Jeremy Herndon

I’ve been considering looking into one of those payday loans so that I can buy my wife a very pretty diamond necklace and earring set that she’s been mooning over from the local jewelry store.  I hate to borrow any money for anything, in this tight economy, but she has made a lot of sacrifices for me over the past few years, and I’d like to surprise her with something special for Valentine’s Day.  It was on a Valentine’s Day that I proposed to her!

I have to admit that one of the reasons that these kinds of loans are tempting is that so many of them don’t require any credit check.  Recently I heard that having too many credit checks on your record can actually hurt your credit rating!  I had just got a copy of my credit report and saw that all of my creditors ran a fresh inquiry on my credit last month, and I found that disconcerting.  And a lot of employers are doing credit checks now too!  I don’t know how or why it is any employer’s business what my credit rating is!  So if I can get a loan without any credit check, I think that might be a good idea.

If the television news can be believed, the average American family is drowning in debt!  I was reading an article in a magazine recently that many people are now starting to fall behind on their mortgages rather than fall behind on their credit cards!  That flies in the face of traditional debt management techniques.  Seems to me that one would take a good hard look at getting some debt counseling before deciding to fall behind on any of those creditor accounts!

Having to choose which bill to pay, and which one to let slide is never an easy choice.  One has to take a look at what would you really lose if you don’t make the payments?  If I were in that position, I’d put the local accounts, such as dentists, lawyers, and entertainment services on the back burner and let them slide a little bit.  Many of those professionals that allow you to make payments will let you skip a payment or two if you call them up and explain your situation to them.  In many cases doctors and lawyers will agree to taking a smaller monthly amount and not charge you any late fees.

When my wife was going through her troubles with her first husband, her lawyer let her pay in small amounts and often let her skip payments for a few months if things were bad.  So my advice is to take a hard look at which accounts can slide, and which can’t.

I love the feel of real leather.  And I love the durability of leather.  It’s easy to clean, and with proper care it will last for decades.  Caring for it is easy, too – you can wipe up most spills easily without fear of the leather being ruined.  When given the choice of leather versus “pleather” I will take the real thing every time (if it’s within my budget to do so!)

Yes, leather can be expensive, but as with just about everything, you get what you pay for.  I consider leather purchases when durability is an issue. 

Do you have any leather briefcases?  My wife gave me one many years ago when I got a promotion at work from a non-management job to a management job.  It was a really nice gift, and I used it every day for many years.  That briefcase was my constant companion whenever I was doing anything work related.  It made me feel important and efficient! 

So when my youngest son graduates from college next spring I plan to buy him a leather briefcase too, as one of his graduation gifts.  I know that he is planning to pursue a job in policy making and I think that he will appreciate a gift that will last a long time.

This family sure does use a lot of address labels!  My wife likes to take an entire box of new blank envelopes and prepare them in advance by putting the address labels on the envelope, then tucks them back into the box.  She says that way they will be ready to go when we need them.  She also uses them on the envelopes when she responds to some kind of offer that requires a self-addressed-stamped-envelope.  She belongs to several clubs where she can get free instructions, or recipes, or booklets if she sends in a SASE.

We also keep our postage stamps right beside our address labels – it makes it a lot easier when everything is in one place!

I was looking at some custom business cards on the Internet today and was impressed by the recycled business cards being offered at the 123print.com website.  I had been thinking about simply using one of my software programs to print off some business cards until I came across these recycled cards.  These cards are made from 100% recycled paper made with a carbon-neutral process, and there are dozens of different designs to chose from.  It will be a challenge to pick my favorite design!  The price is right, too – as low as $9.95 for 100 cards!  I’m going to sign up to get their free sample pack to get a better idea of the quality of their products.