shishnit.org

In early 2008 we began to seriously think about buying a house. The home we were living in was extremely overpriced and over-valued. I imagine a lot of people felt that same way about a lot of houses at the time. I wrote about our experiences with our previous landlord here who wanted to sell us the house but we could not afford the $315,000 that he was wanting at the time and tried to purchase his son’s home…which was also extremely overpriced (and is also still not sold today).

I blogged again about my viewpoint on our home purchase a few months later and my viewpoitns 9 months after purchasing it here. I was still feeling relatively good about our choices.

Then one day I googled my old leased house (the one that I really really loved and wanted to buy for the entire year I lived in it) here. The picture dissapeared from that blog post so here it is again.

That house really urked me because I loved it. It was perfect in a lot of ways. Today out of curiosity I looked up that house again…just to see what time has done since last September. I know everytime we’ve driven by it (and we have to make an effort to do so) it has had a for sale sign out front. Today I found out that the house was foreclosed on. I felt like Karma had finally had her say. That’s what you get landlord guy….that’s what you get for raising our rent on us when we were attempting to purchase your son’s house. (a house still not sold either!)

And then I found it….the for sale ad. 116,900!!

It’s now selling for less than we paid for our house. L They wanted 315k when we lived in it two years ago. Oh if only I had waited 2 entire fucking years…..lol as if. Someone got fucked on that house and it wasn’t us. Thank you Jesus. But I still wanted to barf right in that open toilet right there…the same one I peed in for an entire year of my life right before going to bed at night.

But then oddly….I started to think about our house. The one we did buy. The one that we’ve had to fix several things in. The one that needs new air conditioning duct work as I type. The one that has had termites!! The one that needs a trench dug out around the addition. The one that’s driving me nuts right now. And I’m still happy because I’ve had some fantastic moments in that house with the big huge library. The one that isn’t a real estate transaction or a memory captured by google maps but the one that is our  HOME sweet HOME.

The value of our house is plummeting.  PLUMMETING I TELL YOU.  On the Island of Poredom that’s disturbing.  I have watched our home value plummet according to zillow.com since the day we bought it.  SINCE THE DAY WE BOUGHT IT!!  The municipal taxable value dropped a whopping 58,897 in the last year between 2008 and 2009.  The sales comparison numbers that the property tax appraisers office gives states that we’ve lost 16.5k in sales comparable numbers. (whatever those are since value is really in the eye or pocket of whomever might want to purchase our home might we want to sell it)

The assessed value is 35k less.  35k LESS in two years!!  Even zillow is kinder than that (or they are just liars..guessers, etc.) providing a number that’s a mere 30k less than what we paid.  *sigh*

The island of poredom.  I’m glad I love our house becauseI’m sure we’re not able to move anytime soon. I’ve watched those numbers plummetting since I signed the mortgage and got the keys.  Florida, you are a sad state.  I can only say that if we wanted to move, we’d have to be landlords and our monthly mortgage is still less than paying rent on a crappy 2 bedroom apartment.

So imagine my small delight today when I noticed my escrow account on my mortgage has been re-analyzed and the monthly payment is now $18.47 less per month because it appears that our propery insurance is exactly the same but our taxes have gone down by 221.64 a year.  Let’s think here a moment.  When your home value plummets your taxes do go down.

Hmmm it’s not often that a bill goes down and not up and so I was happy about this reduction in the monthly payment.  Wow 18.47 more in our pockets of poredom. Yippee!!

Errr….*screech the record here* 30-35k loss in value and a monthly savings of 18.47???

Fuck.   That is just not right.  And 18.47 won’t even buy me a book (14.99) and a cup of coffee (4.24) unless I have a coupon.  Double fuck.

Yes we live there…sometimes.  I mean we have excursions to the island and then sometimes we actually live on the mainland where funds seem to grow on trees.

Rick took a 2^nd job.  He’s making pizza’s at a restaurant.  Expensive high end pizza’s…we’re not talking dominoes.  He’s still working at the moving company. It’s been a crazy few days of juggling.

On Friday (or was it Saturday..the day’s are running into each other lately…) he worked during the day at the moving company.  He was running late and had to be at the restaurant at 4 p.m.  At 5 p.m. he called and told me he had already called the restaurant manager and told him he’d be in late. I called the manager too (something I rarely do…I think this is the first time I’ve ever called on my husband’s behalf.  THE FIRST! 

While driving the moving truck back to port (the office) the truck broke down. I donned my Wonder Woman outfit and his restaurant clothes and shoes and jumped into my not so invisible plane and drove out to where he was…he had me turn around once saying the truck had started, but alas it broke down again…and I turned around yet again…and went out to meet him at the moving truck.  I picked him up.  He took over at driving and he changed his moving clothes for his restaurant clothes..mostly in the car on the way.  I was Wonder Woman and he was Superman.  And when we arrived in the back parking lot of the restaurant he jumped out and swapped his work shorts and sweat pants for his restaurant jeans and shoes in the parking lot.  It was stressful..this juggling of two jobs.  I felt guilty because it was I who was having insane bouts of worrying about being struck on the Island of Poordom or would it be my fear of landing on Recession Row and not being able to get back out. I’ve lost so much in the past that sometimes I just get the damn jitters about things. It’s really irrational fear.  I am so on top of finances in some ways and in other’s I have more debt that I’m comfortable with.  I’m not comfortable with any debt really.  I hate it. Loathe it in fact.

So…after dropping my Superman off at his second job (we left his personal truck in the moving company port parking lot) and had a moment to catch my breath after solving that crisis….it dawned on me.  My husband was stressed the hell out trying to rush from one job to another job all because his wife has stressitis about the island of poordom.

Do we live on the island of Poordom?  I think that’s a subjective question because I say no the majority of the time because we have such a lovely life together.  But then on the flip side I look around at everyone losing their jobs, their homes, etc. and I get this pit in my stomach.  A pit of fear.  It’s highly irrational, but then again is it?  So many people do not plan for emergencies and live only for today.  I could go buy a new car….in fact part ofm e wants to so bad, but the biggest part of me cannot rationalize it because of my irrational fear of the Island of Poordom.  My goal is to make twice as much as I currently make.  I know that’s a crazy harsh goal, but it’s there in my head.  Not because I want to spend twice as much as I currenty earn but rather because I want to save exactly what I make now each month.  I’m insane..I know.

Rick is working right now at the moving company.  He’s moving my hairdresser and her two young foster son’s.  I, of course, am a walking advertisement for the moving company he works for.  Most people seem to trust me when I tell them he’s a great guy who will come and do a great job.  She called and requested him.  That makes me insanely proud inside. I have a husband I can be proud of and in turn know that other’s will be happy with him as well.

Rick has work from around 7 a.m. to around 11 p.m. every day for the past 4 days (I think…again I’m bad at keeping track of day’s lately) and he amazes me.  I dropped him off at the restaurant the other night and as I drove away….shining up my Wonder Woman bracelet’s after some harsh clinking trying to resolve a crisis…I had this overwhelming pride in Rick…it filled first my mind, then my heart, then overflowed from my soul.  I pulled my wondermobile over and I cried…tears hot and wild….and I wiped them away from my smiling lips.  I love that man so much it both terrifies and amazes me.  

I gave him a Valentine’s Day card yesterday..he had nothing to hand me because he’s been non-stop working.  He didn’t open it. I asked why.  He said, “Because I had nothing to give you yet.” My superman thinks about making me happy, he thinks about giving….he has no idea how happy he makes me.  He’s so selfless.  He’s so amazing.  Not to mention, his cape..it’s hott!! 

It’s hard to ever feel poor..it’s hard not enjoy this island we work so hard to maintain…this sometimes Isle of Poordom, because my life is truly so rich in so many ways.  I never have a day when I don’t feel lucky to be working so hard to have all we do have…with someone who’s willing to jump through hoops of fire with me to have this life.

info via St Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce:

Today, President Obama announced the awarding of a $1.25 billion “down payment” to Florida to build High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail System between Tampa and Orlando and ultimately Miami. The immediate impact will be much needed JOBS for our region and our state. Tampa Bay and Florida are now poised to lead our country into a modern, efficient and effective transportation future by building the first High Speed Rail system in America. The importance of this announcement, made here in Tampa, can not be understated. This day truly indicates a turning point in our country’s transportation system and it is starting right here, in our home. 

More information can be found here.  This is fantastic news for the area I live in.

Today Barns and Noble announced their new foray into the ebook reader. The “nook”. The “nook” looks much like a crossbreed of Sony and Kindle and with no new features aside from the nifty lower touch screen that looks a tad bit inbred by the iPhone. It’s the new “mutt” on the ebook reader streets.

When I purchased my Sony ebook reader (rather when my lovely husband bought it for me), back on November 1, 2006 I loved the entire idea of ebook readers and everything they stood for. I especially loved that I could buy e-books for far less than actual books. I have however just not morphed over to it like I had intended or hoped or thought I would.I still have that first Sony ebook reader and it still works fine, albeit not with the new google books feature that Sony offers now and with less than desirable battery life. (2 days is just not enough!)

Today when “nook” was announced it made me think back over my experiences as an ebook reader user/owner. I originally wanted one to read my school resource materials on. That didn’t pan out because to date there is no ebook reader that will allow multilayered pdf files to be read successfully. (ie: textbooks)

Today out of curiosity I chose one product to do some book market research. I chose the popular “Sookie Stackhouse 8-volume Set”.

Here’s what my research tells me about the current pricing of this set of books.

Actual books (ie: paperbacks you can hold and touch and keep even if a device dies, is stolen, stops working, etc.)

Borders 57.53

Barnes and Noble 37.38

Amazon 36.97

Walmart 32.00

Now…lets say you want those same 8 books in e-book format.

Sony e-book store 49.95

Barnes & Noble e-books for “nook” 51.13

Amazon Kindle ebooks 29.90

Hey the kindle price is pretty sweet. Too bad I don’t own one of each e-book type available eh…so I can get the best price. Oh wait, that would involve a considerable investment upfront.

However for about 7 bucks more just on amazon actual book vs ebook versions it’s a drop in the hat to own the actual books versus a computer file I cannot lend to anyone or sell later. Seems my best investment lately has been in ACTUAL PAPER BOOKS. I can spend 32 bucks at Walmart for this set of books and then go trade them in at the used bookstore and get some MORE books to read or I can keep them and sell them on EBAY and still make back some of my cash. Anyone up for buying an ebook from me? Oh wait…non-transferrable and I can only possible lend one to you on the “nook” for 14 days and only once to one friend. Lame. If I buy this set of actual books my entire family can read them. More bang for my book bucks I say.

I wanted an ebook reader so so bad I waited for years for one to come out. And now…they are pricing ebooks so high that it’s just not worth it to me. Incidentally never in my life did I ever think I’d be buying books from walmart to get the best pricing.

Incidentally Borders…we all know that your prices are sky high sometimes just because you offer those 40% off coupons and can’t go down the broke canal over an item like this. With my coupon I could buy that set for 34.44 and then earn back dividends later for being a good Borders customer. But…seriously…having said all of this..why is it that every single damned time I see that new pink Sony ebook reader I want to touch it and put it in my purse and keep it? I mean….i’ve been down this route. Sony…your marketing..it does a number on my real page turning heart everytime. I love everything about reading…but all of this price gouging and differences and ebooks now being more expensive than REAL books that kill trees and cost more to make…c’mon what the hell already?

But ohhh see it’s pretty….its pink and it would fit in my new purse. Or…er…I could go blow $199 on some books with legs on them. (ha…Keith…books with legs! hahaha) Ebook readers don’t save time, money…(as evidenced above) just space.

< -----there's the rather blah "Nook" from B&N