The "what's On Your Mind?" Thread -2020

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segelkatt

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My permanent retainer popped out a few days ago and I have absolutely no time to go see my dentist. It's been on my mind a lot because I'm afraid my front teeth will shift and I'll look like a horse (more than I already do). My dentist is great. Been taking care of my teeth since I was 11 years old (maybe younger, can't remember) but he's too good. Everyone wants an appointment with him and the other dentist under his wing, I don't like. Therefore, it's hard to get an appointment with him but I get special treatment sometimes because we go way back.

I don't even want a permanent retainer to be put back in. It's the most annoying thing ever. I prefer my removable one (which I still have by the way). With the permanent one, flossing is almost impossible and food is constantly building up in between and causing back breath. I have to go to him at least twice a year to have him dig out between my teeth. If the retainer wasn't there, I'd definitely be flossing everyday.

It would also just be nice to feel like a regular human being again with no cement and metal in my little mouth.
You might want to try a water flosser. I wear a permanent bridge and the water flosser gets everything out from under it that the little brushed never could get. You can get a good Waterpic one for under $40 from amazon.

I'm glad it didn't cause problems with popularity contests or some people's posts being more visible than others.

:grouphug:

I think this is my favourite place on the internet right now. I hope I don't blow it with too many off topic posts of unpopular opinions.

The Princess Palace was everything I hoped it was! I still need to get her a hammock and geek out on decorating it. It may not be appropriate for feeding her whole prey meals. She could still do with a bigger carrier for road trips and long days of running errands. But this will improve her quality of life so much! It gives her more vertical space that is her very own, so she can run and climb and play to her heart's content.

It's big enough that I could fit BOTH Chihuahuas in the bottom of the crate with her while I'm gardening if I don't have a better solution for them by then. She goes into it on her own and took her time enjoying a bone this morning. She's still teething, so I know that felt good.

I do have to contain Willow sometimes because I live in the city on a busy street. The Princess Palace is so much nicer than locking her in the bathroom!
I haven't checked in here for a while so I bite: what's a Princess Palace besides that Disney junk all the little girls appear to be crazy about? Some kind of pet confinement as it seems to be something you can take outside for small animals??
 

Willow's Mom

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You might want to try a water flosser. I wear a permanent bridge and the water flosser gets everything out from under it that the little brushed never could get. You can get a good Waterpic one for under $40 from amazon.


I haven't checked in here for a while so I bite: what's a Princess Palace besides that Disney junk all the little girls appear to be crazy about? Some kind of pet confinement as it seems to be something you can take outside for small animals??
This:
DSCF2631.JPG

because Willow is a spoiled wotten widda pwincess and it's positively palatial compared to a regular cat carrier.

She isn't going to live in it full time, of course, but if they're set up right a cat almost could.
 
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WillowMarie

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Started 2 cover letters for grad school, filled out an application for a position, and saved information for a couple other grad schools or work opportunities. Go me! It has been a struggle to get started, but feeling less anxious. Just needed to work through this.

Also, just found out that in some places it is cheaper to get a mortgage on a house than renting?? What?? I know there are other costs and you'd need some type of down payment, but kind of excited to learn this. Owning my own place seemed like an unrealistic goal, especially after learning my mom pays about $1000/month in property tax alone on the house I grew up in, yikes! But other places, property tax is a LOT cheaper, which makes the mortgage payments and other fees affordable. Who knew?
 

Willowy

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just found out that in some places it is cheaper to get a mortgage on a house than renting??
Oh, yeah, definitely. My mortgage (PITI) is about $700 a month and houses around here rent for $1000-plus. I bought my first house at age 23, right out of my parents' house. I never rented.

Doesn't rent HAVE to be more than the mortgage payment, because otherwise, how does the landlord pay the mortgage? :dunno: (of course, with apartments, each unit is only a fraction of the total, so that can be more affordable for renters.)

Anyway, if you're related to someone in the military, see about opening an account with Navy Federal Credit Union (their mortages are the best) or look into federal first-time homeowner programs. Or, if you have good credit and a decent income, you probably won't need those anyway. Banks love borrowers with good credit.

Work on developing your credit if you have a limited credit history. Apply for a few credit cards and use each one once or twice a month, and pay it off in full every month. That's a great way to build good credit fast. As long as you have the self-control not to go on a spending spree.
 
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WillowMarie

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Oh, yeah, definitely. My mortgage (PITI) is about $700 a month and houses around here rent for $1000-plus. I bought my first house at age 23, right out of my parents' house. I never rented.

Doesn't rent HAVE to be more than the mortgage payment, because otherwise, how does the landlord pay the mortgage? :dunno: (of course, with apartments, each unit is only a fraction of the total, so that can be more affordable for renters.)

Anyway, if you're related to someone in the military, see about opening an account with Navy Federal Credit Union (their mortages are the best) or look into federal first-time homeowner programs. Or, if you have good credit and a decent income, you probably won't need those anyway. Banks love borrowers with good credit.

Work on developing your credit if you have a limited credit history. Apply for a few credit cards and use each one once or twice a month, and pay it off in full every month. That's a great way to build good credit fast. As long as you have the self-control not to go on a spending spree.
Thank you for the input! <3 Yes, it makes sense that renting would be more than a mortgage for property owners to make a profit. My credit score is very, very good. I've been through two car loans and have had a credit card since 18 that always gets paid in full each month. Very good impulse control, haha... super frugal!

I'll keep those places in mind, thanks! Guessing low interest rates? Does a cousin in the military count?

What has it been like owning your own place Willowy? I've been so excited thinking about it! Since I'm frugal, I'd probably start learning DIY maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. The place I'm at now is my first time renting, and it felt great moving in and being independent. I can only imagine getting my own place, especially realizing it can be a reality now!
 

Willowy

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What has it been like owning your own place Willowy?
Well, everything tends to fall apart at once, lol. Otherwise, well, I don't know the difference because I never rented :tongue: .
Guessing low interest rates? Does a cousin in the military count?
NFCU's interest rates are average. It's mostly that they don't play dumb mortgage games like a lot of banks. They don't do PMI, trick interest, etc. They're very open and honest about everything, don't play games or try to take advantage.

Cousins don't count, unfortunately. Here's the list: "Grandparents, parents, spouses, siblings, grandchildren, and children". Even if they were in for only a short time. So if your grandpa ever served you could get in.
 
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Mamanyt1953

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I've just never been good at gaining weight. Maybe I should start eating lard!
Bananas. When Mom was underweight to get into Flight Attendant's training (it was Stewardess' Training back then), the doctor told her that bananas are one of the healthiest ways to gain weight. And you may send your metabolism to me, thank you very much.

Well, everything tends to fall apart at once, lol. Otherwise, well, I don't know the difference because I never rented :tongue: .
As I recall, there are a couple of good "House Health Insurance Policies" out there now, you know, those warranty policies...
 

foxxycat

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Thank you for the input! <3 Yes, it makes sense that renting would be more than a mortgage for property owners to make a profit. My credit score is very, very good. I've been through two car loans and have had a credit card since 18 that always gets paid in full each month. Very good impulse control, haha... super frugal!

I'll keep those places in mind, thanks! Guessing low interest rates? Does a cousin in the military count?

What has it been like owning your own place Willowy? I've been so excited thinking about it! Since I'm frugal, I'd probably start learning DIY maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. The place I'm at now is my first time renting, and it felt great moving in and being independent. I can only imagine getting my own place, especially realizing it can be a reality now!
You can look into foreclosed properties-usually they get foreclosed due to owing taxes and or bank note payment..also mobile homes are another good alternative-but those loans are 9 to 10 percent. homes are around 4.5%. It sucks that banks rape me with the mobile home loan-because it doesn't have a basement-they think it's not worth the 4.5% loan..I refinanced and went from 9.5 to 8.25 but I also been making double payments. It's a 20 year term-I am down to 10 years and hope to pay in 3 years. The interest sucks but the cost of regular homes here are 250 to 350k which is 2000 a month. my mortgage is cheaper now that I refinanced-it dropped my payment 300 a month. apartments rent for starting at 1200 for 2 bedrooms and you have to share with other house members. I will never live in an apartment if I can help it. but I live in the northeast new england and prices are sky high-Boston folks move up here and snap up cheap property and commute. My town is known as a bedroom community=almost 90% of the people living here commute 30 to 90 minutes to work.

Southern states are much cheaper. NC has a good work outlook as well as SC and last I heard Kentucky/Tennessee. I still plan on moving south in 5 to 10 years when I am ready to retire...but for now I still have a good job so will stay here..when the job goes away-probably pack up and move south..I can get a regular house for like 150k and taxes are like 500 a year vs 6000 a year here. even in the park my taxes are 1800 now-they shot up 75% thanks to appraisals last year-everyone in my town is complaining. I feel bad for the elderly who owned their home for 40+ years and now they pay 12k a year for property tax alone. It's such a ripoff!!!
With the work force able to work from home more than ever-it's easier to move around the country than say 20 years ago-we were forced to move where the jobs are at.

In the end-we all got to live somewhere-so why not own something you can fix up how you want? You can paint it any color and not deal with housemates who may work different hours and be noisy when you are trying to go to bed...I don't miss the slamming of doors at 1am when I need to get up for work at 4:30am!
 

Willowy

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That's amazing, you're so lucky. Back when I lived in apartments in the 90s, rent was cheap. Never over $350 and I usually had roommates. Gas was $1, so utilities weren't bad. Those were the good old days. :sigh:
Well I had a dog, and I took 3 of the 6 household cats. So finding a place to rent would have been difficult and probably end up costing more after pet rent was added.

I'm also not compatible with roommates. I would have rather lived in a box than with unrelated roommates, lol.
 

kittyluv387

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Thank you for the input! <3 Yes, it makes sense that renting would be more than a mortgage for property owners to make a profit. My credit score is very, very good. I've been through two car loans and have had a credit card since 18 that always gets paid in full each month. Very good impulse control, haha... super frugal!

I'll keep those places in mind, thanks! Guessing low interest rates? Does a cousin in the military count?

What has it been like owning your own place Willowy? I've been so excited thinking about it! Since I'm frugal, I'd probably start learning DIY maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. The place I'm at now is my first time renting, and it felt great moving in and being independent. I can only imagine getting my own place, especially realizing it can be a reality now!
What state do you live in? I'm in texas and the property tax can get really crazy here. Dallas and north dallas property taxes are basically robbery. A lot of houses will be 800-1000+ in property taxes which is just insane to me. But other adjacent cities, not as much. Owning a house has its pros of course but I don't think anyone enjoys the upkeep lol. My coworker is in her 20s and she bought a house not too long ago and she really hates the maintenance part. It's expensive unless you're pretty handy.
 

foxxycat

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What state do you live in? I'm in texas and the property tax can get really crazy here. Dallas and north dallas property taxes are basically robbery. A lot of houses will be 800-1000+ in property taxes which is just insane to me. But other adjacent cities, not as much. Owning a house has its pros of course but I don't think anyone enjoys the upkeep lol. My coworker is in her 20s and she bought a house not too long ago and she really hates the maintenance part. It's expensive unless you're pretty handy.
Some states have county tax on top of state/local town property tax..it's insane!
 
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