AMY SAYS...
Today I looked on line with little hope of trying to reconsolidate my government loans and found a link that read "Reduce Your Student Debt by Up to 70%!" Woha! Yippy Kiyay Muthafuckas!! So I filled out the form and within seconds someone called me - freaky.
I asked what the consequences for a "Settlement plan" were. He said "Well we basically we sell all of your information to creditors until the debt is settled and your credit score plummets - it's basically an alternative to bankruptcy."
I said "Ok I owe $106K but I'm not delinquent in any way."
He said, "Great, are your loans Privately funded or Government backed?"
To which I said, "I just paid off all of my private loans the public loans are the only ones left!"
He said "Sorry we can't do anything about Government backed loans only Private loans."
To which I said "Fuck!"
To which he said, "Well at least you did it the correct way and didn't have to make a settlement."
To which I said, "Fuck!" Again
I don't know if this would have been a right move or not but maybe if I'd settled on the Private loans and paid off the public WE'D BE DEBT FREE with horrible chances of ever getting a loan or a mortgage in the future.
So on we go with my credit score intact and my information private - UGH!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
(Not so) Sweet Old Ladies
GARETH SAYS...
They might look cute. But these women are total whack jobs! Look at what they did to try and make easy money.
Monday, August 4, 2008
A great weekend
GARETH SAYS...
Last weekend was a great weekend.It was fun and cheap.
Saturday morning i woke up early. Packed a lunch of leftovers. Dug out a sweater. And went off to the cinema.
I had studied the times and realised that if i brought a $6 matinee ticket to The Mummy at 10:15 i could sneak into Wall-E straight afterwards. I felt so guilty as i dashed from one room to the other. The last (and first) time i had done this i had got Amy to protect me. This time i was alone as Amy was at a baby shower.
I staggered out the cinema at about 3 o'clock and went home to warm up. Cinemas are freezing in New York.
Saturday night we went to an engagement party. We took a nice bottle of wine we had lying around and paid just $4 each to get there and back on the subway.
After Saturday's early start, Sunday was all about a lie in before going for lunch with my friend John. i cycled down to Tea & Sympathy so getting there and back didn't cost a cent. He rather kindly insisted on treating me (i am now ridiculously indebted to him). Back at John's flat we watched an episode of The Wire and started getting excited about the DVD launch of Series 5 on August 12th - i'll be netflixing it rather than buying it!
Home about 7 and then my two favorite TV shows back to back - Food Network Challenge (Disney Villians was the theme for the cake bakers) and Iron Chef America - before bedtime.
That was a $10 weekend folks. Thanks to leftovers and friends.
Last weekend was a great weekend.It was fun and cheap.
Saturday morning i woke up early. Packed a lunch of leftovers. Dug out a sweater. And went off to the cinema.
I had studied the times and realised that if i brought a $6 matinee ticket to The Mummy at 10:15 i could sneak into Wall-E straight afterwards. I felt so guilty as i dashed from one room to the other. The last (and first) time i had done this i had got Amy to protect me. This time i was alone as Amy was at a baby shower.
I staggered out the cinema at about 3 o'clock and went home to warm up. Cinemas are freezing in New York.
Saturday night we went to an engagement party. We took a nice bottle of wine we had lying around and paid just $4 each to get there and back on the subway.
After Saturday's early start, Sunday was all about a lie in before going for lunch with my friend John. i cycled down to Tea & Sympathy so getting there and back didn't cost a cent. He rather kindly insisted on treating me (i am now ridiculously indebted to him). Back at John's flat we watched an episode of The Wire and started getting excited about the DVD launch of Series 5 on August 12th - i'll be netflixing it rather than buying it!
Home about 7 and then my two favorite TV shows back to back - Food Network Challenge (Disney Villians was the theme for the cake bakers) and Iron Chef America - before bedtime.
That was a $10 weekend folks. Thanks to leftovers and friends.
A whole new wardrobe
GARETH SAYS...
Last week we got taken out for dinner to celebrate the 'launch' of Amy's company. We were going to be treated to a slap up meal at Buddhakan - a super swish asian restaurant in the Meat Packing District!
But what to wear????
The dress code was black, all black. I had a black jumper and a pair of battered black jeans. The jumper was going to be too hot and the jeans just a bit too tatty.
We needed new clothes and when you are on a budget there is only one place to go... UNI GLO!
How on earth do they do it? I got 4 tops, a belt and a new pair of jeans for $120. I shudder to think about the child labour that was used to make clothes that cheaply.
We made a whole evening out of getting on new clothes (that is one of the secrets of ONB - milk the good things for all they are worth, get as much fun out of things as possible). This was the first clothes shopping trip we had ever done together! Amy took great delight in making me looking like her and i have to say i liked the results.
Last week we got taken out for dinner to celebrate the 'launch' of Amy's company. We were going to be treated to a slap up meal at Buddhakan - a super swish asian restaurant in the Meat Packing District!
But what to wear????
The dress code was black, all black. I had a black jumper and a pair of battered black jeans. The jumper was going to be too hot and the jeans just a bit too tatty.
We needed new clothes and when you are on a budget there is only one place to go... UNI GLO!
How on earth do they do it? I got 4 tops, a belt and a new pair of jeans for $120. I shudder to think about the child labour that was used to make clothes that cheaply.
We made a whole evening out of getting on new clothes (that is one of the secrets of ONB - milk the good things for all they are worth, get as much fun out of things as possible). This was the first clothes shopping trip we had ever done together! Amy took great delight in making me looking like her and i have to say i liked the results.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Hope
GARETH SAYS...
Hope costs nothing.
Hope is what keeps you going.
Hope is the hand round the flickering candle.
Bob Hope on the other hand was a comedian who once said: "A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it."
Hope costs nothing.
Hope is what keeps you going.
Hope is the hand round the flickering candle.
Bob Hope on the other hand was a comedian who once said: "A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it."
Saturday, August 2, 2008
ONB gets extended
GARETH SAYS...
The official end date of living at Amy's mum's has now been set.
December 31st.
New year, new place.
If all goes to plan we will be able to move out owing just $30,000 a figure that we should be able to manage quite easily. Afterall it is one sixth of what we stared with back on May 1st.
That means we will now be in the Upper West Side for...
Halloween
Our 1st year anniversary
Christmas
We will see the trees turn brown from the window and we will see the first snow of winter as it falls on our window ledge.
5 more months. We can do it. We've survived 3. How much harder can it be???? Hmmm perhaps i shouldn't ask questions like that.
The official end date of living at Amy's mum's has now been set.
December 31st.
New year, new place.
If all goes to plan we will be able to move out owing just $30,000 a figure that we should be able to manage quite easily. Afterall it is one sixth of what we stared with back on May 1st.
That means we will now be in the Upper West Side for...
Halloween
Our 1st year anniversary
Christmas
We will see the trees turn brown from the window and we will see the first snow of winter as it falls on our window ledge.
5 more months. We can do it. We've survived 3. How much harder can it be???? Hmmm perhaps i shouldn't ask questions like that.
Friday, August 1, 2008
The best $5.80 meal for two ever!
GARETH SAYS...
Living on $20 a day would be pretty easy in some places.
When we ate were the locals ate and shopped where they shopped we realized $20 went a long way in Morocco.
During our trip their our cheapest meal was also one of the nicest. We went to the local fishmarket in Essaouira and for 50 cents we brought 8 fresh sardines and a handful of shrimp, we then went to a vegetable stand to by stuff for a salad (this was actually more than the fish coming in at $1).
Having gathered everything we need we went to this courtyard area where we paid $2 to have the fish and shrimp grilled and the salad prepared. 30 cents on a loaf of bread and $2 on ice cold drinks and we were set for a fantastic meal.
Bon appetit
Living on $20 a day would be pretty easy in some places.
When we ate were the locals ate and shopped where they shopped we realized $20 went a long way in Morocco.
During our trip their our cheapest meal was also one of the nicest. We went to the local fishmarket in Essaouira and for 50 cents we brought 8 fresh sardines and a handful of shrimp, we then went to a vegetable stand to by stuff for a salad (this was actually more than the fish coming in at $1).
Having gathered everything we need we went to this courtyard area where we paid $2 to have the fish and shrimp grilled and the salad prepared. 30 cents on a loaf of bread and $2 on ice cold drinks and we were set for a fantastic meal.
Bon appetit
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
