looking into buying a complete new one for the Master Bedroom, in which I am currently residing in.
There isn’t a shortage of companies that are offering beds online, these days, I’ve been looking all morning while watching the Inauguration on the television. I really like what I see at Silentnight.co.uk, the Silent Night Company is a household name in the U.K.
I’ll have to make a decision soon once and for all. A good night’s sleep is a key factor on what goes on in the daytime.
Business, Finance/Monies, Friends and/or family, Shopping | Todd | 
January 20, 2009 8:24 pm | 
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