The Talking House

I've been working on a house this week while I had some free help.  As my sister in law and I were painting, she says,  "it's amazing what you can learn about people just by painting their house."  "What do you mean," I asked.  She replied, "well look at this door jamb.  This door has obviously been kicked in. The people living here had violent tendencies".  I hadn't told her anything about the past tenants, but she was right.!  If these walls could talk?  I think they just did.

Miracle of the Season

A tenant called today and offered me the last $15.00 of her food stamp money to buy a turkey for my family for Christmas.   Just one of the Miracles of the season!  I didn't take it of course.  But its the thought that counts!

Better Times Tomorrow

Many people are having trouble paying their bills.  Heck, I have trouble with my bills now and then.  I ask myself, What is going to happen to all of us?  I prefer to think about solutions to problems; than the less productive poor-me scenero.......so I've decided it's a time to evaluate what is really important.  Ask ourselves the question, "Is this a want or need?" and be truthful in the answer.  We very possibly can get by on less.
Currently in my business, I have seen several generations in one family move in with each other to share expense.  Locally the government has come up with a couple of new programs to help people pay there housing, electric bills, and to find a job.  I have been recommending tenants to contact the Illinois Valley Office in our area.  People are getting help with rent, electric,  help with finding a job, AND a promise to continue helping as long as they stay in the program.  There is hope/light at the end of the tunnel as long as the funds hold out.  I chose not to borrow worry from tomorrow......but to look at one day at a time with the expectation of better times tomorrow.

Gettin' By

This economy is affecting everyone.  Just how are people going to 'get by'?   What can be done to make the money go further.   I have a few suggestions and some of them I am doing myself.

1. E-mail Christmas Greetings instead of mailing them.
2. Cash in all of the change you have laying around the house.
3. Sell your broken gold earrings and other gold jewelry that you no longer wear or is broken.
4. Eat at home more.  Brown bag  your lunch.
5. Make family gatherings potluck to spread out the expense.
6. Rent movies instead of going to theatres.
7. Color your own hair instead of going to the beauty shop.
8. Turn your thermostat down in the house.
9. Plan trips to town for when you have several things to do.
10. Pay cash for everything so....no credit card surprises.

My mother always enjoyed  "gettin' by" and accepted it as a personal challenge to stretch the dollar and feed the family at the same time.  The time of instant gratification may be over for some of us and the time for self-discipline is here and now.  Accept the challenge and you will 'get by'.

On the Soap Box

I can't help it today I am on the Soap Box.  What's wrong you might ask?  Well I will just tell you.  I want tougher consequences for the tenants that do not pay their rent, destroy the house, and then leave.

This is what I think should happen to them:

1. Automatically be  thrown in jail at the time of the hearing if they don't pay up.
2. Forced to sell their personal possessions ((their big screen tv - (I do not have one)) to pay the rent.
3. Cut their fingers off so that they will not get into someone else's pocket.
4. Sell the kids.

Seriously, tenants barely get a slap on the hand.  When they are taking money out of my pocket by not paying and by destroying my property.  How can rents possibly be kept low when the overhead in this business is unnecessarily increased?

As soon as I figure out how to compose a letter, I am going to write my congressman and suggest a new law!!!