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Category Archives: Our Team

Has It Been That Long?

Wow, almost 3 years here with Lee and Sue Ann. I’ve come a long way from scared to change something to calling Lee and saying, “Yeah…. I tried this and failed. I don’t know how to fix it. Sorry.”

I’m only halfway joking. I try to wait and ask unless I’m sure. Sometimes though, I’m sure that I’m right, and I’m not. Nothing has gone up in flames yet though (not even Lee’s patience) so that’s good. Instead of blogging about what I did/do, I’m going to share the memories of 3 years in pictures. I like to look back, I hope you will enjoy too! Not necessarily in order, but pretty close.

  • From April 18, 2017. I put my best face forward. It worked, I’m still here!
  • office
    He doesn’t look at me like that when I dig through his desk anymore. WIN! May 2017
  • My favorite picture of Carol, and it deserves to be shared again. June 2017
  • Remember when we moved? I’m still unpacking. October 2018. I wonder where those shorts are…
  • Remember when we started the Rattlesnake journey? I do. Late 2018
  • Man oh man do I remember. It took forever to bring her back to life. I know, I counted. But she’s done now! Late 2018
  • See? Still one of my favorite events out there. Spring 2019
  • Remember that time Lee was amazed by the ceiling fan? 2019
  • Remember when I was amazed by the ironing board? I’ve never used one (as an adult), nor will I. You read that right. 2019
  • Which brings us current. That is the same phone that I have complained about for 2 years. I have the replacement, just need a minute to get everything switched. February 2020
Mandi’s Hermit Years
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When Are Title Loans a Good Idea?

The answer here is never! Title loan companies can charge up to 300% APR, which is about 25% per month. To put that in perspective, you can get a vehicle loan to purchase with horrible credit for about 23% APR or 1.92% per month.

Let’s do some math! Not to worry! I’m going to do the math using an online title loan calculator, and you can just read it:

Title Loan amount – $1,000.00

APR – 300%

Monthly payment – $268.45

Amount you will pay back = $3221.37

WOW! It’s little wonder that many people never get them paid off and lose their vehicle. I spoke to someone once who told me that they didn’t have a choice but to get one. They said they borrowed $2000 and after 6 months of paying, they still owed $1900. I don’t know what their monthly payments were, but every time they made a payment, the loan company would tell them that they qualified to get half the payment back in cash. They were doing that. That half they received back was then added to the loan rather than deducted.

Maggie sleeps soundly, because she doesn’t have to worry about these things.

This is what I personally consider a predatory loan. These places also do not report good credit. The only time they will show up is if you fail to pay them. Some don’t even report that, but most that I have seen do. If a lender wants your checking account information or a vehicle title in order to approve you, they are not a good idea. You are running a gigantic risk doing either of those.

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Nash Has a New Resident

It’s still very yellow, but it’s a clean yellow.

Since Anita bought the Nash house from me and Lee, she has been getting it into pre-renovation shape. Since a lot of the 1950s period features are going to stay, she spent many hours cleaning grout in the bathroom and kitchen, as well as de-griming the cabinets. The kitchen tile is really a beautiful feature, and I’m glad it’s staying.

The pink toilet is now a wonder of beauty and has probably never been cleaner. The pink sink is pristine. Ah. The bathroom looks amazing, in general.

It’s the pinkiest!

The reason Anita is focusing on cleaning and emptying the house is that she already has a tenant who wants to rent the house as is! She moved in yesterday, right after my manly family and friends and I emptied out the few items of furniture I wanted and a couple of things Anita was too exhausted on Saturday to take care of.

According to Anita, the tenant needed to get out of a situation (she lived next door to hundreds of roosters) ASAP, and she’s willing to help out with the renovation process. That should be a lot of fun for all involved.

All the classic features are still there. Anita has bought a new faucet, though.

Of course, everything is on hold until the house gets nice and level. Stay tuned for news on that process. In the meantime, congratulations to Anita for having an income property that produces income, and welcome to our new Cameron resident!

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I Finally Got My Shoe Tied!

This is the final installment! (See the first and second one by clicking the links.)

This is pretty important

How could anyone be mad at rich people like Thurston Howell III and his beautiful wife, Lovey? I’m sure he earned his money by hard work.

I see so many people who are angry with others who they believe are rich. Why are they angry? Usually it stems from jealousy, or on the surface it appears as the person didn’t earn what they have.

Here’s a personal example. I’m a single mom, single-income family of six people, six dogs, 3 cats, and 2 birds. I accept second-hand clothing in very good condition from people I know. I just got a whole bunch of name brand, business casual clothing (some with the tags still attached) from my good friend and soul sister, Kayla. I’ve received several compliments! I dug my make up out, and I’ve been dressing up a lot lately. It makes me feel better. Now the downside of this is also that some people think I went on one heck of an expensive shopping spree. Because of that, they think that I am rich all of the sudden. Bless their hearts!

I have earned (by working hard even when people don’t see it) what I have. The Rattlesnake house was not gifted to me, I pay for it (sorry to burst anyone’s assumption bubble), my van and car are my personal purchases not the company’s. I work hard for what I have.

This is not what Sue Ann and Lee do all day. Believe it or not, they’re regular people with bills and stuff.

What really irks me is to hear, “Well it must be nice!” from someone who thinks it was handed to me. Well the clothes were because Kayla loves me, and I love her and her style! So, it is nice. It is also nice to work hard and earn something. It isn’t nice for people to treat me or anyone else as if it wasn’t earned.

The people who do that are prime examples of the poverty mentality. They assume I am Lee and Sue Ann’s pet and now just get handed everything. That is their own poverty mentality not allowing them to see that I do work for what I have. They assume others have a rich relative or some bundle of money somewhere that provides what they have. Maybe the people who do this would have something nice, too, if they took accountability for their actions, were careful with spending and really tried. At least they’d not have an ugly view of the world.

More poverty mentality hang-ups

Complaining about other people on social media is not a highly paid profession, either.

Also, if you are stuck in the poverty mentality, being a landlord IS NOT the job for you! To be a successful landlord, you have to be able to save money and have patience. You can’t touch any of the rental income for a minimum of 10 years. You can’t live off of that rental income. Read that last sentence again. You have to build that rental account up for paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance, advertising, vacancy, repairs, etc.

Plus, you have to remember that the deposits people give you have to just sit somewhere for when they move out to be refunded as appropriate. If you meet a landlord with a poverty mentality, RUN! Chances are they won’t keep that house and you will never have any maintenance issues addressed!

If you believe that you will just never have as much money as someone else, you’re correct. Stop comparing where you are to where someone else is. Make a savings account, get serious, stop blaming people who have more than you for you not having everything you want.

So I am asking our readers that have overcome this mentality, how did you do it? What made that change happen? Grow your prosperity mindset everyone! Throw that poverty mentality in the trash where it belongs! Oh and BTW, the lottery is not a retirement plan. But that’s a whole other blog.

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My Shoe Is Still Loose!

Last time, I left everyone hanging with the news that my car was almost repossessed. So, here’s the story and why it is my fault that it happened.

Gosh, that call center lady was so friendly!

I started making extra partial payments above what I owed every month so that in November and December, I wouldn’t have to make a car payment. Smart, right? Right. I called in August, bypassed the automated system and spoke to a representative. While their computers were running very slowly, I explained what I was doing with the extra payments. She thought it was a fantastic idea. She then told me that I could do that over the automated system. The automated system would give me the option of applying the extra money to the principle payment, or the next month’s bill. “Just press 2, and you won’t have to wait so long on the phone.” How convenient!

So I called another time in August, twice in September, paid what was left of the payment to cover December, and I was so proud of myself! So, I’m ignoring all of these weird phone numbers that never leave a message, only dead air.

Don’t take my car! I paid extra!

Finally last Sunday, I answered the phone for this weird number. I was prepared to really mess with these scammers! It was my lien holder informing me that my car payment was 87 days past due, and my car was going to be picked up at any time. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!! I explained what happened, and the nice young man explained to me that the excess payments had gone to principle and not to the next payment. So I haven’t made a payment since September. There was no way to change this. The only thing I could do was promise a payment when I got paid on the following Monday.

He did put a hold on my account that would stop it from accruing another day, more fees, and interest since the payment was coming the next day. That would bring me down to only 57 days late. I only had enough to make one payment since I planned on the January payment being the one that was due. I was furious! I’m still not very happy, because I REALLY do not like being this far behind. I am working on building good credit after all, and this does not help! Plus, I just have this terrible, nauseated feeling that I will wake up and my car is gone. I have a plan to fix all of this, and by January 15th, I will be completely caught up from 70ish days late by then.

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