Having had to do and deliver wedding flowers last weekend, followed by a 3 day trip to the beach, and then keeping my granddaughter for 3 more days - I neglected to check and see which bills were coming due soon, until Saturday. Imagine my despair, when I discovered that the car insurance was due earlier in the week. I wrote a check immediately, and drove to the P.O., which had already closed for the weekend. I can ill afford to have a late payment on my record, so I'm mentally slapping myself upside the head. Going out of town always upsets my schedule for paying bills, etc. Too bad I don't have a personal manager to do that for me. In my next life..... maybe.
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My sleep cycles are all messed up. Lately, I don't go to sleep until 1 or 2:00 am, then I sleep until 9:00 am if I let myself. Today I set the alarm for 7:30, hoping to slowly inch back to an earlier bed time. I work with Mel for three days later this week, and I have to have more sleep for that! I'm looking forward to getting back to work on a regular basis; I need it physically, mentally and financially!
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Tomorrow morning I go to the lab for fasting blood work - part of my every three-month cycle - prior to seeing the doctor. Since I am in fairly good health, I don't know why I have to go four times per year. If I had some dire illness or a condition that needed watching I could understand having to go so often. Part of the dread I feel before this visit is that I know she will scold me for gaining weight and not exercising. And she should. Exercise has been on the back burner here since early February, when I hurt my back. Sciatic hip and leg pain is not at all conducive to exercising, but I will admit to putting it off longer than I should. I keep telling myself to start walking, and to set a plan for going to the health club more often (and doing more than sitting in the hot tub). But somehow I get lured away, either to stay at home and clean (blog) and organize (Facebook) and cook (piddle around), or to run errands (sit in the car and read). Do you use those excuses too?
Edit: We went to the health club today and I did 10 minutes on the treadmill at a good clip. It's not enough, but it's a start! We ran into some Chinese friends and that made me want Chinese food - so we went to the Asian Buffet, where I overate (as usual, but the General Tso's chicken was SO good!!)
Edit: We went to the health club today and I did 10 minutes on the treadmill at a good clip. It's not enough, but it's a start! We ran into some Chinese friends and that made me want Chinese food - so we went to the Asian Buffet, where I overate (as usual, but the General Tso's chicken was SO good!!)
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Putting off the taxes until late in the year is a pain in the neck. We always do it, and I'm once again stuck in the process, which I am managing to put off as easily as I am blowing off exercise. I'd prefer to do the taxes in January, when everything is fresh in my mind and the receipts would be easier to collate. But we don't, so I do a little of it in January and leave the rest until mr. kenju gets his act in gear - then we sit down to compare notes and combine information before filling in the forms that we take to the CPA. I thought that whole process might get easier once we were both retired, and even though I still work a little, the tax preparation for that is not difficult. But I see it as a brick wall, about 6' deep and 30' high and I just can't seem to get through it or climb over. As the weeks wear on, however, I'm going to have to find a ladder or maybe a trampoline - something - to help me over that wall!
15 comments:
They probably test your blood more often because of the effects that Lodine and other medications can have on your body.
I read the inserts for Lodine, Humira and Relafen (my medications at this time); the potential side effects from long term use can be daunting.
I've been able to ease off the Lodine and Relafen since I've lost weight.
Predisposition to having high cholesterol, diabetes, etc - are also reasons for additional testing.
Also, try not to sweat the one late payment. You could always call the insurance company first thing tomorrow morning and let them know what happened. They WILL note the call on your account.
Judy,
Would it help you to set up automatic payment of your bills with the companies you do repeat business with?
I set it with my creditors when we were both working and it was hard to sit down and write checks in a timely manner. We were always in high gear and I was so afraid we would get a bad credit report. Now that we are both retired, I love that bills come in with DO NOT PAY stamped on the front. They tell you exactly how much they are going to deduct from your account and when..They give you at least 2-3 weeks notice so that if there is an error on your bill, you have time to correct it before the auto deduction.
All the money that has been deducted and the company that deducted it shows up on my bank statement at the end of the month.
It's very handy and so far a mistake has never been made.
Why not try it with one or two companies and see if you like it?
You might want to look into getting an exercise ball. You can sit on it like a chair and exercise your core muscles - just sitting there! When you get more used to it, you can move up to sit ups, etc. I love mine!I don't use it nearly as much as I did in the beginning, but it did help (need to get back in the habit!).
Hey, Sis!! You sound all stressed out with no one to choke. Been there; done that. Take a deep breath and try to relax. Being all things to all people is not possible. Prioritize. Bills and work come first. Your health next (so you can cope with the latter.) Do what you can when you can. I suspect that you're like me and overload yourself with too much.
I make lists and get a certain satisfaction as I cross things off. It eases the pain. AND if you need to vent, you know where I am!
I feel exactly the same way when it comes to completing the taxes.... Hate it... and it does feel like being surrounded by a wall.
I'm with you on the exercise bit!! I can't do much, not being able to walk unaided, but I could do more!!
We pay all our regular bills by direct debit - would that work?
I use monthly DD for most of my bills and as Nancy says it is spreads the load without the worry of missing a date.
Exercise.... What is that? Oh yeah! I remember now:
'Stand holding the back of a chair for support with feet shoulder width apart
Squat slowly, bending your knees so you feel a stretch, keep back straight. Keep feet flat on the floor, do not lean forward................
Whaaaa! Can somebody come and pick me up please!
Wow, that ball that Evil Twins Wife mentioned sounds like a great deal. Use it for a computer chair and feel no guilt blogging.
Have fun with the vampire today and hope all results are good.
Breathe deep and go forward.
My bank has a bill pay system that I'm just trusting myself to use. Its great! My credit sucks already but at least I'm making an effort to keep up with everything with no money.
I hope you called the car insurance co and explained what happened. Sometimes you can get a real human on the other end who understands summer. Congrats on the treadmill. Keep at it!
Here's a suggestion. Presumably Mr Kenju has more time on his hands then ever you do. Could he not keep an eye on bills - make sure to remind you when they are due?
I'm sure this will probably go down like a lead balloon but it's just an idea.
And with all the work you do I don't think you should fret about exercise but I do think walking is something that is so beneficial and according to my sister is much rarer in the States.
Or is she wrong?
Most ins. companies have a grace period anyway :)
As for the rest of it, yep, been there, done that, got the T-Shirt. Of course now it's a size too small, lol!
Hope your test comes out OK!
Take a deeep breath, and I'll hold the insurance company billing agent under water for you. It's not their fault the bill was late but it's their fault for sending you a bill when you've been on vacation and all... (j/k!)
If it helps, i've done the same thing. I know that feeling of stress, it is maddening. Your other commenter's had some great ideas here, I hope it helps to know you've got support out here in blogland. :)
What's worse is when you forget to pay your credit card bills and they charge you $40 for being late a day. I usually do call and complain and they take it off.
I don't know why you'd be doing that much blood work either. I TRY to be in bed by midnight but can still sleep till nearly 9 sometimes!
I'm glad you had three days at the beach and some time with your granddaughter, but I'm sorry you missed the due date for that bill. Bills never stop coming, do they? Bills never take vacations!!!
I know what you mean about needing to exercise more often. I have been taking walks, and I need to continue doing so. It is so easy to make an excuse to NOT take a walk, and I am an expert at coming up with good excuses. I wish I was as good at exercising as I am at coming up with excuses not to do it.
Have a good rest of your week.
:-)
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