I gotz me a BlogHer roommate! And she rocks! It's the infamous Moxie, of Moxie and Ask Moxie. I know, right! How cool am I? (Wait, don't answer that.)
By the way, if you have anything resembling a child anywhere in your life, you should be reading Ask Moxie. My reading method of choice is to scan the questions, paying immediate attention to the ones that speak to my needs at that given moment, and then mentally noting the rest of the topics (particularly those I'm feeling haughty and superior about) for when that particular issue rears it's ugly, I-told-you-so head.
In other upbeat news, Todd and I finally had a day of bookkeeping yesterday that was headlined by our calls to our credit card companies. Get this: by and large, the credit card industry has managed to train actual, compassionate customer service people who have programs and plans in place to help you out. No, seriously. I could barely believe the kind of sensitve, authentic words that were coming across the telephone line.
In all instances, we were able to lower the interest rate by at least 11%. In several cases, we were able to lower our rate to 6% (!!!!) and negotiate a minimum payment that was less than half of the usual. The whole experience left me wondering why we'd put it off. Oh, wait, I remember: scathing humiliation.
What I learned is this: Call them. Tell them you're in a bad way. Tell them what steps your taking to try and turn things around. (Maybe even let your voice crack a bit.) And see what they can do for you. You'll be surprised. And if you do it before you start to fall behind, they really be able to offer you some substantial help. And, in most cases, you won't feel like a total failure afterward.
In yet more encouraging news, we're also switching to a slightly different insurance plan. The deductible will be $5000 instead of $2500, but we'll save $237 per month! Between this and the credit cards, Todd and I were able to shave more than $600 off our monthly expenses.
SWEET!
We're listing our house today, and I've got my fingers crossed that it sells quickly. With interest rates so low, there's finally some interest in buying around these parts. And the section of our neighborhood is now completely built-out, meaning we don't have to contend with the builder selling brand new homes.
What else, what else... oh yeah - we got caught in a hideous hail storm yesterday on our way home from picking up the girls. It was so bad that it caused white-out conditions and it struck when we were about a mile from home. (Have I mentioned how incredibly windy the road to our house is?) It scared the tar out of both Todd and me - but we managed not to freak out in front of the girls. So, amongst all the other good news, there's the "Hey, we're not dead of a horrific car accident!" to add in.
Finally, don't forget to get in on the Sew Cute Design raffle - it ends tomorrow at 12:00 CST. I think grovelling and begging time will be over before you know it, thanks to my new roomie!
