Mexico update

I report to Riverview in less than 3 hours for the trip. Everything is packed and ready to go. Should I try to sleep for an hour or two, or should I stay awake? Decisions, decisions. Please pray that the flight goes well and I stay calm - I haven't been on a plane in 3 years and I usually get pretty anxious.

I will not have access to my phone or the internet the entire time I'm there. However, Back2Back is going to be posting photos two or three times throughout our trip, and they will be available on their website for you to view.

If you want to see the photos, go to Back2Back's website (www.back2backministries.org) and enter Photo Code # 14907 into the “View Trip Album” box at the bottom left side. This code is required in order to view the photos.

Back2Back will also be blogging throughout the week, although I'm not sure what the frequency will be. You can check that out at http://back2backministries.wordpress.com/

Mexico

Most of you have heard about this already, but I want to share just in case some of you haven't.

I'm leaving on Saturday for Monterrey, Mexico and will be there for a week. I'm going with a group from Riverview who is partnering with Back2Back ministries. I'll be staying at the B2B campus and although I don't know all the specifics, I'll mostly be helping with construction projects and traveling to (some or all of) the ten orphanages in the area.

I've only traveled out of the U.S. a couple times, and that was just to Canada. I've never been in a third world country or a place where the majority of the people don't speak English. I've also never been to a place that hot (average temperature next week is 100 with lots of humidity). I'll be forced out of this comfortable shell that I've lived in for so long. However, none of these concerns will stop me from going. I am convinced that God wants me to be there. So far, He has lined up everything so that I'm able to go (fundraising, time off from work, etc), and I hope and pray that He will use me to make a difference and change lives down there. I ask that you pray those same things as well. Also pray that our team will stay safe, healthy, and be able to work together for God's purposes there.

When I get back, I hope to share a little about the trip along with some pictures and possibly a video. Thanks for your prayers and support thus far.

Paying too much

Think you're paying too much on your bills? You probably are.

This is beginning to sound like a dirty scam, right? I couldn't pull off a scam if my life depended on it!

No matter if you own a home or rent, you can actually lower your monthly payments on some of your bills. Some examples are cable, internet, phone, trash, and heat. Did any of your bills go up recently? You don't have to accept it.

So how do you do this? Just call the company and negotiate - that's it. I lowered my monthly payment on 3 bills in the last week, just by calling and negotiating:

Trash -
Last year, my promotional rate of $45/qtr ended, and learned that I was going to be charged $60/qtr, not to mention all the hidden fees. A couple days later, I found a local company that was only charging $36/qtr flat. I called my trash company and threatened to switch, so they matched the rate that the local company was offering.

Last week, I got a letter saying that my rate was going up again. I called the local company and asked if theirs went up too. Nope. So I called them back and asked them to match the rate again. They did.

Cable and Internet -
My promotional rate ended last year and my bill jumped an extra $30 a month. My co-worker has the same cable provider and the same thing just happened to her. She threatened to switch and the bill dropped. So I called and tried doing the same thing. I didn't complain as much as her, but they still offered to drop my bill by $10 a month and threw in a free DVR.

Heat -
Ok, so I didn't actually call my gas company to complain, but I got a letter in the mail today stating that my bill was going to be at least $30 lower through the end of the year. The only way to explain that is, they knew they were next. Nevermind the fact that oil prices are at their lowest in 8 years.

I would strongly encourage you to question what you are paying for, because let's face it, we could all stand to save some money. For at least some of the things I mentioned, you can probably get similar service from someone else, and it might actually be cheaper.

Clearing the air

I don't do New Years resolutions, but if I did, one of them would be for my blog to be less boring. No one wants to read boring crap. This means I will have fewer, more meaningful (hopefully) posts.

Having said that, I've gotta do one more lame post to resolve the last one that I did. Then I'll be done (again, hopefully).

So, what ended up being wrong with my car?

Nothing.

After a week of trying, the mechanic couldn't get any violent shaking to happen. Not even a little. We both concluded that the probable cause was snow and ice buildup that temporarily caused the suspension to freak out. He wouldn't accept any money from me - real nice guy.

During this week of waiting, I had an interesting development. If my car had a major issue, would it be worth it to dump more money into fixing the problem when I already know that my engine will slowly deteriorate due to the excessive oil burning, possibly before I get done paying off the car? Or, would I be better off putting that money into a different car? The idea about getting rid of my car began snowballing in my head.

A couple days later, after checking out a couple dealerships, I ended up trading in my Corolla for a brand new 09 Pontiac Vibe. A couple words might come to mind, such as "whoa," "frivolous," "unnecessary", or "expensive." Well, turns out the payments on the Vibe wouldn't be that much more expensive than my current car payment, plus I had been overpaying on my student loans. It was peace of mind, ending the stress and worry about how much oil was in my car at any given time. Plus, it's an awesome car.

If I can give you any advice, it's this:

If you plan on buying a decent car, decent being something less than 5 years old or something over $5K, don't buy it from a stranger. You have no idea whether or not they're lying to you. Even if you get the car inspected (which I didn't - another lesson learned - yes Heather you were right), mechanics don't always discover all the potential issues. Buy it from a place that's going to give you a warranty. If I had a warranty on my Corolla, even as small as 3 months/3,000 miles, I wouldn't be writing this right now.