Kevin's Watch

Ananda wrote:nom nom... and 2 inari

You ate two persons from Inari? Or some sjövättir from the lake?

Not recently, but she got way over her head with credit cards and things a few years ago. She has almost paid all that off now, and has been able to save up for a new car. Son did the same (debt that is, he doesn't drive). They are both in the process of paying us back. If it hadn't been for C's lump sum when he took early retirement together with getting more or less half of Dad's bungalow sale after he died we wouldn't have been able to help either of them!

I heard on the radio news the other day that elderly people are now borrowing off their children to pay their heating bills rather than the other way around. We haven't got that desparate yet.

the real question is "Did they learn anything from all that?". All too often people get in trouble with debt, get their parents to bail then out, then get back in the same shape again a few years later when they forget the pain.

A written budget fixes all those things. Spend every penny on paper on purpose in your budget. Create a savings account of 500 to 1000 dollars that you only touch in emergencies. When you have an emergency you pay you account back. That way you no longer have a need for debt for emergencies. Well that and figuring out that birthdays and Christmas arent emergencies. They come at the same time every year and should be planned for.

My daughter has, certainly. It has taken her three years to pay off her debts and she has one payment to go, I think, before she is solvent again. She earns a fairly good wage, and has taken lodgers (from where she works, usually students) to help boost her income. She will be a lot better off each month once she pays her last debt payment.

As for my son, it's no good me trying to tell him anything - but he certainly has got himself up and running again, and I must say that it wasn't exactly his fault that he got into debt in the first place.

They have both come from a debt-free home. C & I have never had a credit card and the only loans we have had were for mortgage and cars. Our house is now ours. If we couldn't afford something we simply didn't buy it. My small earnings went towards emergencies, home improvements and holidays. We were not able to save anything from C's salary as the joint account went down to nothing each month. But, we always paid the bills first, and yes, I kept accounts. I can tell you that we spent £5 on a month's shopping at the supermarket each week when we first married. I even have accounts of what we grew on the allotment against what it would have cost us to buy!

I know that my son has all his ins and outs on a large spreadsheet on his computer. He's just started his own business so I hope things are looking up for him. As he has 3 children he has had to become much more responsible.

Trouble is, there is so much to want and to have these days. it was so much simpler 40 years ago.

We didn't "bail them out" by the way, but my daughter's rent had to be paid, likewise my son's. We haven't lent them any money for a long time now.

By the way, she is 35 and he is 37.

Your kids have 12 years on mine, Iolanthe. I hope they're that smart when they get there.

Feeling a bit frustrated that the orange dot tree on the index is not working reliably for me today.

on friday we visited 3 museums in houston.

Maritime Museum was first. lots of models and nautical pieces. really cool place we had never been to.

then the Holocaust museum. words can not describe. the absolute totality of horror. everyone should be required to go.

then the station museum where i discovered Mel Chin's collage work. amazing. I will create a post about it.

then the auction house last night. will post that elsewhere.

sgt.null wrote:on friday we visited 3 museums in houston.

How did your leg hold up?

then the Holocaust museum. words can not describe. the absolute totality of horror. everyone should be required to go.

Didn't know they had one. I am doing a play about weddings after the holocaust in the relocation camps. The research has been staggering and given me some sleepless nights.

Feeling a bit frustrated that the orange dot tree on the index is not working reliably for me today.

I have NO idea what an orange dot tree is so I am frustrated too.

Menolly wrote:Feeling a bit frustrated that the orange dot tree on the index is not working reliably for me today.

Hi Menolly, does it help to go to 'Kevin's Watch Forum Index' and click on 'view posts since last visit' (in small letters on the right of the page). Doesn't that perform the same function as the Orange Dot Tree?

lorin wrote:

Feeling a bit frustrated that the orange dot tree on the index is not working reliably for me today.

I have NO idea what an orange dot tree is so I am frustrated too.

Me too. What is this dang orange dot tree??



Compared to a week ago, when I went to church and cried through the whole service because I felt God was speaking so personally to me through it; I feel so much stronger. In fact I actually feel ready to go back to Africa, but (yay!) I still have 10 days here where it is sooooooo pretty, and clean, and orderly.

Hallelujah.

I just had an odd moment of "wow, this is the future" while watching an HD youtube video on my phone.

lorin wrote:

sgt.null wrote:on friday we visited 3 museums in houston.

How did your leg hold up?

then the Holocaust museum. words can not describe. the absolute totality of horror. everyone should be required to go.

Didn't know they had one. I am doing a play about weddings after the holocaust in the relocation camps. The research has been staggering and given me some sleepless nights.

Feeling a bit frustrated that the orange dot tree on the index is not working reliably for me today.

I have NO idea what an orange dot tree is so I am frustrated too.

leg is ok - the test will be to do it in workboots.


www.hmh.org/ holocaust museum

Sarge, I thought of you today. There was an article on how people who are given opiate drugs for pain right after surgery tend to be out of work a lot longer than people whose doctors wait to see how they're doing. Mostly for back pain, but hey.

After church I went to a nature preserve and took a walk in the woods. There was one place where the trail went over a stream and a lot of rocks had been piled there for a long time. Water was running underneath the stones and making the most amazing sounds. I got down on my knees and pressed my ears close to hear. The place was so beautiful. I didn't meet a soul on the trail.

"Orange dot tree" is Menolly's term for the page icons on the left-hand side of the index screen -- the ones that turn orange when there's a new post in that thread/forum.

DC has a Holocaust Museum too, you guys. I've never been. I gather it's a wrenching experience.

Good weekend here. Cleaned the house yesterday, then got Mexican food with friends and spent the evening knitting and watching the "Merlin" season 2 extras DVD. Today, I read the paper and spent the afternoon editing the next book. Just sent it to my editorial staff (a.k.a. Shara_Lunison). Aiming for publication (Kindle and paperback) in mid-August -- fingers crossed! Need to write the first chapter of book 3, to put in the back of book 2 as a come-on...and maybe try making a video trailer.

Shaun das Schaf wrote:

Menolly wrote:Feeling a bit frustrated that the orange dot tree on the index is not working reliably for me today.

Hi Menolly, does it help to go to 'Kevin's Watch Forum Index' and click on 'view posts since last visit' (in small letters on the right of the page). Doesn't that perform the same function as the Orange Dot Tree?

Similar, except I don't read every thread, and prefer selecting via the index.

aliantha wrote:DC has a Holocaust Museum too, you guys. I've never been. I gather it's a wrenching experience.

I can only speak of Yad Vashem, in Jerusalem, having been there when I was 13. I had learned about the Holocaust in USY (United Syngagogue Youth, the Conservative movement in Judaism's youth groups), but nothing had prepared me for the impact Yad Vashem has had on me then nor since.

Wow, ali, sorry to hear your daughter has such problems with her teeth. Hope she finds a solution that works for her. My dad had dentures pretty young - he had gum disease when he was overseas in the army and I guess it wasn't treated in a timely fashion. There have to be lots better options than that nowadays, though.

Thanks, MsMary. Her enamel started eroding when she was still in high school. It's going to cost a bloody fortune to fix, too, which is why she's been putting it off.

deer - i go back in one week. no idea how i will be feeling after the first day. my captain is working me in the commissary, so i won't be on my feet the entire time.

can't lie, i am a bit nervous about returning. i'd rather stay home a nother few months.

aliantha wrote:Thanks, MsMary. Her enamel started eroding when she was still in high school. It's going to cost a bloody fortune to fix, too, which is why she's been putting it off.

No dental insurance would cover it?

MsMary wrote:

aliantha wrote:Thanks, MsMary. Her enamel started eroding when she was still in high school. It's going to cost a bloody fortune to fix, too, which is why she's been putting it off.

No dental insurance would cover it?

Sure, it'll cover part. But dental insurance covered Magickmaker's braces, too, and yet I still had to shell out several thou for 'em. And Batty doesn't have a job right now, so I'm pretty sure I'll be the one paying.