Mary Anne has her own blog now
Category Archives: Finances

When it rains, it pours!

by Mary Anne

Lately whenever one of us goes out and the telephone rings, and my caller ID shows me that it is the cellphone of the person that has gone out, my mind immediately starts to wonder “what is wrong with the car now!” Twice in the past week my son has called to let us know that the car he is driving won’t start. The first time it was a broken serpentine belt. Second time it was a bad battery terminal. I didn’t even know that you could replace battery terminals!

It seems that all of our vehicles need immediate repairs.  Brakes, transmission, ignition switch, starter, serpentine belts, steering, new batteries! It’s going to cost a fortune to fix them all. I’m getting discouraged about keeping up with all of the costs of living.  And yet fixing the cars costs less than buying new ones. It’s not just about the monthly payments, although all of our vehicles are paid off. It is partly because the insurance payments would go up too. The vehicles don’t LOOK old and beat up, but they are getting old. I would like to just keep driving them forever. I hope things get better soon!


Energy efficiency is the word of the year

by Mary Anne

I could not believe my ears yesterday when my husband told me that a lamp does not use any more electricity when it is turned on than when it is turned off. He claimed that if the lamp was plugged in then it was using electricity. Can you believe that he thought he could convince me of that? I told him that he was insulting my intelligence, and that I am a lot smarter than I look. Imagine, trying to convince me of that.

It all started when I reminded him to please turn off the lights and television in the living room when he is done for the night and going to bed and is the last person in the room. Does that sound like a reasonable request to you? I swear, sometimes I think that I’m the only one in the house that gives a darn about saving energy and trying to reduce our utility bills. Of course since I’m the one that pays that bill no one else cares at all, and that is obvious by the fact that I am the one that runs around the house turning things off.

One thing I am doing as well is making sure that all of the double glazing windows that we have are locked tight. I’ve noticed in the past when someone opens a window to let in the fresh air, when they close it again that there often is a gap up at the top of the window that no one notices until they go to lock it. It’s lucky that it has been a mild winter so far; the cold draft coming in from the windows would really be costing me a fortune in heating bills!


Business loans

by Mary Anne

Ever since we found out about the business opportunity that is on the market, we’ve been looking for ways that we can afford to buy it. We weren’t really in the market to buy anything; this was a surprise opportunity. We’ve called our local banks, the two that we do business with to see if they are going to be able to help us. We think we have good credit, but to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure. It scares me to think that we might have to apply for any business loans with bad credit, because I’m concerned that the interest rate will increase the monthly payment so high that we can’t afford it. Wish me luck!


My “dream car”

by Mary Anne

I’m not into big, fancy, status symbol cars. I want something reliable that gets good gas mileage and is built well enough that if it is in an accident, the chances of the passengers and driver surviving are good. My “dream car” would have a remote starter, air conditioning, a good heater, heated mirrors, heated seats, remote control mirrors, back window defroster & wiper, automatic transmission, cruise control, a GPS unit, power windows and locks. 


Self-lift chairs

by Mary Anne

I think that my hubby and I should talk to his mother about buying one of the many self-lifting chairs that are on the market now.  I’d like to see her get one that has heat and massage options.  As she is getting older her arthritis is bothering her more and she is having trouble getting into and out of her chair. 

Besides her current favorite chair is getting very dilapidated from the cats sharpening their claws on it all of the time. It looks terrible! I think that a lift chair would be of great value to her.


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