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? 

Joy!!!

  Hello all, well here's my story for the week. Yesterday I went to the heart doctor. Yes, I have a heart problem, and my heart beats were normally at 35. But after having the test, the doctor said my heart rate was up to 45. I almost kissed the doctor, that's how happy I was. I think he was happy to. Just for me to hear that my heart is improving is a good thing. My other medical test came out fine, the doctor was happy, and so was I. Thank you, God!!

Anyway, I had to call my oil company because the contract was due, and they are now charging me for oil delivery $4.85, compared to the price he quoted, which was about $5.85. Did I mention I hate having to use oil to heat the house? It's too expensive, my bills that come every three to four months are no less than $500 and no more than 1200 for a tank of oil?? That's crazy, right? That oil is so expensive. I said to the customer service person I was talking to, didn't oil go down? He stated it's not only the oil I'm paying for, it's the delivery, the taxes, the gas for the trucks they use to deliver the oil in, and all that. You know all these crazy fees. did I mention hating using oil? 

What's your Thanksgiving looking like? Mind will be spent with family, relaxing. I hope. That's one thing you can't get back in life, spending time with family before it's to late. Well, have a nice Thanksgiving, be blessed, safe, and careful.

                                      Well, that's my story. What do you think?  

                                        https://coinqueensyardsale.ecrater.com/ 

Crazy Charges Are Hurting Me!!!

  Hello all, well here's my story for the week. Crazy charges are hurting me.  This is what I'm talking about. My Con Edison bill: after going over it, it cost me 88 cents for the gas I used, but $87 for them to bring it to me. Same as electric: it costs $1.99 per usage and $160 for them to bring it to me through the wires or whatever they use to carry electricity to your home. Really, my bill should have been minus all the carrying fees and extras that you really don't know what they are. My actual usage is $2.87 so why is my bill $237?? it's all the carrying fees plus some. That's crazy, right?

For November, I am tightening my budget because of all the crazy things going on in the world today. Especially when you see people who are working and getting a paycheck still rely on food banks and other government resources to live. Everything is going up or out the window when it comes to money. I am grateful it hasn't gotten to that point for me yet, but if I lose a major income source, which is my partner. Things will get really scary for me because my pension and social security would just barely cover my home expenses, forget the extras. Maybe that's why I'm putting off having some stuff repaired in the house and trying to focus on the really needed repairs. So, how are you doing so far this November?

                                           That's my story, what do you think? 

The Gray Wave: Rising Homelessness for American Seniors

                    

 Hello all, well here's the story. Listening to this man's story broke my heart, and it scared me. To think that elderly homelessness is on the rise, it's crazy in a country that's supposed to be so rich and still can't afford to feed the hungry and house the homeless is crazy. Anyway, looking at his story and a few others like that got my a** in gear and thinking I have medical issues that cost a lot each month. My medical bills are a constant bill in my life that I have to pay along with my other basic bills. Having seen these stories and those of people being laid off, and the food banks having more people than they have food. Made me think of tightening up my cheapskate shelf and really paying attention to my bills and the money coming into my household. That's one place I don't want to be, and it's homeless, especially with all my medical problems, and I have a few of them.  This was a slap of reality to me after spending on stuff that I really don't need, and I waste a lot of food just because. It all will be stopping starting today. I am blessed, but that can all change in the blink of an eye. Nothing like a wake-up call to get your butt in gear..

                                            So that's my story what do you think?

Suprise Suprise

 Hello all, well here's the story for the week. Surprise Surprise. I got a check in the mail from the state that claims it's helping the people beat inflation. It was $400 and a welcome surprise. I heard about the state giving money back, but I didn't expect it so soon. Also, I went gambling yesterday for fun and with a budget of $200. I won some money, so that was a surprise because the place I usually go to gamble takes your money or cheats you with the wins. For example, say you bet 80 cents and a good combination on the slots comes out, you might, if lucky, win $1 or 50 cents. My partner kept saying he won 16 cents on an 80-cent bet. Crazy right. You're really losing to win, see.

Anyway, I was grateful for the surprises that I received this week, money-wise. Now I can pay for my admission into the grocery store. Oh, didn't you know it was a club and you had to pay admission to purchase $100 of food in one bag when it used to be 3-4 full bags. Know you know. Also, I got my oil delivery bill. I can pay for that since that will cost me around $560 for half a tank of oil. I think I'm paying $4 a gallon.

Well, anyway, Halloween is coming up. What are your spooky surprises that you might be expecting? 

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

Random Thinking

  Hello all, here's my story for the week. Just felt like sharing with you today. This is a picture from my balcony on my last cruise. It was so pretty just wanted to share with you. So, are you getting ready for Halloween?  I notice that some stores even have Christmas stuff out. That's crazy, I mean, they're really pushing the holiday season.  If the stores know anything, the way the economy is and everybody getting laid off. I can see the holiday season and its buying being pretty slim. Heck, I see it already. I go yard sailing, and it used to be that people were rushing to yard sales to find good stuff to sell online or give as gifts (that was me, too). Anyway, now when I go to yard sales, their dead. I say, where is everybody? Staying home and saving their money, that's where they are. I even see the effects of the economy in the grocery stores, the shopping mall, gas station. People are not spending money like they used to. I can't blame them; everything is expensive. I'm even cutting back on things I normally buy. Not that I wasn't a cheapskate anyway, but still.  If I don't need it, I don't buy it. Or wait until that item goes on sale, which sales are rare. I even see it when I look for super cheap vacations; all the travel perks you used to get are gone.  Now, when you travel, you get nickel-and-dimed to death for everything. Fee this Fee that. Wait and see, you will be getting a bill soon to breathe air.

 But I'm not here to complain like I normally do. Just wanted to share a nice picture with you and to say, have a safe and happy October.

                                            So that's my story what do you think? 

I Hate Winter

  Hello all, here's the story for the week. I hate winter, here's why. It means that I have to have my oil tank filled more than once, like I do for the summertime. Yes, this ugly tank is in my home, and I hate it. who uses oil anyway nowadays? If I could, I would remove it and install gas heating the whole process would cost too much. Which is probably not that much cheaper. did I mention oil smells if it ever spills in your home?  The order is so strong that you have to either leave your house until it airs out or open all your windows and doors for the fumes to leave the house. Either way, having an oil tank in your home sucks in my opinion. so winter is coming, and the oil bill for let's say 3-4 months would be around $800-900. The oil is used for heating the house with steam heat. I told you my house was old, right?  I got the notice today saying oil is being delivered to you soon, so get your money ready.  that is one bill I hate to get, but either get oil or freeze to death if we have a bad winter. Sometimes freezing might not be so bad if I could save the money from the oil bill to pay my other bills with. What do you think? Do you have an oil tank sitting in your basement or outside that's just sucking the money from your pockets like it's doing to me?

                                 That's my story for today what do you think?

People Are Crazy!!

  Hello all, here's the story for the week. People are Crazy. I think after COVID, something happened to people. Here's why I say that. I was shopping in the grocery store with my partner the other day. I told him to go down the aisle and get me something. The next thing I know, I hear two men shouting at each other.  One of the men is my partner, yelling at this guy. When I went to find out what was going on. At that point, my partner was walking toward me with the shopping cart, saying that guy is crazy. Then the other guy yells to him  F- You so my partner yells back to him   F-you too with his back turned to the guy .   The aisle with other shoppers in it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Some of the other customers in the store had their mouths hanging open from the shock of what had taken place. Mind you, most of the people shopping in the store were seniors. Anyway when my partner yelled back at the guy, the crazy man pulled up his shirt, he was a fat guy too and started walking toward my partner like he was about to do something to him. My partner, being a passive guy just stood there. That's when I jumped between the two of them and told the fat guy to back it up. I'm not the one to deal with. You see, I have anger issues and have no problem picking up something and knocking you upside your head with it. I blame my anger on all the darn medication I have to take for my health. Anyway. the guy's wife pulled him away, saying sorry. You could clearly see there was something wrong with the guy. But what he wasn't going to do was run up on my partner and not have a fight on his hands, because I was ready. Anyway, people are crazy, so be careful out there.

                                          That's my story what do you think?

Not Wanted

  Hello all, well here's the story for the week. I got a summons to serve on the Grand Jury a couple of weeks ago. I was excited because it took me out of the house for a few days, and the pay was about $72 a day. Plus, where I had to go was close to home. so it was a win-win situation for me. On the day I got there, it was like 500 people there for the same thing, jury duty, and this was grand jury, no less. They said it would be 6 months of service on Tuesdays and Thursdays up until 2026. I was fine with that. But having to sit and wait all day was the pain. But I did meet some nice people, we talked and laughed and played games while we waited, which was fun. The day was nice, and it allowed us to sit outside for lunch, but here's the kicker part: they only needed 46 people but called 500. What the heck!!!!  Why would you interrupt so many people's lives for an all-day event if you only needed that many people? Am I the crazy one or what?? So anyway, a lot of people got excused around 12:00 in the afternoon, and we started at 10:00 in the morning. They told the people who got out early to go back to work. Picture me going to work after going to the court and sitting around most of the morning. Anyway, the court picked the people they needed, and I wasn't one of them.   I was bummed out that they didn't want me. That could have been a job for me, making extra money and hearing interesting cases to boot. Guess it wasn't my time to get picked.

                                    Oh, well, that's my story, what do you think?

                                                      I forgot  to say  Happy October

Saying Hello & Sharing

  Hello Family, Happy Sunday. No venting today, just wanted to share with you some pictures I took on my cruise. Hope that it will make you smile today. This was the sunset over the water. I love being on the water because certain pictures you just can't capture without being on it.

 Here's a picture of New York City with a water Taxi on the left. New York is nice to look,at but expensive to live in.

                                                 Have a safe and blessed Sunday

 

A Heads Up

                                                                        Hello Family

Here's the story for the week, well, it's really a heads up. If you're thinking about going on the Island Princess, one of Princess's cruise ships- Don't! First, it's about 23 years old, and they call themselves remodeling it. It didn't work. First off, the ship is small, and I like small ships, but it was too small even for me. It held 2,000 people. You did have room, but with the wheelchairs, scooters, and walkers. It took time for you to get places. did I mention this was literally a senior cruise with the average age being about 75. I love my seniors; they know how to party and have manners. Anyway, back to the ship, the crew working on it must have been new because they kept telling me either it wasn't their job or go to customer service. Hardly any worker on that ship knew anything. Like it was their first day or something. One employee I asked about something he had to pull out index cards and read from them, before he told me. I kid you not.

The food on the ship was not good.  It tasted bad, was flavorless, and lacked variety. and then wanted you to pay $55-60 per person for their only two restaurants on the ships. What did I spend all this money for if you still wanted me to pay for my food?

The ship had a bad smell in certain areas., The toilets kept backing up, causing the smell. Then the air conditioning went out for a day. We're talking, it's hot in some of the places we went to, and some of the people on board had breathing problems. The entertainment was not good at all. The singers and dancers of some of the shows were off-key and made serious mistakes that everyone noticed. You can see better shows on the streets of New York than on the Island Princess.

The only thing that kept the people entertained was each other. The ship's passengers were friendly and polite.  They're the only thing that stopped me from jumping overboard at times. Seriously, on the second day of the cruise, I wanted to go home. Also, the drinks were pretty good. Oh, did I mention that during a sea day, they requested everyone to leave their room so they could clean the balconies. So, you had strange men walking across your balcony to check it and fix whatever it was.. Really? So, heads up stay away from Island Princess unless you want to spend money on a really bad cruise with bad everything.

Well, that's my story. What do you think? Oh, I have more to show and tell you about my trip, and I got pictures too.  

My Cruise

  Hello all, well here's some of my story for you I'm back from a ten-day cruise on the Princess cruise line. The ship was called Island Princess, which left from Brooklyn, New York.  Do I have some stories for you, and I have Pictures to show you to. Anyway, let me start by saying, when did car services cost so much? I took a car service from Queens to Brooklyn Pier.  We caught a car service, and it cost us $94 just to go to Brooklyn, which is normally a 30–40-minute ride . It took us 1 1/2 hours because of all the traffic. I only take cabs when I travel; mostly, I prefer to drive. But a woman on the ship told us the parking lot for the ship's terminal costs $50 a day. Which would be about $500 for 5 days. So I didn't feel bad about paying $94 for one way, it beats paying $50 bucks for my car to just sit there for 10 days, costing me money.

Getting on the ship was easy; my problem was that I packed way too many clothes. I forgot I was the kind of person who could wear the same sundress for 3 days and still make it look good; that's just what I did. Why get all fancy when you don't have to? I am a comfortable person, and if I could be between me and you, I would have gone braless if I had small breasts. Anyway, I have some stories that I will be sharing with you for my ten days that I was in Hell on the cruise.  The people were nice, the ship not so much. Warning, don't waste your money on Island Princess, it's not worth it, from the food to the entertainment, and let's not talk about the staff. I'll tell you all about it later. For now, let's just say we have a lot to talk about.

                                              That's my story what do you think?

                                         https://coinqueensyardsale.ecrater.com/

Vacations are a Hassle

  Hello all, well here's the story for the week. Trying to plan a vacation is stressful. Here's why I say that. I'm planning on going on a cruise in a couple of days. First off, you have to do everything online. Like register and get your luggage tags, and print it all up. What if I were a senior, which I am, but I didn't have a computer at home, to do all the registration and printing I needed to do for my trip, then what? I could go to the library and do it or get someone to do it for me. Yes, you're right, but that's a hassle within itself.   To many companies and the things you have to do rely on you doing it online. Which I'm not happy about. There is too much information online, already making you a potential target for scammers. Anyway, back to the vacation gripe.

Another thing is that since I'm going on a cruise, mind you, a cheap one. Did I mention I'm cheap and proud of it! Anyway, the things that used to be free on cruises, they now charge you for. Like certain bar-type restaurants used to be free, now it's part of a package you pay for.  I was reading the contract before you cruise, no joke, it's about 10 pages long, the cruise industry is trying to cover their ass six ways to Sunday. In the contract you have to read and sign before you register, it says that if you are sick or know you're not going to feel well or have any health issues that might make you sick, don't book this trip. I kid you not it said that in so many words. Among other things. What senior will sit down and read a 10-page rules and regulations within 10 days of a trip? The agreement the cruise line wants you to read and sign, you need a lawyer just to do. Oh well, that's my rant for today. After this trip, I'm officially resigning from cruising there too stressful and too expensive. Did I mention I was a cheapskate?

                                                 That's my story what do you think?

                                           https://coinqueensyardsale.ecrater.com/

                                                           

Why???

  Hello all, here's the story for the week. Why???  The question is, why do I have still  pay for defensive driving classes when all the other drivers around me are driving crazy? Did they take the defensive driving class and pay the $120, too? If they did, they sure aren't driving like it. It's crazy when you drive nowadays. it's like you're always on the defensive when you drive. I love driving, and I like it better when I drive fast. But I can't with that stupid 25-mile-per-hour thing, and also I don't want to get a speeding ticket. But I see why people get road rage. People these days are taking too many chances when they drive, not thinking about other drivers. Is it just me, or are people behind the wheel crazy driving?

Another thing I can't stand shopping anymore. In my area, the stores have little to no help. The help they do have don't care about anything, especially the customers. Lines to long, and stuff is overpriced junk. I was trying to buy some cheap stuff for my trip in two weeks to say I hate shopping would be telling the truth,. Didn't shopping used to be cheap and fun? What happen??

                                            So that's my story. What do you think?

Thank You

  Hello all, well here's my story so far. I just wanted to say thank you for listening to me rant and rave like I do on this blog. I'm sorry I never said it before. But thanks for being part of my family, I appreciate you and enjoy talking to you. Well, telling you my stories anyway. So thank you, thank you, thank you for just being here.

                                                  Well, that's my story. What do you think?

What Would You Do?

    

  Well, here's the story for the week. What would you do in this situation? I have an aunt who's about 80 years old, and she's dealing with her husband, who has dementia. They are trying to maintain a house and bills that are starting to overwhelm her. I tell her 100 times that I can help her, but she keeps telling me they are ok. Did I mention she's a hoarder, and there had been plenty of times I had to go over there and just try and make a walking path for her. I kept telling her to get a cleaning crew to come in and dump all the stuff she doesn't need. But she keeps telling me that she needs it all. She really doesn't. Let's not mention her basement, that place is scary, piles of papers, old clothes, and stuff I don't even know, and it's dark down there. I went to change a light bulb for her yesterday in the basement, and there was so much stuff piled up everywhere. I was afraid a mouse or rat would jump out of all the stuff and garbage that was piled up. Mostly it's papers, clothes, fabric, and God knows what else. She had 4 rooms in the basement, all piled to the sky with stuff.

 I want to cry every time I see it. I have been to visit her several times, taking her food for her and her husband, and cleaning up as much as I can while I am there. Heck, I even had my mother talk to her about getting her house cleaned and fixed. It needs some major repairs done to it soon. Not to mention she got mold in the basement from the last few times it flooded. So, what would you do in my situation with an elderly aunt, her sick husband, who she can hardly take care of. Who lives in a hoarder's house that's almost on the verge of falling down? 

                                        Well, that's my story. What do you think? 

Sweating To Death

  Hello, all, well, here's the story for the week. It's hot in New York is above 100or above degrees, and for a person like me with health issues. That means staying in the air and keeping my butt at home. which is better for me, that means no spending money. Which I hate doing anyway. when was the last time you went driving somewhere? here in New York, the drivers now have been two things: to slow in their driving or drive crazy, like they needed to be somewhere two days ago. And God forbid if you're a slow driver, they will honk their horn at you like they're pushing to hurry up. Is it just me or have you experienced that too?

Also, I was supposed to go on a cruise for Christmas and through New Year's. I got this letter in my email stating that the ports that I was going to all have been changed. Seems like the rush ship couldn't get a parking space for the days on the islands we were supposed to go to. so they changed the whole itinerary to the ports that I've already been to. Mind you, this is not a cheap cruise for Christmas and coming back the day after New Year's. So now I'm trying to decide if I want to pay all that money for places I've already been or say forget it and give me my money back for another cruise sometime next year.

Getting old is crazy, but I'm thankful to get there. Why didn't you tell me that your knees go out after a certain age? That's not nice, you're not telling me. Well, my knee went out, so now I have to take baby steps to walk. Aspirin helps, but I do exercise helps more. Got to stay in shape when we get older so things like this don't happen. Stay cool out there.

                             Oh, well, that's my story for the week. What do you think?

New York Sucks For Real!!!

  Hello all, well here's the story for the week, New York sucks For Real! Here's the reason why, first off, I get a letter in the mail stating that I got a ticket for $50 because I was driving over 10 miles over the speed limit in a school district, which is 20. But from the camera picture they sent, with my license plate from the back and front and a picture of where the car was located when I got the ticket. I didn't see any school in that area. How do I know school was even in session that day could have been the weekend or a holiday.  Trying to fight the ticket would have been hopeless now that they have put in all these speeding cameras and bumps. The city is trying to get money anyway it can because they are greedy like that. I was too upset. I hate wasting money on bull s**t.

 Another thing happened, this wasn't a New York City thing, but still. I was in Walmart yesterday trying to find clothes for my vacation. I hate going to Walmart. I went to it the workers they have are a hot mess and not in a good way. Anyway, I was with my partner, and the dressing rooms are locked, so you need to find a salesperson with a key. Which we did. When the salesperson went to unlock one of the dressing room doors. Me, this little girl and kept telling her loudly somebody was in there. Did the worker listen?  No. it was like she didn't understand English. She opened the door anyway to the women dressing in the room. Then the worker quickly closed it back, noticing someone was in there, which we had already told her like 100 times. I swear the people working in Walmart these days are.....  I can't even say without being nice, but you get the point. Walmart needs to hire better workers or give them a class in how to do things properly because Walmart and its employees are a, hot mess.

                                   Well that's my story for today What do you think?

Getting Old Suck!

  Hello all, well here's the story for the week., Getting old suck! Oh so how was your July going so far? It hurts me physically and finally to but most physically. Has I have gotten older; my body seems to realize that it can now fall apart if it wants to. I went to the doctor, and now I have arthritis in the knee along with my other medical condition. Really, arthritis in the knees?  Don't old people get that?  I know I'm in my early 60s, but hey, I'm still young, right? Anyway, the pain in the knee hurts, but I've been doing exercises, and it's helped, along with taking tylenol for arthritis. When did I get old? Time goes so fast. Anyway, besides that, the property taxes were due this month, and I tell you, property taxes in New York is expensive, along with medical and everything else here. I need to move, but all my doctors are here. So, I'm stuck for the moment.

Did I ever mention to you that I have a gardener? I used to do the yard myself, but then with my health issues, it got to be too much. The garden came this week looking for payment from the last three months of 2024 and the first 6 months of 2025. I like to keep the payments with him up. I hate getting a big bill at the end of the season from him. If I could go back to saving money by doing my own yard which meant mowing, trimming the hedges, cutting down some bushes, all that physically tiring work, I would. I try and save money with him by keeping track of when he comes and doesn't come. That way I can tell him what I'm paying for and what I'm not paying for. I don't pay for now shows. It's bad enough he costs me $80 a month to do the basic mowing stuff. The only good part about my gardener is that he's a nice guy and does other lawn care stuff and doesn't charge me for it. That's and my health are the only reasons I still have him working for me. 

                                                   That's my story, what do you think?   

Birthdays??

  Hello all, well here's the story for the week. Birthday, do we still celebrate them anymore? I know I don't. I had a few birthdays this month, including mine. I celebrated the ones that were important. Mine was pretty quiet. I'm a quiet person, give me a good dinner with flavor, a dessert that's not too sweet, and a good book I'm happy. Gifts and things like that don't impress me. I'm grateful, just being able to wake up in the morning. That's the best birthday gift a person could get. Anyway, I got a check not for my birthday, but I have a school tax credit on my property taxes. The state sends you a school rebate check of about $250 a year to put toward your property taxes. which did I mention mine was about $10,000 a year.  The $250 check helps, but I would have preferred to just give me the credit off my taxes so I would be paying a lower tax bill than for them to send me a check.

July is here already. Any plans for the summer? I will be going on a senior cruise in August. I call it that because everybody who seems to be traveling now are senior over 60 years of age. That's me too! I don't mind, I like my seniors since I'm one of them, they tell good stories and have manners. Which is rare to find nowadays.

The summer with the heat index over 100 degrees in New York. Has gotten me lazy. you know when things need to be done in the house, and you just don't feel like doing them. That's me, I need to do stuff, but I just don't have the energy. It's to darn hot to move.

                         So that's my story, what do you think? Oh, Happy July 1st!

Owning Your Land

  Hello all, well here's the story for the week. Owning your own land is the right choice. Why do I say that property? Taxes, especially here in New York, are killing people. Me especially. I got my property tax bill for the year, which was over 10,000. the city was nice enough, if you want to call it that, and said I could pay $2375.00 over the next couple of quarters until I make up the full amount. Whether way, the price is too high for a small piece of land I don't own. I must have paid the city millions through the course of the years for property taxes. If I were smart, I would have purchased a small piece of land in the south and kicked property taxes to the curb.

You know this is the moth that all the bills seem to get higher and come in at the same time as I mentioned above the property taxes came with the con ed bill and medical lab bills that I just can't seem to get rid of Since I have a illness that won't let me stop taking test. My medical bills will be ongoing for the rest of my life, so I have accepted that. Has long as my insurance covers the cost of it, I'm good in that area.

Did I mention that it was also my mother's birthday, so I treated her and a few people to dinner and other things that will cost me a bit when the visa bill gets here. Pray that extra money comes my way, or someone willing to sell me a piece of land dirt cheap!

                                                     That's my story, what do you think? 

Happy June

  Hello, all Happy June! well, here's the story so far for the week. June is becoming expensive for me. I had a mall party for my mother; it was her birthday this week. It was small, I took my aunt to see her since they don't live to close. They hung out for a couple of days and we all celebrated her birthday with her. It felt good that I could get them together since they are getting up in age. For the time I spent with them, nobody came out of their pockets for anything it was all on me, and it was expensive. But hey, who can put a price on family right?

 The summer's here, and I'm not looking forward to the dreaded property tax bill that will be here soon. In New York, where I live, I pay around 10,000 for property taxes for the year, and what do I get from that payment? Nothing!! that worths while. I looked at all the tax exemptions that I could get. I did manage to get some and others for some silly reason I don't qualify for. One thing I will say is never move to New York, it's a greedy city, always taxing or finding you for silly stuff. Oh, yeah, almost forgot to tell you I was happy this month only got one Con Edison bill it was expensive, but at least I'm not paying two bills for two different properties since I sold my rental. I look at it as a win, win it comes to saving some money since my rental con Edison bill was about $200 or more a month for an empty house. See, I told you New York was expensive. 

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

Collection For How Much?

  Hello all, here is the story for the week. First, Happy June 1Th. Now here's my story. I got called yesterday from a medical office that I deal with. The woman was nice. She told me that if I didn't pay them, they had no choice but to send me to collections for the payment. I asked her how much I owed because I normally paid all my medical bills on time. she said $21. I said, really, you're going to send someone to collection over 21 dollars. I said by the time collections get their fee, you're lucky to get about $5-10 of the bill if that. The paper and phone calls cost more.  I told her I didn't get the bill, so if she would send it to me, I had no problem paying it.

Have things gotten that bad where companies have to send you to collections for such small amounts of money when they are making millions of dollars a month in medical services. Is it me, or is this crazy?

Trying to plan my mother's birthday since she will be in her 80s this year. I have a fear that time with her is fleeing. So, I try and spend as much time with her as I can. You know life is way too short. You just pray that you don't take it for granted or the people in your life for granted. Because, like they say, tomorrow is not promised to anybody. It's a gift

                                                 So that's my story what do you think? 

I'm A idiot!!

  Hello all, well here's the story for the week. I'm an idiot! Here's why I have alerts on my credit cards and bank accounts if something is wrong. I get an alert that says my credit card balance is over, and the balance is about $2000. When I read that, I panic, thinking I didn't spend that much on stuff with my credit card for the month. So, I called the credit card company, and they went over my charges. The way they were saying things to me, it looked like someone got my car number and started charging stuff on it. Because I had not gotten the statement, I could not see the actual charges. So, what I did was tell the credit card company that certain things on my credit card were fraudulent and to issue me a new card right away. They did that and froze my old card until I got the new one. Oh, I was good, right? Wrong, once I got the actual credit card statement t it wasn't fraud that charge all that stuff, it was me. I forgot that I had the car repaired and other stuff I had charges, which made the bill over mu limit. I'm an idiot. What I should have done was wait until I got the statement and then reported what items were not mine. Has this ever happened to you? 

Moving on, I realize I don't miss having my second home that I would have used for a rental if not for Covid and all. Because we have been having a lot of heavy rain. When it rains, the basement of my rental home always seems to get water in it for some reason No matter how hard I try to fix the problem, it always comes back with heavy downpours of rain. Well, that's not my problem any longer. Am I wrong for thinking this way?

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

Watch Yourself

  Hello all, well here's the story for the week. First, Happy May. Time is flying, right? Anyway, first thing I went on a mini vacation to the beach and casino, a short 4-day trip. The hotel room was complimentary except for the resort fee, so the bill should have been around $150. Why did they try to bill me $285 for a four-night stay? I had to re-read my bill to see what happened.  You know the hotel, he and I had talked about it, but end up giving me my complimentary nights anyway.

My lawnman that comes once a week to take care of my lawn presented me bills stating that he was charging $180 for one day of lawn maintenance for spring clean up, as he would call it. I had to explain to him that he didn't show up on the day he said he did and that I didn't see anything on my lawn to say that he did any spring cleaning. He removed the price from the bill, saying he had made a mistake. Yeah right!

I always check my bank statements to make sure the bank or anybody else is not taking my money. I caught a bank error where they failed to credit me for interest. I quickly called them and pointed it out to them. They apologized and made the correction after having me sit on the phone for a good half hour.

These are some of the things that you have to pay attention to . Which basically means any bills that come your way that  you have to pay, check and double-check them, and question anything that doesn't look right,

                                      Well, that's my story What do you think?  

I Suck!!!

  Hello all well here's the story for the week, I suck at stuff some of it anyway. For instance, I tried doing the budget gambling thing. You know where you go to a casino and have a set amount to spend on gambling. that was me I had $200 so why when I left the casino I found out that I had given them $400 of my hard-earned money and not the $200 I budgeted for.

 I am trying to write short stories to make a few dollars and I like to write. Started creating short stories to sell on  Kindle shorts and I am still in the writing and creating stages and it's only been 1 year already, see I suck.

Trying to order books from the library through their interloan procedure and the books that I wanted they already had in stock in their libraries.

Most of the time when I have coupons for something that I need I seem to either let them expire or leave them at home.  Or I don't take advantage of the things that are free.

Almost letting my car registration expire because I forget to check on it from time to time. So now I have to run around at the last minute to get everything done with a time limit of like two days.

                           These are some of the things that I just suck at. 

                                         That's my story what do you think?   

Cars?

                                                                       Hello Family

Happy April 1th. Here's the story for the week. Cars why do we have them again? The reason I say that is because I had my car fixed to the tune of 1700 dollars this month before that it was $500. Mind you this car is not that old it's a 2020 car. It's almost costing me in repairs more than the car. Things are so expensive I need the car but if I had a choice, I would take mass transit since I live in New York and the buses run regularly around her. But because of my various doctor's appointments, I need a car. I can't win for losing sometimes.

Do you worry that you won't have enough to retire someday? I do. I worry all the time. I don't want to be homeless in New York City if I can help it. Besides that, because Of my medical expenses, there are enough of them. I need to make sure I have enough for my medical bills which by the way I have co-pays every month of twenty dollars or more for the device I have to monitor my heart. if I didn't have insurance the motoring system would cost me $1100 a month. which I don't have. So being in New York is not only expensive it's scary to live here if you don't have enough money.

Also stuck between a rock and a hard place my partner is up in age and wants to enjoy life I'm the one who wants to save money for my medical expenses he wants to spend some of it to enjoy life. So, I have to work out a balance where we both get what we want Got any ideas?

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

Decisions

 Hello all, well here is the story for the week. I am making a few decisions, one of which is to go on a cruise. It's been about five years since I've been on one and can I tell you I love the water. It's so nice and calm and pretty at night. But the price is crazy for two people, it's about $5000. and I have it, but the decision is do I want to give a cruise company that much money for a 5-day trip on the water?

Second decision is, since I sold my house, and the money is in CDs, did I do the right thing? The good part is since I sold my house in 2025, I don't have to pay Uncle Sam on the sale until 2026. Which I will owe him a nice piece of change. Right now, I'm trying to make as much money has I can off the sale of the house. So Uncle Sam will get his money next year and I still have some interest left over for myself. I know you're probably saying, but the money in the stock market you will make more than CDs, right? Well, I feel safer with it being in CDs for now until I decide where I want to put the money.

Third decision, trying to find ways to downsize, I used to do flea markets and church sales, and I purchased a lot of vintage toys, Barbie dolls were my specialty. Now I need the money for other things and people are not buying like they used to. So now I am stuck with a house full of  vintage toys that I can't get rid of. So, I am donating a lot, selling at rock bottom prices, and trying to figure out how to get rid of all my inventory, and let me tell you it's a lot.

         I have so many decisions to make it's not funny and that's not even half of them. 

                                            That's my story what do you think?

Moving On

  Hello all well here's the story for the week Happy Belated Valentine's Day. Hope you had a nice one. For me it was nice I ran a lot this week. Had the closing on my rental house. I must say it went fast I listed it in November, and it closed in February. I will miss it but realized that I had that house for over 50 years and for the last three years it just sat there empty with me paying all the bills and no money coming in for it. It was time to let it go. I was too scared and old to rent it out again to many problems with being a landlord. so, my best bet was to sell it. Too many things started to go wrong with the house, and I didn't want to put the extra money into it just to sit there empty for God knows how long. I can see if it was out of state and a summer home that would be different, but it was 15 minutes away from me so what kind of summer home is that?

So that's it on to my next project. Let me tell you about my Con Edison bill which is the (energy company in New York) well part of New York anyway. I called Con Edison to tell them to give me my refund for the house that I no longer own. They told me they have to give me a final bill and they will use my refund money to pay it. Final bill I just paid Jokers $300 for an empty house about two weeks ago there should be no final bill to pay. That's another way these energy companies get out they hold your money not wanting to pay you back for anything. I can't stand Con Edison. They robbed people legally.

                Well, that's my ranting and telling for today what do you think?

Stuff Happens!

  Hello all well here's the story for the week. Why does stuff happen when you don't want it to? Ok, so I might be going to closing for my rental house soon. I said might be not sure when it would be. But I check on the house every week just to make sure I don't have squatters or anything living there. When I went to check on the house last week there was water damage on the walls and in the basement. I said shit that must be from the roof it leaked, and water dripped down the walls. Thank God the damage wasn't that bad but still. I just got a brand-new roof on my house like five years ago. Anyway. I called the roofing company not the roof. So, I called a contractor to fix the minor damages it will cost me $1400 for everything. My question is why is it that when I need to sell here come repair bills that I need to take care of all of a sudden???   This is why I am getting rid of the place too expensive and I am too old for all this crazy stuff.

In other news have you seen how much eggs are going from I saw some that were $32 bucks that's crazy or is it you can get a live chicken and get your own eggs cheaper? 

So that's my story so far not much else is happening I am focusing on getting my rental sold so I can move on to the next thing which is getting the house I live in repaired and getting an alarm system in it because the cops in my area are here way too often for me. People are starting to break into homes and that's not nice.

                                                So that's my story what do you think?

Just Cold

  Hello all, Well, here's the story for the week. It's cold in New York—19 degrees—and nothing is moving except me sometimes.  I got an interesting letter from Environmental Protection Services. This is where I pay my water bill. They said they needed to come in to inspect the water meter. I was surprised since the water meter in my rental is not that old like ten years maybe. I called them and they said I had to make an appointment since my real estate lawyer wanted a final bill. I'm like what? So, I called my lawyer who's helping me sell the house and he told me the bank required that I have a new water meter put in before I sell the house. Really? So, guess who got stuck waiting for the water meter man today, yep me. Also, I had to wait for the survey man another day since the real estate people couldn't do it. I thought that's what we pay them all this commission for. So I don't have to do all this waiting for people who have to service the house before I sell it. Go figure.

Anyway, since the cold weather has me inside and the snow, We got the last couple of days ago had me shoveling. That's what I have been doing keeping warm and trying to get work done around the house. Boring I know but that's my story so far what do you think?

                                                         Stay Warm & Be safe

                                      https://coinqueensyardsale.ecrater.com/

   

Happy 2025

  Hello all I know I am a little late with the Happy part. But how is your 2025 going so far. Me It's cold in New York. Somedays its 50 degrees and sometimes it 16 degrees go figure. Welcome to winter. What I have been doing so far for the new year is cleaning and going over inventory in my house.  So, I can either sell it, donate or dumb it. I have a lot of stuff that needs to go, and this year is the year for that. I used to do flea markets and church bazaars selling vintage toys and stuff. So, you know I got a lot of stuff that needs to go somewhere besides my house.

I think my rental house will finally be out of my hands and in someone else's hands this year. My real estate guy called me today said the survey guys for the house was coming over. today. My real estate guy asked me to meet them since He  had an appointment, and he couldn't be there. So, I said what the heck if we can get all the things done in time. I think my rental home will be off my hands by March of this year. And I get to save around $10,000 in expenses from it. So, I'll let you know how that goes.

You know when there is so much that you have to do but don't know where to start? That's me I need to get an alarm system in my house. Since I have seen the neighborhood where I live getting a lot more police calls then normal. I think having an alarm company monitor your house is about $50 bucks a month . But for a piece of mind it will be worth it. Don't you think?

Also, I forgot to mention when did smoke and carbon monoxide detectors become so expensive? Had to buy two for them, they cast me about $60 bucks. I know you can't put a price on safety but darn $60 dollars!

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

                                https://coinqueensyardsale.ecrater.com/