Background information:  When my first wife divorced me, she left me with a distinct problem.  We had just dropped our mortgage down below $100 000 but she wanted to move.  So we hunted for a new house–which I was content to purchase if we remained together.  She promised that she wouldn’t leave and had a list of just over 50 things she was looking for in a new home.  We finally found a home that satisfied the entire list–except for one small thing.  It was substantially bigger and a much nicer home.  It did require a little work, but overall it was a home I could live in for years quite happily.  Our mortgage increased dramatically with the purchase, but if we could rediscover the magic together we could handle it.  We took possession at the end of Sept. 2001.  So just before we took possession, 9 – 11 happened.  Thousands of people died–often horrifically.

Life continues though, and at the end of the month we took possession of our new home.  I put a new light in our bathroom to brighten it up, painted some rooms, and we started the unpacking process.  On November 6th she told me she was leaving–I was to be out of the house on the 10th all day with my daughters while she moved out.  I wasn’t allowed to help or even know where she was moving to.  This hurt tremendously as I had never assaulted her nor threatened her and I was still hoping we could repair our relationship.

At any rate, despite the fact that I could theoretically manage the new mortgage and all bills on my own, the actual situation wasn’t that good.  I started to dig a hole financially.  Two years later, I met my Queen.  By now the hole was starting to expand.  I needed to get out of this house and mortgage.  So I downsized but the damage was done.  Eventually I moved into a new home with my Queen and then we finally married.  However the month before we married my eldest daughter totalled my vehicle.  This was the proverbial straw and I ended up having to declare bankruptcy.  At the time it was very hard, but now that I’m well past that things are good again.  My credit rating is very good and I protect it vigorously.  This past weekend shows how good it is to have a good credit rating.

So I believe I’ve indicated my Queen’s salary has been cut to 80% of what it once was.  That’s a huge hit on our take-home pay–just about $1000 a month.  In mid March we had ordered some nice very high quality furniture to replace our living room stuff that was starting to fall apart after 26 years.  I had to go back to the furniture shop three days after making the order to cancel as we had just heard about my wife’s pay cut.  Thankfully we were able to do so.

I’ve been leasing a large truck and while there was only a year to go on the lease, I explored getting out of it and into a car.  This was possible so I initiated the change and am now paying $200 less each month while driving a 2018 Honda Accord Sport.  Additionally insurance dropped a little and gas expenses have also substantially dropped.  That was something that required a credit check and with every credit check, there is an immediate reduction in your credit score of 20-30 points.  It will recover, but many credit checks in a short time will have a strong negative effect on your credit.

Last week our couch collapsed on one side–so now we couldn’t use the love seat, or one end of the couch.  Sunday family were coming to our home.  We prepared the turkey and a ham on Saturday and early Sunday morning I was just finishing the first dessert (about 60 seconds away from putting it in the oven) when there was a large noise and then glass was everywhere.   Our oven had exploded!  It was only 6 years old.  I had the extended warranty that went five years.  At Christmas I had to pay to repair it, and now this!!!  Quality has gone so far downhill in all these products–the manufacturers have no intention of making products that will last for a long time–instead they plan obsolescence.  At any rate, we were able to move the meal to my sisters and brought everything there to finish the meal.  No one was hurt and no food was spoiled by the exploding oven.  So we were blessed in many respects.

And yet on Monday we were appliance hunting.  In one store, they had a sale on that was pretty good.  Monday was also the last day of that sale.  In the end we purchased our stove at another store and I saved over $300 by applying for and receiving a credit card from them (credit check number 2).  My Queen was sick and tired of sitting across the room from me and with two of our three pieces broken, decided we would make use of this sale at the first store.  So back we went and we found something that we liked.  Quality isn’t what we had looked for initially, but it should last 10-15 years and it only cost about a third of our original furniture order.  To take full advantage of their sale conditions, I needed to get another credit card (credit check number 3). So this weekend we will have the new stove and our new couch, loveseat and chair  delivered.

These purchases wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t fixed and worked to maintain my credit score.  Now though I have more debt and will have to ensure that no payments are as much as 10 seconds late.

The real bonus!!! Saturday I’ll be able to sit beside my Queen again!  I am looking forward to that!

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