I hate credit card companies. They lure you in, and then they screw you over. They start young, too! They came after me in college. I was young, and liked to have fun. (typical 18-year-old!) I didn't give too much thought to having to pay back what I "borrowed". But anyway... I digress. Let's fast forward a few years - to present day.
We have credit card debt. A lot of it. Too much, I know. A couple of months ago, we realized just how bad it really was and made a vow to change it. Easier said than done. I was looking through statements one month and noticed that a certain bank had raised our interest rates - quite a bit!! Almost double - to be more precise. What the hell??? Why would they do that? Because they can. This happened to 3 of our cards - and they all happen to be from the same bank. When I called to question this move, I was informed that it's because they noticed that we had too much debt (in their not-so-humble opinion). Well, no shit! I'm fully aware that we have too much debt. We are striving to lower it as we speak, I tell the guy. His response was that the bank was doing this to everyone, meaning - reviewing accounts and adjusting things as they saw fit. How nice of them.
I ask the guy how I could be penalized like this when I've ALWAYS paid on time? I've ALWAYS paid at least the minimum required. I've NEVER gone over my limit. He said that those things had nothing to do with it. Well, why the hell not???? Those good things should count for something, shouldn't they? If I had consistently been paying late, then of course I would deserve a penalty of some sort. If I couldn't pay the minimum required, I should be penalized. I know they charge over-the-limit fees, and I would understand being penalized for that. But NONE OF THESE APPLY in our case! We've played by the rules, and now we're being screwed over. AND WE'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG!!! YOU (the bank) offered us credit. YOU approved us when we applied for credit. YOU increased our spending limits - BECAUSE WE WERE SUCH VALUED CUSTOMERS. And now, because YOU have determined that we have too much debt (that YOU allowed us to have), you are penalizing us. Thanks a lot. I'm so glad that we chose to do business with you.
So, I ask the guy if anything can be done about this. I point out once again all the things that we've done right regarding our accounts (everything). And I ask him to explain to me once again all the things that we've done wrong (nothing). He agrees that we've done nothing wrong - except to actually USE the credit that was given us. How is this wrong again?? He doesn't have an answer for me. He tells me that the only thing we can do is "freeze" our accounts and they'll lower the interest rates. "Freezing" the accounts means that we can't use them. Well we can, but the first time we do, they'll jack the interest back up again. He said that as soon as we get to a zero balance, they'll be willing to "negotiate" with us for a low rate and unfreeze the account. Wow. Thanks for working with me!
I let the guy know how I feel about this whole deal, and he just listens. I know that it wasn't actually HIM that did this, but he's representing that company, and he got an earful that day from me. I point out to him that while I'm fully aware of the fact that I have too much debt, raising my interest rates (and subsequently the minimum payments) is only going to make it that much harder to actually pay the bills! I ask what sense this makes... ?? He says he understands, but there's nothing else he can do. Well, great. I tell him to freeze 2 of the accounts for now. Times are REALLY hard right now, and I feel like I need the flexibility to keep that 3rd card available if I need it. So it's done. 2 cards are "frozen" with somewhat reasonable interest rates. The 3rd card is still "un-frozen" and available for use. Of course, the interest rate is an un-Godly rate of 24.99%, but what can I do?
So, where are we? Since April, we've been living with those 2 cards frozen and the 3rd with the ridiculous interest. Fine, we're struggling - but hanging in there. Then, last week, we get some lovely mail from this bank. They've decided to LOWER our credit limits on 2 of the accounts! The one that we left un-frozen was lowered by about $1000, and one that was frozen was lowered by about $4000. They had determined that we carried too much credit (in general) and felt it was in their best interest to lower our limits. What amazes me is that I haven't used that one frozen card (either frozen one actually) since April, and they lower our limit by $4000!! I haven't charged anything on it in months, but yet it's in their best interest to lower it?? Please!!
And the hits just keep on comin'...
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
My Kind of Town!
I love Chicago. Love it. Love it. If it weren't for the winters, I would live there.
We went to visit Jeff's parents last weekend. They live in a suburb with a beautiful yard and a nice patio in the back. The first night we were there, we sat outside watching the birds and "critters". My first reaction to the word "critters" was EWWW!! I thought she was referring to mice or rats or something. And why on earth would she enjoy watching them?? Actually, they are ground squirrels. That's not so bad. They're actually kind of cute.
Jeff and Brendan were able to go flying with his dad on Thursday. They had a great time. We (me, Jeff's mom, and Jake) didn't have such a great time. On our way to meet them at the airport, Jake threw up in the car. That was awful!! (I should have known something was up when he fell asleep in my lap before we even left the house. He never does that!) Poor guy was not well at all for the rest of the afternoon. The evening improved though, and the boys all went to the playground in the neighborhood after dinner. Jake loved the swings, and Brendan ran around the tennis court chasing stray balls. Easy and cheap entertainment! :)
Friday we all met up for lunch at Portillo's near Woodfield Mall. What an awesome place! They have a HUGE selection, and everything was delicious. We will definitely go back again! After lunch, we split up again and the big boys went home to hang out at home while the ladies and Jake went to the mall. I stopped in the Disney Doorway to Dreams. It's a storefront which is used for the Disney Vacation Club - Disney's version of a timeshare. They have mock-ups of 2 different rooms at the Animal Kingdom Villas. They are absolutely beautiful! Jeff and I would LOVE to be a part of DVC. Unfortunately at the moment, we can't afford it. I really wish we could! Disney World is the place where we, as a family, can all go and have a great time together. We ALL love it, and hopefully that won't change for a long while. Maybe one day they'll be saying "Welcome Home" to us!
Saturday we took the train into the city to go to Navy Pier. Brendan, Jake and I rode the big Ferris Wheel and took in the sights. We had fun walking around and checking out the shops and then we ate some lunch. We spent most of the day there, and then took the train back home. It was a hot day (by Chicagoan standards), and we were all tired and ready to get home.
We flew home on Sunday and had to take a connecting flight through Shreveport. This wouldn't mean anything normally, but if we didn't have to stop there, Brendan probably wouldn't have done what he did. We got off the plane and set our stuff down in some chairs near the wall to re-charge the DVD player. Brendan wanted to finish watching the movie he had been watching on the plane, so he sat down and watched for about 10 minutes. I was watching Jake play and then noticed that the plane we had just been on was taking off to head back to Chicago. Right then, Brendan came over near me and said "Oh no. Mommy, please don't hate me." WHAT? Oh, please. What could you do that would ever make me hate you?? He starts digging through his bag and then quietly tells me that he thinks he left his DS on the airplane. OMG!!! OK, I don't HATE you for this, but I am certainly going to be a little upset! Sure enough, it was not in his bag. Or my bag. Or Jake's bag. Or Jeff's backpack. We checked. Twice. So not cool, kid!
Jeff got on the phone with everyone he could think of to try and help us locate it. No luck. 2 people met the plane and called him later to say they couldn't find it. My guess is that the person sitting there (or maybe near-by) found it and stuck it in their bag and figured it was just their lucky day. I really wish that there were more decent people in the world that do the right thing. I really wish that maybe the person that took it will have a change of heart and turn it in so that we could get it back. I realize that Brendan was at fault for leaving it in the seatback pocket in the first place. But when you find something like that, the right thing to do is to turn it in because you know it's expensive and IT DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU!! OK, rant over.
All in all, the trip was fun. We don't get a chance to visit them often, so it was nice to hang out for a while.
Pictures to come... :)
We went to visit Jeff's parents last weekend. They live in a suburb with a beautiful yard and a nice patio in the back. The first night we were there, we sat outside watching the birds and "critters". My first reaction to the word "critters" was EWWW!! I thought she was referring to mice or rats or something. And why on earth would she enjoy watching them?? Actually, they are ground squirrels. That's not so bad. They're actually kind of cute.
Jeff and Brendan were able to go flying with his dad on Thursday. They had a great time. We (me, Jeff's mom, and Jake) didn't have such a great time. On our way to meet them at the airport, Jake threw up in the car. That was awful!! (I should have known something was up when he fell asleep in my lap before we even left the house. He never does that!) Poor guy was not well at all for the rest of the afternoon. The evening improved though, and the boys all went to the playground in the neighborhood after dinner. Jake loved the swings, and Brendan ran around the tennis court chasing stray balls. Easy and cheap entertainment! :)
Friday we all met up for lunch at Portillo's near Woodfield Mall. What an awesome place! They have a HUGE selection, and everything was delicious. We will definitely go back again! After lunch, we split up again and the big boys went home to hang out at home while the ladies and Jake went to the mall. I stopped in the Disney Doorway to Dreams. It's a storefront which is used for the Disney Vacation Club - Disney's version of a timeshare. They have mock-ups of 2 different rooms at the Animal Kingdom Villas. They are absolutely beautiful! Jeff and I would LOVE to be a part of DVC. Unfortunately at the moment, we can't afford it. I really wish we could! Disney World is the place where we, as a family, can all go and have a great time together. We ALL love it, and hopefully that won't change for a long while. Maybe one day they'll be saying "Welcome Home" to us!
Saturday we took the train into the city to go to Navy Pier. Brendan, Jake and I rode the big Ferris Wheel and took in the sights. We had fun walking around and checking out the shops and then we ate some lunch. We spent most of the day there, and then took the train back home. It was a hot day (by Chicagoan standards), and we were all tired and ready to get home.
We flew home on Sunday and had to take a connecting flight through Shreveport. This wouldn't mean anything normally, but if we didn't have to stop there, Brendan probably wouldn't have done what he did. We got off the plane and set our stuff down in some chairs near the wall to re-charge the DVD player. Brendan wanted to finish watching the movie he had been watching on the plane, so he sat down and watched for about 10 minutes. I was watching Jake play and then noticed that the plane we had just been on was taking off to head back to Chicago. Right then, Brendan came over near me and said "Oh no. Mommy, please don't hate me." WHAT? Oh, please. What could you do that would ever make me hate you?? He starts digging through his bag and then quietly tells me that he thinks he left his DS on the airplane. OMG!!! OK, I don't HATE you for this, but I am certainly going to be a little upset! Sure enough, it was not in his bag. Or my bag. Or Jake's bag. Or Jeff's backpack. We checked. Twice. So not cool, kid!
Jeff got on the phone with everyone he could think of to try and help us locate it. No luck. 2 people met the plane and called him later to say they couldn't find it. My guess is that the person sitting there (or maybe near-by) found it and stuck it in their bag and figured it was just their lucky day. I really wish that there were more decent people in the world that do the right thing. I really wish that maybe the person that took it will have a change of heart and turn it in so that we could get it back. I realize that Brendan was at fault for leaving it in the seatback pocket in the first place. But when you find something like that, the right thing to do is to turn it in because you know it's expensive and IT DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU!! OK, rant over.
All in all, the trip was fun. We don't get a chance to visit them often, so it was nice to hang out for a while.
Pictures to come... :)
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Our New Swimming Pool
Yes, we finally got a pool... It's wonderful! The boys love it and I like it because it's easy to keep clean. Actually, Jeff keeps it clean - I just watch him do it. :)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I'm addicted......
...to Guitar Hero. It's true. I cannot stop playing that stupid game! We got it for B for his birthday a few weeks ago, but I keep playing it! I've only been able to finish songs in the "easy" section, so it's not like I'm very good at it. But it's fun! I've gotten 100% on one song, and only missed 1 or 2 notes on a couple of others.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Happy Father's Day!
Happy Father's Day to my awesome, funny, sweet (although he wouldn't want anyone to know that...), loving husband!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Happy Birthday to my 10 year old!
We had Brendan's party this afternoon. We did laser tag at Main Event. Jeff and I even got to play! We teamed up against the 6 boys and beat them! We all had a great time!
Double Digits!
10 years ago today, I was sitting in a hospital labor/delivery room waiting to have my first baby. I was so excited/nervous/scared/thrilled/terrified/happy!! Jeff and I had gotten to the hospital at 7:00am for our appointment to be induced. The doctor gave me a pill that "supposedly" was to start the induction. We sat around for about 2 hours waiting and wondering. The doctor finally came in and said we could go home for a couple of hours and then come back in at 1:00pm.
We left the hospital and went to eat breakfast at a cool little diner near our house. The doctor had said that he didn't want me to eat too much. Yeah right! I'm sorry, but you can't tell a 9-months-pregnant woman to "not eat too much". I was starving! Anyway, after brunch, we stopped by the grocery store to get a few items and then went back to the house to hang around for a while.
Back to the hospital at 1:00pm and they put us in a different room. This one was awful! The TV only showed 2/3 of the picture! It was especially bad, because we ended up spending the next 6 1/2 hours cooped up in there. The doctor gave me 2-3 more doses of the "induction pill" that did nothing for me. Nurses came in and checked on me several times throughout the day, and never once was I in labor.
At one point, a nurse came in and stuck something in my IV. I asked what she was doing and her reply was that she was giving me something to stop the contractions because the baby's heart rate would drop with each one. Contractions??? I was having contractions?? I hadn't felt a thing.
Off and on all day, nurses and the doctor would check on me. They kept telling me that they were watching the baby's heart rate and I would probably be going home soon - after they checked with the doctor about it. ugghhh... When was I ever going to have this baby???
Finally, at around 7:30pm, the doctor came in and stood at the foot of my bed. He said, "I think we should talk about the possibility of doing a C-section". He was so laid-back about it, I almost felt like I had a choice in the matter. I asked if this was the only solution, and he said that he was concerned about the heart rate and felt like this was the best idea. I said, "You're the doctor - if you think this is the best thing to do at this point, then I guess we're having a c-section".
The next thing I knew, there were dozens of nurses flying in and out of my room. One threw some scrubs at Jeff and told him to get ready. Another gave me some liquid to drink so I wouldn't throw up. One came in with a razor and a small tub of water. (ack!) One came in and caused me the most pain I've ever felt in my life!! An anastesiologist came in and talked to me about the different ways of numbing me to do the surgery. As he was talking to me and Jeff, a nurse came in and told him that we would be doing general anastesia, so don't bother telling me any more. She then looked at Jeff in his scrubs and said, "you won't be needing those after all. You can't go with her when we do general anestesia." He looked relieved and scared at the same time. He's not one for dealing with blood and stuff, so he was a little freaked about the birth anyway.
It was at that point that I really started to freak out. The nurse said we needed to get going NOW!! "We have to get that baby out NOW!" They started rolling my bed down the hall and into an operating room. I remember them counting instruments and the doctor telling everyone to get moving because they needed to get the baby out immediately. Then I was out.
I woke up a couple of hours later to Jeff telling me that our baby was fine and that he had 10 little fingers and 10 little toes. We were OK! I was so excited and couldn't wait to see him. They moved me to my room and brought him to me a few minutes later. He was perfect! He had a perfectly round head and beautiful blue eyes. He was the most amazing little person I had ever seen! I was thrilled beyond belief.
Happy Birthday to my first born! I love you with all that I have, and I am so proud of you. You are a wonderful, sweet, caring, funny, awesome boy and I am so lucky to have you in my life!
We left the hospital and went to eat breakfast at a cool little diner near our house. The doctor had said that he didn't want me to eat too much. Yeah right! I'm sorry, but you can't tell a 9-months-pregnant woman to "not eat too much". I was starving! Anyway, after brunch, we stopped by the grocery store to get a few items and then went back to the house to hang around for a while.
Back to the hospital at 1:00pm and they put us in a different room. This one was awful! The TV only showed 2/3 of the picture! It was especially bad, because we ended up spending the next 6 1/2 hours cooped up in there. The doctor gave me 2-3 more doses of the "induction pill" that did nothing for me. Nurses came in and checked on me several times throughout the day, and never once was I in labor.
At one point, a nurse came in and stuck something in my IV. I asked what she was doing and her reply was that she was giving me something to stop the contractions because the baby's heart rate would drop with each one. Contractions??? I was having contractions?? I hadn't felt a thing.
Off and on all day, nurses and the doctor would check on me. They kept telling me that they were watching the baby's heart rate and I would probably be going home soon - after they checked with the doctor about it. ugghhh... When was I ever going to have this baby???
Finally, at around 7:30pm, the doctor came in and stood at the foot of my bed. He said, "I think we should talk about the possibility of doing a C-section". He was so laid-back about it, I almost felt like I had a choice in the matter. I asked if this was the only solution, and he said that he was concerned about the heart rate and felt like this was the best idea. I said, "You're the doctor - if you think this is the best thing to do at this point, then I guess we're having a c-section".
The next thing I knew, there were dozens of nurses flying in and out of my room. One threw some scrubs at Jeff and told him to get ready. Another gave me some liquid to drink so I wouldn't throw up. One came in with a razor and a small tub of water. (ack!) One came in and caused me the most pain I've ever felt in my life!! An anastesiologist came in and talked to me about the different ways of numbing me to do the surgery. As he was talking to me and Jeff, a nurse came in and told him that we would be doing general anastesia, so don't bother telling me any more. She then looked at Jeff in his scrubs and said, "you won't be needing those after all. You can't go with her when we do general anestesia." He looked relieved and scared at the same time. He's not one for dealing with blood and stuff, so he was a little freaked about the birth anyway.
It was at that point that I really started to freak out. The nurse said we needed to get going NOW!! "We have to get that baby out NOW!" They started rolling my bed down the hall and into an operating room. I remember them counting instruments and the doctor telling everyone to get moving because they needed to get the baby out immediately. Then I was out.
I woke up a couple of hours later to Jeff telling me that our baby was fine and that he had 10 little fingers and 10 little toes. We were OK! I was so excited and couldn't wait to see him. They moved me to my room and brought him to me a few minutes later. He was perfect! He had a perfectly round head and beautiful blue eyes. He was the most amazing little person I had ever seen! I was thrilled beyond belief.
Happy Birthday to my first born! I love you with all that I have, and I am so proud of you. You are a wonderful, sweet, caring, funny, awesome boy and I am so lucky to have you in my life!
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