It always seems like my financial position is in direct contrast to the general economy.
As an example, in the mid 90's, while most of the country was economically rising, I wound up dcclaring bankruptcy. I came out of that as the Internet Bubble burst. In 2008/9, my credit rating had recovered to "good". As the economy recovered from the 2008 crash, I wound up in financial distress due to workplace politics and nearly wound up in foreclosure.
Today, the economy is definitely headed straight into depression. The worst this country has seen. It seems like the better my credit rating becomes, the worse the economy is going to do. As of right now, my credit rating is in the "excellent" range.
I have avoided loans and credit cards as much as possible for years. Only exceptions have been car loans, which I try and pay off long before their maturity. I did make payments on my laptop, with it being a gaming laptop (refurbished). I paid that loan off early as well. I have had a secured credit card. Last year I doubled the collateral deposit to increase the limit.
While the balance owed on the secured card is $0, I had been thinking of taking am unsecured card for some time to bring my credit rating as close to 850 as possible. Right now my credit rating is above 750 but below 800. So, last night I was shopping online for a new bed. My current bed is at least 16 years old and I have fought off bed bugs in the past few years. While checking out, Amazon offered a $100 discount if I applied and was approved for an unsecured Visa. I knew I would be approved, so I applied and was approved immediately. The new bed went on that card. One part of the bed also had a $40 coupon, so between the card and coupon, $140 got knocked off the price.
The secured card has a $1000 limit. The unsecure card has a $3000 limit. So, my unsecured credit limit quadrupled. I plan on paying off the balance due on the bed as soon as I get the physical credit card. I mostly got that for the $100 discount, though I do prefer having more leeway on my credit. Never know what may happen in the future. I know the application will knock my credit rating down temporarily, though I will assume not by much, since my secured card has $0 charged to it. Once I pay off the balance on the unsecured card, any impact on my credit rating will rebound and should rise closer to 850.
This may be with good timing. Last year I had set a goal on savings and reached that goal. Then the ex died, daughter went through a rough time and I avoided taking a travel contract until she was in a better emotional state, preferring to stay close to her. I spent money on new glasses and dentures. Then I went through a health crisis which sapped more of my savings. I am making payments on some of the health issues but concurrently my savings have been rising to near what they were before all of the above happened.
Meanwhile, my agency gave me news that they will renew my contract but I have to take a pay cut. Nothing to do with my performance, it is affecting all the nurses with the agency. It's a big pay cut and I will feel the effects. However, I will still be making more money than I was making in AL. That's true even after travel expenses. Mostly the effect is that I will not be able to save as much per month as I had been saving. I still expect to be able to save money and get my savings back where they were last August in a few months.
The agency said the pay cut is because the county reduced how much they are willing to pay. So, I renewed for 3 months even though they asked if I wanted to renew and stay for a year. Like I said, it's nothing about my job performance. I preferred staying at this location because I like it there. Besides, my current contract ends on 5/7/23. I didn't want to take the chance that I may not get another contract that soon. I'll stick with the 3 month extension and near the end of it start looking for something that pays more. That may mean having to travel further from home.
I have an interview regarding the presidential campaign coming up on Thur, the 27th. I am hoping this will help get more attention to the campaign. The more I listen to other candidates, the better my policies sound, even from a completely objective standpoint. I've deliberately developed my policies to be what I would want to vote for. I am going to spend some money on advertising and hope to get more donations and expand the campaign further. Given the chance, my administration would be the best administration in US history.
