Day 297: Christmas Eve

Well the Sun came out today here in the North Country. That is always refreshing. It is Christmas Eve. The photo here was taken on a Christmas Eve a number of years ago at Calcium Community Church. It was a colder evening than most that year. I forget exactly how cold, but it was well below zero. Consequently the sky was clear and the sky was simply ablaze with stars. The service was nice in that little church and finished the entire congregation holding candles and singing Silent Night. I remember not wanting to create any distraction, so I quickly got out of my pew and snapped two shots of this youg boy. The first one was blurry, the 2nd one was acceptable.

This past Wednesday we finished the custom cabinet job. That thing took way longer than I anticipated. But, the payment for that sure came in handy. Especially since I have a family member who is also a tenant of mine and for some reason refuses to pay his rent. In eight months I have gotten a total of $500.00 from him. His rent, for a two bedroom house in Florida is a paltry $400.00 a month. If it were anyone else he would have been long gone. The new year will come and I will be addressing this matter once and for all. The cabinet job saved my financial day. Now I face January on the horizon. Fortunately I have a wedding job on the books. That alone should help me meet all of my bills. If my dead beat tenant would pay up , just a months rent, that would for sure allow me to meet all of my obligations.

How about this: Who wants to spend $90.00 bucks on a car battery a week before Christmas? I don't, but I did. That was an unexpected purchase. Now, a couple of years ago that wouldn't have bothered me so much. But, as I have mentioned before, my job hours were cut in half 23 months ago. I did not realize at the time just how slow it would be to hustle up weddings and other side work to make up for that. But I have been managing. The fact is, I don't really have a money problem as much as I have a debt problem. I have been doing well chiselling away at that debt.
For instance, in January of 2009 one debt was $11,000.00. In 23 months I have paid it down to $3,800.00.
Five years ago this February I bought an apartment house. I finaced it for five years. Let me tell you, that made for a LARGE payment. This February it will be paid off. At the time I bought that place I borrowed an additional 12 grand from my 401K. That loan will be paid off in May. So, soon I will be in pretty fine fettle. But man, oh, man, it has been a lot of work.