This was probably the worst February and Leap Month I’ve been through in a while. It has ended on a cautiously optimistic note. How so? I’m getting out of the house. I’m making little bits of progress on the living room, not enough to have company over…not by a long shot. The guest bathroom is totally great if a repair tech needs to use it. All I will say on the lady front is I’ve been communicating, dining and watching TV with one who doesn’t know all my jokes! Oh yeah, my new cat has done a 180 on his behavior. Aggie behaves like Kuroneko did, he follows me everywhere and has declared my lap as his own, much to Isis’ aggravation.
The primary issue stressing me out has remained the refinancing and how UFCU partially shafted me regarding the foundation. This has forced me to borrow from my retirement for the first time. I did consult a couple people I knew who had to do this. Both told me to brace for pain from multiple directions: the IRS, the plan and your paycheck. Given that I owe the IRS for 2019, I’m accustomed to their ass poundings. The borrowing went better than planned! How much I requested wasn’t much therefore the payroll deduction won’t be terribly painful…once the refinancing has been completed. Repayment is scheduled out over five years (not 15, darn!) and the phone representative said I am allowed to contribute more to end the loan sooner if I wish. The check arrived two days earlier than I was told, no complaint there! It was a cashier’s check which meant I was solvent instantly. Then I was able to tackle emergency bills to keep me afloat into mid-March.
Other friends have recommended quitting both credit unions I belong to given the nuisances they’ve given me. My 26 years with CEFCU will require re-applying to remove Somara from all accounts, yet I didn’t need to do this when I added her. UFCU I’ve bored you about for weeks. It’s very tempting. The only things saving UFCU currently is their ATMs being more numerous than their competitors and I don’t want to start completely from scratch on refinancing. As evil as Wells Fargo is, I would’ve been done with a couple phone calls.
I return to the standard grind next week…or not, one can never predict how the sudden hiccup the World Economy will shake out. Being “old,” I’m confident to be on the short list to be purged from my employer as Kapitalism’s Bible says to eliminate expensive people regardless of their experience and wisdom. The latter is now seen as “anti-innovation” by the Randroids ruling Silicon Valley. Yup. Those wealthy assholes are so much smarter. My rebuttal. How much money has Uber lost? Has Amazon really made a profit? Still don’t know how my brother’s last known startup ever generated revenue via something that was distributed for free and never solved an actual problem. We truly live in the Stupid Ages.
Just checked my 401k balance. I must be invested in more conservative stuff. All my 2020 gains were wiped out but only a mere fraction of 2019. But to quote Reid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman…”Day’s not over yet!” when you have an incompetent squad of Republicans in charge.
Fingers crossed the weekend will maintain the spirit. A new episode of Bob’s Burgers helps make Monday night better!