Project #1 - It is amazing how much work planning even a teeny tiny 10 person wedding can be! But we are getting there. The rings have been delivered to my parents in law (they run a jewelry business so we got a deep, deep discount. Woo!), the chapel (which includes boutonniere and bouquet and photographer and minister) is confirmed as is the hotel for the night before and the night of our wedding. I have my dress and shoes, and have ordered wee favors and a guest book in the form of a frame for a wedding picture with a mat around it that can be signed by guests.
Now, I have to acquire nice underthings and Paul has to get a suit/tie/shirt/shoes combo. I also have to find a place for us all to have dinner after the ceremony and a place to get my hair and nails done before the ceremony. I have to select some appropriate music and burn it to a CD and choose some specific phrases for our minister to say to personalize the whole deal. I have to figure out what to do with the dogs while we are gone. And, I think that is about it.
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Project #2 is still immigration stuff. But, I finally called and asked USCIS all of the questions that had been building up since I got home and have discovered that right now there is nothing for me to do until we are married. Then, we have to go to another appointment (just 4 exits down the freeway, thank goodness) and begin the next set of paperwork to make me a permanent resident who is eligible to work and get a social security card.
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Project #3 is still the damn credit reports. I'm having a bit of difficulty with this. A recap, once again, I have acquired all three of Paul's credit reports and am systematically working through each account to ensure that it is, first of all, valid and then either paid off or being paid off in installments. So far, I have paid off 5 debts (many were very, very small but still look so bad on a credit report) am disputing one and waiting on a decision and have started payment plans for three. However, there are still nine accounts that I don't know what to do with.
For example, there is one with the name of a lawyer as the account name. So, I googled the lawyer and called his office. His office connected me with the collections department and I explained the situation 'I found your name on my husband's credit report, it says that he owes you $95 from 2002 but we don't know why. Can you tell me why we owe you money and how to pay it?' So, the woman looks up the account number and it is not even in her computer. So, I suggest that since we didn't know about it and she has no record of it, perhaps she should contact the credit bureau (it is only on one of three) and expunge it from our record. Of course, she can't do that but 'hold, please'. So, I get some dude's voicemail and leave a message and he hasn't called back. If he doesn't, I will dispute this charge too, but this is all SO much work! I have probably spent 40 hours on this stuff so far and I'm maybe half done. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to deal with this? If an ancient account says closed/charged off but still lists a balance, do we need to pay them or has that amount/account just been moved to someone else and we pay them instead? And if that is the case, how do we delete that original account from our report? Also, some accounts have no names, how can I possibly take care of this debt if it has no name?! Any insight anyone might have on this would be greatly appreciated.
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Project #4 is still of course cleaning this damn place to my standards. It is getting there, though, slowly but surely. The vacuum that Paul's parents bought us back in January helps a lot. HEPA filters and bagless cyclonic action ROCK! Do you have any idea, ANY IDEA how much dust and crap there is in even regularly vacuumed carpets?! EWWWW!
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Project #5 is training the new dog. This is going slowly but yesterday he pooped and peeped once (out of about 5 daily p and p's) in the right spot so at least that is a step in the right direction. He is also sleeping pretty well, usually going to sleep in his little bed with just a few minutes of whining and then waking me up about half an hour before Paul's alarm goes off.
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Project #6 is selling some of our stuff on eBay and, shamefully, I have not even started that yet.
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Project #7 is locating and purchasing reasonable renter's insurance.
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Project #8 is doing some research on a project for Paul that I will not divulge yet
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Project #9 is my blog; transferring it to its new, more permanent address and categorizing and editing all my pictures for easier transferability. And, frankly, I haven't started that yet either.
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Project #10 - Find a local family doctor and fill out insurance forms so Paul and I are covered. Any advice on how to find a doctor in America? Also, with our medical insurance we can get optional dental coverage. Does anyone have opinions on whether or not that is worth it? This is all very new to me as a Canadian so again, any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
These are all things that I would like to get done before I am eligible to work so I will have an easier transition from homemaker to employee again. I don't know exactly how other people do the mom/full time job/clean and cook thing because I have PLENTY to do with just the above mentioned projects! I am not honestly sure if this is because I'm lazy or because I have impossibly high standards. Six of one perhaps :p
4 comments:
Is this your longest post ever?
As to:
Project 1: Sounds again like this is all coming along. It's going to be great. And remember, the little details that may go awry, don't matter in the grand scheme of things, it's the marriage itself. But you knew that.
Project 2: Also coming along well. I don't ever have any knowledge of this aspect, because my involvement ends pretty much one the forms are mailed off.
Project 3: Ahh credit reports. You are doing the right thing, plugging through them and taking care of what you can. I don't know enough as far as charge offs, and what effect they have if the account is closed. I DO know that contacting someone about the old account COULD allow them to openly collect it again, regardless that it is already closed. How old are some of these things, because legally they come off after 7 or 10 years, and then they are just gone. I would be wary of contacting people if the debt is listed as charged off and closed and is already five years or so old. I may be wrong, but that could be opening up a whole new can of worms. It IS a lot of work, but in the long run, it will be so worth it, when he will have better credit.
Project 4: My house is always in disarray, and I no longer care. I will vacuum, at least once a week, but more than that is just too much, considering all the rest I HAVE to do. Hubby takes care of most of the laundry, the dishwasher isn't so hard to keep up with, but dusting, cleaning floors, etc. Not my thing. My house isn't filthy, but it surely isn't spotless. And the dust, etc? Darlin, I have a Dyson so I KNOW what is in my carpets, and it is gross.
Project 5: I hope some of the stuff I shared is helping/will help with this. It's normally a long process.
Project 6: Clueless on ebay. I think I've bought one thing. No time to get stuff listed, though I probably could get some stuff on there and make a bit, but just no time.
Project 7: Check with whoever does the car insurance (do y'all have a car?) They may be able to do that as well, and give you a multi policy discount at the same time.
Project 8: nothing to say
Project 9: Ohh, new blog home, sounds awesome! Can't wait to see it!
Project 10: Dental insurance can be a good idea if you need some work done, and can normally save you on cleanings/check ups. As for finding a doctor, your insurance company will/should have a list of what doctors participate, then you just kind flip through and pick. I've kept my doctor from when I had insurance way back when, and no that we have none, she is good about giving us discounts. And samples. Love the drug samples.
Wow. This may be my longest comment ever. Talk to you later, my dear.
Re #3 Okay, that's interesting regarding not contacting someone if the account is closed and charged off. Does anyone else have knowledge of this subject as in is Beachgal right that this would be a bad thing? I just want EVERYTHING bad off our credit report.
Re #7 Good call! I want new car insurance too, so I'm gonna see what kind of deal I can get.
Re #10 Also, good idea. I need to get more info from Paul's work regarding the insurance and then hopefully there will be a list of doctors from which to choose.
Yay, good advice! Give me more people!
Renter's insurance is blissfully cheap. I think we pay like $8 a month, and we literally got the policy MINUTES before we had to sign the lease for the apartment (since they wouldn't let us move in until we had the insurance). But like Beachgal said, if you already have some kind of insurance, they give you a discount.
As for dental insurance, YES GET IT! Dentistry is so expensive, and as I've experienced with both myself and my husband, when things get bad in your mouth, they get BAD and then will cost THOUSANDS of dollars. If you can get someone to pay 80% of that or whatever, your life will be so much less stressful.
Good luck! Damn, now I feel like I should get my credit report now too. Ugh.
The sad thing about old collection agency debts is that the original debtee (is that a word?) probably has no idea what it was for, either. One day when I worked in a doctor's office, we received a check from a collection agency we never heard of, for a patient that no one recognized, and we had no chart for - which meant it had at least been 5 years since the patient(?) was seen. When I called the agency, they didn't know what it was for either(!), just that the person sent them a check, so they dutifully took their cut and forwarded the rest to us. Their suggestion to me was that the office use the money for lunch. I suppose, like you, someone was cleaning up their credit report, and they found it easier just to pay it than to try and figure out what it was for or dispute it.
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