I Hate Snow Now!!!

  Hello, all happy Feb 1st, well here's my story. I hate snow now. You know I live in New York, and last Sunday we had a snowstorm.  The snow was pretty high when it stopped me, and the neighbors were out there shoveling away and talking.  Anyway, it took me an hour to shovel. While my partner stood in the doorway to supervise. I kid you not. Only because he has some back issues and other medical problems, so I don't mind shoveling. It's good exercise. He gets mad at me because he thinks I do too much when I shovel. So, I always give him the finger, and he shuts up.  Finished shoveling on Sunday, didn't it snow again on Monday. Making me go back outside, cursing at the snow and Mother Nature. To top it off, it was like 5 degrees outside, I was freezing my butt off, and the snow had turned to ice, which made shoveling harder. So, yea I'm not a fan of snow anymore. It was pretty when you first see it, but not when you have to shovel, it's not so pretty anymore. I need to move to a tropical island where snow is illegal. 

 Is it me, or did January just fly by? I haven't even started to do the things that need to be done for the new year. What I have been doing is looking over my checkbook for 2025 to see what my expenses were for that year. I wanted to see if I could live on my pension and social security alone. I can't. My household's basic bills are over 3,000 a month, and I will only be bringing in about $2100. I'm short $900 or more. Let's say $1000, which I would have to pull from my savings account to make the difference. All of this is if I lose my partner's income for some reason. It's scary to think that seniors like me can't live without a good income coming in, and social security sure ain't it. It's crazy out here, finally, folks. That's why every penny I don't need I save. Because, like someone said, you can't predict life, but you sure can prepare for it.

                                              That's my story what do you think? 

                                           https://coinqueensyardsale.ecrater.com/

Being Strong Armed

  Hello all, well, here's my story so far. We're supposed to be getting a big snowstorm this Sunday. Everybody is in a panic. Come on, it's New York, it's not like were not used to snow.  We basically get it every winter.  The news stations broadcasting this big snowstorm every twenty minutes. People are in a panic; there are long lines to get gas for your car. Being knocked over at the grocery store for that last container of milk. You know crazy stuff. I had already planned ahead this past Tuesday; I got my stuff already. The most we would be in the house for because of the storm would be two to three days top. So why panic? We stayed in the house longer than that with Covid.

Anyway, New York City is strong-arming people. Just like the mafia. Except it's legal. If you don't do this, then I'll come back and not only fine you big money, but I'll also have you arrested for not complying. I got a letter from the water department yesterday stating they need to come into the house to check the water meters. If I don't make an appointment by Feb 15, they will fine me $500 the first time, if I still don't make an appointment, they will fine me $1000, and so on. You see, the water department is trying to find ways to get more money out of you. Crazy, right? Why am I still living in a place that's always in your pockets?

Not to mention last Sunday, around 2 in the afternoon, my whole house went dark. I mean, nothing electric worked. I went next door to see if they had any electricity, thinking it was just my house only. On my side of the block, all the houses were without electricity. I called Con Edison they said it was something they had to fix. It took them a day to fix it. I asked about my food since the refrigerator was out. They said they would pay me up to $250 if my food was spoiled. That's it, what a pack of steak and chicken costs with inflation now. Thank god the power came back on before the food got spoiled but I know now to get extra batteries for the flashlights I have at home and to be ready for anything. Did I mention Con Edison wanted to raise the rates even after they shut the power off? Why am I still living here!!!

                                                     That's my story what do you think?  

Money In 2026?

  Hello all, well here's my story so far. It's nothing like a new year to give you a financial wake-up call. Every new year, I try to go over my checkbook entries from the previous year to see how much I spent on stuff. This way for the new year, I get a running account of what I can cut back on. Can I tell you I gave Visa almost as much as a down payment on a new home last year! Yep, it was a lot, but it was my partner who automatically wipes out the visa card even if it's for something like $5.  I told him this has got to stop. With Con Edison and everything else talking about a price hike, it's too expensive for Visa to get more money than our normal bills. So that's the financial road I'm on this year, not spending has much money on foolish stuff and sticking to paying the basic bills and maybe a little bit of extra money for fun if necessary.

Let me give you a little warning if you don't like a lot of noise, kids, or crazy people, don't go on cruises on major holidays. I went on a Christmas& New Year's cruise with 4500 people, and 1/3 of those were kids and pre-teens. The cruise ship was overcrowded and crazy. I kept saying never again. I went on vacation to avoid all of the crazy stuff and got it cruising. The ship NCL Breakaway, leaving out of New York, the food was bad, drinks ok, the entertainment bad, and the balcony rooms were small. At least the one I was in.  Overall, they weren't giving you anything special for the money you were paying. That's just my opinion. 

                            So that's my story for the week what do you think?   

                                       https://coinqueensyardsale.ecrater.com/        

  

Happy 2026 Family!!

  Hello Family, Happy 2026. So, here's the story for the New Year so far. I decided to spend the holidays on a Christmas cruise. Big Mistake, even though the price was right under $4,000 for two people. The ship carried 4500 people, and 1/3 were kids who were so noisy I could hardly hear when I got off the cruise, and it was a 10-day cruise at that.   Why aren't some of the parents who have children teaching them simple words like excuse me, thank you, " and " sorry? I had so many children bump into me because they were running, stepping on my toes, and kept going, you get the picture. Did manners go out the window?? I'm just asking??

 The cruise itself on a mega ship was a disappointment. I went on NCL Breakaway. The food was bad, too crowded, shows not good. They also nickel and dime you to death. Everything had a fee attached to it. The only thing they had going for them was the casino, which was good, and the mudslide drinks.  Think chocolate milkshake with alcohol in it. They were good too.  

The island that I visited, which were 5 of them are struggling with the tourist are there, but they are doing tours and not shopping much. So, the island's economy, just like here, is suffering. You would think will all the cruise shipping coming to the island, the people living there would be rich. They're not, and it's sad. What's sadder is that the workers on the ship work 70 hours a week with no overtime pay or holiday pay. Plus, they have to deal with the public, which is not fun. I know I used to deal with them when I worked in social services.

So that was my story I spent Christmas and New Year's on the sea, which I love the water. So, how was your holiday? I hope.

                                                 That's my story, what do you think?. 

Happy Holiday!

      

  Hello all, well, just wanted to wish you a Happy Holiday, and maybe in 2026 Santa will bring us some extra cash, like winning the mega million for 1.5 billion. Or at least lower the bills we have to pay in 2026. Hey, you never know it could happen! Wishing you a Safe and Happy Holiday. Will let you know what I did in the holiday season, besides all the other crazy stuff that has happened to me. Be safe, blessed, and have a great Holiday Season. See you in 2026!

                                           That's my story what do you think?

                                                           

Your Killing Me !!!

  Hello all, well here's the story for the week.  I have an old washing machine that jumps when I put too many clothes in it. Yeah, it's old, like 20 years old. anyway, the last wash I did, the machine jumped and pulled the hose off the pipe, which caused my basement to flood with water. Lucky, I caught it in time before it could have really done some damage. It was a mess, water all over the floor, and spread to my second room in the basement anyway. After we cleaned up the water and got the materials to reassemble the washing machine to the pipes, which cost me about $50 for that. We tried to do the washing machine hookup ourselves, saving a few dollars. The pipes were so rusted that it was too hard to disconnect the machine on our own. So, I had to call a plumber to do it.

Here's where it gets crazy. The plumber told me it would cost $295 to hook up the washing machine. I almost said forget it, but I need to wash clothes, so I agreed. he came the same day and did the hook up in 20 minutes. It ended up costing me $265 because I paid in cash and asked for every discount he could offer. But still, for a plumber to come into your house for 20 minutes and it costs $265 is crazy. it hurt me so bad to have to pay that money, but what could I do? That darn pipe was too hard to disconnect, and we both tried to do it first.

For 2026, I have to do better, but what could you do with prices for everything through the roof, and certain things you need to bite the bullet on just to get them fixed? Something with car repairs for an oil change and general maintenance, I paid about $300. Really, there has to be a better way, and in 2026 I'm sure going to find it!!

                                    That's my story, what do you think?  

Happy Late Thanksgiving

So, I'm a little late with the Thanksgiving message, but did you have a nice one?  well, here's my story for the week. I went to Atlantic City for the first part of the week, Sunday through Wednesday. It was dead at the casinos and noisy. A lot of people were smoking weed so you get a contact high just by being near them. It was crazy. most of the food places were closed permanently or overpriced for what you were getting. Needless to say, I lost some money, but being a cheapskate, I know how to budget my gambling so that it's not a bad habit for me.

So, the Thanksgiving part, I visited my mother since she lived down there. we had a simple meal and mostly talked. I wanted to spend as much time with her as I can since she's about 80 and time is going so fast. What depressed me about the trip was that my mother talked about where she wanted to be buried. I really didn't want to hear about that. But in a way, you need to know these things, it makes it easier when the time comes. If the people write out what they want in the end. that way, you're not trying to figure it out. So, we talked about it. I was surprised. I found out a lot about what she wanted in the end. Overall, it's a hard pill to swallow, especially if you don't have any water.

                                            So that's my story, what do you think?