08.08.11 / Uncategorized / Author: TWGranE / Comments Off
Declining populations could be key to paying off your student loans.
I have to admit, my fine arts degree really hasn’t worked for me and being an artist, Gov. Sam Brownback is not on my Christmas Card (always an original work of art) list.
But maybe he is trying to help me and all the others who got caught somewhere in between “college is your best investment” and “college is for the wealthy” eras.
The Rural Opportunity Zones program was signed into a law July 1. This law is designed to spur economic development and expand job growth in 50 counties in Kansas.
It pays up to $3,000 annually on your student loans and gives you a reprieve of five years if you move from out of state.
I was all for moving back to my hometown, hanging out at the local malt shop and cruising with my old classmates just so the state would pay $3,000 a year on my student loans until I got stuck on that phrase “job growth.”
For there to be job growth, there must be jobs to grow. I don’t think I would be happy (or qualified) to work at the local seed plant or measure out yards of material for the quilt club.
Nostalgia is one thing, job opportunity is another.
All Kansans are struggling to keep a job and pay their bills no matter what county they live in.
Mr. Brownback give your hard-working, Kansas-grown residents some tax breaks no matter where they live or we may be forced out of state where groceries aren’t taxed, where personal property taxes are unheard of and where the governor may even hang a piece of art created by a local artist in his or her office.
07.29.11 / Uncategorized / Author: TWGranE / Comments Off
We get comfortable in our lives, comfortable in our favorite chairs and comfortable in our creditors.
I got inspired this past month. It started with my youngest wanting a cell phone. While I had no quams with her having one, I dreaded changing my phone plan.
A+ customer service on this one. I was able to add a line, tweak my plan, upgrade my old phone and reduce my bill. I should of done that earlier.
Next the cable.
With internet at work and available through my new phone upgrades, I made the necessary phone call. This transition didn’t go as well, but after no television service for a few days and countless service calls. I got what I wanted. A lower bill.
My auto insurance check, through my bank, took a little longer than expected ( a free service my bank provides). I thought that my agent, whom I have had since I was 18, believed me that the check was in the mail – NOT. It’s not a good feeling to be dropped, but it gave me cause for action.
I soon found an agency that would give me a great deal on my multi-auto policy, plus better home coverage for less than I currently pay. Bonus — 12-percent extra discount on my new upgraded phone service. I like that.
So, I changed my home insurance. I had been needing to since the last bad wind storm (should have been classified a tornado) went through, and I watched all my neighbors’ roofs being replaced and our agent hadn’t gotten back to us yet.
Makes me wonder why I don’t check my bills every quarter or so and see if there is a better deal out there. Thank goodness America is still the land of the free and competition is strong.
Check your bank rates, your mortgage rates, your utilities, your grocery store. Make a phone call, or fill out a questionaire online. Most representatives bend over backward to get and keep you as a lifetime customer, they will seek financing, transition your switch with your current creditor, set up payment plans, give you incentives.
So go ahead, put that ratty old recliner out by the curb (for fellow curb-side picker uppers) and see what else is out there. You’ll soon get comfortable and feeling spiffy as well!
06.27.11 / Uncategorized / Author: TWGranE / Comments Off
The down and dirty A&E hit “Storage Wars” is pretty cut-throat with a variety of pro-wrestling-looking pros getting a quick look at the towers of stuff — then the bidding begins. Usually they put down a lot of cash with just a peek of what is beyond the corrugated metal doors.
Caution: You need SKILLS to do this. You must know beyond a doubt characteristics of valuable items.
Try playing the “What’s It Worth?” game on the Storage Wars website.
I am a seasoned seller, and, yet, the game threw me off. It took me quite a few times to line up the items according to their values.
Local storage wars also exist. Times are published in the legal section of the newspaper. You need to call the storage facility right before the payment deadline to see if any of the units listed are still going up for auction. If the storage customer pays their bill then their items will not be put up for sale.
At Stor-It-Safe (Ottawa), they take silent bids, you write down your bid on a piece of paper. This can be tricky because you don’t know what you’re up against with other bidders. They roll open the door, you take a look (no digging). If you win, you are responsible for cleaning and sweeping out the unit.
If you’d like to spend the day and fill a truck, you may want to participate in a sort of “Storage Hop.” Mayo Auction & Realty work several storage sites. They hold their storage auctions the last Friday of the month. Moving from one location to another throughout the metro.
They are auctioneers, so you are participating in live bidding action. Be sure to check the website the night before or that morning to find starting location (if there are no units up for auction at first site, they meet at the second on the list).
As in most auctions, you must have cash and an ID.
Storage Auction Tips:
- Check to see auction is still as scheduled (if the renter pays even one minute before auction time, the auction is void)
- Bring cash and lots of it. You are not bidding on one item, but a whole unit.
- Know what an item is worth without a thorough inspection. You can’t go in to dig a lamp out to check for special markings.
- Bring some muscle. Unit must be emptied usually that day.
06.06.11 / Uncategorized / Author: TWGranE / Comments Off
Thank you, George’s Bike, for taking me down memory lane this weekend and helping me create new memories.
This past weekend was the auction and closing of George’s Bike (no, he didn’t call it a shop or repair business — just bike). Having a soft spot for bicycles, running the town as a child not knowing what the handlebars were for, biking across Kansas, entering a few races, aspiring to become the first woman to be in the Tour de France and, now, shopping for bikes with wide padded seats with bells and baskets — I had to go.
My first bike was so cool. It was completely orange. Orange metal, orange banana seat, orange sissy bar, orange tires and orange grips. My name was drawn at a crowded theater to win the bike. I walked that bike (I had yet to learn how to ride) out of that theater past hundreds of jaw dropping, salivating kids. I was so lucky.
For weeks afterward my mother took me up and down a bumpy dirt hill by our house holding on to that orange sissy bar. Eventually she would let go without telling me until I would no longer feel her grip then I would freak out and crash.
One year, for Christmas, all three of us kids got grown-up Schwin Varsities. All the same size. It didn’t matter back then what your inseam was; if you couldn’t reach the pedals, then you stood up to pedal.
This weekend I got an awesome red, white and blue Varsity. The roll tape around the rounded handlebars is new — can you still buy that? Just the chance to take a photo to send to my sis is worth the five bills I put down.
My pride is my new vintage, silver Country Traveler women’s bike, complete with oversized reflectors, bell and split wire basket over the chrome fender on the back. It rides like a dream.
My daughter got a bike that matched her purple shirt, Miami Mist (I love bike names). I told her we were not transferring training wheels onto this one. So last night when all the neighbor kids went inside, we went out to the parking lot to practice, practice and practice. It will take many more evenings, but I know that this is something she will remember. And one day, I’ll be able to say, “By George, I think she’s got it!”
Thanks George!
05.18.11 / Uncategorized / Author: TWGranE / Comments Off
Will it go ’round in circles?
I got a story, it ain’t got no moral
Let the poor guy win every once in a while
I got a story, it ain’t got no moral
Let the poor guy win win every once in a while
I am going ’round in circles with these well-rounded (geez, I’m killing myself here) bargains:
Go now to http://bigdeal.upickem.net to buy $14 worth of buffet and two drinks at Cici’s pizza in Lawrence for $5. My daughter at KU will be eating well, at least 4 times!
Also my good friend George is closing his bicycle shop. If you ever took your bike into George’s to be repaired, you know what great work he did and his reasonable costs. I always liked to take the family’s bikes in there for all the minor repairs and enjoyed seeing all the vintage bikes and new hot rods that he had on the floor.
Get your tape measure out to check tube sizes and meet me at 116 W. 3rd, Ottawa, Sunday, May 22 at 1 p.m. to bid on entire inventory of George’s Bike Shop. I am guessing that this might be such a specific item sell that we might be able to get some good bargains because there might not be the usual household and farm equipment auction seekers.
For more information on this auction, go to: http://www.ottawaherald.com/auctions/
Good luck on these Tightwad Deals, and let the music move you around.
