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Starting Radiation October 2019

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Comments

  • mocame
    mocame Posts: 579

    Kamboka - Thank you for the information. It sounds wonderful! Anything 40 degrees or over (and no snow/ice) is warm to us right now so I'm sure we will enjoy the weather down there.

  • petite1
    petite1 Posts: 2,384

    Good morning. 34 degrees here. I forced myself to do my morning walk. BRRRR

    Kamboka, I have been to both cities and love them. It was a long time ago. My niece and I were going to Savannah, but Helene blew in and then Milton. Florida was too much a mess (still is) and Savannah had damage as well. Since we are doing Charleston in May, we should have good weather. I am looking forward to it.

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    Long time.

    How are you both doing?

    I'm stressed since I lost my job. Trying to sell my house and prepare for a fire sale estate sale. Then got a call from my realtor saying the buyer might be backing out of the deal. It's been a month and I thought closing was on the 29th.

    I'm trying to also buy a truck for my RV. With no job, and great credit, the bank/credit union do not want to finance much so I'm having to spend all my savings.

    Anyways, more later.

  • mocame
    mocame Posts: 579

    Kamboka - I'm so sorry you are going through all of this! How is the housing market in your area? Do you think you can get another buyer quickly? Housing is still booming in our area. I have friends who have been trying to buy a house for over a year. They have even been offering more than asking price and willing to not have inspections but keep getting out bid by people who are willing to pay cash. Who has cash to buy a house?!

    Any job prospects out there?

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    mocame: Right after COVID the housing market here was like it was for you now. Cash offers and no inspections. Now, it's cooling because folks are seeing that FL can be expensive. We have some of the highest property tax and house/auto insurance rates. I debated about keeping my residency here or moving it to TN. TN is much cheaper in everything except that darn 9.75% sales tax. I'm buying some expensive things in the next few months so didn't want to do that just yet. The market is neutral so not yet a buyers market. I think the house will sell quickly but even if I get a new buyer next week, it's a month or so for the paperwork. I was going to wait till after my big road trip at the end of summer to try to get a part time job. If I can find something remote before then, I'll do that. Luckily, I am able to draw SS and that starts in June. Hindsight is 20/20 and now I'm beating myself up for not staying in the VA or govt system when I started in 1980. I would have been retired and on my second or third job and I'd have a pension. Like many folks, I've worked 45 years and not much to show for it! I hope the young folks can prepare.

  • mocame
    mocame Posts: 579

    Kamboka - I'm so sorry. If only we had a crystal ball to see the future. I work at a company that used to have great benefits and my coworkers worked there 30 to 40 years. They made good money, had great benefits, and retirement. They now have decreased the benefits, especially this year, to make them "more competitive". That's a laugh. I lost 5 sick days. I now only have 3 sick days and if we get covid (which I did in February, we are required to be off 1 to 2 weeks. I am salaried and you would think I make so much more than normal but I don't. I get paid the going rate with no chance at overtime pay even though I work overtime almost everyday. We no longer can get paid for any sick time not used, we lose it and can't bank any either. Hindsight, I would've looked for another job or taken the job I was offered a year ago. Times have been tough the past couple of years. I will be thinking and praying for you.

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    Sorry that you lost your sick time. Every hour counts!

    I got booted in January and am still fighting with the folks at my old job to pay me 74 hours of vacation time owed to me. When you owe the govt money, they are after you like a hound. When they owe you money, it's crickets!

  • petite1
    petite1 Posts: 2,384

    Kamboka, I am so sorry to hear that. The housing market is still pretty strong over hear, but prices have gone down a little. It is hard to live on SS. I guess I could say, you can't live on SS. Jim's pension died when he died. I get by with my ebay and rentals. I do have some investments that pay quarterly, but that has tanked.

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    petite1: Yes, the housing costs went down here but the market is neutral. I got a call from my realtor saying they would accept my counter offer. I'm giving a little more but at this point, I need the money to buy my truck and RV. I went to the doctor today and my blood pressure was up. They wanted to take it again and I told them that sitting in the waiting room would not lower the stress that I'm going thru at the moment. I know it's not anything like folks who lose their home to disasters but it still is not fun. I cancelled the junk hauling service that was supposed to take everything after my estate sale. I think they were going to resell. So, now, I'll try to do another quick moving sale with very cheap prices and what is left over I'll donate to Salvation Army or someone that can come and pick it up. I have some lovely things. Let me share the link to the estate sale website so you can see my pretty things that I'm so sad about selling or giving away. Here it is: https://www.estatesales.net/FL/Jacksonville/32246/4414323

    I just noticed that they have not added about 15 photos of other important stuff, like my depression glass collection and pyrex. I've asked them several times and sent the photos but no luck as this late date.

  • petite1
    petite1 Posts: 2,384

    Kamboka, Oh my. You have beautiful stuff. Can you store any of it? There are items that you will never be able to replace. It is amazing. I am shaking me head. I know sooner or later I may have to do the same thing.

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    I have saved back some of my best stuff but will try to box up a few more things before I do the fire sale and donation. I have a smallish storage bin now. Luckily, my brother is flying down this weekend to help me with saving a few things and putting in storage. The estate sale lady who was pricing was amazed at a few of my things that when she googled, the prices came back much higher than she imagined. My estate sale is competing with about 10 others this weekend.

  • mocame
    mocame Posts: 579

    Kamboka - Wow! You have so many unique and wonderful things! I love the positive uplifting colors and designs! I can't believe they haven't been snatched up yet. I wish they could be shipped. I would share this on my FB page.

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    The estate sale is scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The estate sale company will not allow me to be here during the sale but I'll come afterwards to see what's happening. I think they overprices many things but we'll see. The first day is full price, the second is 30% off and the last is 50% off. I gave them permission to do 75% in the last few hours so I can at least get something. I'm like both of you, I searched and got really good stuff cheaply. My plan was to sell most of this on Ebay but I wasn't home and then Ebay sales were so slow. Years ago, people on Ebay just paid the price, last month I spent so much time haggling over price that it got exhausting. 😓

  • petite1
    petite1 Posts: 2,384

    Kamboka, I wish you the best if luck on the sale. Ebay sends out 1099 forms now, so I had to pay taxes on my sales. The book work is a headache. I keep thinking I will give it up, but I enjoy it.

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    Isn't it sad that the govt taxes the same products over and over again! I was enjoying Ebay when folks just bought the items. This last three months of selling, 100% of folks wanted to negotiate down to ridiculously low prices.

    My estate sale started today. I need to go to Daytona Beach to pick up my brother from the airport. We'll spend the night close by and have lunch at the beach. Before I leave, I need to go back to my house—after the sale ends at 2pm—to check on a package that got delivered. It's some meds that need to be refrigerated. I tried to stop delivery but nobody seems to have 'live' folks answering any phoned. I miss the 'old' days of having someone pick up the phone on the other line.😐️

  • mocame
    mocame Posts: 579

    My sales on ebay have dropped off to almost nothing. People want everything for dirt cheap and things are selling for 1/2 of what they were a couple years ago. And the post office keeps increasing shipping prices and I heard they want to increase them again soon. They haven't learned that increasing prices hasn't worked yet. I am having 1 or 2 yard sales this year and getting rid of a lot of personal items and also selling things I was going to sell on ebay but just haven't listed yet. Then I will start going through my ebay stuff and start to sell it at another yard sale, even if it's just a fraction more than what I paid for it. Or donate the stuff I paid next to nothing for. It's sad. I used to enjoy it but now it isn't worth my time or energy because nothing is selling.

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    mocame: Ditto everything you said. I used to enjoy wrapping my items for shipment but now with not making much on the sale, it was becoming a chore. I'll hold back some stuff to see if I can sell later but I'll try to take a lot of my leftovers from the estate sale to my mom's where we'll do a gigantic yard sale.

  • petite1
    petite1 Posts: 2,384

    Ditto. It is a pain and not worth the trouble

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    I came home after the 3 day estate sale to find none of my bedroom suites sold. Not my couch, dining room table/chairs or three large pieces of furniture in my office. They did sale a lot of other stuff but not much of my glass collections. I immediately packed up the expensive stuff to take to TN. Then I jumped on Facebook and listed over 30 large items. Between Sunday and yesterday afternoon, I was so busy. I have sold everything but one large desk. The estate lady said "oh, you probably didn't make $500, you should have just donated" and I told her "no", I had made almost $2000. I told her for the fifth time that she had priced things too high. So I get to keep my 2K and not pay a commission. Anyways, I had a fellow come and bought all three bedroom sets plus lots more. I just sold stuff for $100 here and $100 there. I'd rather have some money than have given it way to the estate sale lady's junk man. I'll still have stuff for donation. I tried to schedule for Salvation Army but they are book till mid May. I need someone for next week. If I can't get free pick up, I'm going to have to pay for junk removal. It's still sad because it's not junk. I had a lot of other good glassware and decoration but I just don't have room to haul it to TN. I now sleeping on my air mattress and have two chairs that didn't sell that I can sit on. Each of the last two nights I've caught massive leg cramps trying to get up and down from the low couch and now air mattress. I guess I need to get in shape.

  • petite1
    petite1 Posts: 2,384

    Kamboka, over here there are so many organizations that will gladly come get the stuff. Too bad the Salvation army is too busy.

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    Goodwill will come next Friday but they charge $75. At this point, I'll pay to get it out of here. I had the several folks go through it to pick out anything they want. So it's slowly whittling down.

  • petite1
    petite1 Posts: 2,384

    I don't remember, but so you have an offer on your house?

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    petite1: I listed it the first week of March and had two offers in three days. I asked the buyer if I could stay until the end of April so that I could do my estate sale. About a month in, he tried to back out and my really bad real estate agent talked me into some concessions. I was going to leave him some furniture and do some touch up on the paint, but because of that, I'm not doing that. I have an empty house except for a few chairs that I'm using, a small TV, and a twin inflatable mattress. The truck I bought only had one key so I asked a locksmith to come to make one. He tried but couldn't make it work. I had to pay $75 anyway. It was supposed to be $250. I went to the dealer and it cost me $500. What a ripoff. All this technology costs us so much money.

  • petite1
    petite1 Posts: 2,384

    Wow. That is crazy. One of my key fobs went through the washer. It doesn't work, so I only have one, as well. It will just have to stay that way. I hope everything will work out for you.

  • petite1
    petite1 Posts: 2,384

    Just checking in with you two. Hope all is well.

  • mocame
    mocame Posts: 579

    Hello Petite! I am here! Sorry I haven't messaged lately. The normal busy at work and my son just graduated from college today! Yay! I'm hoping things start to slow down later this summer. My ebay is pretty much dead and I am having a yard sale next Saturday and I'm selling some of my lower priced ebay items.

    I did have my annual bone density scan earlier this month. Things seem to be mostly stable. I also had my 5 year MRI. Thankfully they didn't find any masses and the implants looked fine. I have to have it done again in 3 years.

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    mocame: First, congrats on getting your son graduated! Second, congrats on getting a goo scan report. I, too, had my annual mammogram and bone density last week. I passed both tests!

    I finally left JAX and drove seven hours up to my brother's house in NC. I only stayed two days and then he and I drove to my mom's in TN. I'll be here for almost five weeks before heading back to NC to housesit for him for a month. My RV will be ready in late June but I can't pick it up until the end of July when my brother is available to help me with it.

    BTW, Happy Mothers' Day!!!!🤩

  • mocame
    mocame Posts: 579

    Kamboka - Thank you! And congratulations to you too on your great test results!

    Sounds like you are living a nomadic life right now. I hear great things about living in Tennessee and NC.

    Have a great day!

  • petite1
    petite1 Posts: 2,384

    Congratulations to both of you. I had mamo, ultrasound and a PET/CAT scan. No cancer.

    Mocame, congratulations for your son. I am shutting ebay down for a couple of weeks, while on vacation.

    kamboka, enjoy time with your family. Is your RV big enough to live in, like a tiny house?

  • kamboka
    kamboka Posts: 1,114

    petite1: I forgot where you were heading for vacation.

    My trailer is a 21". It's cozy but I plan to live in it for at least 9-10 months out of the year. I am hoping to do this at least two years and then I'll have another plan.

    I'm at my mom's now and I've talked her into going with me to Hot Springs, Arkansas. I want to also go to the Crater Diamond park to look for some diamonds. We'll go in a few weeks.