Saturday, September 23

[Othersharon]

Just turned noon here in rainy Central PA. It started a bit after 9 this morning while Buddy and I were out back and was just a sprinkle but is now fairly steady and light. The house felt chilly and damp when I came downstairs so I turned the furnace on to try to get rid of the chill. Did it with fingers crossed since I haven’t run it since the furnace guy was here last week. He hasn’t contacted me about the part yet so don’t know if he got it or is just busy. He did think I would probably be okay but I’m still going to feel better when he changes out the old part. Decided today was a good soup day so have beef veggie soup simmering on the stove. Of course I didn’t know how to make a small pot so need to find containers to freeze most of it! The containers are there just need to match them with lids! Always a challenge. I’m thinking of making a peach dump cake or some lemon bars! Do it while I have the cooking bug! It won’t last! At least the cake and bars can be frozen so I can have whenever. Sure glad I’ve been shopping from my freezer for awhile now. Now I have room to freeze soup and whatnot. Judy, I’ve been hunting cherry jam for awhile too. I think the jars I had I found mostly when we went into Winchester on our way south. It’s been awhile since I’ve been that way and actually wonder if the farm store is still there. Maybe I’ll google it just for fun. Anyway, about it for me. Have a great day all.

[Irmi]

Good afternoon Sharon and all!

Sharon, it was good to read that your grand daughter will be going home. It was almost chilly enough here to turn on the heat but the chill was short lived. Judy, so glad your motorhome is fixed. You mentioned a while back that you have a floater in your eye. I got one, too, around the beginning of the year and it's a real nuisance. Sheila, I'm following your travels and enjoying reading about where you are and what you're doing. Barbie, I hope your home sells soon. Beth, I saw the message you posted yesterday and have been in touch with Carol to wish her a happy birthday. She and I talk every Monday morning and keep her abreast of what's going on here. Shirl, when is moving day? Karen, have a good time with your former neighbor. Carol, it's about time that your temperatures are falling and that you're able to get in some walks. Anne, did you make the trip to your favorite volcano?

I woke up to 63 degrees this morning and we'll only get into the high 80's today. Our high yesterday was 87. This past Wednesday, I met my youngest sister from Daytona and friends at a seafood restaurant and we had a wonderful lunch and good time. The day after that, friends that live south of Tampa came for our monthly visit. Next month, we'll go to their home and have lunch together. Since the weather is so nice, I'm going to go outside and sit in our pergola and read. Enjoy the rest of your day!

[Redetotry]

Good Afternoon, I hope you furnace works ok Sharon, it's always a worry getting things repairs. I too was happy to hear your grand daughter will be going home. Irmi it's so good to have friends that you visit with regularly. I miss Carolb and often wonder how she is. She was here one time as she has relatives (?) or people she knows just a little way from where I live.
Yesterday was not a good day for me! I took Pippa at 8:30 to the vet thinking there wouldn’t be a long wait and was told the vet was running late….30 minutes later she shows up. Pip was doing pretty good as was I until they drew blood. i have never seen a vet draw blood from a dogs neck and although Pippa was fine, I was not. I was standing by her and was so embarrasses to find I had to sit down. I asked why the draw from her neck she said it was faster! It may have been but she missed the vein two or three times. She did call this morning to say her blood work was good!

Later that afternoon I found our credit card had a charge on it that I didn’t make for $1.85. I remembered when you find a small amount like that it could be someone who has your information and seeing if it they can use it. So 45 minutes later after a horrible experience with Citi Cards customer care, the results are I don’t have a credit card until Fed EX brings our new ones on Monday. The really frustrating part was I couldn’t understand the people I talked to. I finally ask to speak to someone else and she wasn’t any better. They also asked me for a password which I have never been asked for before and had no idea, then I had to put DH on the phone and he told them he couldn’t hear what they were saying but that they could talk to me. He is the primary card holder…..whatever that means. At one point I did understand the woman to say I was compromising her job because I wouldn’t/ couldn’t answer yes or no to her questions and I said just leave the card as is don’t cancel it I can not deal with this conversation any longer but I realized if I did that I wouldn’t have a card. I am usually really good on the phone but when you have no idea what they are saying it is very frustrating. I plan on getting another card but found there is almost no way to cancel a card once you have it. Google recommends the easiest way is to get another card and just stop using the one from the old company. But because we have a yearly fee, which we do I, need to switch to another Citi Card without a monthly fee bedause even if you don’t use the card that fee will continue. auuuugh So as soon as I switch to a Citi no fee card I’ll stop using it and use whichever new one I go with. I’m thinking of Bank of America or Capital One Venture X rewards. I would appreciate any suggestions! Sorry for the rant but maybe someone will benefit from what I learned and will never get a Citi Card!

[JudyJB]

I have two credit cards--one from my credit union and one from Chase. The Chase one has a higher interest, so I make sure to keep it paid off, but I really need two cards in case I lose one or one gets some funny charges attached to it, as happened last year. (Someone had a party in a hotel room, ordered food and booze, and charged it all to me!) Then I had to cancel it and was down to one card for a month until the new one came! Do you have a credit union you can join locally? Usually, they have better rates and are more flexible on a lot of things. And when I call mine, they speak clear and concise ENGLISH!!!

Gorgeous day today on the shore of Lake Erie--71 cool degrees as a high today, with a strong breeze blowing, so even though it is mostly sunny, I have windows open and do not need to run AC. Lots of whitecaps on the lake, but just saw someone with a kite board, or whatever you call it when they are being pulled around by a kite in the wind. Last night I saw the lights of a big ship in the distance.

I am now making a sort of fruit syrup with some of the rest of my frozen tart cherries. I added a bit of water this time, along with less sugar, and am going to add some corn starch to thicken it. I will freeze part and put the rest in a little Rubbermaid pitcher I will store in refrigerator.

Oh, and I ran out today to refill a couple of prescriptions at a Walgreens and also got my new COVID 19 vaccine booster!! Will get my flu shot in late October so it will last throughout the winter.

[Acadianmom]

BJ, when the credit card company told you that your husband was the primary card holder that means he opened the credit card account. Even though you are on the account if anything happens to him they will cancel the card. I don't know how they find out but when my husband died they cancelled all the credit cards he was primary on. I didn't tell them he had died. Thank goodness I had two credit cards and several gas cards in my name. I would recommend that you get some cards in your name. I have Bank of America and American Express. They both give me a rebate on some purchases. I haven't had any problems with them. American Express sends me an email every time there is a charge where my card wasn't present, like when I order from Amazon.

I have never seen a vet draw blood from a dog's neck, always from a paw.

I was out side with the plumber for a couple of hours this morning. I don't know what the humidity is but I was sweating up a storm. I feel like taking another shower. I sold him my old golf cart that wasn't running. I have been debating on whether or not to get it fixed. It would probably have cost a couple of thousand to get it fixed. Glad to get rid of it.

Martha

[Redetotry]

Thank you Martha and Judy for the credit card information!! I do have an account at our local credit union so will see about one in only my name. I had no idea our card would be cancelled if DH passes away. Chase is one of the cards I considered I want one with no fees. There are so many!! DH has 500,000 frequent flyer miles on the Citi Card but neither of us fly anymore. I'm going to see if we can give them to someone or buy tickets for our friends who still travel. He accumulated so many when he traveled to Scotland every summer with a group of students from the University here. I really wish he could go back and tried to get him to get a first class seat but i think his legs have said no.

[chalet05]

BJ, definitely agree with Judy and Martha. My credit cards weren't cancelled when Steven died, but this is a community property state so maybe that's why. The worst time I had was cancelling the Verizon account that was in his name! Sharon, glad to hear the news about your granddaughter! I turned the electric fireplace on this morning for a while and have it on again now.

There was a post on FB that they closed the island that sits in the river right behind the shopping area in Leavenworth - a lot of bear activity! Haven't seen that before although I know they are spotted down there. Wondering how many there were! Mention of sirens so I turned the scanner on. Busy day in Leavenworth but mostly Wenatchee - thieves at Safeway and Marshall's, trespassers (usually someone off their meds and are well known), at least 3 hikers had to be rescued, accidents, strokes.

A bit of cleaning and laundry but mostly watching football and baseball. After no college football last week, four games today! Looking forward to going to the kids' for Seahawk football tomorrow.

[Bethers]

I have 3 no fee credit cards. Of course that's not the case if they aren't paid off every month and that's on automatic. I only really use two of them but it's not good, especially traveling, to only have one usable card. One gets all my gas purchases because it gives me 5% back on gas purchases. I buy a lot from Amazon, so have an Amazon Chase card and I get benefits from it also. The third is with Discover and gets used about once a year to keep it in active status. I do know with many credit cards there is only one main card holder. So yes, BJ, make sure you have and use a card in your name in case you ever need to make sure you have one.

Sharon, good luck with your furnace and great news about your granddaughter!

[JudyJB]

Another reason to get a credit card in your name alone is so that you can be sure you have credit on your own. It may be right now that all of your credit is in your husband's name since his name is on all the cards as the principal owner. If something happens to him, you may find out that you cannot buy a car on credit!!

Also, if your credit union account is in both of your names, ask them what would happen if your husband died. (Ditto if you died first.) Would they lock your account until a will was probated? Could you withdraw from your savings account, etc.? Would they allow you to access a safety deposit box until the estate was settled???

[Colliemom]

I have two credit dads. One from my local Meijer as it gives me 10 centss off a gallon of gas all the time, plus $10 coupons to spend on groceries or whatever, every time I spend $175, which doesn’t take lon g these days. In fact, I just got one in the mail today.I usually use them on my dry dog food or to purchase the big packages or TP or paper towels, cause I can take the $10 off the full price. The other is with LLBean. I get Bean bucks I can use toward purchases plus free shipping and returns. I’m getting to the point though that I don’t purchase much from them anymore so I sometimes think I probably should have got that card off when it expired earlier this summer and got a GM card understand that I can use the points toward the purchase of her new vehicle or server, so whatever I need from GM. Had one a number of years ago on it was really nice but both the L.L. Bean and the Meijer card are through Citibank and I have never had an issue with them at all. Every week they send me an email notice of my total on my cards at that point and the minute there is the slightest suspicion that there is a fraud alert they notify me a mediately. I have had two fraud alerts on my L.L. Bean card, and each time I immediately called the bank and the number on the back of my card and explain why I’m calling, and they immediately transfer me to the Fraud Department. After answering a few questions, etc. we closed out the card and they issued me a new one. My cards are paid as soon as I get my ebill, so I never carry a balance.

Judy, those are good points you just brought up. At tbe seminar I attended yesterday Morning, the lawyer brought up those facts in response to some questions. If names on accounts are in joint, either husband or wife has access. As long as they are set up so each name is in the account and not Mr.Jones AND Mrs. Jones. Because that requires both parties to sign on checks for example. So if one passes, the other cannot do anything. So one needs to keep each name separate and no AND. My dad and I were that way. Each had our names on our accounts, so when he passed away, once I had the death certificates, just had to have his name taken off the accounts and that was it. In the meantime, I had full access to theem. The best thing that people can do is talk with a lawyer, who knows Probate, Wills and Trusts and make sure that they have set things up right so they do not create a legal maze for either themselves or their heirs. Ask questions to make sure you cover all the bases. She also stressed the need for legal Power of Attorney for Health Care and Finances in case somebody has to step in when you can’t. A person whom you can trust to make health or financial decisions, pay your bills or whatever. I have both. The more you know about these things, the easier it is to make decisions.

[Acadianmom]

I also added my son's name to my safety deposit box so he wouldn't have trouble getting into it. He's not on my checking account but they let me put his name on the box.

Martha

[JudyJB]

Also, get credit cards from two separate banks or credit unions and only carry only one around with you. Keep the other one at home and switch them around every once in a while to keep them active. That way, if you lose your purse or wallet, you will still have a credit card you can use.

My aunt and uncle for whom I was one of two POAs had three properties. My uncle died in 2020, and the last property was not sold until 2021. Two were easy to sell because the names were written out properly, but the third had the "and" so we had to postpone closing and go through several weeks of messy stuff to get the house closed on. Lawyer helped us straighten it out, but it was hard for buyers to have to wait as we only discovered the problem at the last minute. Easier to make sure things are in order while you are both alive than after one of you is gone!!

[Bethers]

Dang, I just lost part of a tooth, or a filling. It's the back of a tooth and I didn't see it. Chances are I swallowed it lol. I was intending to stop to visit a couple friends when I head south in mid October, but now may head straight to my cg in south Texas and get to my dentist. I already had 2 teeth I want looked at closely. This is a different one, darn it. Luckily no pain at this time. I even drank ice water, no problem. But I'm going to be careful what I eat. And it's driving my tongue crazy. Haha

I should be in bed but I'm not the least tired tonight. Luckily my next 3 work shifts start at 3 in the afternoon.

Judy, good info in both your posts.

[snowball]

we went out to lunch as "cousins" then back to sister in laws house for desserts... guess they have been doing it that way for quite a few years... really glad that they pulled one together while I was here... although because of the shortness of time didn't get to see very many of the "cousins" perhaps next time...
other than that it's been a quite day did wash up my clothes some in the dryer right now...
looks like I will leave on Monday after I visit with my friend hit Walmart for the Sterzings and visit with my friend in the care center... hopefully it will be a good day for her and she will remember who I am... one of Larry's cousins husband is in the same care center but different wing we've only met a few times and he is really deep into Alzheimer so won't visit with him I think it would be counter productive will see Beth and Linda on Tues Morning then on to Omaha to see the nieces again just an over nighter... they both work so can't see any reason to stay longer if I'd worked it better and got there on the weekend would have been different but I didn't and I've enjoyed this week with the family
my kids want me to add one of my dd's to my checking account as well as another dd to the 5th wheel so if something happens they have means to utilize what little I have I guess...
had hopes to see Barbie pop in with it sold !!! guess we will have to wait a bit longer...
you all have a great day
sheila

[Cudedog]

Later that afternoon I found our credit card had a charge on it that I didn’t make for $1.85. I remembered when you find a small amount like that it could be someone who has your information and seeing if it they can use it. So 45 minutes later after a horrible experience with Citi Cards customer care, the results are I don’t have a credit card until Fed EX brings our new ones on Monday. The really frustrating part was I couldn’t understand the people I talked to.

Hi, BJ, sorry you had such a problem with Citi. It is becoming almost impossible to get a "live body" on the phone these days, and when you do it seems that they speak with an accent that is impossible to comprehend.

BJ, you are not alone in your frustrations. I'm totally there!

Just a word of caution to everyone. . . although it was asked for recommendations of what kind of card to to get as a replacement (and this was a friendly question), I, personally, wouldn't want to put on a public forum (like this one) the kind and type of credit card I use, how I use it, what kind of balance I keep, or what kind of benefits my card might offer.

Beth's Forum is, and always has been, a friendly place to "hang out" and a place to exchange friendly information. And, Beth, I bless you for this. It has truly been a lifesaver. Thank you, Beth.

But everyone should also keep in mind that this Forum is not secure.

What this means is that anyone at all, from anywhere in the world, can - and do - read any and all of the postings here anytime they might wish, day or night.

Dedicated scammers can pick up a scrap of information here, a scrap of information there. Many here are also on Facebook (and perhaps on other forums as well) maybe dropping small "breadcrumbs" in their posts (i.e., where they live, if married or single, homeowner or renter, what kind of house they have, their age, their names, the names of their spouses, the names of their children, their location, how many credit cards they have of what type and kind, what kind of car they drive, what kind of furnishings they have, dates of away-from-home trips they may have planned, their general financial condition, etc. etc.).

People drop these breadcrumbs innocently and unknowingly, here and there, as time goes by. Scammers pick these up. It is like gold to them.

Maybe someone on Beth's form has let it be known they are also on Facebook? A scammer tracking them will soon try to follow their Facebook posts also. Yes, I do understand that one can choose Facebook "friends". But a discussion group on Facebook can have hundreds, if not thousands, of users. Another great place to gather breadcrumbs.

Over time - and scammers are patient, and they also have programs and aps that gather information for them - they can put together a pretty detailed personal profile on a person, and this could lead to. . . "problems", let's just say.

Everyone should always be cautious of the kind and amount of information one shares online, especially in an open forum.

And (as Joseph Heller famously said). . . "Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't after me."

Anne