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Recent events
Feb. 26th, 2009 06:08 pmWell, even though I may not necessarily agree with the concept of the recently passed stimulus package, I am not above accepting the aid it is giving, in both the personal and professional aspects of my life.
The personal aspect was covered previously, and resulted in a HUMONGOUS tax return a few weeks back thanks to our buying a house last year. This allowed us to pay off our credit cards, and pay off the last of the mortgage on the land across from mom, as well as pay down some other bills and give us an emergency fund. The paying off the credit cards was particularly satisfying in that I received a notice from Capital One that effective April 17th, they were changing the terms on my credit card with them, going from the fixed 8.9% interest rate I've had since I got it over 5 years ago to a variable rate equal to 17.9%. It seems that I am not the only ones getting hit by this either: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/02/cap_one_revolt.html
I had the option of not accepting the changes and closing my account, which I did to spite them. I don't need their credit, especially if they are treating good customers this way.
The professional aspect of the stimulus is beginning to surface now. A major part of our team's work has been renovations and the occasional new construction projects for a good number of the public housing authorities in east Tennessee. In good times, this sort of work tends to be poo-poohed by architects, as it is not glamorous, there is a good bit of leg work involved, and most of the projects are piddly renovations that don't earn much such as window replacements or re-roofing jobs. But, they are still profitable, especially if you know what you are doing.
Now having contracts with the housing authorities is turning into a boon, as they are still spending money. Plus, the stimulus package just passed is giving them approximately 140% more funds (for a total of 240% of their normal yearly allotment), and the bonus amount has to be "allocated" within 1 year or they lose it. In H.A. parlance, allocated funds are those that have a project under contract with a contractor.
So... we are getting busy busy BUSY!
In other news, I have a headache tonight, that is making studying difficult. :-(
The personal aspect was covered previously, and resulted in a HUMONGOUS tax return a few weeks back thanks to our buying a house last year. This allowed us to pay off our credit cards, and pay off the last of the mortgage on the land across from mom, as well as pay down some other bills and give us an emergency fund. The paying off the credit cards was particularly satisfying in that I received a notice from Capital One that effective April 17th, they were changing the terms on my credit card with them, going from the fixed 8.9% interest rate I've had since I got it over 5 years ago to a variable rate equal to 17.9%. It seems that I am not the only ones getting hit by this either: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/02/cap_one_revolt.html
I had the option of not accepting the changes and closing my account, which I did to spite them. I don't need their credit, especially if they are treating good customers this way.
The professional aspect of the stimulus is beginning to surface now. A major part of our team's work has been renovations and the occasional new construction projects for a good number of the public housing authorities in east Tennessee. In good times, this sort of work tends to be poo-poohed by architects, as it is not glamorous, there is a good bit of leg work involved, and most of the projects are piddly renovations that don't earn much such as window replacements or re-roofing jobs. But, they are still profitable, especially if you know what you are doing.
Now having contracts with the housing authorities is turning into a boon, as they are still spending money. Plus, the stimulus package just passed is giving them approximately 140% more funds (for a total of 240% of their normal yearly allotment), and the bonus amount has to be "allocated" within 1 year or they lose it. In H.A. parlance, allocated funds are those that have a project under contract with a contractor.
So... we are getting busy busy BUSY!
In other news, I have a headache tonight, that is making studying difficult. :-(
