Crystal Groves

I was thinking this morning that when they do demolish the old house, could I reuse any of the old materials, and what would the new owner allow to be taken. I plan to go down this weekend with my cousin Stephanie to take pictures before it is demolished, but I may also look around and see if there’s anything we can ask to take.

Honestly I wouldn’t mind having the windows, if nothing else we could use them in new animal pens. Doors could be useful, maybe. I know I really liked the old hardware on them, and having those could just be my “remembrance” item from the house. Maybe even some of the wood floor could be salvaged. I know dad wants the old gas stove, even though it’s older than me. I’d definitely like to have the electrical box and the hot water heater, since we paid for and installed those ourselves.

None of the cabinetry is any good, and the oil based heater is shot. I can’t think of much else at this point, but I wouldn’t mind doing a little diving.

This experiment probably would have been better served over time to see the reduction in money spent on my part, but at the very least it gives an outlay of what type of things I spend money on outside of my usual bills (which may be a separate post). Each month I want to see how many $0 days I can get. All costs are rounded.

March 01: Bi-Monthly Bill Payment Day
March 02: $160 on groceries, $26 for my dad for gas
March 03: $23 on gas
March 04: $0
March 05: $0
March 06: $50 for Trillium Registration
March 07: $0
March 08: $20 on gas
March 09: $0
March 10: $25 to dad for gas, $68 on new starter for his truck, $35 on a birthday gift for the sweetheart
March 11: $23 on gas
March 12: $19 at lunch with co-workers
March 13: Bi-Monthly Bill Payment Day
March 14: $0
March 15: $65 on a gift for my uncle and catfood
March 16: $0
March 17: $25 on gas
March 18: $0
March 19: $0
March 20: $23 on gas, $56 on gas for dad
March 21: $0
March 22: $0
March 23: $0
March 24: $23 on gas, $9 shipping homemade cookies to the sweetheart for his birthday
March 25: $63 to dad for prescriptions and a few things at the grocery like bread and peanut butter
March 26 $0
March 27: $0
March 28: $21 on gas and $11 at the grocery store for offering food
March 30: $0
March 31: $22 on gas $37 to dad for gas

Days in March not spending money: 14. So almost half of the month I didn’t spend any money at all. I definitely think I can do better in April.

Dad went to get some tests done today on his leg to see if he qualifies for use of the hyperbaric chamber again.

Some background: Dad went to the wound care center for months and months and months back in 2005/2006 to get treatments for his leg. He has extremely bad veins and circulation in his leg, which causes large skin ulcers (sometimes the size of my fist) and for his leg to remain indefinitely purple. They are pretty nasty (I have pictures for those interested). This is mainly due to all of the concrete construction he did his whole life as well as an accident when I was a baby where he fell off a roof.

We got these healed in October 2006, when they finally decided to put him in the hyperbaric chamber, which healed them in like 2 months. They stayed healed until we had to move last summer because dad was putting all that strain back on his leg and in that heat. So dad has been going back to the Wound Care Center since about October once we got settled into the house to get treatments for these new ulcers.

These visits are not cheap, even with Medicare. I originally wanted them to just throw him in the hyperbaric chamber (basically oxygen tank) right off the bat because it healed him within 2 months last time. Medicare won’t allow that, but he finally got permission today during his visit to get treatment again.

They have to test the level of oxygen in your leg first to see how much you get. I think a normal person gets between like 50%-60% oxygen to their legs. Diabetics usually get between 20%-40% oxygen. Dad gets 3%. In the hyperbaric chamber, he gets over 600%. (Note: I wish they made home oxygen treatment kits).

They also want to try and remove some varicose veins and possibly install (?) some new veins in his leg to get more blood flow. This will probably be outpatient surgery that I’ll need to drop him off and pick him up for. But we don’t know when that will be yet exactly.

Hopefully we can get these ulcers fixed this time and stay fixed. I think his body, and his leg especially, is just wearing out.

I wish they’d just put him in that oxygen tank in the beginning. It’d save us so much money.

I got this from our IT guys here at work, so I am passing along:

“There is an computer worm infecting Microsoft operating systems that is scheduled to go off on April 1. Microsoft has released a patch to prevent computers from being infected. If everyone could please download this patch immediately it would be highly appreciated. This is considered a high priority update and should preempt anything you are currently doing. Linux and Mac’s are not affected.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/24/conficker.computer.worm/index.html

Download Patch here:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx”

Also a Scanner and Removal tool

http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/worm_w32_downadup_al.shtml

I decided, with much hesitation, to stop all savings contributions for now. It wasn’t necessarily hurting me to keep adding to my savings, but it was slowing down the debt repayment process. So now I will be able to tackle this with hopefully more force just to get it out of our lives for good.

My credit card also came for my father today for my account. I may hold off giving it to him until his balance is paid off. But I am still undecided about that.

This week I find out if his tractor supply account attempts to go to 30% APR, in which case I’ll pay it off now instead of later.

And I also have to call the local tax people to see if they’ve received a payment from my escrow account. By the looks of my Chase account, it doesn’t look like they have, so I’m going to bring a copy of my tax form to work tomorrow to copy and send again so I can get the discount.

Dad said the old house is scheduled to be demolished as soon as the new well and septic are put in. I’d like to ride down and get pictures before it is, considering I was under the impression it wouldn’t be demolished (surprisingly). There’s no way he could have renovated that thing anyway.

My best friend made me very proud of her last month. I admire her very much. She’s completed something that even I can’t do right now.

Her husband just lost his job a month ago, which I thought would be devastating to their finances. But apparently they live sooo much below their means, that they still have almost a grand extra every month on just her salary. Talk about willpower and awesomness.

It’s something I plan to achieve eventually, living the way I do now and staying that way even if the sweetheart and I move in together with his extra salary. My biggest goal was always to live off of one salary and save the rest. And my friend has already done so.

PA, or at least Adams County has been doing a mandatory program, which my township has just adopted, where you have to have your septic tank emptied and cleaned every 2 or 3 years. You’d be surprised at how many people around here apparently have not had theirs emptied or serviced in -decades-. Course I can’t say much, at our old house it hadn’t been serviced in over 29 years, but that wasn’t our responsibility and the landlord didn’t care.

However when we bought this place in September, the septic was emptied and serviced for the sale, so now I have to draft a letter requesting a postponement until the next round of mandatory inspections and figure out where to send it and how to confirm my request has been processed correctly.

Oh the joys of figuring out new fun homeowner responsibilities.

PA, or at least Adams County has been doing a mandatory program, which my township has just adopted, where you have to have your septic tank emptied and cleaned every 2 or 3 years. You’d be surprised at how many people around here apparently have not had theirs emptied or serviced in -decades-. Course I can’t say much, at our old house it hadn’t been serviced in over 29 years, but that wasn’t our responsibility and the landlord didn’t care.

However when we bought this place in September, the septic was emptied and serviced for the sale, so now I have to draft a letter requesting a postponement until the next round of mandatory inspections and figure out where to send it and how to confirm my request has been processed correctly.

Oh the joys of figuring out new fun homeowner responsibilities.

If any friends and family are intending on getting me something for my birthday (not that I’m expecting any, mind you), I’m formally requesting that all gifts be either monetary or a plain visa gift card. I plan to use all gifts towards paying down my father’s debt and want nothing specifically for myself. Even the Visa Gift Card would be stretching it because I am unable to really apply those to these types of debt. Instead they would be used for everyday bills like groceries or gas.

That’s why money would be the best option. Check, money order, cash, doesn’t matter. It’s all being thrown at the debt with extreme prejudice

Paypal is also an option, and can be sent to crystal[@]adventmud.org

That is all