Economics 2025

Posted on September 10, 2025 by cordeliasmom2012

Yes, there are advantages to having been financially challenged my entire life.

I know how to budget.  I know how to stretch that increasingly devalued dollar.  I know how to be content with the basic necessities of life.  I’ve learned to be satisfied with the need to forego all those little luxuries that so many other people take for granted.

When my children were small, I was ecstatic if I had $10 left at the end of the month.  Forty or so years later, I’m even happier if I can break even – which, thanks to Medicare co-pays and deductibles (20% for my Remicade infusions!), almost never happens.  Each month, I’m forced to dip into my small savings by several hundred dollars to meet those medical expenses.

But thanks to my historically struggling finances, I’ve also learned to adapt.  Sudden economic crises, while still annoying and upsetting, seldom give me heart palpitations like they did when I first entered adulthood.

For instance –

We thought we were done putting money into our home (doesn’t everyone always hope for that?).

But then a visitor arrived and a corner of the bottom step of the front porch broke off.  Thankfully, there were no injuries; the visitor was limber and didn’t fall.  However, the incident forced us to face reality – both the front and side porches were really, really old, poorly constructed in the first place, and about to collapse.  In order to avoid potential injuries – and potential lawsuits – both would need replacement NOW.

Fortunately, we were able to find a contractor who did the work beautifully for a price that came in well below what we expected – but that cost still had to come out of our savings.

Were we done now?

Surely, you know better.

We had the main roof on the house torn off and replaced several years ago, but there’s an extension that has a rubber roof which is probably 20 (or more) years old.  That rubber roof, while holding at the moment, is making us a little nervous.  So that cost will also have to come out of our savings.  So far, the estimates for just that little rubber roof are coming in at the same price we paid for the entire main roof five years ago, and the cost is likely to be even higher if we have to wait until the warmer spring weather.

Thank you to the current U.S. administration.  Those of us who aren’t billionaires or trillionaires are seriously struggling.  But that’s ok – glitter in the White House is so very important, isn’t it?

The family is going to really hate me come Christmas time, when I tell them all that there will be no presents this year.

Or maybe they won’t hate me.  They’re also facing financial struggles caused by the current economy.  Some have even lost their jobs.  But like me, they know how to deal with it.

We will all survive.  I suspect it will be tougher and tougher over the next few years, but somehow we’ll get through it.

Maybe one of us will win the lottery and bail everyone else out.  Wouldn’t that be lovely?

Hugs to all my loyal readers.  How’s it by you?

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in That's Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Well, That Was A Short Lifetime

Posted on July 21, 2025 by cordeliasmom2012

We bought the house cheap because it was an estate sale, and it had only been owned by one family over its entire 75+ years of existence.

Of course, that meant the house needed major updating.  One of the first orders of business was replacing the old windows, many of which didn’t even work.  We already knew which window installer to use because we had replaced windows at our previous house and were happy with that company (which company had also been recommended by friends who had used it for their homes).

The new windows came with a “lifetime warranty” from the manufacturer, as well as an additional 5-year warranty from the installation company.  Sounds good, right?

Recently, the internal balance mechanism failed on one of the windows and while we can still open the window, it won’t stay up.  We contacted the installation company to arrange the repair.

And guess what?  We’re past the 5-year period covered by the local warranty, and the window manufacturer has gone out of business, thereby invalidating the lifetime warranty.

Once again, I figured we were screwed.

Surprisingly, the local installation company was able to locate the replacement parts, which they will install, but we have to pay a service call fee as well as the cost of the parts – probably a couple of hundred dollars in total.

Still, that’s cheaper than having to replace the entire window, which I guess would be the only other option if the replacement parts were no longer available.  I’d hate to think how much a new window might cost at today’s tariff- and inflation-driven prices.

Hopefully I’m not jinxing myself when I say that it seems we have somehow managed to handle this mini-crisis.

And yes, I realize how insensitive it is to worry about a defective, but still operable, window, when so many people elsewhere in the country are dealing with real house-related issues (like losing an entire home, and in many cases losing family members, in a flood or fire).  My heart goes out to all those folks, and I will end here on that sad and humbling note.

Hugs, all.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

 

Posted in Household Items, That's Life | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Thanks. And No Thanks.

Posted on May 23, 2025 by cordeliasmom2012

“No thanks” to the current administration.

The proposed new tax bill supposedly provides for a $4,000 tax deduction for each senior citizen, which would mean an $8,000 deduction for a married couple filing jointly.

Sounds good, right?

Not.

The “senior bonus” plan only benefits senior citizens who have income in addition to their Social Security.   You know, like those upper end folks who are receiving more in interest and dividends on their investments than the average American earns by working two jobs.

Those of us relying solely on Social Security don’t pay much, if anything, in taxes anyway because our income is too low.  A tax deduction is worthless to us.

I’d much rather receive a direct deposit into my bank account for the $8,000 allotted to my husband and me.  Then, maybe, it would be helpful.  $8,000 would pay for my medical out-of-pocket expenses for two years, freeing me up to buy “luxury” items like food, clothing (Walmart brand, of course), etc.

At the same time, the administration is looking for ways to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Once again, the administration is scheming to make the wealthy richer and the poor senior citizens even poorer.

On a happier note:

Many thanks to the tall customer at the grocery store who kindly reached items on the top shelf for me, and who it turns out was parked right next to me, so she  grabbed my empty cart and returned it to the cart corral, thereby saving me a few steps.  This lady was retired, like me, but in better shape, and she had an awesome disposition.  I hope someday I can return the favor to her.

See, there are still kind people in this world.  It’s good to know.

Happy Friday, everyone.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

 

Posted in That's Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Face Off

Posted on May 17, 2025 by cordeliasmom2012

It’s just one more way to screw over us old[er] folks.

Facebook has “suspended” my account until such time as I provide facial recognition.

My computer does not have a webcam.  Even if I plugged in a portable webcam, I would be unwilling to provide Facebook with a selfie video of myself.  Trust me, no one needs to see something like that.

Facebook gave no reason for the “suspension” and they gave me no opportunity to appeal.  My Facebook page contained nothing offensive or distasteful, except that sometimes I share these blog postings there.  And as my readers know, this is one of the most vanilla blogs out there.

I did a quick internet search and learned that Facebook is apparently planning to institute this facial recognitiion requirement for all its members.  Has anyone else out there run into this issue?  I’m curious to find out how widespread it is and whether other people are ok with lending their facial features to a social media site which can’t be trusted not to use private information for nefarious purposes.

So, my days on Facebook are over.

Which is sad, because it was the only way I had to keep in touch with family and friends, and I also used it to check up on what was going on in my own community, especially during adverse events like blizzards, fires, or crime waves.  Whenever I needed advice on which home improvement contractor to use, or which restaurant to order from, I checked Facebook first for other people’s recommendations.

When I began to crochet items for donation to local charities, I found those charities on Facebook.  Fortunately, I have the phone numbers for the individuals who pick up my donations, so I can still reach them by text.  I’d hate to have to drop my beautiful handmade blankets into some donation drop box somewhere and never know if or how they were being used.

For now, the only way to follow this blog will be through this site, so if you haven’t already signed up for email notification of new posts, please do so now (a link is on the sidebar). 

I wish there was some way to get this information out to all my Facebook friends, but, hey, my Facebook account is dead.

Hugs, all.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in That's Life | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments