Contact Paper

Now that worlds have officially collided, due to the fact that I have linked FB up with this blog, you might know that I have had some real estate negotiations going on, plus a cabinet refacing job done.

First, what was I thinking, opening my blog up to every Tom, Dick, and Harry on my friend's list? I guess it's just that I really don't care who reads it. I mean, if you're reading it thank you for reading this but I never really expected to pawn it off to this particular audience that I am possibly writing to at this moment. Which could possibly be 2 or 3 people, but anyway...

Second, the deal fell through because the buyers couldn't get a mortgage. Nice. Please do not put in an offer on my house if you do not know if you can borrow money or not. Why not find out first how much money people are willing to lend you. THEN you can go find a house within your price range. Or you could rent for a while and build up your credit. Go on freecreditreport.com and figure out where you went wrong and how to correct it. THEN go shopping for a house.

No one is going to finance people with bad credit anymore. Money isn't what it used to be less than five years ago. Financial responsibility is a big interest of mine. Here are a few of my personal tips:

• Use your credit cards wisely, but do have them. Do not carry a balance unless absolutely necessary. My Amazon Visa is my favorite because for every amount of dollars I spend, I get actual certificates in the mail that I can use on anything on Amazon.com. I get a lot of free stuff that's important this way, particularly books.
• Decide if you're going to be the kind of person who carries around cash or mostly uses plastic and stick to it! Avoid the ATM at all costs. Do have a debit card to a checking account (you should really have one of these if you don't already).
• Try like hell to put some money in a CD or a money market account. Do not touch the CD until it matures. If you do not need the money at the end of six months, roll it over, and just keep on doing that for a while. Every six months you basically have to decide what to do with the money-roll it over or use it in a different way.
• Small loans are a great way to build up credit.
• Maintain some kind of communication with the folks you share any outstanding debt with. Try to work out some kind of deal, such as small monthly payments, to avoid having them sell your debt to a collection agency. Sure, they'll stop calling you, they'll literally sell your debt to a collection agency for a fraction, cut their losses, and move on down the list of people they have to call to settle debts. This gives them even more of an excuse to raise interest rates. Just tell them you'll give them $20 a month and for God's sake, stop using this particular line of credit.
• Start small. Do not follow some link on the internet offering you unlimited money, especially if they charge you a fee to tell you that you have been denied a mortgage. This wastes everyone's time. If you know your credit is shaky, just try to correct it before putting an offer in on a house and you'll spare everyone a lot of time and anxiety.

My cabinets are done being refaced. Thank God. They look great and will hopefully persuade someone to buy it. However, what a hastle not being able to use the kitchen for 4 or 5 days. We at out too much.

I decided to put contact paper down on the shelves inside the cabinet. I know I sound like a whiny bitch by now, but it is a complete and total pain in the ass. It is almost impossible not to have bubbles between the surface of the shelf and the paper. I'm trying to just roll with it, but it is time-consuming and I don't especially like doing it.

And right about now, I have to return to it.