Maybe someone else paid the bill for you.
Posted By: elonmt on 2008-04-24
In Reply to: Re-read that - boy that is clear as mud isn't it? sm - Anon MT
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It's actually something like a second job to get the bill that low.
I spend a lot of time studying sales and clipping coupons (doubled and sometimes tripled in our area). And I use bonus cards and shop at places like Aldi's for staple items. I never go into a grocery store without a plan, and I never buy on impulse. A lot of money can get away from you when you just browse up and down the aisles. Also, the $321 does not include cleaning products, pet food, or any paper products. That's strictly our people food. We only eat meat 3 or 4 times a week. I also cook nearly everything from scratch. That's just part of my Italian family's food tradition. I will pay $12 for a chunk of really good cheese, though! LOL It's a balancing act. I can make a really nice platter of gnocchi with just some flour, water, egg and a baking potato. For a "sauce" I just use olive oil, salt and pepper, GOOD cheese, maybe a little bit of chopped ham or dried sausage as a flavoring. Add some sauteed spinach or escarole, a little salad from whatever veggies looked good at the market. Add some beans to the salad to boost the protein, and we're eating very fine! I also haven't bought canned soup in .... probably ever. I save up chicken carcasses or buy the backs to make stock. I also make veggie stock and buy beef soup bones and make my own beef broth. The home-made stocks make all the difference when cooking from scratch.
I keep the grocery bills low by planning my shopping expeditions and cooking from scratch. It depends on how far you want to go with it. I love to cook. It's a creative outlet for me, so I find it relaxing. Someone else may not, in which case, buying convenience foods would lower their stress level and would be worth the extra expense.
I bet she won't get a bill from the
Bet the hospital writes this off.
Gas Bill
I also live in a small apartment (not a complex, up and down situation) of 2 bedrooms, living room-dinning room, kitchen, bath. My gas bill usually runs about $175-200 a month in the winter. My last gas bill for February was over $600. I found out that my contract with the gas company I was using ran out, and they did not tell me. I called another gas company who gave me a deal at half the price. That is still way too high. I am moving back to Oklahoma this next weekend. I now live in Ohio. House payment alone will save me $300 a month, and my gas payment will probably be about $100-150 a month. I can get a huge house for $300 a month, where as I pay $550 now for a tiny apartment. With all the cuts in pay at MQ, I just cannot afford living here any longer.
I use the bill pay also but
when at the bank today where you have to enter your account number do not think enough space to enter what you need for another banking acct. Oh, well will only be transferring money say every 3 or 4 months and the 3.00 extra charge will not be that bad, especially since if you wire transfer in bank I think they charge around 20 or so.
Me again, tell you what I did about paying a bill for a dog
like I said above, huge animal lover. I have 3 furkids but a friend of mine whose son is a druggie, was not seeing about his dog. The dog needed an operation for a growth on his foot. I paid over $1000.00 for that and now I buy my newly adopted doggie its medicine each month. I never give my friend money because want the money to go for the doggie, not drugs for her kid but you can believe I am seeing the doggie is comfy!
How we cut our power bill...sm
The bill arrived yesterday and it was $40 less than it usually is when compared to any summer month last year. Here's how we did this:
- I enforced people turning off lights when they leave rooms.
- We switched the light bulbs in the living room and bedroom to the energy saving energystar rated bulbs.
- When the washing machine died we replaced it with an energy saving one.
I was suprised that the power bill went down this month... especially with it begin summer and having the A/C running.
To help the kids remember to turn off the lights when they leave a room and to not leave water running that is not being used I gave them the incentive that if the utility bills came in what our usual budget is then they can have the excess money for extra activities this summer. That has sure gotten their attention!
Hospital bill
As long as you pay something every month, there is nothing they can do to you.
I would not take my money out of the CD's or move it. Just keep paying something every month.
Quicken Bill Pay
I use that site. It's worth the $9.95 a month to me for all the bills I write.
I have 2 gifts that fit this bill.
Back in the 80s my mother made 2 quilts, one side silky and the other side imitation fur. You talk about warm! Have used those since. The best gift ever was not Christmas but my husband (actually called first to make sure ok) and then bought me home my 2 tuxedo cats- they were really small when he first got them but they have grown into big lovable guys. One a Christmas and the other just a gift. I am blessed.
I have 2 gifts that fit this bill.
Back in the 80s my mother made 2 quilts, one side silky and the other side imitation fur. You talk about warm! Have used those since. The best gift ever was not Christmas but my husband (actually called first to make sure ok) and then bought me home my 2 tuxedo cats- they were really small when he first got them but they have grown into big lovable guys. One a Christmas and the other just a gift. I am blessed.
Electric Bill
Bill was $64.00!
$33.00 for actual electrical usage
$31.00 for Cust charge, Standard Metering charge, Distribution Facilities Charge, Transmissions Services Charge, Purchased Electricity Adjustments, Environmental Cost Recovery Adj, Energy Efficiency Programs, Franchise Cost, State Tax and Municipal Tax.
paid
Do you actually know how much he gets paid? Yes, great that he won 10 g's. My MIL is a teacher and she gets paid great. No underpaying there at all. It all depends where you work. Sometimes i question she is teaching our children the future?????
Paid for Doing their Job
My point was it's a good amount of pay for the hours put in. There are lots of jobs where the pay doesn't come any where close to what is deserved (sound familiar?), but that's not exclusive to the teaching profession.
If parents would be parents, teachers could be teachers. When my son was in high school I always attended the parent-teacher night. One of his teachers said something that rang so true. When I asked how my son was doing he replied, "He's doing great. Every parent I've met tonight has a son or daughter who is doing just great. Of the ones who are lost, struggling and failing, I have yet to meet one of their parents tonight." We talked for a bit and he told me regardless of the phone calls to home, the letters, the one-on-one time with a student in trouble, the parents never pitched in, never made an effort, and he was losing the battle with those that needed help.
I will never say say teachers have it easy. Teaching is a tough job. A social worker has a tough job. A roofer has a tough job. A nurse has a tough job. Where does it end? There are a multitude of underpaid professionals in our society. If you go into the teaching profession for the love of the job, so be it. You know, or should know, what the average salary is before you make the decision to get your degree. Eyes should be wide open.
Back to the beginning: hour for hour, day for day, if the time clock was punched, the salary and benefits a teacher earns is pretty darn good. Go after the parents for them to do THEIR job so the teacher can do what his/her salary reflects: TEACHING.
paid help
I am so blessed. My mom comes in once a week and does my bathrooms, kitchen/utility floors, vacuums, dusts. Has been doing this for years. I think if you can get someone for $15.00/hr. go for it. Mom only charges $10.00 an hour for her paying customers. Refuses to take money from me. Good luck!
I paid
the month thing so I can go on-line and that is helping me to keep with it and not get discouraged too. I figure it is a healthy way to eat and I paid so I may as well give it a month. I had foot surgery and have just been able to start walking with little to no pain now so that may help too. Thanks again!
lol, I meant - nice that it is all on one bill : )
x
Not the poster you replied to but I do like Bill O.
p
I heard that in some states you can bill the MD
I heard this quite a few years ago, never tried it....but our time is as valuable as anybody else's time (outside of emergencies/extenuating circumstances) and I worked for an MD who kept the patients waiting for 5 hours in his waiting room....the elderly were the victims in this case....it was 20+ years ago. And don't you just hate waiting in the waiting room for over an hour and then waiting in that examining room for any length of time beyond 10-15 minutes?!?! Usually a 30-45 minute wait and I don't like that either....
Most of us have places to go, people to see, things to do.....all as important as anybody else.....they are not gods....far from it, actually.
Yeah, they pay our bills/mortgage/rent but doesn't mean we have to like 'em....*l*
thanks for the place to vent...
just know that you all can bill an MD for wait time
really - it's being done now - whereby you, the patient, can bill the doctor's office for exhorbitant time waiting.............gives them back a taste of their own medicine (with them billing you for not canceling an appointment in a timely fashion) - TWO can play that game....*lol*
I know all about that bill they tried to pass and failed so far,
I am against it being mandatory, and yes, I am part of the breed/show world, and did mixed breed rescue, volunteered in a few shows for a long time and it is heart breaking. But, in all the years I volunteered in them, the pedigree cat was rare, I only saw a persian once and a siamese once. I am not out West though. Mandatory spay and neuter will only create a black market. In CA there is already a problem with smuggling puppies in from Mexico, imagine how much worse that will get. And yes, breeders can get a license, but not everyone will get one and unfortunately, it will knock out the good ones, the bad ones always find a way around things. The better answer would be low cost spay and neuter programs so that it is more affordable. I don't know costs in CA, but here in PA they are getting very high. My vet loves me, I spend a fortune there and if somebody gets sick on the weekend, I don't think twice about going to the emergency vet and paying extra costs. I do recall, however, in the pounds I volunteered in that there more pedigree dogs, particularly large ones. In these cases, it seemed people did not do their homework and did not realize the puppy would get so big.
As for pet stores, I would never buy a pet in one of those, nor would I ever let one of my kittens go to them. In fact, my breeding is very small scale, I am most definitely not making money on it, and I am very picky about who let have one of my furry kids, and I do have high quality within my chosen breed, good health and show.
Good luck in CA, but I don't think that bill will ever get passed. It is really not cost effective to the state and like you said, how could they enforce it? People find a way, sad, but true.
they called Bill a pig but Condi and GWB have been
those in glass houses should never throw stones, eh? *lol* -
ty...problem not the phone bill though...psm
We are fortunate that we have unlimited texts, so the problem isn't the phone bill. The problem is I feel he is running his life into a ditch. I know he has to make his own mistakes but we raised him better than to be rude, disrespectful, and lie. At least I thought we did :(
I know they say you have to let your kids make their own mistakes but it is so hard to do that when you know disaster is on its way.
The only real problem with taking is phone away is he will be 2 hours away and I won't have any way to contact him or him us at any time. They don't even put phones in the dorms these days.
I was at a football game last night and his girlfriend was there texting away to him. I heard her tell her friend "I am talking to him on AIM since we can't talk on the phone anymore." Which meant she can't text him (we set him a limit of 200 a day) so he is sitting in his room talking to her on the computer instead. I can't stop it. There is no way I can take away his computer. I just have to let him do what he's gonna do at this point I guess........thanks for the help! Any more advice would be greatly appreciated.
I really do appreciate any help!
I saw that Bill Maher episode too
I recently started watching him and he really puts things into persective. Especially the comment about about Colonel Sanders and chicken going up. Has some fascinating guests on.
One thing I did say to DH after I heard Bush say that people could use the stimulus to help pay for gas I looked at him and said "Of course he wants us to spend it on gas. He's an oil guy."
Can't wait for Bill Maher to come back on.
SAVE ON HEATING BILL!
A friend told me about these and my husband brought an article home today. They are Heat Surge Fireless Flame miracle heaters produced by the Amish. I will try to attach the link to the web site so you can check them out....don't panic at the price! You can order the mantle right now for $298 and get a FREE heater (normally around $600 together) The mantle (which goes around the heater) is solid wood. Right now you can order 2 per household. Click on the link that says "do not have claim code" to see where in the country you are and get the phone#. You only have 48 hours to order, and mine started yesterday.
I sure hope he wanted me to order one, cuz I did!! We already have a wood stove but this will help me not have to get up to put wood in it all night long to keep it going since I have not turned on my house heater in 3 years and refuse to!!!!
Post again when you get your electric bill and
DON'T FORGET to send your warranty in. Hopefully, it will last longer than my Eden Pure. Do a follow up, please. I'm still thinking about it.
No, you can not be held responsible for their bill -
nm
I can use bill pay to pay to a specific account #
at any bank. Its free, too.
Too bad...I have used bill pay to transfer money...
this way, but after reading your post, I looked into it and can only do it from one bank and not the other. They all have their own rules, I have just never had the need to do it the other way around.
Ha! Just wait till the bill comes in.
xx
I have paid $50.00 and tipped $10.00 sm
but I don't really get my haircut too often and when I do, I love to make it a day just for me at a nicer salon, so I don't mind spending the cash. I like to feel like a "rich *itch stay-at-home while hubby works nothing better to do but spend his money lady" just for ONE DAY. Between the house, kids, and typing, I find it hard to make time just for me! So, if I get the chance and need a day to myself, I tend to make a hair appointment and then maybe go shopping for a new purse (my other luv). I have too many as it is, but I love purses and shoes and always have! I would babysit all week as a teenager just to purchase an expensive purse! Wish I had all that money now, but... it sure was FUN! 
I always tip 10-15%, but I have never paid $65 just for a haircut...
nm
For those of you who have paid help with the house ..
What I am wanting from someone is an hour each morning (M-F) to do:
1) Make 2 beds (changing sheets 2 times a week)
2) Vacuum 1000 sqft (with about 300 of it not carpet - sweep)
3) Unload dishes from dishwasher/load any dirty ones
4) Swish the toilet down and wipe down the bathroom sink/mirror
5) Drop any trash at the trash bin as they leave
My questions:
1) Do you think this is reasonable to be done in an hour?
2) I am thinking of offering $15 an hour...Too much? Too little?
Thanks
well of course they have paid for it in other ways.
for the poor. That's a just society. I would gladly pay $6 a gallon for gas if my health care were free and my children were going to college for free. That would be a bargain!
Paid bills
Paid bills and planned with DH about how we can make more money so we can do more than just "pay bills". Watched a scary movie tonight. Tomorrow it will be work and some household chores. Gosh what an exciting life! I'd like to do a little more with my life than just "exist".
I have economized and it has paid off sm
I live in a mobile home I bought excessively used. It is fully paid for. My car is 1996 and while it has 123K for mileage, it is still running just fine and I am told will go to 200K. It is paid for. I own a lovely piano, paid for. Clothing I either make or buy on the sale tables from Walmart. I especially like that most of my tops only cost me $3 or $5. I take good care of my clothing and much of it I have had for several years. Since I have chosen carefully I like what I have. Same for shoes. Same for what little costume jewelry I have. Same for my budget bedding. I buy household stuff second hand because I like certain tacky nick nacks from the 1950s. I even shop for the lowest prices at second hand shops.
Now, I have not had a vacation in 13 years, it is true. I am just now getting used to having to take 2 full days off every week and managing those 2 days without sitting down to work is hard. I do, however, have a lovely home and no debt.
I only work one job and I do pretty well ($40K a year). I am able to have enough taxes withheld not to worry about it. I have insurance too. After that, I can pay my bills and I manage to put back about $500 to $700 a month, depending on my line counts. I have no idea what I am saving for right now, but it feels good to watch the numbers climb. I literally put every fourth paycheck in the savings account. I DO eat what I want when I want. I have also stock piled canned foods because of food prices. I buy lost leaders at the grocery store for the most part. If it has a store special tag on it, I am going to choose it over something else.
I am at a point where I don't use the car, but about twice a month to go the bank, which is not close enough to walk to. There is no place close I'd go out to eat even if I were inclined, which I am not. I am an avid sale and clearance shopper, and while I am not longer at the point in my life where this is a necessity, it is so ingrained (did I spell that right?) that I can't stop. Some people may get off on buying an expensive item, but I get my thrills out of seeing how little I can spend to get what I want. Example is a flat pack entertainment center I wanted. Original price was $120 and I got it for $32. Nothing wrong with it and it was easy to put together, just clearing out for new styles. I had wanted one for a year before I bought this one, but found that price and jumped on it with great joy.
Since I know perfectly well that working harder and longer is not really an option, I chose to cut my spending and now I am really happy.
You know I would have paid the friend SM
even though it would be a hardship. But after his last comment about "don't ask me to stay and put things in the right place," I said thanks, but no thanks...
Help is a safety net you have paid for sm
Food stamps are a safety net we all pay for, all forms of public assistance are things we have been paying for all along. TAKE the help you need! Do move closer to family if you possibly can.
I have been in your shoes myself. I lost my home to foreclosure 4 years ago because of having a near-fatal drug interaction and losing my job of nearly 7 years. I made a couple of moves and finally ended up in a small town out of state from where I had lived for 30 years. I lived with a close friend for about 9 months and had the opportunity to buy a mobile home for $3000. The people I bought it from said I could make payments and I was able to pay it off in 5 months. It needed a lot of work and it has gotten it, most of which I have done myself. This project really helped me to regain parts of myself I had lost. It gave me a reason to get up and get going on my days off. I turned this ugly old thing into a lovely, comfortable home I cherish. I have lost about 50-60 lbs since living here and I have brought the idea of vastly cutting expenses in line with making more money. The end result is that I am very well off financially, better than in my entire life.
DO get medication to help you if you can. I didn't have medication to help because I am allergic to every psychotropic in existence. I did this by pulling myself up by the boot straps, but if I could have had help, I would have. There IS a brighter future out there. You CAN have that brighter future because you DESERVE IT. That said, no one expects you to get there alone!!!
Don't be embarrassed to ask and receive help. You will be able to help others later. Years ago, when my kids were young, I was a single parent, no support and it was Christmas time. My kids didn't even have adequate clothing or food. A neighbor I hardly knew handed me a Christmas card. Inside was a $100 gift card to K-Mart. She said that many years before that, she had been in my shoes and someone had given her $100 one Christmas, she was now paying this forward to me. The only provision was that I return this favor when I could, and that I bought something for myself too because I deserve nice things for my hard work. It was a turning point for me. I have been more of a giver since. Although I could have paid this back last year, I didn't know anyone who would appropriately benefit. This year, I do and I had to tell her that I was going to do this and why. She cried and felt embarrassed because, she said, she was usually in the position to give and it hurt a little to receive. I reminded her that she was GIVING me the gift of giving with pleasure.
Others are going to give to you with pleasure, love, friendship and concern for your well being. TAKE IT. One day you'll post back here about how good things are and I'll want to hear it.
Just paid $1.67 here near Richmond, VA- sm
we are about 45 minutes east of Richmond, and have 5 gas stations within 6 miles of each other, and one recently reopened after being closed for over a year (was just doing car repairs, closed the pumps) and has been undercutting all the competition. The other stations are at $1.77 or higher.
You are under 30 and your house paid for?
Did you get at auction and you were the only one?
I just got paid today
and want to be lazy tonight, so I am going to order a pizza to pick up when I get off work for me and the bf. So much for trying to watch what I eat 
Bill Maher addressed this end of show...sm
Bill Maher at the very end of his show Friday night (Real Time With Bill Maher) addressed this very thing in the final new rules of his show...the seriousness about the bees dying off...and what will happen if pollination no longer occurs. VERY SCARY indeed.
Not looking for a Bill Maher like or dislike flame....just stating he brought this to MY attention Friday night....I didn't know about the bees/pollination issue nor exactly what that all meant.
Thanks for mentioning the bees/pollination issue here.
Who is on the $10 bill? According to two seven year olds, it's President...(sm)
George Clooney!! Ha!! My daughter said it the other day, and tonight I heard her friend say the same thing. They sat in the back seat of the car arguing with my 10-year-old that they were absolutely sure. My son, also slightly misinformed said, "George Clooney is a comedian" to which my daughter's friend replied, "No, a comedian is someone who works with animals." These really are pretty smart kids most of the time - but I got a huge kick out of their "facts" tonight! HA!
My only bill is the house payment, which is quite taken care of
with one of our checks each month. So, think what you will; our life is good. We save and know how to manage our money. Merry Christmas!
Huge increase in utility bill
What would you do? I just opened my gas bill yesterday and found that my gas bill is 6 x last month's. I live in an apartment and the only gas appliance I have is the water heater. There have not been other people visiting me (I live alone) and I use cold water for clothes washing 99% of the time. I do use my dishwasher about 3 times a week...trying to eat at home! I would have to take 10 long showers a day for this kind of increase. In other words, I do not believe my consumption has increased so much or the rate has recently increased this much!
Many years ago I had a similar thing happen, instead of gas it was an electric bill increase, and it turned out to be a faulty air conditioner. I paid 3 outrageous power bills before that problem was solved and I didn't try to recoup what I paid from the apartment complex. This time I'm not going to do that, as I'm now older and meaner : ) If it turns out to be some sort of leak, can I take the apartments to small claims court? Any similar experiences? TIA...
Do you live in Texas? Our electric bill
for our tiny 2 bedroom house, trying to keep from running the air conditioner too much, using spiral bulbs, turning everything off as much as possible & being careful, is still about $250-$300 in the summer months. I don't know why some states have cheap electricity and some are so high! It's crazy.
Nastier than normal bill collector sm
When I was first on my own, I got in over my head with my phone service and had it go to collections. The debt got bought by another agency a while later, and when the first person called and said how much was owed, I said I could make the 4 payments of whatever it was they offered. Well, the "supervisor" wench who came on the line next said that was unacceptable. I explained that I could pay the amount they wanted for 1 payment but not the whole thing or I would not have groceries for my kids. I was calm and asked if she wanted me to pay her instead of having food for my kids, and I kid you not, she said yes!!! I explained that she was being ridiculous and how was I supposed to do something like that? Basically it all boiled down to she didn't care about anything other than getting the money and that I should have paid my bills back then, even when I admitted to her that I had made a bad choice at that time and was wanting to take care of it. I ended up getting hung up on and was so ticked I couldn't see straight.
oops...should be *never paid quarterly*
nm
ET paid 4 million is what I read
My X never paid a dime - he still had his "rights." (sm)
You seem to be so afraid that you will lose all your rights. Why would you think this? I can't see how you would. Don't let him scare you. If you can't afford a lawyer, go to Legal Aid. They helped me immensely when my X refused to return kids after a visit.
mine always paid their own insurance
so they can understand what happens to the rates!
Betcha' she's gettin' PAID . (nm)
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