Tricia's Musings

Random Thoughts about life in general, living in the big city of Toronto



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Christmas with the in-laws!

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How is everyone on this lovely Christmas Eve?

We’re having a quite Christmas here this year. I don’t think we’ve celebrated Christmas on Christmas day with Chris’ family in years! It’s always a day or two before Christmas or the following weekend. It seems that no one can manage to get together on Christmas day for some reason.

When my parents were around we had this problem too of course, but we tried to alternate Christmases between the families.

Anyway … Yesterday we went to Brantford to have Christmas with Chris’ parents and his two sisters, their spouses and their kids.

It didn’t quite work out that way though.

Chris’ younger sister had been to Sarnia the night before seeing friends and as they returned home they discovered that their young daughter was very sick so they ended up in a walk in clinic. My niece has strep throat so bad she won’t even drink any liquids! I don’t envy my sister in law at all today!

Chris’ older sister and her husband didn’t make it either! It turned out that she had a cold or the flu and since they are going to Hawaii on Christmas day she wanted to rest and get better before their flight.

So as it turned out it was just Chris and I, Chris’ parents and one of his aunts.

Chris nephew was in the basement with a friend while we were visiting, but for some reason he didn’t want to eat dinner … so that dinner for 12 or 13 people ended up being for only 5!

So that was Christmas with the in-laws.

Oh and I’ve said before that my mother in law can’t really cook … I think she said she cooked the turkey for 10 hours. It was good but it was very dry.

We brought Midnight along for the day so she could meet the family. She was afraid to go in the house when we first go there! I coaxed her in and then we kept her on her leash for a while as we led her around the main floor showing her the house and introducing her to the in-laws. She did pretty good while she was there. No accidents (actually she hasn’t had an accident for close to a week so she might be housetrained!) and she didn’t jump on people too much. Over all I’d say it was a good experience for the puppy. (and us)





There’s too much money flying out of our pockets lately!

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I can’t believe how much money we’re spending on things lately!

Of course buying a puppy and all the items necessary to make her comfortable in our home was quite a hit to the wallet. So were her unexpected extra vet bills! She’s been to the vet twice and she’s only been with us 14 days! Remember she had a bacterial infection so she needed antibiotics and medications to settle her tummy?

Well we went to the vet on Tuesday evening for a check up and she got her second set of vaccination shots. Her stool was also checked again and this time the vet discovered Round worms! So she’s on more meds. She also has a slight infection in her left eye so we have to put ointment in her eyes twice a day.

I think the vet bills have come to about $600 so far.

Then, on Tuesday when Chris was driving to the other side of town to pick up the replacement light we needed for our DLP TV (that was $300) the drivers side window’s motor failed and the window was stuck half open.

Our cars been at the garage since Wednesday morning. They had to order a new motor for the window and that costs $400.

This is nuts!

We’ve also still got to buy a number of gifts for Christmas and then my niece, who’s having a baby in February, will be having a baby shower in the first week of January.

Ah the bills! The bills!

If your in debt perhaps debt consolidation would help

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Have you ever been in debt? I have thanks to school loans and the struggle I went through during the first year that I had started my business. I suppose I’m still in debt since I have a mortgage, but as far as I’m concerned a mortgage or a car loan is a good debt if you’re able to manage it.

The kind of debt that gets people into trouble is when they take out too many loans and get in over their head, or perhaps when they have a number of credit cards and they’ve reached their spending limit on all of them or worse gone over the spending limit. That’s when debt is out of control.

Did you know that the average American family has a debt of over $9,000 due to credit cards which are an unsecured debt?

If you’re in debt it might be time to look into Debt Consolidation. Nationwide credit counseling agency specializes in helping people who’ve accumulated debt.

The agency can help you Consolidate Debt and as a result lower your interest rates.

Visit the Nationwide credit counseling agency website and you’ll find information about debt consolidation, articles on do it yourself debt consolidation, money and debt videos, debt and credit calculators and information that will help you reach a Debt Settlement with your lenders. They’ve even got a forum where you can learn more about debt consolidation and talk to others who are struggling with debt.

Obviously the benefits of debt consolidation will be that you’ll reduce the interest that you’ve been paying, the credit collection calls will end, your total payment amount will be reduced and the best benefit of all will be that you’ll probably be able to sleep better at night because your stress over your financial situation will be reduced or perhaps even eliminated.

When I was in debt I didn’t even think about looking into debt consolidation. I know now that it would have solved a lot of my problems and my stress. I hope to never get into bad debt again but if I were to I’d consider consolidation all of my debt.

Learn more about managing your financial situation

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I am so happy that my husband and I seem to be in decent financial shape these days. Oh sure, we could be doing better, but when you consider that I’ve been stuck at home due to my Crohn’s for almost two years the fact that I can say that we don’t have financial woes is pretty good.

We’ve had financial problems in the past though, and having been in that situation in the past I know how easy it is to get into trouble. All you need is an illness, the loss of a job or a very bad spending habit and the next thing you know your bills are overdue and credit agencies are calling or knocking on your door. It’s stressful!

If you are having financial troubles right now or if you think that you might have a bad credit history and want to check your credit rating you should visit the creditloan.com website. There’s lots of great information there.

You can learn how to repair your credit rating, how to apply for Bad Credit Car Loans, credit cards, or even learn about debt consolidation, home loans, mortgages, personal loans and student loans.

Not only can you get information on all the types of loans or financial situations that I just mentioned, but you can apply for several types of loans and credit cards right on the creditloan.com website.

This website also stresses how important it is to be aware of identity theft. Did you know that occasionally requesting a credit report may help you catch Identity theft early?

Visit the Credit Loan website. I know you’ll find some information that you can use!

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