No internet at home! That stinks!

10/16/07 Having no access at home to the internet sucks. I switched us over to Vonage last week to help us save some money. Qwest, in error, disconnected my DSL service in addition to local and long distance. That means no service with Vonage. After talking to the person at Qwest I realized that I wasn’t going to save any money by switching to Vonage so after less than a week I switched back to Qwest. Only problem is that they can’t get it connected for a week! Yes, a week! We’ll have no home phone until then. And no internet. Thankfully we still have our cell phones so we can use them but we only have 500 minutes so we need to watch how much we call. I can’t get online to see how many minutes we’ve used so I’ll have to call Qwest and get that information. We need to keep up on how much time we have left. We can’t afford to go over on our minutes.

It really stinks to not have the internet. I’m really lost without it. I think I’ll go by the library tomorrow to get logged on to their wi-fi. That way I can check my email and check the DR site. I’ll probably try to go to the library each day until we get the service turned back on. I’m definitely addicted to the internet though. lol I keep looking at my laptop and hoping it will just magically start up. ~rolls eyes~ I guess if David could live without the satellite for a week, I can live without the internet. It’ll be hard but I can do it. Especially if I can get to the library a few times to ‘tide me over’ lol

The hardest part of all this is not having access to my bank account and web bill pay. I guess I could call and keep up that way, but doing banking on the phones sucks too. I get paid tomorrow and David gets paid on Friday. I already have bills out there scheduled to pay tomorrow and Friday. I think it’s all okay for now.

Wait a second, that’s not the hardest part. The hardest part is not having access to the DR site and my blogs. I’m typing this in Word and I’ll transfer it over once I get access. I might be able to do that tomorrow at the library. I really am dependent on the internet for my social outlet. My ‘relationships’ are mostly online. I miss checking my email and just seeing what’s going on on the DR site.

I’m reminding myself that everything happens for a reason. I guess I’m supposed to learn how to live without instant access to the internet. I also have to learn to live without the phone. I’m used to calling Lynn every day and talking for hours. I won’t be able to do that until the phone gets turned back on again. I’ll just have to call for a few minutes each day to say hello and goodnight. I know it will be hard for Lynn with me not calling. I hope she does okay without our daily chats.

DR has a show on the new FBN station. It started last night. It’s just like his radio show but on TV. Listening to him makes me gazelle intense. I want to get out of debt so bad. We have to follow the baby steps though:




Baby step 1: $1000 baby emergency fund (BEF)
Baby step 2: pay off all debt except the house, from smallest balance to largest balance
Baby step 3: 3-6 months for a fully funded emergency fund (FFEF)
Baby step 4: Contribute 15 % to retirement fund
Baby step 5: we can skip this one (contribute to kids college fund)
Baby step 6: pay off the mortgage
Baby step 7: Build and give wealth

It’ll take us two or three months to get the BEF up to $1k. Then we’ll start paying off the bills in order: family loan, jeep, FFEF, mortgage. It’ll take years to get there but it will be better than being in debt the rest of our lives. Within a year we’ll be so much better off than we are now. Like Dave says “live like nobody else today so you can live like nobody else tomorrow”. Meaning that most people live with stuff but are broke right now and they end up that way too. Whereas we’ll live on rice and beans, beans and rice for now so we can be wealthy and out of debt later. It will be worth the sacrifice. If we can keep it fun it won’t be quite so hard. We have to look at it like it is a game. Just how much money can we save and put on our debt? We don’t have a huge amount of debt until you add in the mortgage. It would be nice to have that paid off within 10 years.

I can’t believe how unbalanced I feel not having the internet. I can’t wait until tomorrow so I can go to the library. I have an appointment at 10am first. I’m meeting with Julie at the PPWFC to discuss working part time while I’m on disability. I’m not really sure that I’ll be able to hold a job, but I’d like to try to make some money to contribute to paying off the debt. If I could make about $500 a month that would put us way ahead of the game. I’m already freaked out by winter getting here and having to deal with snow. If I have a job, I’ll have to drive in snow. That makes me really nervous. My PTSD is still fairly bad when it comes to driving in weather or traffic. I have put in an application at the PPLD for a position as a page or shelver. I don’t hold out much hope for that though since I haven’t worked since 2/2000. I’ve thought about applying at Target too for the holidays but I’d only be able to work a max of 10-15 hours per week depending on what pay I’m able to make. Although, I think for the first nine months I can make whatever I can, but after that I can only make $900 or less or they’ll take my benefits away. I couldn’t work full time again. Mentally and physically I’m just not capable of doing that. Because of the problems I have I can’t be depended on for 40 hours a week. I’m not even sure I can be depended on for 10-15 hours per week. The PPLD jobs are for 12-16 hours per week. That would be an excellent job to get but like I said, I don’t hold out much hope for that happening.

I’ve kind of fallen off of the FlyLady wagon lately. The house is a mess. I really need to take some of the time I have away from the internet and use that time to clean the house! I haven’t vacuumed in a long time and it really needs it because of the dog and cat fur. It’s everywhere. The kitchen is a mess but that wouldn’t take much more than 15 minutes to get straightened up. I have laundry in the dryer that needs to be put away. The office really needs to be cleaned because the cats live in there now. And I still have some stuff to do in the guest room. And there are always the bathrooms to consider. I’m never in David’s bathroom anymore and I forget that it needs to be cleaned. I’ll have to try to get to that again this week since we’re in the bathroom zone. I’ve been so obsessed with the finances that I haven’t put anytime into FLYing. I know I’m trying to do too many things at one time. If I had some balance in my life I could focus on more than one thing in a week, but the way I ‘roll’ is that I narrow my focus so much on one thing that everything else gets excluded. Tomorrow I need to try and have a more balanced day.

I have been walking every day but Sunday (my official day off for recovery). This morning, even though I had to call Qwest first thing, I went walking after I finished the call. That was after 9am. But I went anyway. It was nice out too. It was a bit hot on the east side of the loop but not too bad. I really enjoy walking. I’ve been listening to DR CD’s that I burn. I’ll have lots to listen to since I’ll miss The DR Show for about six days. Actually, now that I think of it, I won’t have to miss it since they replay it on local radio each morning from 9am – 12pm. I can listen to it then. I could go walking at 9am so I can listen to the first half hour while I walk. Or I could get my walk and shower out of the way before the show and sit and enjoy my protein smoothie while listening to the show. That would probably be a better idea.

I hope I don’t have any trouble logging on to the PPLD’s wi-fi system. I really don’t want to end up with hundreds of emails waiting for me. I’m not sure I can get into my MSN but I can get into hotmail on the web. I think that would work. I just don’t want all the FlyLady emails building up that will just have to be deleted. I’m not sure now that I think of it since they cut off my account if I have access to email with my ‘current’ email address. That would suck if I don’t. I also don’t want to have to change my email address because I really like internettie1960. And internettie is not available or I’d have it. I guess I could use something else but I’m not sure what. Maybe internettie0412. That would work too I guess. This sucks that Qwest cancelled my DSL account. It could mess up a lot of things. I’m sure that I’ll have to come up with another account name and that will stink. I’ll have to update so many email accounts. It will be ridiculous. I’ve tried to keep track of what accounts I have email from but the list is just too long. I’ll have to figure it out as I go along. ~sigh~

It feels good just to be typing on the laptop. I missed sitting and being one with the laptop. lol See how addicted I am? I’ve only gone without access for 24 hours and I’m already going crazy. How will I make it through a week? Yikes! I really need to try and be productive this week. Oh, I just thought. We have our financial meeting Friday morning. I guess I’ll have to cancel with Lisa this week. I’ll need to spend time with David after that so we can discuss what we need to do from that point on. Financial days are always emotional days. David has been watching DR with me at night so he’s a bit more into being debt free. Tonight he said that we’ll be two of the people who’ll be living like no one else so that later we can live like no one else. That made me happy that he said that. It’s not going to always be fun or easy, but we have to stay committed to the process. That’s why I miss the DR site so much. There’s so much support and encouragement on there. By the way, I sent an email into DR on Monday (10/15) and he read it and answered it on the air. THAT was cool! I was asking about moral obligations when it comes to debts that have been cancelled. Should we go back and pay them even though they have been cancelled? DR says we have no moral obligation to do it, but if God is leading us in that direction then that’s between us and God. DR wouldn’t have any problem with us just moving forward. And this from a man who is totally into personal responsibility. So if he’s saying that, then I know it’s okay to just move forward without looking back.

I haven’t been giving the dogs any Benadryl and they are much more active and seem to be licking a bit more. I’m going to keep an eye on them and see how it goes. I’ll get them some Benadryl if they need it. I don’t want to give them medicine just to give it to them. They just walked into the bedroom. I thought they were going to bed, but they went in there to play on the bed. Now they are back out here in the living room playing.

I went to the urologist yesterday. All my urodynamic tests came back normal. Yay! So the doctor did a scope and looked at my bladder. He said I have an ‘unhappy’ bladder. It’s working harder than it should. There also was what he called a ‘blowout’ in the bladder. I think it’s called diverticulitis but since I don’t have the internet I can’t look it up until tomorrow. Anyway, he gave me three weeks of medicine (vesicare) and a prescription in case I wanted to stay on the vesicare. I go back in a month for a scan to see how things are going. If the medicine works then I don’t have to go back for 3-6 months. If they medicine doesn’t work for me then he’ll try something else. I’m taking it at night to hopefully help me to keep from getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I’m glad there is nothing serious going on. The ‘blowout’ is small and isn’t anything to really worry about. So I’m not going to worry about it.

Lynn just called. I talked to her for 10 minutes. I’m glad I had a chance to talk to her. I miss being on the phone with her. I usually sit and ‘watch’ TV, play on the laptop and talk to her. It’s my evening thing. But I won’t be able to do that for the next week or so.

David was just talking to Gabe about DR. I’m going to send Gabe some info so he can get on the DR plan now while he is young and he can be wealthy early in life. He has lots of debt with school loans, but he can go on beans and rice, rice and beans and get them paid off. He’ll definitely have to be gazelle intense. It’s nice that David is telling people about DR.

I’ve got a hold at the library for the TMMO book on CD. I have no idea how long it will take to get it. And now that the internet is out I’ll have to check at the library on my account to see if it’s in yet. I don’t know where I am in the queue. I can’t wait to listen to the book and ask David to listen to it on his ride to and from work. We need to be on the same page financially. I did learn something watching DR tonight. We need to sit down every month and do a written budget planning out how much income there will be that month (occasionally there are five pay periods in a month) and where ALL the money needs to go. “Extra” money (there is no such thing anymore) will always go to whichever baby step we are on.

Speaking of baby steps there are expanded baby steps. Here they are:

0.1: Commit to NEVER borrow $$$ EVER for ANYTHING other than possibly a house. (We’ve made this commitment)0.2: Talk with spouse and get him/her on the same page as you concerning finances. (We’ve talked and I believe we are mostly on the same page. Hearing the book on tape will solidify that)0.3 Do a written budget. (We have a written zero based budget)0.4 Temporarily stop all retirement contributions. (We stopped all contributions for now)0.5 Get current on all the basics (You MUST have Food, Utilities, Shelter, Basic Transportation). (We are current on the ‘four walls’)0.6 Amputate "toys" (bikes, boats, ATV's etc) if they will keep you from completing the snowball within 12 months (We’ve sold pretty much everything that isn’t nailed down except the pets)0.7 Cut lifestyle (Cut CATV, Cellphone, Regular phone "extras", Internet, Eating out, etc) and/or take second job if $1000 EF will take more than 30-90 days. (depending on income) (I have a better deal with the phone & internet; we’re not eating out at all; I’m looking into getting a part time job)0.8 Get current on ALL bills. (We are current on all bills)1.0 Save $1000 In baby EF. (We’re starting this step next)1.1 Chop up CC's. (You have an EF now, no NEED to keep those CC's !!) (Already done!)1.2 Get Health insurance NOW (chances of getting sick w/ major medical bills are larger than that of death), especially if you have children. (We already have Health insurance through David’s employer and for me with Medicare; open enrollment is this month and we’ll be looking at the options since Gabe is no longer on the plan)1.3 Get Life insurance NOW if you have considerable debt/your family couldn't make it financially if you died. Especially important if you have children !! Social Insecurity provides only a small amount of coverage if you have dependents. (We both have life insureance coverage)1.4 Amputate cars that you can't pay off within 24 months (You have an EF to fix the "bondo buggy" if something should happen) (My jeep is paid for and the other jeep can be paid for within 24 months)1.5 Consider raising insurance deductables to $500 or $1000 and dropping full coverage on paid for "bondo buggy" (You have an EF ya know) (DR doesn’t actually recommend doing this; he says that full coverage is worth the cost; I did however raise the deductible)1.6 Draw up a will. (I did wills online at one point but I’m not sure where they are; we’ll have to take care of this) 1.7 Get Long-Term Disability insurance. (David has LT and ST disability insurance through work; I don’t have any since I’m on disability)2.0 Do debt snowball, paying all your debts from lowest BALANCE to highest. (family loan, jeep)2.1: You can take your first vacation since finding Dave if you can pay cash for it (no using the EF !!!) (Can’t even imagine this at this point)3.0 Save 3-6 months EXPENSES in EF. (I’ll lean toward 6 months)3.1 Start car replacement fund.3.2 Save up 20% for home purchase OR pay down existing mortgage to the point you can drop PMI. 3.3 Start furniture or other non-essential stuff replacement fund.3.4 Move up in car if you still feel the need to (must pay cash for it)4.0 Start contributing 15% of your paycheck to retirement. 5.0 Save for kids college fund. (Skip this step)6.0 Pay off house early.7.0 Live like no one else since you have lived like no one else. -- Give & Build Wealth.

It doesn’t seem as daunting when it’s in baby steps like that. It seems quite do-able. The big unknown is what DR calls “Murphy”. You know, Murphy’s Law: is something bad can happen it will. Murphy always seems to visit when you least expect it and can least afford it. That’s why he has you start out with the $1k BEF. Like this month – we spent quite a bit of money that wasn’t in the budget because I hadn’t planned on the expenses (prescriptions, doctor bills, late charges, fees, etc.). I had to put a $120 deposit down to get the phone and internet back. That sucked big time. I certainly hadn’t budgeted for doing that but thankfully I could cover it. Otherwise, we’d be without phone and internet for a lot longer.
It’s almost 9:30pm. I need to get to bed since I have to be up early to walk and shower before I leave at 9:30am for my appointment with Julie at the PPWFC. It should be an interesting meeting. I’m anxious to know how it would all work. I may not be able to work if it will jeopardize my benefits. We’ll see how it goes. After the appointment, I’ll come home to let the dogs out and then head to the library. I think I’ll try to pick up a book on tape while I’m there to listen to while I walk in the morning. I’ll also check on my hold. Dang it’s frustrating not having the internet!

Okay, it’s bed time. Hopefully I’ll be able to post this tomorrow (10/17) while I am at the library. I sure hope I haven’t lost all my email. That would be tragic. Especially since I have stuff on craigslist right now. I’ll have to relist everything if my email address has been cancelled. Okay, I better stop thinking about this stuff or I’ll never get to sleep. Goodnight.