Retire to Travel

Choosing a Car

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:08:56 PST

A trip to get my oil changed turned into a lesson on carefully researching and picking a car and how choices can come back to haunt you.

When I went looking at cars with my ex (husband at the time) we were actually looking to replace our minivan with another minivan. The prices...

Saving Money Using an RSS Feed

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:55:11 PST

I really like slickdeals.net. But its hit or miss for me. But I was reading a blog I really like call thesimpledollar.com and the June 30, 2008 entry tells how to search Amazon and Google using an RSS feed in a really simple way. Its worth a try and seems really easy. My computer...

Different Approach

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:50:20 PST

I am not a fan of herbicides. But, I have crabgrass. It has taken over the front flower bed of my new home. So I decided to go the herbicide route, hello Weed-be-Gone! I never use it so I asked my brother while he was a Home Depot to pick up the smallest bottle they have, 8oz to...

Gift Cards for Prescriptions

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:30:52 PST

My mom takes over 30 pills a day. A few are vitamins, but most are prescriptions. She has 15 prescriptions! Luckily she only has to pay a copay of $8 for each one. And most are issued for 90 days at a time. I tease her from time to time that I've read articles about people like...

Eating My Words

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:13:32 PST

So I'm eating my words. My DS can drive my ex's vehicle since he is insured with me. I called and double checked today. Obviously, my memory of what the agent said last time is in error.

I had a fantastic money saving day. Somedays are just like that and this was one of them....

Driving Without Insurance

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:05:55 PST

One of the things my ex and I fought about was that he would let our 15yr old DS without a license and insurance drive our cars on the roads and not just any roads but the Washington DC beltway and I-95 in Northern Virginia. Initially it was so he could drink while DS drove. He would...

Refund Checks

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:29:14 PST

Comcast has sent me the $68+ they owed me for a refund. It took them 24 days. The statement took about 5 days. So, that's good news. It can go in the Money Market account until I decide what to do with it. Its also another closure in the sale and moving from the house.

I...

Crown Me

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:38:27 PST

On Friday, the crown on the third tooth from the back decided to break apart. My dentist doesn't work on Fridays but the office is open 1/2 day so I made an appointment for Monday, today.

Lucky me the crown is 15 years old so insurance will cover the replacement. I was afraid...

LOC & Other Updates

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:33:03 PST

LOC - I stopped at the bank on Friday evening and they had processed the Line of Credit closing and now I just have to wait for the County to process, which takes 4-6 weeks. I was worried about the bank not the County so this is welcome information.

Escrow Refund - I contacted...

Quitting Soda & CVSing

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:38:46 PST

I stopped at CVS first thing:

(2) CrossAction Power TB @ 5.99
(1) Zantac 150 8pk @ 4.99
(6) cans of Salmon @1.50
(1) filler @ 1.00
Total before tax $26.99
(1) BIGI free MQ for TB -8.99
(1) Zantac MQ 4.99
(1) 5 off 25 purchase
(1) ecbs 7.99

=0.00 oop, got back 6 ecbs

The...

Friends and Vegetable Gardens

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:28:37 PST

I finally got around to planting the tomato, squash, zucchini, yellow and green bell pepper plants a couple of days ago. They seem happy to be in the soil. Everyday since I have watered them and we got unexpected rain several hours later. As soon as I stop watering them it will...

Simple Summer Pleasures

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:23:22 PST

My sister has a small pond on the side of her house. You know one of those landscape ones, about 4ft by 6ft. She has had goldfish in it for years. Last year a blue heron discovered an easy meal. This year, due to being busy the pond just sat unused and untreated. Well, life will...

Closing My Vonage Account

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:55:09 PST

I contacted Vonage to close out the account I had with them. All I can say is they don't make it easy. I must have been asked a dozen times and given 5-6 options for keeping it open before I finally got them to close the account. I was using my cell phone to call them so I wasn't...

Closing a Line of Credit

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 09:08:15 PST

While married, we had a line of credit (home equity) with a national bank. It was for a large sum of money. When we separated, I requested a freeze on the line of credit. A freeze means neither one of us can get any money or use the line of credit. This protected us both. The...

Telephone Provider Decisions- Help!

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:14:56 PST

It is all so complex. Alot of options and ways to do it. But I need to consider carefully to get what I need without over paying.

I am open to all thoughts, suggestions and experiences readers want to share.

I have Verizon Wireless as my cellphone service. My son is on...

Relaxed Faces

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:13:18 PST

This year we are losing about 20% of our staff. 10% are retiring. 10% are leaving for less expensive parts of the country and one wants to work closer to home. Hey, in case no ones noticed, LOL, gas has gotten prohibitively expensive.

I've notice that those who are retiring have...

Comcast is irritating

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:19:56 PST

I returned my HD box and modem to Comcast and informed them I was moving and would not be using their services. The new owner already has Comcast in the house. Smooth transition.

I asked what I owed for the final bill. I was informed that I had a credit of $64+. Yahoo! So...

Shopping

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:05:31 PST

I don't normally get to go to a Walgreens and now that I've moved I will probably add Riteaid to that list. I will miss the free after rebate items. Oh well! Those are the breaks.

Today, I agreed to provide child care for a coworker from 12-5:30pm for a 5 and 8 yr old. This...

Housing

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:18:47 PST

When I first separated from my ex, my beloved, generous, social sister said "Come live with me and we'll be the Golden Girls." So what if we are both brunette and in our 40's. We both laughed. I decided since I wanted the support and companionship of my family that I would take...

Jobs

klbb90@aol.com (Lisa Bissett) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:42:51 PST

I like to think of myself as Lisa,Inc. I am my own corporation. I take on jobs/contracts. They have to fit my values, financial needs, and long term goals. When I was married, we made decisions based on our married life, values and goals.

I'm alone now. So, I get to make all...