At first I was impressed with the way they worked their religious bent into their business. After all, we are living in the bible belt. So here is Christian Realty. That name itself should appeal to a lot of the people in these parts.

And they have a clever tag in their domain name as advertised on the back end of the SUV: The ONE way home dot com. Very clever.

But now notice the letters on the license plate: BAD DRVR.

At least they are honest.

Sis had to come out of retirement and go back to work just to bring in some money and pay the basics, like food and the utilities. But the rest of the bills are getting harder and harder to put off. I’ve helped her out a little here and there, but they are going to need a lot more help than what I can give.

She finally started looking into debt consolidation and counseling, and I’m sure the possibility of filing for bankruptcy is in the back of her mind, too. There’s a wide difference in the types of debt relief services and I want her to make informed decisions about this important financial matters. It’s bad enough that we are in a tough economy, but with her husband hurt and her two sons in college, she has a lot of worries.

that was really annoying and if I catch the punks there will be drama. As it was, nothing was broken – except their eggs – and no real damage done. I took my dog to the vet and once we were finished there I drove through an automatic car wash and got the egg off of my car. At least this was the old beater car and not my nice truck. And like I said, there was no damage. But it is disturbing that this neighborhood is experiencing even these minor acts of vandalism. We have enjoyed a nice, quiet, respectful neighborhood until recently when a few houses down the other end of the street have been rented out to tenants with kids. If it wasn’t those kids I suspect it was some of their friends. If it happens again I’m calling the police and setting up a trap for the punks. As long as they keep getting away with it they have no reason to stop.

When I have a good idea what type of vehicle I want to get and what the ballpark purchase price might be, I shop around for the car loan before I ever step foot on the dealer’s lot. It strengthens your negotiating position to have your financing arranged before haggling with the dealership. I used to go to my bank and the big finance companies to shop for a new car loan, but they have gotten harder and harder to deal with over the years.

I had never thought of that, but of course it makes perfect sense. Such a different way of life for us spoiled Americans who can just run out to the mall or pick up the phone and have anything we want within minutes, hours, or at the most, a day of our first desire.

Once my curiosity was raised, I learned quite a bit about shipping containers and I’ve noticed them in my other travels when I’m in a port city. There are several different types, included refrigerated, insulated, open tops, and more. And then there are specialty containers, like the ones made specially for use in the Antarctic where the University of Wales is building an observatory. These specially insulated containers were custom made in Australia and then it still took over two months to get them delivered to the Antarctic site. Interesting project!

Makes you stop and think, could I downsize to a Cobalt for the sake of the better MPGs?

I’m totally hooked on this show. I am fascinated that these men take their lives in their hands to drive trucks over the frozen rivers and frozen ocean in the Arctic. They are modern cowboys with true grit.

A recent study by Colorado State University social psychologist William Szlemko concluded that:

Drivers of cars with bumper stickers, window decals, personalized license plates and other “territorial markers” not only get mad when someone cuts into their lane or is slow to respond to a traffic light, they also are far more likely than others to use their vehicles to express rage —by honking, tailgating and other aggressive behavior.

And you may be interested to know that I do not have any bumper stickers on any of my cars. I think they look trashy. But I have seen a few that made me laugh. Last week I saw this one on an old Humpty:

“If you are going to ride my ass . . .
. . . at least pull my hair.”

As I was cleaning out the car upon it’s return, I noticed a paper stuck between the seats and the console. It was a paper receipt for a payday loan. I was shocked and dismayed, but then again, since we told her in no uncertain terms that the cash handouts from our wallets are over, I suppose she thinks she has no choice but to use those types of cash advances to tide her over.

The problem with this is that she never seems to have enough money to pay the loan off and she ends up renewing the loan, putting herself farther behind. This is exactly the type of behavior that we are trying to discourage and she must be even more hard headed than I thought if she is not learning this important financial and independent lifestyle lesson.

Payday loans are a great tool for a one time emergency cash advance. It is supposed to be used for things like emergency car repairs and emergency medical expenses, with the key words being “emergency.”

Now I know I just said that her car was broken down, but I’m not sure I believe her. The car was in excellent condition when we bought it for her last year. I check it over once in a while to make sure the oil is changed and the fluids are OK, the tires are OK, etc. I hadn’t noticed anything going wrong so I have to wonder what the emergency repair was for and she has managed to not share that information with us. If it is true, I hope she is going to handle this payday loan as a responsible adult and pay it off with her very next paycheck.