Well now...

Nov 25, 2014 11:54

I know it's been over a month since I last updated..... it might be a while more ( Read more... )

evolution, dreams, the plan®

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acelightning November 26 2014, 07:53:44 UTC
I know all too well how terrifying that feels! I don't know anything about Canadian bankruptcy proceedings, but American ones certainly save my ass and my husband's when we found ourselves with no income and persistent creditors. Bankruptcy is not "admitting failure", or a source of further financial disaster - it's a relief. With almost all existing debts wiped out, we were able to get our feet back under ourselves and begin to restructure our life.

*hugs*

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oceansedge November 26 2014, 13:43:37 UTC
bankruptcy wouldn't really resolve the problem or even relief - the issue right now is keeping the lights on and oil in the tank and getting the phones back on. :(

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acelightning November 27 2014, 05:30:16 UTC
At least in New Jersey, the unpaid utility bills were treated as debts, just like the unpaid credit cards and other debts. They were all wiped away by the bankruptcy, and, lo and behold, my water, natural gas, electricity, land-line phone, and cable internet access were all turned back on. (I could have also bankrupted out of the two months' back rent I owed, but I paid those anyway as soon as I had some money, because our landlord is very good to us.) In the US, there are also federal programs that provide financial assistance to keep you from losing vital utilities like heat, water, and basic phone service. (It helps if you're over 65 - is James that old yet?) Sorry, but I only know what the laws about all this stuff are in the US, and I wouldn't know where to look for the Canadian equivalents.

I could PayPal you a small amount, but I'm afraid it wouldn't be enough to do any good :-(

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oceansedge November 27 2014, 15:18:02 UTC
thanks ducky - we do appreciate the thought ( ... )

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acelightning November 29 2014, 08:24:55 UTC
My husband and I are trying to get our own finances into a position where we can start a business. (Yeah, we tried that before, but we didn't have anything specific in mind. That's what eventually led to the bankruptcy.) The trouble is, between my husband's excessively arduous and low-paying job driving for a limousine company, and both of us being old enough to collect Social Security, we have just barely enough income for day-to-day living. And then things keep coming up - we're still paying off the medical bills from my first cancer surgery, and the car has needed major repairs a few times, and both of us have had to have relatively expensive dental procedures, and there's an ancient student-loan debt that we're paying off at a rate that doesn't even keep up with the interest. (I signed up with Harris Polls Online a long time ago, and I answer as many polls as I can, because the "points" that accumulate can eventually be traded for Amazon gift cards, which are how I manage to almost keep up with Seanan McGuire's book output.) Every ( ... )

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oceansedge December 2 2014, 22:26:36 UTC
good news is - had a job interview this afternoon - it went well, nice people, got on well I think, made an excellent impression.

bad news is - it's only part time minimum wage which won't exactly pay the bills, but it'll pay more than we can now

good news is - it's oddly a sort of job that is kinda made for my odd array of talents

Glorified stock boy it might be, BUT it's also face paced organization in a dynamic and shifting environment.... I can excel at this and who knows there may be more hours and room for upward mobility.... there are 4 things I know really well in this world, planes, stationary, animals, and FOOD.

*keeping my fingers crossed* ... and I still got a lottery ticket for Wednesday (although money magick has never done me much good either)

Who knows if we can get a few bills caught up, maybe we can consider something like this when / if the property in Newfoundland sells.

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acelightning December 3 2014, 09:43:42 UTC
I'm just waiting for either the MegaMillions or Powerball lottery to get up over $100 million (they've gotten above $500 million - half a billion dollars! - a few times). I'm not going to spend my hard-earned $3 on a chance on a measly twenty or thirty million bucks :-)

Good luck on the job - it might not be ideal, but it could be a stepping-stone to something better.

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oceansedge December 3 2014, 17:45:30 UTC
heh... the 6/49 is up to $30 million tonight it may be only Canadian funny money, but it's tax free, all in one cheque, Canadian funny money LOL! and at least the odds are better than the Lotto Max.

Of course, I've never been a greedy woman, I've always told the gods that I'd be quite content with a simple second place of $1 million, or even a 3rd rate $1/4 million ....perhaps even more content, after all with great money comes great headaches LOL

Ah well, can't win if you don't play, and I figure my little $3/week for a tiny sliver of hope is probably better spent than the $135/month I spend on the life insurance ("just in case it ever does get to be toooooooooooooo much")

Thanks, there are worse things than working for minimum wage for happy contented competent people - and I always try to keep my eye on the idea that you don't get anywhere without putting your foot on the path :) I'll take whatever small graces I am given gratefully

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acelightning December 4 2014, 11:32:54 UTC
My husband points out to me that my odds of winning even the second prize (1 or 2 million) are something like one in 17 quintillion. I have absolutely no mathematical ability, but I can truthfully respond that, if I don't buy a ticket, my odds are precisely zero :-)

Not all minimum-wage jobs are backbreaking, demeaning slave labor. If they're good people, and it's a good place, you may well find yourself making more money soon, one way or another. Fingers, toes, eyes, eye stalks, pseudopods, tentacles, and tailfeathers crossed!

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oceansedge December 9 2014, 16:39:53 UTC
met with the store manager this morning - he also seems to be inordinately pleasant.... and apparently the 2nd interview is a formality .... I was welcomed to the position on the spot. Orientation is 0800 tomorrow morning.

I'm pleased. Quite pleased. It probably isn't enough hours nor enough money, but it's a nice place and the corporate environment of this particular mega-mart chain seems to have improved some over the part few years.

I might actually like this

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r_caton December 10 2014, 19:42:41 UTC
Good Luck

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oceansedge December 12 2014, 22:20:22 UTC
thanks - it went well, I think I might enjoy it, or at least not hate it :)

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acelightning December 11 2014, 10:19:45 UTC
Congratulations! It's better than no job, and it sounds at least bearable. And maybe you get employee discounts on stuff, which could improve your financial situation even a bit more. May your life continue to get better and better!

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oceansedge December 12 2014, 22:19:51 UTC
Day 1 of corporate indoctrination and training went well - everyone really does seem pleasant enough - there's a lot to be said for a low key, low pressure, pleasant environment ...

6 months in there are discounts which will be very useful and helpful and worth about $80/month

Next week is 2 night shifts and a day shift, none of which will conflict with any of the Farmer's Market dates I'm working with James.... so all in all it seems like it should be quite manageable and not horrible and there's some other potential benefits down the road...

It's all nothing tooooooo dramatic, but I do have a feeling as though we've turned a corner

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acelightning December 13 2014, 04:47:22 UTC
So far, so good, then!

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oceansedge December 13 2014, 21:57:01 UTC
yep - pretty much
we'll see how I feel next Saturday after my first proper week of shifts :)
(of course Thursday is the last 'Christmas Market' - so it'll be an extra long one, and the Saturday Market will be at least as busy as today was - and today was a record breaker.. Good thing I got Sunday and Monday to rest up.... oh wait, housework.. LOL !)

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