‘love’s a word can be defined
but words can’t sum up hearts and minds
can’t capture subtle nuance on a page
and loves a thing that we can feel
but makes us question if it’s ‘real’
‘cuz… grains… of sand it takes so many forms
mortgage shopping
Written By: witchypo
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Nov•
05•10
When I bought my house a few years ago, I signed the mortgage without really understanding it. I mean, I knew someone was lending me money and that I’d probably end up paying them 2 ½ times that amount back, but I told myself it was an ‘investment’ , not a ‘debt’, and moved on.
With all the hype and offers out there, though, I couldn’t help wondering if I could get a better deal. It’s important to remember, though, that ‘deal’ is a relative term and you can’t know how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ one is until you compare it to your current mortgage and others.
Of course, you could read the contract yourself, but they aren’t exactly ‘riveting’ and most of us lack the financial and legal knowledge to understand them if we tried. Luckily, you can call your mortgage broker or current lending institution to review your mortgage in everyday language. You can also go online and talk to people to learn about a lender’s reputation and how they ‘stack up’ against other companies.
Some of the questions I asked my current lending institution are…
How much did I originally borrow?
How much do I currently owe?
What’s the over all length of my mortgage (i.e. 15, 20, 25, etc. Yrs)?
What’s the current interest rate and renewal term (i.e. 5% and 5 yrs)?
What fees will I incur if I take my business elsewhere (administration, pro ration on insurance, legal fees, etc.) ?
Am I making bi-weekly or monthly payments?
What ‘perks’ does my current company offer (i.e. home warranty, online access to mortgage information, ability to make ‘self directed’ changes to payments, portability, etc.)?
Once you understand your current mortgage a little better, it’s time to look at what other companies are offering. When I did a quick survey most seem to be offering ‘cash’ or ‘cash back’ to switch and rates averaging 3-5% for 3-5 years and the average over all length of 20 to 25 years.
Of course that sounds like a ‘good deal’, but you’ll want to ask lots of questions and read the small print. (I know! It’s boring… but it’s important!) Some of the questions I asked are…
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Will you run a credit check on me to determine whether or not I’ll qualify for a mortgage now?
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What’s the lowest rates and average terms you’re offering?
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What ‘perks’ do you offer with your mortgage products?
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How does your ‘cash’ offer work and will I have to pay that cash back?
I wasn’t surprised to find there are limits on how much banks will ‘give’ and that it may not be enough to cover all the fees you’ll incur to switch. I also learned that while lending institutions say they’re ‘giving’ you money, they will insist on all or part of it being paid back if you change your shiny new mortgage.
Can you say ‘claw back’ boys and girls?
In my own case, when I’d compared what I’d pay my current lender in interest and fees over my 5yr term to what I’d pay another bank and considered the ‘out of pocket’ fees and differences in practices and policies, I learned their ‘deals’ would take and average of 4 ½yrs to be a ‘wash’ and a considerable chunk of cash I don’t have now.
Rather than being upset, though, I was pleased. I’d taken the opportunity to educated myself a little. I’d learned that I already had a ‘good deal’, so I won’t ‘stress’ when I see all those adds and offers. I also learned some ways I can save myself money in the long run and figured out that – like my mortgage broker – I can be a ‘smart chick’ too!
SAMe and cancer
Written By: witchypo
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Nov•
04•10
Years ago, while searching for alternatives to standard pharmaceutical treatments of arthritis, I read about ‘SAMe’ (S-Adenosyl-l-methionine). In Europe, SAMe is a prescription medication that’s been studied and used to treat depression and arthritis for decades. In Canada, however, it is considered a ‘health supplement’, which means it’s of little or no interest to most doctors. Without the ability to consult trained medical practitioners for advice on SAMe’s benefits and dangers, I’ve had to search for information on my own. This is a SAMe-related article I found interesting…
Chemoprevention of Rat Liver Carcinogenesis by S-Adenosyl-l-methionine: A Long-Term Study1
Of course, it’s only a snippit of ‘out of context’ information, but it seems promising.
rockin’da’pumpkins
Written By: witchypo
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Nov•
03•10
‘We could always grab pumpkins ‘case we get bored,’ I’d said, never guessing where it would lead.
Next day while running errands and doing chores, though, I got a call.
‘Where are you? We’re washing pumpkins! How do you cook the seeds?’
‘Home…’ I said. ‘Pan fry them…’ And when he argued I let it go. After all, he’d listened, remembered, and done! I was impressed. ‘I’ll be there in a minute,’ I said, and reached for my keys.
The front door was locked when I got there so I went around back. ‘If I dropped everything for nothing…!’ I thought as I went through the gate. And then, I saw what he’d done…
My boyfriend, his brother, their buddy and his little girl were all there with buddy’s lady friend. They had tunes and beer and had ‘gutted’ the pumpkins. Ever practical, my BF had also provided ‘washing buckets’ and ‘gut buckets’ and was barbequing the seeds as they worked.
‘You rock!’ I laughed, amazed, and dove in.
Of course, it wasn’t long before the friendly competition started. ‘Be one with the pumpkin!’ Lady Friend coached. ‘Mine’s gonna win,’ Baby Girl opined, while her Daddy claimed his was the best.
An hour or more later we’d dragged all the Jack’O’Lanterns into the garage to light and judge them.
Carving pumpkins might have been my idea, but my BF’s the one who rocked it. I’ve carved a few pumpkins in my years, but I’ve never had so much fun as I did this year.
The next day – Halowe’en – we went for the walk I suggested too. I’d herd of a place called Heartland Forrest, and wanted to check it out, so my BF and I took a stroll. We had the park to ourselves and enjoyed checking out the decorations volunteers had scattered along the trails. It was cold, but sunny, and again I had a blast! Thanks to my boyfriend, I’ve got a new reason to love Hallowe’en and now I can’t wait for next year <|: )
baby steps
Written By: witchypo
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Oct•
24•10
Just as I was getting my feet back under me after having my site nuked by a hacker, I got notice the other day that my hosting company’s being sold… Sigh… which means there’s little sense in my posting much until I figure out when they’ll be moving everyone to the new servers.
After all, there’s always risk that such a move will entail ‘technical difficulties’ and any pre-transfer work I do might be lost or wasted.
So, I doubt I’ll be posting much over the next few weeks until I learn more about the move and… possibly… complete it. In the mean time, I do want to thank anyone that bothers dropping by and to reassure you that once the move’s complete I’ll be reposting all my pics and posts – in one form or another – once all the bits and bytes are safely settled into their new home <|: )
For the odd friend that actually drops by my site though, I do want to say ‘thanks’ and to ask that you check back occaisionally to see
Written By: witchypo
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Oct•
12•10
Galeton, PA Oct 9-10 2010
Just got back from Galeton, PA. We rode down thru Letchworth Saturday, spent Sunday seeing the Grand Canyon and Hyners, and then rode back Thanks Giving Monday. Weather was sweet until just before we hit the boarder when it turned to icy rain but it was still a good ride. Now, I’ve got a ton of catching up to do but will post pics ASAP!
damnsnagit! follow up
Written By: witchypo
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Oct•
05•10
Ok, it’s a little early for this stuff but just read that snagit’s WordPress output-to-blog might not work because “it’s a known bug” or because “the server hosting the blog is on a secure server and is set to only accept requests over SSL, then our blog output will not work. Blogs must be hosted on an open server.” ARRRRGH!
So much for all my plans! And here I’d hoped it’d make posting pics to WordPress easier. Well, it would, I guess, if it weren’t for security on my server – which I can’t gripe about because I dig the fact my host takes security seriously. The question now though, is ‘how do I work around this?‘
Or even without touching on the SnagIt issue… how do I mix text and images in a more attractive and predicatable way than WordPress currently allows?
damnsnagit!
Written By: witchypo
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Oct•
05•10
Ok, so a friend gave me this ‘cool’ program called Snagit that I want to use with my WordPress blog and it really does look cool… only problem is that it’s refusing to talk to my WordPress account.
Oh, I downloaded the wordpress accessory and it seems to have installed correctly, but each time I try to log in/access this blog the darn thing gives me a “user name/password” error.
Well, it’s too late to worry about it right now. Guess I’ll have to play with it some more later. Sigh.
weekend Oct 2-3 2010
Written By: witchypo
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Oct•
04•10
Let’s see…
Got together with my BF Friday, and hung out watching movies and staying warm.
Saturday, I got together with Jen and hit Ikea. Was great getting time with her – been way too long – then got a few chores done and hooked up with my BF after he got back from helping his stepdaughter move.
Sunday was a lazy day. Finally got BF to upgrade the RAM on his computer – OK, maybe it was more for me than him LOL – but he’ll luv me for it next time he’s surfing for porn ; )
Love spending time with him but have to admit that come Monday morning I’m a hurtin’ unit. Being at his place all the time means that I don’t get shit done around here and there’s so much of it to do. Maybe soon I’ll get my act in gear and he’ll be okay with me hosting ‘home games’ once in a while (?)
Speaking of which, I’ve really got to get myself together!
Thinking I’ll get groceries and try cleaning up the yard again tonight and maybe take a few minutes to make a list of all the grown-up crap I’ve got to get done…? Then, I can start working through it – item at a time – until I feel like I’ve taken some of the ‘weight’ off.
Yah, it sucks now, but I’ll be glad I did it in the long run… and it’ll be easier to relax and enjoy when we go away. Speaking of which, he’s booked a room for us in PA for the weekend and while I’m a little concerned about how cold it’ll be on the bike, I’m dying to see the mountains in the fall. Will post pics when I get them ; )
