Joann Foley » Finance

Emergency trip

Joann — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 13:36:38 +0000

I received a phone call a couple of days ago from a good friend, who lives in Minnesota. Her aunt was seriously ill and in the hospital and she was told that she needed to get there right away. I knew that her aunt was aging, but I had not been informed that she was ill. My friend didn’t know what to do to get the money she needed to travel all the way to Texas, and it was the weekend and none of the local places where she could normally go to get a loan were open. She needed a loan because she anticipated that she would be gone for several weeks.

So, I suggested that we start searching the Internet for ways to get a loan. We came across a website that talked about getting easy payday loans. We did a little reading and researched the site. They specialize in cash advances, installment loans and title loans. Most of the time you can get your cash the very same day, which is what she needed to do.

After she filled out the short application form, she found a store not too far from her, in Wisconsin, so it would be convenient for her as well. She got her money that same afternoon and was on her way to Texas. I am happy to say that her aunt has recovered and is doing well.

Coffee with friends

Joann — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:14:54 +0000

Last week I stopped by to visit a very good friend, Teresa, and have coffee. We do this on a weekly basis so we can catch up on what has been happening in our day to day lives. With both of us working full time and with her children, time seems to slip away quickly, so we figure if we make a “coffee date” each week, and set aside the time, it will allow us to keep in touch.

While we were having our weekly “date”, her telephone rang. After checking her caller ID, she did not pick up the phone, and let it go to the answering machine. Whoever it was, did not leave a message. After about an hour, her phone rang again. Again, she did not answer. I asked her why she was not answering the phone and she replied, “It is just a debt collector”. They call here at least 5 or six times a day. I got tired of the calls and just quit answering. She said that they even call her at work!!!

She then explained that for the past 3 years either she or her husband had been unemployed (which I knew about) and had fallen behind in credit card payments. They had actually quit paying altogether. It was a choice of either paying the rent, utilities and putting food on the table, or paying the credit card bills. She asked me how to stop debt collectors from harassing her all the time.

I told her about a story that I had caught a glimpse of one day on the news, and told her to visit the website. The story was about unfair debt collection practices. So, we looked it up together on the Internet and found out that under the law, a debt collector cannot call you repeatedly, call you a inconvenient times or places and several other things that neither she or I were aware of.

Friends and new careers

Joann — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:33:43 +0000

I have a good friend who recently went back to school to become a male nurse He is so excited!! After his first few classes, he realized he was going to need uniforms and a lab coat for his classes that he had labs in. He wanted something that was stylish, yet durable and comfortable also. He was looking for a place to purchase men’s scrubs and men’s lab coats that were reasonably priced and easily obtained.

He is a very busy person what with a full time job, classes and study time, and needed a place where he could order online and have them shipped directly to him.

I asked around my circle of friends and I directed him to try http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Men/. I told him that I have another male nurse friend who uses this website all the time and recommended it highly. He told me that they have inexpensive uniforms as well as any other supplies and accessories you might need.

I am happy to say that he visited the website and is now a satisfied customer.

Can’t Put It Off Any Longer

Joann — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:02:20 +0000

Well, today is the day I know I will have a huge headache before the day is done. I have to get my taxes done. This sucks. I wish I had an easier way to deal with this every year. I can’t afford to pay H & R Block $100 to do them for me – I don’t even get back $100 in a refund most years. But I have to buckle down today and figure this out. So here I go – please send aspirin.

Even More Banking Stress

Joann — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 17:26:41 +0000

My bank has a collections department that calls and hounds you to death if your checking account gets overdrawn. I told the guy that I’m working with a bank clerk to get the problem straight but that’s not good enough for them. They are sticking overdraft charges on my account every three days that it shows overdrawn. It’s $25 each three days. Holy crap. That can’t be legal can it? This overdraft isn’t even my fault and now they want to hit me with almost $300 in fees. I don’t know how this will ever work out.

More Banking Stress

Joann — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:57:37 +0000

Another big problem with my bank has popped. I had a big fight with them about a year ago and pretty much stopped going there other than letting my minimum balance sit in my checking account so it sat there for free.

Well, I had an urgent need to raise some cash and there wasn’t enough in that account without making an additional deposit. I dug out an old money order and all the loose cash I could find to make a deposit, which they took without issue. So I wrote a check against my balance and expected to leave about $50 in the account.

That was two weeks and not a peep from my bank about any issues, but when I logged in to my online account to verify that the check cleared, I was horrified to find a negative balance on the account. Evidently, the bank returned the money order for some reason and has been charging me for overdraft fees for 2 weeks. I have a huge negative balance and am totally freaked out.

I can’t imagine why the money order would be returned and charged back to my account. That makes no sense to me at all. I thought a money order was the same as cash. WTF?

Banking Stress

Joann — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:55:34 +0000

A friend of mine was in a spot and needed to borrow a few dollars. I felt the need to help her out, so I wrote a check for her to take to her bank. I assumed she would deposit my check and write a couple checks from her account to pay the bills. But it turns out that she does not have a bank account and needed to cash the check at my bank so she could buy money orders to pay her bills. Well, that didn’t turn out so good, as there are no local branches of my bank anywhere around where she lives. She had to give me back my uncashed check and just borrow money from a neighbor who had cash in hand.

That’s very frustrating – you would think that in today’s world there would be a better system of making places available to take care of your money matters.

I Run to the Border on Occasion

Joann — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:43:57 +0000

The town that I live in now has just about every fast food restaurant that you could think of and new family restaurants are popping up left and right, no wonder we are turning into such an obese society with food at each and every street corner and leading you to their temptations that are advertised so delightfully and appetizing.

One of my favorite fast food place in town is Taco Bell, the food is fast and cheap and they have a drive in window with a decent speaker system that allows you to actually hear and understand what the clerk is saying to you. That is a rarity these days.

Dentists

Joann — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:26:29 +0000

I’m not a fan of Dentistry and it really sucks because I know that I have a cavity, but I begin to get so uptight when ever I have a scheduled appointment with my dentist. He is a great guy, been going to him forever and a day, his prices are as reasonable as the next guy, and is easy on the eyes, but . . .

I have dental insurance so the cost isn’t a major issue, although co-pays can add up by the end of the year for all the medical issues that I have been facing lately. But I just don’t like someone in my mouth and even thinking about needles and drills going on just creeps me out so very badly.

I know I need to call, the holidays are now upon us and a lot of people are going out of town, it would really suck to start having a toothache during all of the festivities that are in the makings for this years celebration on the anniversary of the birth date of our Lord Jesus.

Maybe I need to tell me Mother about the issue, I know that she will nag me until I get off of it and call and the darn thing taken care of and done with it all. She is good at such things, gotta love her.

Where is “Joe the Plumber” when you need him?

Joann — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:22:14 +0000

The lavatory in my main bathroom has been giving me some troubles lately, now it is leaking from the handle, how weird is that? I’ve never seen water leak from the handle before, but have placed a bowl directly under it, in order to prevent a huge mess from occurring and damage done to the floor and cabinet right beside of it.

The house animals are loving it, they now have another source of water that they can enjoy around the house. Guess I need to find a plumber, I don’t think that I know anyone that does plumbing work that I can turn to, bummer. Right now is not a good time for a plumbing bill to arrive.