Stephanie

Here's my story, what's your story? I hope my story will help someone. I purchased a timeshare 6 years ago, have yet to use it once. (sucker!) 2 years after, I paid money and I listed it with vacationregister.com. Ed McMahan convinced me they would sell my timeshare in 6 mos or less! (sucker!) Beware of vacation register as they changed their phone numbers, you have to email them to contact them and after 2 emails, I've been waiting 3 days to hear from them. Anyway, the interest rate on the timeshare was high, so I took a cash advance on a credit card, got the deed and just finished my last payment to my credit card last month. I have contacted companies about selling it, but it's worth nothing. Ebay has them listed for 1.00. There's a program called "giveaway" and as long as it is paid in full and all dues are paid up to date, you can pay a company to take it out of your name....giving it away, of course! No, paying someone to take it from you! I sat through 45 minute phone conferences/online presentations from Timeshare Relief to learn I can pay $2995 to have it taken away, I've had Timeshare Sales Today say they'll do it for an $800 fee + $499 closing costs. And today I found a company that sounded actually genuine! He told me to keep it, use it...but if I wanted, I could pay them $549 closing costs + $50 fee and they would take it from me! It sounds too good to be true. If this works, I will be updating this question in hopes of helping others.

Have you done a give away program to get rid of your timeshare??? Did it free you from the lifelong obligation? Did you get anymore bills for maintenance fees?

Here's my story, what's your story? I hope my story will help someone. I purchased a timeshare 6 years ago, have yet to use it once. (sucker!) 2 years after, I paid money and I listed it with vacationregister.com. Ed McMahan convinced me they would sell my timeshare in 6 mos or less! (sucker!) Beware of vacation register as they changed their phone numbers, you have to email them to contact them and after 2 emails, I've been waiting 3 days to hear from them. Anyway, the interest rate on the timeshare was high, so I took a cash advance on a credit card, got the deed and just finished my last payment to my credit card last month. I have contacted companies about selling it, but it's worth nothing. Ebay has them listed for 1.00. There's a program called "giveaway" and as long as it is paid in full and all dues are paid up to date, you can pay a company to take it out of your name....giving it away, of course! No, paying someone to take it from you! I sat through 45 minute phone conferences/online presentations from Timeshare Relief to learn I can pay $2995 to have it taken away, I've had Timeshare Sales Today say they'll do it for an $800 fee + $499 closing costs. And today I found a company that sounded actually genuine! He told me to keep it, use it...but if I wanted, I could pay them $549 closing costs + $50 fee and they would take it from me! It sounds too good to be true. If this works, I will be updating this question in hopes of helping others.

Have you done a give away program to get rid of your timeshare??? Did it free you from the lifelong obligation? Did you get anymore bills for maintenance fees?

Hi, my husband is active duty and when he has put in 20 years, he will receive a retirement check each month. I want my own retirement check one day. We move every 3-4 years so working for "the state" won't work. Is there a national company I can't think of that I can work for 20 years and get a monthly retirement check one day?

My plan now is to contribute each year to my Roth IRA, but that's not going to add up too fast. When I go to work for a new company, I have to wait a year before I can contribute to 401K, so that hasn't worked out too well for me. It'll be about 13.5 years before my husband retires and I could possibly start a career then where I can work for 20 years straight some where and I'll be nearing 45 years old....not the ideal age to start working towards retirement.

Can you think of any national companies that I could work for over the next many years that offer retirement checks for 20 years of service?

Thanks

I never ask stupid questions like this, but the new Gap commercial is one of the most annoying commercials I've ever heard. Does anyone even shop at Gap anymore? The clothes in the commercial are hideous and the dancing is just ok and the chanting Go Solstice, Go Kwanzaa, Go Christmas Tree...I mean, it is just idiotic. I can't get to the mute button fast enough when it comes on. Gap really missed the mark this holiday season with such an annoying commercial.

Here are my questions for you to answer after reading my situation:

1) Should I amend both 2007 and 2008 taxes?

2) Should I only amend my 2008 taxes?

Before I get into my story, I know people think you don't have to report your Roth contributions on your taxes & I have heard that as well, BUT I was told by my bank that when I go to retrieve the funds many years from now, the government will not know how much I have contributed, so they ADVISED ME to show my Roth contributions on my taxes and starting in 2009 I know to do this.

I did not know you should do this until this year and the people that do my taxes never mentioned it, so TWO tax filings have passed with no Roth contributions. I put $4000 in a Roth at the beginning of 2008 for 2007. The bank messed up and put it towards my 2008 contribution. I went to make my 2008 contribution early this year & found out about the mess up, so I contributed another $5000 to 2009 and $1000 to max out the 2008 year. I found paperwork this week and took it to the bank to prove I had designated $4000 to go to 2007. The bank is fixing their error at this time. They said they would send a letter to the IRS that I contributed $4000 for 2007. With the IRS getting this letter, do I need to amend my 2007 taxes or just my 2008 taxes or should I do both?

Any other thoughts?

Hi,

This weekend I discovered rust on my 2007 Nissan Frontier Extended Cab. It is on the roof in the rain gutters as I am calling them. The paint has flaked away down about a 6" strip and most of where the paint is missing, there is rust. I just took it to Nissan who had their service person come out and take pictures and he sent me on my merry way. He said he had to wait to hear from Nissan before doing any paintwork. I heard another guy say "Isn't there supposed to be weather stripping up there?" The guy that took the pictures said yes. There was never any weather stripping up there and I am the only owner of this vehicle. It has 18,500 miles, if that matters.

What are all of the possible options? I've made 25 payments and I'm not happy about them doing "paintwork" because we all know it will never be as good as factory paint.

Thanks for any advice, tips or stories of your own you share.

Here's what's going on: We purchased a single family home in 11/07 at a 6.5% interest rate for 30 years (conventional loan.) It was our 1st time purchasing-we just went thru the motions. Anyhow, I have wanted to refi for a lower rate and term, but we have a little negative equity and lenders will only lend 90% with PMI. That's quite a bit of money for us to fork out (not including the thousands of dollars to actually refi), so I say forget the refi & figure out what I need to pay each month to pay this loan off in 15 years. Pretty much there are 2 equations I'd like to know-

1) How much do I need to pay each month to pay my loan off in 180 payments/months?

2) How much do I need to pay each month to pay off my loan in 160 payments/months?

Let's presume I'm paying the 1st of every month. I know that interest rate will change my p/o greatly if I vary from the 1st of the month plan-no plans to do that.

I am just looking for the most accurate estimate I can get, so please ask me any questions if I am missing information, I will happily update my question and you can update your answer.

Assuming homeowner's insurance does not change-$1178/yr

Assuming taxes do not change-$678/yr

Current loan balance $113,500

Here's a copy of my mortgage site based on a $1250(ish) payment I made this month:

Your payment is comprised of the

following amounts:

Principal and Interest $758.48

County Tax: $56.57

PMI Escrow: $41.41

Hazard Escrow: $98.17

Overage/Shortage: $38.02

3) What's Hazard Escrow????? Geez.

1. Do you think the Challenger will be less hard to find, more hard to find?

2. Should I wait until 2010?

3. What are the benefits of buying right now?

A few days ago one of my dog's eyes was red and he was getting huge eye boogers. Now both eyes are watering and has stringy clear stuff and when it dries, it's yellow crusty.

I thought he had something in his one eye, but now that both are watering and getting yellow crust, I'm wondering if it's allergies or a cold or an infection.

I just read that dogs doing get colds, so I guess that's not it. It's really cold outside, so I didn't think it would be allergies. And we've had him over a year and his eyes haven't done this before.

I need to know what to do for him and if he NEEDS to go to the vet.

I have a timeshare in S. Florida, Palm Beach Shores on Singer Island, that I can not afford to pay the yearly fees on. I want to give the timeshare back to the company or something like that. Whatever it takes to free me of the financial responsibility of this timeshare. My timeshare is paid in full, so there's nothing like that to worry about, but I must get rid of it this year. I can not afford to keep paying $400 a year for this timeshare.

What does a "quit deed" involve?

Can I get rid of this property for free?

Please, what options do I have?

Thank you for your help.

A two for one question here. I opened my first Roth IRA acct with $4000 in March 08. I'm in my 20s and I thought it was what I should do. Suze says she would NEVER open a Roth IRA with a credit union and that's what I did. I just began a few months ago contributing to 401k at work, but only 6% which is the minimum to get matched.

Suze says to go to a company called Vanguard and invest in Roth IRA. Should I pull my Roth IRA at credit union and put it in a Vanguard acct? Should I take the $4000 and put it into a Vanguard 401k acct (which I'm sure will cost money) or No because I already have a 401k account and I should only have one. Either way, what should I do with this $4000 that's at the credit union and I plan on contributing another $5000 in the next 4 months.

Thanks for your time and any help you can give me whether based on your own personal experience or knowledge.

My grandfather is taking Synthroid Lisinopril and Nexium. Today I find out he is having issues with his left arm and hand and he's not able to hold stuff or feel change in his pocket. If he tried to pick up a sheet of paper, he'd drop it...he doesn't have the sensitivity to be able to hold it. He's under medical care and been going to a doctor for 13 years, but I'm concerned he's being over drugged. He originally went on the thryoid medication and then he was put on the high blood pressure medicine. He also has vertigo, but doesn't take anything for it. He is 79 and I know he's getting old, but he means so much to me and I'm extremely concerned!

My husband and I bought our first home one year ago today. It was a fixer upper that took us about 6 months to complete and we put in a good $25,000 in it for windows, new kitchen, etc. (We really did the house nice...nothing cheap here.) The house we pay for each month does not have a garage and has only one bath, which is fine for the 2 of us, but in the past year, we have had 2 family members move in and out as they relocated here making the bathroom a bit of an issue. The way the market has gone, there is another home 2 streets over with an extra bath, a garage and on a corner lot selling for exactly what we bought our home for.

We are thinking of renting this place and buying the other house with all the extra goodies and we should be paying about the same. The other house will need just about everything this house needed...which would deplete our savings, but we wouldn't make all of the upgrades as quickly as we did on the current house.

We make our mortgage payment and all of our bills just fine. My husband's in the military, and should advance next year and I am in the car biz...tough market right now! It's a great opportunity for us, but I'm a very calculated person that doesn't like risk, so I'm scared to pull the trigger.

If I was asking Suze Orman, I think she'd tell us no.

The big plan would be to have two rental properties when we move from here to our next duty station and we would sell these properties many years down the road for a profit that made it all worth while now.

What do you think?

My husband and I bought a house last year at 6.5% interest rate. I am thinking that the thousands of dollars our mortgage company will get each year would be enough for them to want our loan. Our original closing costs were about $3000 and I hear if we refi that it will be ANOTHER $3000 and that it's not worth it...just pay a little more with each payment.

Now regarding my question, I would think a bank would want to take my loan from another company just to get the thousands in interest we pay each year. From what I can see, it seems the only "no closing costs" refi opportunities wrap up the "fees" into the loan.

I would like to get my interest rate under 6% and not pay closing costs to refi. I suppose I am just dreaming?

This frivolous lawsuit against Joel Osteen's wife, Victoria, has me aggravated that these lawsuits and money hungry people are allowed to do this. The Osteens earned their money and continue to change the lives of people across the world. As I continue to work hard to earn my money...it's just unbelievable that Sharon Brown wants 10% of Victoria Osteen's value. 10%!! Really?

So I'm just curious if Continental Airlines is still employing this woman, Sharon Brown?

Hello,

I have 3 cruises picked and I'm not sure which one to go on. All of the destinations are places I have never been to so I want to make sure I pick the one that offers the most beautiful beaches and opportunities for great shore excursions. The cruise is in December. Please convince me of where my money would be best spent and tell me if there are ports I can't miss before I die. Thanks!

Cruise 1: Departing from Miami, Florida

Ports of Call: Miami, Florida | Samana, Dominican Republic | St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands | Road Town, Tortola, BVI | Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas

Cruise 2: Departing from Miami, Florida

Ports of Call: Miami, Florida | Roatan, Honduras | Belize City, Belize | Cozumel, Mexico | Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas

Cruise 3: Departing from Miami, Florida

Ports of Call: Miami, Florida | Samana, Dominican Republic | Road Town, Tortola, BVI | St. John's, Antigua | Bridgetown, Barbados | St. Lucia, Caribbean

I'm on the washington mutual website and I can't find where you reorder checks through their website. I went to FAQ and it says of course you can, but offers no information as to where you would do so.

I bought a timeshare years ago that I honestly can't see myself ever using! My week is coming up next month and I can't take off work. I would rather sell this thing at a major loss on my part and stop thinking about how much money I wasted.

Where can I get a few thousand for my timeshare? It's the Palm Beach Shores Resort in South Florida. I have it listed with Vacation Register who guaranteed a sale in 6 months...that was 2 years ago.

I purchased the timeshare while vacationing from Texas in South Florida. In September 2006, I realized I wasn't ever going to be able to use it. For one, I was living in Miami! Now I live in the panhandle of FL...

Please help me find a company that will help me sell my timeshare by next month UNLIKE VACATION REGISTER that has taken my money and I've seen no results.

I have an 18 gallon fresh water tank with hatchet fish and 4 mollies. (I had some scavenger and angel fish and tiger barbs and some neons, but they have since died.) I am using drinking water from "Water Express" a company that was recommended b/c of their filtration system.

My tank is currently cloudy and the fish are staying in the top of the tank. I started out with tap water, then I did a 50% change of water to drinking water, let a week go by, did another 50% change yesterday and I still have the same problem.

What I have tried based on professional recommendations are:

put 2tsp of baking soda

5 water softener tabs into the filter

2 pennies in the tank

have used the following the chemicals and still own:

Easy Balance

Aqua Safe

Prime

Cycle

Using 'my ammonia & pH' test strips and 'jungle correct' pH tank tabs

The results are always the same.

ammonia is ok

total alkalinity is 300 high

pH is 8.4 alkaline

Where do I go from here?? Thanks!

1. Braking only generates heat during severe braking T/F

Friction stops a vehicle T/F

When drums and discs heat up, stopping distances suffer T/F

Heat will never cause brakes to fail T/F

Heat-warped rotors can cause brakes to vibrate during braking T/F

2.Effects of excessive heat on a brake system:

Decreases stopping distances Y/N

Reduces the life of brake components Y/N

Can disable an antilock brake system Y/N

Reduces brake pedal feel Y/N

Can increase maintenance costs Y/N

3. Drum brakes or Disc?

More likely to overheat in extreme braking situations-Drum or Disc?

Open design allows for efficient cooling/heat dissipation-Drum or Disc?

May trap water & dirt-Drum or Disc?

Rotor enhances stopping power-Drum/Disc

4.Large calipers often feature <blank> and can accommodate larger brake pads. This combo of larger pads and <blank> help provide exellent stopping response.