Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Cleaned Up The Blog Roll
I added a few blogs, deleted a few blogs and updated my fiscal progress. That's the best I can do on a miserable rainy day!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sometimes You Just Have to Put It On The Table.
If you have been reading my blog, you know that I have two jobs. My weekday job that was at one time, full time and now three quarter time and my weekend job that "picks up the slack" so to speak. I got this job just a few weeks after my hours were reduced at my full time job. I was hired to fill in for someone who got injured and could not work. I knew then and still know now that my days are contingent upon this persons return to her old schedule. My boss also would like to keep me on at his facility since I can contribute more to his operation than turning out horses and mucking out stalls. For the most part, I don't care who does what when I'm not at the facility, I don't oversee the other workers, I have no managerial duties so to speak. If I did, I'd of fired a couple people like last year. I like to get to my weekend job, get settled, do my work for three days and then go home. I have to travel to my weekend job, I like to use Thursday evenings as "me time", other than checking the schedule, I like to crash, maybe eat a pizza and drink a beer and watch cable TV for a few hours. Such is the exciting life I lead.
Except for last weekend. I got to the facility and it was a mess. I mean a real mess. Like a mess that should have been dealt with by the staff that was on duty that day. Of course, the boss was away, so the mice played. I walked into the facilities office to check messages, looked at the weekend schedule, and do a quick check of the facility. I also noticed that a lot of the daily house keeping chores were not done and not done for umm, two to three days, the exact amount of time the boss was out of town. Most of those chores are not difficult or time consuming and considering there was not a lot of "extra" work to be done at the facility I was wondering why the daily chores were not done. Most of these chores revolved around the guest lounge and common areas that need to be kept clean neat and tidy all the time. These are the "public faces" of the facility and all of us are required to make sure they look presentable. The people who pay money to use our facility don't make a huge mess, in fact, they are pretty tidy and if the staff on duty keeps up with the chores, the public areas look more than presentable. We had a program scheduled for the weekend and the public areas of the facility needed to be extra spiffy.
Needless to say I was not happy to find out Thursday evening that I had to spend a good two hours cleaning up these areas since I knew that I would not have the time on Friday to do so. My weekend boss was away and despite leaving him a couple phone messages, two texts and a hand written note, he did not get back to me until the middle of the week.
I point blank told him I did not appreciate the fact that he had all this staff on duty who seemed incapable of doing the basic chores, yet somehow I managed to do all the chores and then some without the benefit of extra staff (which I knew a head of time we would be short help) and oh yes, did I mention that the public face of his facility looked like crap? Yes, my words, looked like crap. I gave him a blow by blow description of what was NOT done that should have been done. What triggered my unusual outburst was the phone call I got (actually three phone calls) from the weekday person wanting to "touch base" about the facility. Which in her speak means "here-are-my-excuses-for-not-doing-the-work". The weekday person was trying to shift the blame to the other staffer. In my opinion, both of them need a sharp prod with a very sharp stick on a regular basis. When prodded, they do more than acceptable work, when not prodded, they slack off.
My weekend boss and I have a good working relationship. I don't bother him with the BS stuff, not my style, but this really irritated me. Busy weekend, no extra help and a lot of unexpected work, two staffers who probably sat in the lounge watching cable or playing on the computer and got paid for it. I was not very happy to roll in to the office and then have to do someones work and not get paid for it. I told my boss that consider Thursday evenings "me time" even when I get to the facility early. It did not make me a happy camper to have to do the chores, and it made me an even unhappier camper to find out that there was extra staff on both Wednesday and Thursday.
He did apologize and say he would talk to those people, but I really wonder if he will. He's a non confrontational type of guy and may just gloss it over. Oh well, at least I told him my feelings on this matter and I will wait and see what happens next week. At least, he should put a little extra in the pay packet.!
Except for last weekend. I got to the facility and it was a mess. I mean a real mess. Like a mess that should have been dealt with by the staff that was on duty that day. Of course, the boss was away, so the mice played. I walked into the facilities office to check messages, looked at the weekend schedule, and do a quick check of the facility. I also noticed that a lot of the daily house keeping chores were not done and not done for umm, two to three days, the exact amount of time the boss was out of town. Most of those chores are not difficult or time consuming and considering there was not a lot of "extra" work to be done at the facility I was wondering why the daily chores were not done. Most of these chores revolved around the guest lounge and common areas that need to be kept clean neat and tidy all the time. These are the "public faces" of the facility and all of us are required to make sure they look presentable. The people who pay money to use our facility don't make a huge mess, in fact, they are pretty tidy and if the staff on duty keeps up with the chores, the public areas look more than presentable. We had a program scheduled for the weekend and the public areas of the facility needed to be extra spiffy.
Needless to say I was not happy to find out Thursday evening that I had to spend a good two hours cleaning up these areas since I knew that I would not have the time on Friday to do so. My weekend boss was away and despite leaving him a couple phone messages, two texts and a hand written note, he did not get back to me until the middle of the week.
I point blank told him I did not appreciate the fact that he had all this staff on duty who seemed incapable of doing the basic chores, yet somehow I managed to do all the chores and then some without the benefit of extra staff (which I knew a head of time we would be short help) and oh yes, did I mention that the public face of his facility looked like crap? Yes, my words, looked like crap. I gave him a blow by blow description of what was NOT done that should have been done. What triggered my unusual outburst was the phone call I got (actually three phone calls) from the weekday person wanting to "touch base" about the facility. Which in her speak means "here-are-my-excuses-for-not-doing-the-work". The weekday person was trying to shift the blame to the other staffer. In my opinion, both of them need a sharp prod with a very sharp stick on a regular basis. When prodded, they do more than acceptable work, when not prodded, they slack off.
My weekend boss and I have a good working relationship. I don't bother him with the BS stuff, not my style, but this really irritated me. Busy weekend, no extra help and a lot of unexpected work, two staffers who probably sat in the lounge watching cable or playing on the computer and got paid for it. I was not very happy to roll in to the office and then have to do someones work and not get paid for it. I told my boss that consider Thursday evenings "me time" even when I get to the facility early. It did not make me a happy camper to have to do the chores, and it made me an even unhappier camper to find out that there was extra staff on both Wednesday and Thursday.
He did apologize and say he would talk to those people, but I really wonder if he will. He's a non confrontational type of guy and may just gloss it over. Oh well, at least I told him my feelings on this matter and I will wait and see what happens next week. At least, he should put a little extra in the pay packet.!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Why I Love My Local Ford Dealer
I am the first to admit I love my Escape. It's a vehicle I wanted and worked hard to get post BK. My old car was a 1999 Saturn Station wagon that gave me many years of service and over 232,000 miles. It started to die a very expensive death at the end of it's life and that slow decline corresponded to my BK filing. In fact, my transmission blew up on my way back from my 341 hearing costing me the remaining $300 in my checking account and my next paycheck. Was it fate or just the universe testing me? I knew as soon as I could I needed to replace the Saturn that gave me many years of trouble free service.
Needless to say. I decided on a new to me car from a dealer instead of temporary clunker since my past experience with clunkers was not good. I've had the Escape for two years now and it's chugging along. I take it in for oil changes approximately every 5,000 miles. I've been taking it to one of the two local Ford dealerships for the past 10 months. I was going to a local oil change shop that was increasingly trying to sell you additional services and fluid changes. The service department at the new dealership has been great, does more than the 21 point inspection of the vehicle during the oil change and does it for less than $35. The other Ford dealership seemed to be only interested in making a buck. Each time I would take the car in for an oil change (they offered a $25 oil change) I would get a laundry list of much needed repairs. What drove me over the edge was taking the Escape in for an ABS sensor repair (Estimated cost $400 if new parts were needed) and getting an estimate for $1200 worth of "work". Plus the snotty attitude of the mechanic and the patronizing attitude of the service manager when I said No was annoying. I guess they saw a female with a car and saw $$$$ signs.
The other Ford Dealership that I now go to is much more straight up and honest. Instead of insisting on all these services, they check and re-check during the oil change and talk to you like a person and not a bank account. This oil change was no exception. I had the service and instead of insisting on the full 80,000 mile service, they told me that all looked good and would recommend a radiator flush and fill sometime in the next few months. They said all looked good and probably would be fine, but it did not hurt to do the flush and fill later this spring. I'll plan and budget that for in the upcoming couple months. When the Escape had some problems this past fall, I logged onto a Ford Escape Forum researched the site and found what looked like my problem with my Escape. When I went to the dealership, I told them what I was feeling/hearing in the car, what I found on the forum and left the Escape for the diagnostic test. The service manager listened to me and what I found. He thought maybe the back end of the Escape was shot, but he also looked up on same forum my problem and low and behold, instead of a new back end, all I needed was a repair of a frozen joint of some sort. He did not assume my Escape needed a new back end, He did not dismiss my input, he thought it might a bad rear end on the Escape, but he was open to looking at the forum and also looking at my Escape with my eyes. He told me my type repair was the first he had done on an Escape at his shop and he was glad I told him about the Forum. The repair was under $200 (including the oil change) and this dealership now has my business as long as I have my Escape. This dealership is in the business of repairing cars and maintaining good customer relationships no matter your age or gender.
I did treat the car to a spring cleaning on Saturday inside and out. My car has been freshly serviced and freshly washed. Good way to start the spring!
Needless to say. I decided on a new to me car from a dealer instead of temporary clunker since my past experience with clunkers was not good. I've had the Escape for two years now and it's chugging along. I take it in for oil changes approximately every 5,000 miles. I've been taking it to one of the two local Ford dealerships for the past 10 months. I was going to a local oil change shop that was increasingly trying to sell you additional services and fluid changes. The service department at the new dealership has been great, does more than the 21 point inspection of the vehicle during the oil change and does it for less than $35. The other Ford dealership seemed to be only interested in making a buck. Each time I would take the car in for an oil change (they offered a $25 oil change) I would get a laundry list of much needed repairs. What drove me over the edge was taking the Escape in for an ABS sensor repair (Estimated cost $400 if new parts were needed) and getting an estimate for $1200 worth of "work". Plus the snotty attitude of the mechanic and the patronizing attitude of the service manager when I said No was annoying. I guess they saw a female with a car and saw $$$$ signs.
The other Ford Dealership that I now go to is much more straight up and honest. Instead of insisting on all these services, they check and re-check during the oil change and talk to you like a person and not a bank account. This oil change was no exception. I had the service and instead of insisting on the full 80,000 mile service, they told me that all looked good and would recommend a radiator flush and fill sometime in the next few months. They said all looked good and probably would be fine, but it did not hurt to do the flush and fill later this spring. I'll plan and budget that for in the upcoming couple months. When the Escape had some problems this past fall, I logged onto a Ford Escape Forum researched the site and found what looked like my problem with my Escape. When I went to the dealership, I told them what I was feeling/hearing in the car, what I found on the forum and left the Escape for the diagnostic test. The service manager listened to me and what I found. He thought maybe the back end of the Escape was shot, but he also looked up on same forum my problem and low and behold, instead of a new back end, all I needed was a repair of a frozen joint of some sort. He did not assume my Escape needed a new back end, He did not dismiss my input, he thought it might a bad rear end on the Escape, but he was open to looking at the forum and also looking at my Escape with my eyes. He told me my type repair was the first he had done on an Escape at his shop and he was glad I told him about the Forum. The repair was under $200 (including the oil change) and this dealership now has my business as long as I have my Escape. This dealership is in the business of repairing cars and maintaining good customer relationships no matter your age or gender.
I did treat the car to a spring cleaning on Saturday inside and out. My car has been freshly serviced and freshly washed. Good way to start the spring!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Things That Make Me Laugh
I pulled my credit reports and scores this week to do my annual check. My FICO score is about the same as it was last year, not great at 635, but at least it has not gone down. I had hoped it would go up a bit more, like at least to 650. My Advantage score is 785, what ever that means and supposedly am a Prime candidate, what ever that means. I'm getting ready to process an application for an FHA loan to get some money for some much needed work on my house. I thought this would be a good time to double check my file before it gets pulled by a lender so I can clean up any discrepancies.
I did have to laugh at a couple items that were listed on the report as an "explanation" for my low scores.
• Your report shows one or more bankruptcy filings. Bankruptcies can remain on file for up to 10 years, depending on the chapter filed, and have a negative impact on your credit score. Ah Duh, I filed Bankruptcy, I expect to find this on the report!
• The average loan amount across open, recently reported real estate accounts, such as a mortgage, is too low. Having low loan amounts has a negative impact on your credit score. Too Low? I mean my mortgage was small to begin with, I did not buy a McMansion!
I did find one discrepancy, which was an account I had in collections was discharged in the BK filing. It is still listed as active in two of the three credit agencies and not on the third. I'm filing a paper dispute as I hear they work better than an electronic one. I have no idea if this is true or not, but I thought, hey, it's only two stamps. I even cleaned up some personal information, employers names spelled wrong, corrected some start dates, eliminated some old duplicate mailing addresses.
I've said this before. Even with the Bankruptcy, it's better to have correct negative information than incorrect negative information on the account.
When was the last time you looked at your credit reports?
I did have to laugh at a couple items that were listed on the report as an "explanation" for my low scores.
• Your report shows one or more bankruptcy filings. Bankruptcies can remain on file for up to 10 years, depending on the chapter filed, and have a negative impact on your credit score. Ah Duh, I filed Bankruptcy, I expect to find this on the report!
• The average loan amount across open, recently reported real estate accounts, such as a mortgage, is too low. Having low loan amounts has a negative impact on your credit score. Too Low? I mean my mortgage was small to begin with, I did not buy a McMansion!
I did find one discrepancy, which was an account I had in collections was discharged in the BK filing. It is still listed as active in two of the three credit agencies and not on the third. I'm filing a paper dispute as I hear they work better than an electronic one. I have no idea if this is true or not, but I thought, hey, it's only two stamps. I even cleaned up some personal information, employers names spelled wrong, corrected some start dates, eliminated some old duplicate mailing addresses.
I've said this before. Even with the Bankruptcy, it's better to have correct negative information than incorrect negative information on the account.
When was the last time you looked at your credit reports?
Friday, March 19, 2010
Why I Have A Costco Membership
I have been a member of Costco, (then Price Club) since 1992. When I first joined, you had to show proof of belonging to a qualifying organization. In my case, I worked in a school district so I was allowed to become a Costco member. My then boyfriend had to be added to my account as an extra card holder since he worked for a small company that was not on the Price Club list. It cost $35 a year to be a member and my renewal this year was $50. In 18 years the dues have gone up $15 and I have NO complaints about that. I do believe that I do save the cost of the membership with my shopping at Costco over the year.
When I lived in Northern Virginia and the Costco opened at Pentagon City, it was like MAGIC. It sold beer and wine, had a great selection of items and and best of all, was close to my home, actually on my way to and from home. I would stop there at least 3x a week.
When I moved back to New England, Costco became a destination shop. The closest one to home is 20 miles away. I would have to plan my shopping trips. For someone who dislikes the grocery store experience, Costco has been a sanity saver. I have my list of items I can buy in bulk. Depending on the time of day, I can be in and out of Costco in less than 30 minutes. I do my best to avoid the store on the weekends-way too many people and screaming children.
My visit to Costco yesterday was a bit pricey $132 in the warehouse-this included my yearly renewal and a new pair of sneakers that I wanted, but did not need right now, $55 in the optical department for new lenses (needed) and $32 at the gas pump. I saved about 30% on the cost of my contacts (I've checked out 1800 contacts and other vendors), the gas is always 10c-15c per gallon cheaper than most local gas stations, and I'm well stocked up on garbage bags.
Even though I have limited storage space, I still shop at Costco for my paper goods (tissues, TP, paper towels), rice, cereal,juices, soda water, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, contacts, gas, et al. I know if I read all the circulars I could probably find the better deals at the chain stores, but honestly, I don't do that sort of shopping. I would lose my freaking mind if I had to spend my time going from Wal Mart to K-Mart to Target to Costco to Stop and Shop to Shaws all in the name of saving a few dollars on the basics. I find shopping to be a neccessary evil most of the time and if I can get my purchases at a reasonable price and fast, I do.
What I don't buy at Costco are most of the frozen pre-prepared foods. While having a huge box of frozen pizzas may be tempting for those days that I don't feel like cooking, the listed fat grams on most boxes alone are enough to make me run to a cardiologist. I prefer non frozen chicken breast over frozen chicken breast pieces. I make my own burgers from ground beef, I don't use pre-made patties and as much as I like peas, having a 5 pound bag of frozen peas in the freezer would pretty much take up all my freezer space. I can see if people have families that these items can be a time saver and even a money saver. I'd rather pop a frozen pizza in the oven for $5 than get the same size in take out for $10.
What can make Costco a waste a money is if you don't shop wisely. If you have a small family, or like me are single, sometimes these bulk items can go to waste. I happen to love salads and will eat a whole bag of salad mix in a few days. Even if I miss a day or two and the tail end gets a bit mushy, the cost of the salad from Costco is still less than half for half the amount at the grocery store. BUT if you are not a salad eater, only use the product for one meal and then let the rest of it rot, you are better off buying a bag of lettuce at the grocery store. Not everyone needs a 3 lb jar of mayo, you will probably be better off getting your mayo from your local grocery store.
Plus you can't beat the $1.50 for the hot dog and soda as a great quick lunch or snack...:)
When I lived in Northern Virginia and the Costco opened at Pentagon City, it was like MAGIC. It sold beer and wine, had a great selection of items and and best of all, was close to my home, actually on my way to and from home. I would stop there at least 3x a week.
When I moved back to New England, Costco became a destination shop. The closest one to home is 20 miles away. I would have to plan my shopping trips. For someone who dislikes the grocery store experience, Costco has been a sanity saver. I have my list of items I can buy in bulk. Depending on the time of day, I can be in and out of Costco in less than 30 minutes. I do my best to avoid the store on the weekends-way too many people and screaming children.
My visit to Costco yesterday was a bit pricey $132 in the warehouse-this included my yearly renewal and a new pair of sneakers that I wanted, but did not need right now, $55 in the optical department for new lenses (needed) and $32 at the gas pump. I saved about 30% on the cost of my contacts (I've checked out 1800 contacts and other vendors), the gas is always 10c-15c per gallon cheaper than most local gas stations, and I'm well stocked up on garbage bags.
Even though I have limited storage space, I still shop at Costco for my paper goods (tissues, TP, paper towels), rice, cereal,juices, soda water, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, contacts, gas, et al. I know if I read all the circulars I could probably find the better deals at the chain stores, but honestly, I don't do that sort of shopping. I would lose my freaking mind if I had to spend my time going from Wal Mart to K-Mart to Target to Costco to Stop and Shop to Shaws all in the name of saving a few dollars on the basics. I find shopping to be a neccessary evil most of the time and if I can get my purchases at a reasonable price and fast, I do.
What I don't buy at Costco are most of the frozen pre-prepared foods. While having a huge box of frozen pizzas may be tempting for those days that I don't feel like cooking, the listed fat grams on most boxes alone are enough to make me run to a cardiologist. I prefer non frozen chicken breast over frozen chicken breast pieces. I make my own burgers from ground beef, I don't use pre-made patties and as much as I like peas, having a 5 pound bag of frozen peas in the freezer would pretty much take up all my freezer space. I can see if people have families that these items can be a time saver and even a money saver. I'd rather pop a frozen pizza in the oven for $5 than get the same size in take out for $10.
What can make Costco a waste a money is if you don't shop wisely. If you have a small family, or like me are single, sometimes these bulk items can go to waste. I happen to love salads and will eat a whole bag of salad mix in a few days. Even if I miss a day or two and the tail end gets a bit mushy, the cost of the salad from Costco is still less than half for half the amount at the grocery store. BUT if you are not a salad eater, only use the product for one meal and then let the rest of it rot, you are better off buying a bag of lettuce at the grocery store. Not everyone needs a 3 lb jar of mayo, you will probably be better off getting your mayo from your local grocery store.
Plus you can't beat the $1.50 for the hot dog and soda as a great quick lunch or snack...:)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Contest at Fabulously Broke
Yes, you can win one of 4 $25 gift cards at one of my favorite blogs-Fabulously Broke in the City. Click here to go to that post. She has a fab site full of great information as well! Please check out the site and enter the contest!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Chair is Ready!
I got a call this morning. My chair has been repaired! Yeah. The total cost was $205.32. Worth it I think. I am looking forward to sitting back in my chair.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)