God is Grand

So I've been trying to figure out what to do to catch up on my finances. I have literally no money until payday. I've been fighting with my mortgage company because I had tried to switch to a twice a month plan. My online account showed me as enrolled. I had picked out my payment days. I'd never have a problem, so I assumed (never, never, never assume. It is my BIGGEST downfall) that all was well. I checked my account later in the month. Nothing had been withdrawn.

Ok, well, just to get the ball rolling, I figured I would check out why it hadn't been withdrawn later and set up my account to have the money withdrawn on the 31st. A few days after the 1st of the month, I saw it still hadn't been withdrawn. I figured, "Ok, it sometimes takes them up to 7 days to withdraw the money. I'll wait a few more days." Stupid, stupid, stupid idea! I finally called (this is after emailing about 3 times and getting no answer even though they pride themselves on answering within 24 hours) and asked them what was wrong.

Well, the customer service rep told me that she saw that I had set it up to withdraw on the 31st and that it hadn't come out (duh!), so she went ahead and processed the payment then. Then she told me that the reason it hadn't been withdrawn before, when I had changed my payment plan to twice a month, was because I had to be a month ahead in my payments. Gee, you think you could state that on your website? Why was I shown as successfully enrolled if I had to be a month ahead? Why didn't anyone contact me and tell me I couldn't do this? And why, oh why, are my sister and brother-in-law allowed to do this program when they are NOT a month ahead? Hmmmm.

So, they told me they couldn't waive the late fee, and worse yet, the late payment had already been reported to the credit bureaus! So now I have them investigating this. I emailed several times, and I had called and gotten nowhere. I emailed again, telling them I wanted this fixed and asked why no one had gotten back to me and that I think my news station should do a consumer report on them. They wrote back, right away I might add, and said they had no record of my emails! Funny how they have no record of my emails and don't contact me until I start threatening. And I really hate being mean.

Ok, so you may be wondering where is the God is Grand part of this post? Well, I got an email from them today stating that during an investigation of my account, they found an escrow overage and are sending me a check for $307 dollars. Praise God. I mean, I need more to really catch up, but compared to nothing, it is really SOMETHING! Praise God!

Preparing for Adoption

It was suggested that I start this blog even though I haven't officially started the process to adopt, so here it is. So, a little about me...I'm a single, someday parent. I'm 32 years old, aunt of five amazingly wonderful and beautiful nieces and nephews, a writer, a crazy lady pet owner (3 cats, 1 HUGE dog), college graduate, and new home owner. I'm currently struggling with finances due to that new home, rising gas and food prices, and a $500 vet bill (on top of the nearly $200 I paid the month before for my cats and the dog's medication), but I'm attempting to put together a budget and be more frugal...and simply more organized. I need a file cabinet, but I can't afford one...even a used one off of craigslist. I want to adopt someday soon, so frugality is very key.

I'm also hoping to get my children's books published. I'm sending my first query letter to an agent in the morning in hopes that she will want to see my first completed story, Mazie Mae Winkleberry and the Kindergarten Catastrophe. That, along with transitioning into working from home should enable me to adopt and not have to pay child care.

As for my adoption plan? Well, I'd like to adopt an older child, around 4 years old. 4 is just the image I've always had on my mind. A 4-year-old boy from Ethiopia, a 3-year-old girl from Haiti. But we'll see what God has planned.