Money Matters

Mixed Success

So I’ve had mixed results in attempting to cut myself off from spending money lately. I DID successfully cut myself off from e-bay a few weeks ago, after going through my video game, silver pendants and lap trays phases. I almost slipped, though, after a shopping outing with IHOP Buddy last week, when I saw some of Jesse Barnes’ new prints at a framing place in the mall. (Check out the link over there *pointing right* to see some of his stuff, he’s call the Painter of Light.)

The Painter of Light

Now, I’ll say right off that Jesse Barnes prints are NOT cheap. Newly released, they’re typically about $225 unframed. Once they’re “retired”, they can skyrocket or get really cheap, depending on their popularity. I bought 3 of his prints several years ago, all on e-bay, at pretty decent prices when they were brand new. So when I saw some of his new ones last week, I almost caved again.

I even had bids in on a couple of the new prints, and was watching some of his older ones that have shot up in price, but were at a relatively decent price on e-bay. I had myself convinced that I needed to get the new ones while I found them at such a great price, cuz who know what would happen to that price when they retired.

Reality Check

Fortunately, later that weekend, I was checkin out the balance on one of my credit cards online, and discovered a link to find out my credit score. I guess they’re letting folks check their credit reports for one month for free nowadays. Amway, my score is actually pretty good, considering my credit card debt… but lemme tell you: nothing curbs the spending bug like takin a gander at one’s credit score. And those little suggestions about how to improve one’s credit score, such as: STOP SPENDING MONEY. Well, and pay off your debt, but mostly stop spending money.

So I completely let the auctions go and haven’t even checked back to e-bay since. Of course, that didn’t stop me from spending quite a bit less money (than I would have spent on J.B. prints) on some new area rugs at Target… also seen while on said outing with IHOP Buddy. I really need to stop going shopping with her. I did SO good while we were actually shopping… I think I spent a total of $12 cash that day. But all the stuff we saw that I passed on at the time kept tumbling around in my head until I could stand it no more.

Addict?

*sigh* Sometimes I think I just have some kind of addiction to spending money. Fortunately, I know I’m not the only one to suffer from such affliction. IHOP Buddy actually sighed in relief to know she wasn’t the only one… lol Ah well. I’ve decided that the only way I’m going to exercise any sort of self-control (at least until I reach a point where I have the money, rather than credit, to indulge myself) is by not looking at anything. I’m going to try not going anywhere near the mall or any online shopping sites… at least until I’m through with my move in May. I’ll have to check back in later to report on how that’s going. *grin*

VA Claim

Welp, I finally got all of my materials together for my Disability Claim and got them turned in to the VA last week. I’d been beginning to get a li’l frustrated continually asking for the same favor over and over again from Mom, IHOP Buddy and the Office Manager at work to write up a statement for me. I’d already had my evaluation appointment, and had less than a month to turn in any additional documentation.

I had a statement from my Chiropractor, and all applicable medical records, and was about to just write my own statement and turn all those in without anything else… when Mom finally sat down and wrote one for me. Then I sat down with IHOP Buddy to help her write hers out when she came to visit, since she’s not so good at that sort of thing. The Office Manager never got around to one, but I got the impression she really didn’t want to do it… and I wasn’t gonna keep asking her. I’m not good at asking for favors, let alone bugging somebody over and over again for the same one. But Mom was able to vouch for how my migraines affect me at work, since she works with me, so I think all my bases are covered anyway.

Thank Goodness THAT’s Done

I’m VERY glad I finally got all that done and submitted, though. A huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I know that I have done the best I can, and it’s now left in the hands of the Claim Handlers. My rating really can’t get any worse, considering I currently sport a 0% rating for migraine, anyway. All it can do is stay the same or go up, so I don’t have much to lose. My primary concern is to vouchsafe for a possible future where I may not be able to work as much… especially if these migraines continue to get worse. I already miss anywhere from 1-3 days of work per month, and have barely managed to juggle my earned compensation time to cover.