One Confused ObamaCare Applicant

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Tom Trimbath

Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare, whatever. Health care costs are scary. A couple of months ago, and a year ago, I’ve made the trip to the island’s emergency room, thirty miles up-island. Both times, as I watched impressive people tend and care for an injured friend, I’ve also been aware that, even with my health insurance, such an accident would bankrupt me. Finally, America was going to have a better plan that took care of people with financial difficulties. The media makes it sound easy, if you can log in. Here’s the messy details of one person’s attempt at signing up.

All I knew was what I’d read in the news. That isn’t always a help. A typical person should expect this or that, but no one is actually typical. I can hear the head nods from here. So, I knew that whatever I encountered would require lots of note-taking and time stamps so I could backtrack, and also to have a record if I had to contact Help. If the literary nature isn’t up to your expectations, well, welcome to the reality of bureaucracy.

12/20/2013
20:15
Despite the official names, everyone was calling it ObamaCare. What little I’d heard from friends was that they were likely to be directed to Medicaid. Not surprising considering that Medicaid is supposedly for people near the poverty line and a lot of my friends are self-employed, sole-proprietors, or artists.

As if keeping track of the names wasn’t odd enough, Washington State has something called Apple Health, which made it sound like I’m supposed to be an employee of a computer company, or involved in a crop protection plan.

One of the first questions: Monthly income, er, based on what? 2012, 2013, last month?
Someone warned me that my application may have to be re-assessed every month that my income varies by more than $150. Well, that sounds like a monthly chore, or a reason to always pay myself exactly the same each month – if possible.

The site says I’ll probably end up with Medicaid if my annual income is less that $15,856. Before tax? No. After tax, well, it could be.
Ah, but the subsidized insurance kicks in if my annual income is less than $45,960. I’m definitely under that level. That’s the first bit of good news.

Coverage covers ER. That’s another bit of good news.

OK, go find 2012 tax returns before I launch in, just in case.
Dredge up my TurboTax username, password; the eternal struggle
Right, got the number.

Bring up Washington Healthplanfinder.
The site invites me to Find and Compare or Apply for Coverage or Sign In
I’ll Find and Compare because it is on top
Next Find Quality Coverage (but what if I want quantity instead of quality)
Gotta have SSN, birthday, income. See, thinking ahead was handy.

20:35
Find Quality Coverage
For my zip code and income, evidently my current plan isn’t even on the list. That’s okay because they’d just raised my rate by about $100.
But, all the plans are more expensive than the increase I expect to see in my current plan.
Ah, but the tax credits make even the most expensive cheaper than my current bill.
And I get to pick my doctor or hospital. Both are 30 miles away but it let me add Whidbey General anyway.

Choices choices.
HMO vs PPO? I don’t know.
A Goldielocks moment. Gold is too expensive. Bronze has too high of a deductible. Silver is less than I am spending now and has a lower deductible. I think.
Mouse overs and info buttons are vague enough to be useless.

Dive into the dreaded More Details
Ah, what’s Not Covered: Eye and Dental. Rats.

The list is 27 plans long, but there seems to be a lot of duplication under different names.
Multi-State Plan Blue Cross Silver 2500 HSA
LifeWise Essential Silver 2500 HSA
Premera Blue Cross Preferred Silver 2500 HSA
20:57
Group Health – Core Silver
Multi-State Plan Blue Cross Silver 3000
LifeWise Essential Silver 3000
Ah, in the details there are lots of N/As = not good, particularly for Group Health, as I read it.
Premera Blue Cross Preferred Silver 3000
Multi-State Plan Blue Cross Silver 2000
LifeWise Essential Silver 2000
Premera Blue Cross Preferred Silver 2000

So, reorder them because I think I see a code.

Multi-State Plan Blue Cross Silver 2500 HSA
Multi-State Plan Blue Cross Silver 3000
Multi-State Plan Blue Cross Silver 2000

LifeWise Essential Silver 2500 HSA
LifeWise Essential Silver 3000
LifeWise Essential Silver 2000

Premera Blue Cross Preferred Silver 2500 HSA
Premera Blue Cross Preferred Silver 3000
Premera Blue Cross Preferred Silver 2000

Group Health – Core Silver

Compare three that only vary by number, not by name.
Ah, so the coverage doesn’t change but the money does.

21:11
Now, compare across for the same 2500 or 3000 or 2000
Ah Ha! HSA means something Health Savings Account.
Exact same details.

Oh, and Group Health doesn’t like Out of Network and an island is more likely not to be networked.

Down to six: the 2000s and 3000s in two flavors of Premera and one flavor of Lifewise.
An extra $20/month knocks my deductible down by $1,000 and is still almost $100 less than my existing plan.

Okay, I’ve narrowed it down to the Silver 2000s, but can’t see any difference between them.
21:25 That’s enough of that. It’s late. There are two more days to figure this out. No need to hurt my brain.

12/21/2013
Back to working on signing up for health care after a day of working on the computer.

19:00
Is the tax credit only paid out in 2015 for 2014?
“this tax credit provides you the option to either reduce the amount of your monthly health insurance premium; or have a lump sum deduction when you file your annual income tax return”
Wow, a useful FAQ. Thanks folks.

Okay, where’d my doctor go?
The hospital doesn’t mention her, but the WA.gov site does.
Whidbey General = select (because, on the island, we’re really limited to the monopoly of the one hospital)

Glad I took notes last night. What did I decide on?

Go to Premera’s site to figure out the difference between Multi-State and Preferred, because I can’t tell the difference on the State’s site. That doesn’t work, but they have a phone number. Ah, they’re not working tonight.
So, go to the definitive source: Facebook – where, as luck provided, someone asked the right question, they happened to be a friend, and they got a good answer.
“The only difference is that the PBC Preferred plans include coverage for elective termination of pregnancy while the Multistate plans do not.” Not an issue for me.

So, what’s the difference between Lifewise and Premera?
From WAhealth.com (on Google’s Search page)
” Lifewise (a Premera subsidiary) is the leader in catastrophic plans. … network is identical, and other than branding, there is little difference between the two.”
Oddly enough, that description was on the blurb beneath the search term on Google, but I couldn’t find it on the official site.

So, which one sounds better, or looks better on an insurance card?
LifeWise Essential Silver 2000
Premera Blue Cross Preferred Silver 2000
I’ll take the second one.

Ok, ready to go, but there’s a letter from my current provider back home. I should check it first. Who knows, maybe they’ll make me a better offer. Hey, I’m an optimist.

But first, register to beat the WA deadline.
Pain in butt, username rules, yet another username with yet a different set of rules.
try #2
try #3
I’m too tired to come up with a password.
try #4
Finally, a password they’ll accept. The rules are convoluted enough that I won’t be able to remember that. Time to Copy & Paste.
“Do you want to apply for Health Insurance Premium Tax Credit, cost-sharing reductions or Washington Apple Health?” That is the point, isn’t it?
Quit now before I hurt my brain.
19:49

12/22/2013
username and password fail
Access Denied
Due to multiple incorrect attempts, your account has been locked. Contact the Washington Healthplanfinder Customer Support Center to unlock the account at 1-855-WAFINDER (1-855-923-4633) between the hours of 7:30AM and 8PM for help.
We are currently closed.
So much for meeting that deadline.

12/23/2013
8:39
Hurray! Password reset received in the night by email.
Must reset
try #1
Ah ha! The same password I tried to use before was actually an Invalid password. Tell me that the first time, eh.
try #2
Success! Oh wait, all of that was just to set up an account. I haven’t done any real work yet.

Okay, I can go to Dashboard, which was a circular link or learn more which is a video, or – Home?
Clicking on my name – takes me back to the same screen.
1-855-923-4633 Experiencing high call volumes and unable to take your call at this time.
So start back with WAhealthplanfinder.
No good.
Sign out then sign in.
Does password reset require logging out then logging in?
Go To Home Page shows that I am still logged in.
Close window, oh why not close browser, and try again.

Breathe.

8:55
invalid password
Loading HBE application
Ah, Complete My Application – and don’t complain about not knowing how it finally got through.

9:00
According to them I lived on 40TH? When and where was that? Sometime since I’ve moved to Washington I lived on 40th. I’ve lived in Washington for 33 years. That’s a lot of addresses. Even in the last ten years I’ve probably lived in four. I don’t memorize such things. Pick, None of the Above

Fill in more details, like insurance info.

Monthly income, but for when? The previous pages asked for annual, so I assumed they wanted Federal Tax data, but monthly income sounds more current.

It takes three tries to get the employment forms filled out right because I am self-employed and misread one line.

Speaking of self-employment I hit Submit My Application – in a rush because I am doing this during working hours. If I am filling out forms, I am not billing hours.

9:16
I’m eligible. Great. But I haven’t signed up for anything yet.

Back to the screen where I did all the research.
I trust my research, so I should just be able to pick and apply, but I also don’t like to make assumptions. Sure enough, the plans look the same but the numbers are different. The deductibles are much higher. I’m starting to lose the benefit that I saw earlier.
I’m approaching the deadline with no indication of how many more hours this may take. Click now, change later if necessary. Besides, my situation may improve or change.
Premera Blue Cross Preferred Silver 2000
Gulp. The new price no longer includes the monthly rebate and is $200 more than last month’s payment.

Maybe the rebate is applied at the end, like discount codes when shopping online.

9:19
Click Buy.
Pay by eCheck or debit or credit – No personal checks allowed?
Grr, I hate giving someone direct access to my account. It is too easy for someone else to accidentally drain what little money I have.

Where’s the tax rebate? I must trust the system.

Gulp. That has to be paid today! I must trust the system.

So much for the monthly tax rebate. Looks like I’m spending more every month. A benefit next year may be too late considering I’m trying to save my house from foreclosure now.

Must post a warning to Facebook.
“Warning. I just signed up for health care, looking forward to the lower payments, but found no box for the tax assistance. Instead of a ~$300 monthly tax credit applied to my premium, I’m spending even more than the increased rate from my old plan. And yes, this will be a blog post – after I’ve calmed down.”
9:30 Throat clenched. And now have to go to work two extra days per month. I’m already working seven days a week, and I’ve luxuriously taken three days off since the Fourth of July. They were the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. In other words, I’ve lost ground, lost time, and lost money – and working harder to catch up, well, that can’t be healthy.

A friend has told me in the past that many of misfortunes have come about from trusting too deeply. Another put it that, from my description, I’ve been betrayed before, even if I don’t use the word. I still don’t use the word, but I do admit that I fell like I’ve witnessed a bait and switch. Maybe this will be resolved, but whether it is or isn’t, how many thousands of people are having a similar experience? At least for now, I’ll pay the extra, be glad that I’ve practiced frugality for decades, and wonder at the strange trip we are in.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Free Wish List 2013

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Tom Trimbath

Here it is the Saturday before Christmas, in a year that’s been so intense that I celebrated having an entire hour off a few evenings ago. Ah, the glory. The flurry of shopping is another world, vaguely remembered. I’m even late compiling my wish list. This close to the holiday there isn’t much time to buy and ship, nor is there much time for anyone to check my list and whether I’ve been naughty or nice (unless you have a source at the NSA). So, skip the traditional list of things shipped in boxes with bows. I put together a list of what I really want. Hardly any of it fits under the tree, but happily, little of it costs anything except those most precious commodities: time and good will. And they are things that many others may enjoy, too.

Do you want a list of things that can be wrapped? Sure, I’d like a new computer (this one has a cracked case, a dodgy logic board, and missing screw), briefcase (holes big enough for mice), teapot (an odd couple of pot and lid), microwave (or bread box), monitor (which doesn’t always turn on or off). While we’re at it, a new range, dishwasher, fence, windows, roof, woodstove, and kitchen sink; but 1) they don’t fit under the tree, and 2) if I lose my house I’d lose those gifts.

I’ve enjoyed plenty of the plenty that I’ve been provided with over the decades. The most memorable things were a commuter mug, a Leatherman, commissioned sculpture, lots of DVDs – (pause, while I reminisce) – thick socks, a hiking jacket, a waterproof kayaking fannypack; do we detect a theme here? It must be because I haven’t been hiking, skiing, or paddling for a while. Food and drink have been equally memorable; particularly the scotch and anything that was handmade.

But as I sat, trying to break free of my frugal mode, I realized that there were many things I’ve appreciated more.

Writers enjoy readers. Authors enjoy sales. Positive feedback can bring on a glow. Public positive feedback is awesome. Honest, enthusiastic reviews are very welcome on goodreads, amazon, and barnesandnoble – and of course, Oprah’s ear would be a good place for a good review. And my favorite review was worth more than the rest. A friend told me that I’d written just what they needed to read, the way they need it told, when they need it said. That can be worth years of work.

Artists like patrons, and sometimes survive because of them. One of my favorites was the woman who became quite quiet while looking at Scatchet Sunset,DSC_2779 and after a pause turned and told me that it left her with a feeling of serenity. She almost got that one for free. Another was a young woman who couldn’t afford to buy art, but who walked in, found an image she loved, gazed at it, and broke into tears. She walked away before I had a chance to react, but her reaction has stayed with me since.

Speakers like audiences. Teachers like students. Consultants like clients. Being paid for my time, experience, insight and effort is gratifying – and is what may keep my house out of foreclosure; but helping people connect with others and ideas to their mutual benefit is something I’ve done and look forward to doing for no pay (but the pay is kind of necessary right now.) The woman from France who scooted into my office to hug me when her self-published book arrived better than she expected, the look of realization that shines through as someone becomes aware of some nugget of knowledge or opportunity they didn’t know they had, the project that finally broke free from a slightly different nudge, all are gifts that I treasure.

Life does exist outside my business, but as I work to regain financial independence there’s been little time for Life. And in those moments, it has been a joy to watch friends organize bicycle rides for school kids, struggling families find a feast at the food bank partly due to the gleaners, and of course, the fun made real by my friends who’ve organized dances.

On a larger scale, there are a few things that caught my attention that make me smile as I pass them along.

  • Write A House is, believe it or not, “a twist on the ‘Writer’s Residency.’ In this case, the writer is simply given the house, forever.” Now, that’s residency! And something that can be done in more cities (and maybe on an island).
  • Karma Kitchen, which puts Pay It Forward to work, and it works. You don’t pay for your meal. You pay for the next person’s meal. Yes, the world can work this way.
  • Give Back Films has even made a series of videos of people pulling stunts of random kindness and senseless acts of beauty. An extra dollar delivers much more than a smile.

I am a traditionalist, and yes, I find myself reacting to the sight of the empty space beneath the tree; but, I’m older now, and have been getting rid of stuff by choice and out of necessity. This year, I’m looking forward to Christmas because I will share it with a dear friend, and I’ll have a great excuse to cook up a feast of ham and fixings, that will turn into leftovers, omelets, chef salads, sandwiches, and lentil soup. In the pantry are a sweet set of gluten-free baking mixes, and in cold storage is some excellent fruit, and there are still days to go before the cooking begins.

Maybe it is age. Maybe it is awareness. I see fewer packages and more invites to events. Maybe the recent financial turmoil has reawaken an appreciation for the basics that we can provide each other that can’t be bought: time and good will. Hug, dance, smile, talk, listen, and enjoy the season.

(But be sure, if I found a gift-wrapped bottle of scotch under the tree I wouldn’t return it.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Frugal Frustrations

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Tom Trimbath

I found a variation on one of my writer’s acronyms: IIHMTIWHMIS If I Had More Time I Would Have Made It Shorter. Do you realize I have published over a million words by now? And today a friend suggested I write even more. (He thinks my story is a book, a movie, a series. Okay.) I’ll have to write him about my progress. There’s a frugal version of the same acronym: IIHMMIWSL If I Had More Money I Would Spend Less. Both messages present themselves every day because every day I write and every day I research and publish stories about living a simple, frugal life – alternative lifestyles that I admire but can’t afford because I don’t have enough money.

It takes money to make money. It also takes money to save money. Buying quality pays for itself if the goods last long enough. Old diesel Mercedes are marvelous, and last a very long time. Do I need to replay the story of the three little pigs and variations on building techniques? Good fabric, sewn well makes clothes that last long enough to become old familiars. But, if you don’t have enough money for a well made car, house, or jacket you have to buy what you can; which is why junk used cars, old mobile homes, and ratty coats are bought. It is one reason Wal-Mart’s incredibly low prices will always have shoppers as long as there are people who can’t afford better.

I’ve been a fan of simple living since, well, as long as I can remember. I enjoy looking at fancy cars, mansions, and the latest ski clothes; but that’s mostly to find which features I find most useful. Then I seek the useful at a far lower price, but without sacrificing my definition of quality. Just right is best. Extra features cost more without providing a benefit, and can even make a higher end item worth less to me. My appreciation for simplicity is why I write in my computer’s free software instead of Word. Word does amazing things, and frequently is so eager to show off that I can spend as much time Undo-ing and I spend Do-ing.

The frugal crowd is a fun crowd. These people celebrate resourcefulness, creativity, and function over form. Cars are replaced by motorcycles, bicycles, boats, buses, and walking – and there are more stories to tell as they spend less time worrying about fuel, traffic, and parking. Houses are built from conventional materials in unconventional forms, or in conventional forms using unconventional materials, or in combinations never to be repeated but surely to be appreciated – and I am drawn in by their attempts to find what is just right for comfort without adding in too much, or giving up too much. My next computer will probably be a Chromebook because it gives up the complexity and replaces it with utility, though it does so by embracing the innovation that is the cloud of the Internet.

But to buy a hybrid or electric costs far more than the resale on Chuck the truck (which definitely wins on utility).

Me working hard in Chuck the Truck.

Me working hard in Chuck the Truck.

The materials for the tiny houses I am so drawn to cost more than my liquid net worth and would only be truly useful if I had the land (and the zoning rights) to site it.

a tiny house with more luxury than most hotels

a tiny house with more luxury than most hotels

Even a $200 Chromebook is out of my budget, so until I have a spare couple of hundred dollars, this years old MacBook will have to hang in there (which is worrisome considering the random glitches that have been arising.)

WICEC laptop warrior

Every day I get to enjoy reading articles and posts about frugal people, independent souls investing their lives and money based upon their values. As a general rule, the closer someone gets to their core values the more they can ignore the externally imposed values. Concentrating on the values that matter generally becomes a simpler, less expensive way to live.

Unfortunately, it is possible to have too little. When basic needs can’t be met, basic values become dreams and wishes.

My path through frugality was bolstered by Your Money Or Your Life, the New Road Map Foundation (aka financialintegrity.org), the Simple Living Forums, and has been the subject of this blog and the book it is based on, Dream. Invest. Live. Dream. Invest. Live. Within those decades there are only a few years when I’ve had less than enough for my frugal values: just after getting my bachelors in engineering, just after getting my masters in engineering, just after buying my first house, and just in the last two years. Throughout, I’ve been decluttering my mental and emotional want list. I’ve known that I want a small house (a smallness that continues to shrink) with a good view (preferably of sunsets over the sea with maybe a mountain range on the horizon) on a large piece of productive property (gotta be able to grow trees and more than just lawn) some place quiet (Ah, Whidbey Island – south of the Naval Air Station’s jet noise). In all of those years of more than enough, I concentrated on saving to sustain the lifestyle I had, with dreams of expanding free time, philanthropy, and maybe someday downsizing to my small house ideal. If I had done that then, I wouldn’t be in the situation I am in now. (Anyone over the age of 40 can apply that phrase to so many different aspects of a life.)

I am frugal and it is frustrating, but I have also set new goals which are really just refinements of old goals. At this point they are back to being dreams and wishes, because even my basic current plan still awaits the action of my mortgage company, a buyer for my house, or significant improvements in my finances. Hey, it could happen.
8199 Cultus Drive, Clinton WA
If I have to find a place for me, then I’ll rent until I can afford land, and then I’ll continue to rent until I can build the smallest house that zoning will allow, and then I’ll rent no more, mortgage no more, and see what progress I’ve made on the rest of my values.

Of course, at my current rate of recovery, that may all be so many years away that things may change considerably. What probably won’t change is my frugality, despite its frustrations. The value in frugality isn’t the denial of wealth. The value of frugality is the appreciation of values, and they are worth far more.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

I Miss The Mall

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Tom Trimbath

I miss the mall. Having said that I wonder if I’ll be shunned in my small town. Office view But let me finish. I haven’t been to the mall in years, and that was because they have an Apple store and I needed a new machine. I am a minimalist, not a materialist; and I am a fan and advocate for local shops, stores, and proprietors. I also enjoy the holidays and have my traditions. Well, I have fewer traditions, now. Some are too pricey for my fragile (though improving) financial circumstance. One tradition was braving the traffic and frenzy to immerse myself in a mega-mall for a day every shopping season. There’s more than one reason I miss that tradition.

Shopping
The first reason is the most obvious. I miss being able to buy gifts for my friends and family. I may be a minimalist, but I enjoy giving the right gift to the right person. That photographer would appreciate that lens or filter. That cook dearly wants a marble pastry board. Joining the crowds maneuvering armloads of packages is like skipping a diet to enjoy a holiday feast. There are decorations, carols, and exuberant kids. And then there’s the guilty pleasure of walking out to my car, putting the packages in the trunk, and pretending to leave – then deciding to go back in. Want to really confuse folks? Get in the car and don’t go anywhere. How else to survive a day of shopping than to take a nap in the only quiet place for miles?

Investing
While I was shopping for everyone else (and getting a few things for me) I would also shop for stocks. Watch the people, the clerks, and the shops.

As I walked, I’d notice which shops were busy. Were the shoppers browsing, or lining up at the cash register? Were the clerks relaxed and empowered, or overwhelmed and required to be bureaucratic? Were the shops comfortable, or a mess? Sales don’t equal profits, but no sales means bad news. Happy employees are less likely to steal, more likely to encourage people to buy, and are less likely to quit so there’s less money wasted on training replacements. An empty, messy shop with disgruntled employees has more than one problem.

As I sat on a bench, I’d watch the bags. Little ones hide in big ones, but at least I could see which big ones were the most common. Were they bigger than last year? Do they have SALE emblazoned across them?

The best find was when I watched the traffic that wasn’t in the stores. Before those bags made it to their cars, many of them were carried into coffee shops and restaurants. That’s one reason I bought Starbucks (SBUX) and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB) – and which I sold, but those are two other stories.

Humanity
Observe the human condition. If you lead a life far enough off the mainstream, it can be hard to imagine anyone living any other way.

I can imagine myself living in a smaller house than mine (864 square feet).

Shopping for a home?

Shopping for a home?

I wear clothes for comfort, utility, and practicality. Before a book talk on Thursday, a member of the audience and I compared styles. Hers included red. I described my style as comfortably bland. I bicycle when I can. If I am talking to someone I’ll only answer my cell phone if it is for someone in need of assistance (or because I forgot where and when I was supposed to meet someone.) I live in a fairly healthy environment amongst amazingly health conscious people.

But, that’s not for everyone, even though it seems like an obvious choice from the inside. (Really, who besides me wants to dress dull, sweat to get somewhere, and spend time away from amenities like stores that stay open past 7pm?)

The crowds at the mall are the norm. If they weren’t, the malls couldn’t afford to stay open. As much as I have no discretionary cash, and as much as the economy has some scary statistics behind it, there are millions of people collectively spending billions of dollars. Some are enjoying it. Some do it out of obligation. Most have a mix of joy and duty. The cost in time, money, and effort are the accepted norm. Faces will be buried in smart phones. Foods will be consumed for convenience and calories, not global impact or nutrition. The parking lot will be packed and a lot of the vehicles will be statements about personality instead of utility. This is the happy norm for the stereotypical average American. (And we all know stereotypical people really don’t exist. Right?) Assuming they will suddenly think my way is best is making a very self-centered and bad assumption, and something to keep in mind when I ponder where we, the world, and even this blog are going.

Until then, what little shopping I’ll do will happily be on the island from people I know for people I care about. A fair number of gifts will be things I’ve made or baked. I’ll undoubtedly lend a hand a few times. And, I’ll be glad that most of my friends will be doing the same. (The art that gets passed around is impressive, and the food around here is amazing.) I hope to put up a few lights tomorrow.

A playful light show thanks to icy weather

A playful light show thanks to icy weather

They’ll probably share space with prayer flags, totem symbols, and spirit guides. It makes for an interesting mix.

I miss the mall. When my finances improve sufficiently, I’ll be back – at least for one show a year.

 

PS Yes, I understand the irony of a minimalist selling books and photos, but I’m not opposed to others buying my art. If enough folks buy my art I can afford that trip back to the mall. Imagine that.

December's Arms - from Twelve Months at Deception Pass

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Spreadable Chocolate Klout

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Tom Trimbath

I’ve got a ton of Klout. It says so on the card that came in the box that was delivered yesterday. Yep. Evidently, a ton of klout is worth at least 13 oz of Hershey’s chocolate spread. DSCN4902 Heard of it? Maybe not. I hadn’t. That’s the point. Heard of Klout? The point of Klout is to spread the word, this time about spreadable (hazelnut-inspired?) chocolate. Advertising, and possibly the economy, is changing. Here we go again. I wonder where we’ll end up.

Because you’re reading this blog you’re partaking of social media. These free sites and services like WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, etc. can all be used for free, but we know that someone is paying for the people that make up the companies behind the logos. (Check out xkcd’s map to see the 2010 diversity.) Marketers and advertisers are happily gathering data that was inaccessible before the Internet. They’re paying for the services we use for free, because they hope to get us to pay for what they’re selling. Then, they take that money and pay to mine data (Wolfram Alpha will display your Facebook analysis. Type in “Facebook”.) and place ads – with the money we gave them. So, maybe these sites aren’t quite free.

I’m glad I was born at the right time to watch computers and the Internet grow and evolve. I saw the Internet was it was still the ArpaNet, and didn’t see any real use for it. Oops. But after www, html, and browsing were born I could see that it wouldn’t stop; but, it wasn’t obvious where it would go. I wish I followed through on some of my earliest intuitions. At least I bought AOL early, but that’s another story (which is in my book – Dream. Invest. Live.). Dream. Invest. Live.

Remember print ads? Advertisers would place ads everywhere, hoping to catch our attention. It worked well on television, when there were only four channels. Talk to a lot of people and hope a precious few buy.

Yahoo realized it could make lot of money by creating a directory, and then letting advertisers place ads in front of self-collected audiences. A chat room about cars is an obvious place for car ads. No need to waste money broadcasting to the vast majority when a select minority organized themselves.

Google realized that people were more likely to search than to scroll through a directory. Keep track of the search terms and the most popular ones can be auctioned off to the highest paying advertisers, especially, if ads were tied to the searches. Cross-referencing search histories enabled even narrower, and hopefully more successful ad placements. Fewer ads for the same sales, or more, was a good deal.

Klout takes advertising one step further by using data mining to identify key people, influencers. Now that so many of us are reading and writing highly personalized lives on the Internet, particularly on social media, they can identify people whose reach is larger than it may appear. Instead of putting ads in front of them, go one step further and give them the product for a discount, or free. They know I’m likely to talk about a wide range of topics. Evidently, in addition to personal finance, Scotland, social media, and science they think I’ll talk about food. Okay. So far I’ve received coupons (and a nice lunch bag) for Tillamook yogurt , a coupon for a MacDonald’s Big Mac, and now Hershey’s new chocolate spread that appears to be a competitor to Nutella. Good advertising, bad advertising, they don’t care as long as I might say something, anything.

Free food? Thank you. Except for the yogurt, which isn’t for sale within 15 miles of my house; or, the Big Mac, which is more like 40 miles up the island.

For the food curious, and possibly for any Hershey person reading this blog: Yes, it looks and spreads like Nutella; but maybe I was wrong about the Nutella competition. Hershey’s spread isn’t quite just chocolate, but it isn’t implying that it is hazelnut. The packaging looks Nutella-ish, but the ingredients are quite different. Nutella claims over 50 hazelnuts per jar. Hershey has cocoa as the fourth and fifth ingredients, sugar is number one, and there’s also hydrogenated oil which a friend didn’t consider appealing. There is a reference to peanuts, almonds, and hazelnuts, but only as a list of allergens because of the processing equipment used. As for the taste – this would be fun with peanut butter; especially, if I was on a ski trip or was fourteen years old.

That’s why they do this. To get someone to say something, because now you are aware of the product whether you intend to use it or not. Considering the health consciousness of South Whidbey I don’t expect any of my friends to buy any.

Klout can seem innocuous, something to scoff at, then ignore. People did that with Google. People did that with Yahoo. People did that with the Internet. It turned out that the new ideas couldn’t be ignored.

Klout is an example of a possible new, alternative economy: a reputation based economy. So much of our lives are lived online, and the data generated is so valuable, that supply and demand forces are already at work. My posts about my life have not led to noticeable book sales, but evidently they have some tangible value. Hershey just spent a fair amount of money to ship me one jar of sandwich spread. One consequence is that I baked a loaf of Bob’s Red Mill Cinnamon Bread (gluten-free of course) so I’d have something to spread the Hershey’s on. I’ve been nibbling as I type.
DSCN4908
If my Klout score was higher I’d probably get better stuff than a jar of chocolate. But oh, what could be better than chocolate? I don’t know if I’ll find out. My score is usually between 55-60. Getting to 70 is an order of magnitude harder, and I have enough other things to do. Maybe the perks are worth it. Maybe not.

I’m curious about what I might get, but I’m also curious about what Klout may be initiating. A reputation based economy trades influence instead of money for goods and services. Is this the ultimate exploitation or an appropriate appreciation? I know dozens of people who are influential, compassionate, and broke. If Klout expanded its influence to the same extent as Google, we could see an unexpected and favorable shift away from the nasty to the nice, from the over-paid to the overlooked.

The speed of change is speeding up, and we are in a need for change. I don’t know if a reputation economy will become pervasive. I don’t know if Klout is the first step. But I do know that I look forward to an economy that values reputation more than money.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dumb Luck Fixes Frozen Pipes

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Tom Trimbath

It dropped into the teens for a few nights.

from the first First Friday PhotoWalk at Greenbank Farm

from the first First Friday PhotoWalk at Greenbank Farm

Cold weather happens around Seattle, but down by sea level the water moderates the temperature – usually. Occasionally, a bit of Alaska drops in for a visit. Houses built for beach vacations may not be ready for ice in the pipes. I worried about my home, a mid-sixties waterview cottage that was probably heated with a wood stove for its first years.

A few nights ago I saw what I didn’t want to see, an ice cascade affixed to the side of my house under a faucet that I feared was broken before I bought the house. My anxiety level rose at the fear of a plumber’s bill. Within an hour, the plumber had me laughing. Sometimes we do the right things at odd times without knowing it. I hope that’s true for more than just pipes.

Every house has surprises. Seven years ago I had this house inspected when I bought it. The report was long and detailed, and I bought the house anyway. It has been the only house that’s really felt like home. I dutifully began fixing some of the problems specified in the report. Not surprisingly, I found a few things to work on that weren’t in the report, and didn’t get to everything all at once.

I bought in January, so there was no reason to use the outside faucets before spring. That’s when I found that the faucet on the back of the house was faulty. I turned the knob and water gushed out through the handle. Ah, so that’s why they had it capped. I turned off the water, which also turned off the heat to the house because it is radiant floor heating, and promptly drove to the hardware store. Where I also promptly found out that the faucet was so old that they didn’t have spare parts. Grumble. A full repair would actually be a full replacement, which would involve cutting into interior and exterior walls. The estimate was in thousands of dollars because of the possible complications. Instead, I bought a plastic cap that replicated the previous fix, and closed up the faucet again.

Last week the plastic cap broke. Ice covered the outside wall. It only looked like a cup of water, so luckily I’d found it early. Even while my anxiety and blood pressure levels were spiking, I called some friends to talk me through as I dutifully turned off the water, checked the crawlspace, checked the other faucets, installed a brass fitting I had in the utility room, and called a plumber. The plumbers were busy. No surprise. But they could be out the next morning. I cancelled some plans, and settled in for a vigil, possibly a quite cold one if the heat was off.

I decided to risk the heat because, without the heat, the other pipes might freeze. I left the water on, and checked the meter every hour or so to see if any frozen blockage had suddenly thawed and gushed out a leak.

Imagine this. The plumber showed up when he said he would. (Thank you Harbor Plumbing.) He was nice, friendly, and even let me follow him around as he diagnosed the problem. Evidently, whatever had I had done was good and quick enough because it looked like there was nothing for him to do without digging into a wall that didn’t seem to be damaged. I was relieved and perplexed. Where had all the water come from, and why had it stopped with such a simple fix? I told him the story about the water flowing out the handle, and the trip to the hardware store, and the fact that I hadn’t used the faucet in years because of what I’d seen. But neither of us was going to argue with what appeared to be no problem.

A few moments later, we both glanced at the faucet that didn’t have water coming out the handle. Why wasn’t it coming out the handle, and why hadn’t it all these years? He asked me to tell the story again. After I’d told it twice, he pointed out that, years ago, when I’d taken it out and put it back in, I’d probably resealed what needed to be sealed. Not only that, but from my description of the part, it is probably a frost-free faucet; which also means that the heater tape and protections on the other faucets may be overkill because they were probably frost-free, and that I had much less to worry about than most home owners. The water that turned to ice was just the remnants from in the line. He also made sure I knew that calling them had been the right thing to do. Small flaws in critical systems can cause massive damage if not fixed quickly.

A house always has things to fix. Since the drop in my portfolio, a lot of elaborate plans have been put aside. When the mortgage payments were also put aside, I had to resort to more frugal fixes. Here though, was a fix that I’d performed without knowing it. How many other things that I worry about are actually in much better shape than most because I’ve managed some fix at the earliest opportunity?

Problems are matched with solutions, and many of the solutions are put aside because they are too expensive, complex, hard to understand, or time-consuming. Thistles continue to attempt an overthrow of my lawn, but every spring I’ve simply pulled out the earliest ones – and my lawn has fewer invaders every year. Fitness is something to be done 20 minutes every day or so, but I manage to get in a run, or some dancing, or some karate, too infrequently, but often enough to be losing weight (though a gluten-free diet may take credit too.) Personal finance seems to be one of those things that require inordinate amounts of time to produce, but regular progress on spending less and making more is more powerful than an ever-procrastinated plan.

Maybe the grand plans we need to counter climate change, dysfunctional economies, and injustice are not as important as the individual efforts of people who reduce, reuse, and recycle; and the people who work at developing alternative currencies and local sharing; and the people who foster justice around the world by speaking simple truths about the way things are versus the way things ought to be.

The simple things we do can seem to have too little of an effect, which is why the plumber and I stood and laughed in my backyard when we realized how I’d managed to fix something without knowing it even though I was frustrated when I did it. What we do may seem small, yet it may fix far more than we can know.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Far We Have Come

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Tom Trimbath

Spy cameras were probably never this good. Saturday I’ll help teach a class in iPhone Photography, but I’ll take creative license and talk about how to take pictures with tiny cameras. I’ll take license partly because tiny cameras are everywhere, not just in iPhones; and partly because I don’t have an iPhone. But I do have a camera in my laptop Photo on 2013-12-04 at 20.36 #2, one in my ruggedized flip phonePhoto on 2013-12-04 at 20.37, and two in my iPadPhoto on 2013-09-24 at 18.31. Dig them out, put them together, and they’d probably all fit in a 35mm film canister. It is easy to forget how far we’ve come, partly because in so many ways we haven’t changed.

Where would Facebook be if tiny cameras weren’t everywhere? Folks would carry and upload photos from point and shoots, but they’d have to remember to carry yet one more device. A camera in a phone sounded preposterous, and then someone took a picture of their lunch, someone else caught a gaffe, someone else focused on a kitten. The Big Brother we worried about in George Orwell’s 1984 has become an infinity of little brothers eager for a snapshot that will garner the most Likes.

A walk without a camera, a phone, a GPS receiver and a moving map display is considered roughing it. We’ve accepted these things into our lives because they have become so convenient that they’re straddling the line between necessity and luxury. Of course, I know some folks who would be more comfortable carrying a sketch pad, a notebook, and a compass and a sextant. Yes. They do exist. (The sextant part is probably more prevalent because there are a lot of sailors around here.) Take a look at my bicycle ride across America Just Keep Pedaling and my walk across Scotland Walking Thinking Drinking Across Scotland. I relied on technology, but even now my approach looks archaic. No itinerary? No idea if the next town had a place to stay? No idea if the road is even complete?

I work almost every day. Since July 4th I’ve taken off about one day per month. A close friend who is keeping close track thinks I’ve only taken two days off: Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Could be. I’ve been too busy to notice. As part of my work day I pull together news feeds for New Road Map Foundation (values-based personal finance) and the History of Computing in Learning and Education Virtual Museum (what happened when computers entered the classroom). That means I read a lot of news. Thank you Facebook, Twitter, and Google News. Every day I delve into the faults and solutions of economy and education. Being human, we talk about the faults far more than we talk about the solutions. Such constant exposure can be tiring; so, I try to focus on the enlightening.

Our economic system seems to have many fundamental flaws. President Obama spoke about Economic Mobility, or the lack thereof. It was refreshing to hear him talk about some of the systemic issues that have gone beyond ideology. I rarely listen to politicians, but he held my attention for a 48 minute speech. Wealth and income inequity have increased to the point that they are self-accelerating and possibly creating a new class culture, which was one of the reasons the colonies revolted against England. How far have we come? The good news is that the President is acknowledging the situation. The sad news is that we may be back where we started over 200 years ago.

Education is in disarray. As Ken Robinson talked about, education is fundamentally out of synch with modern needs. What had been a systematized approach that worked well in the Industrial Revolution, does not mesh with a knowledge based economy which doesn’t operate on fixed schedules and which relies on businesses that must live by very short technology cycles. Teaching and learning are no longer centered on the instructor, and no longer end upon graduation. Learn a skill today and tomorrow it is a few percent closer to obsolescence. Fortunately, learning doesn’t have to be coupled to a teaching schedule thanks to computers and the Internet – and everyone who uploaded encyclopedias-worth of content.

Put the economy and education together and two old models look ridiculously out of date. Put two new models together, and there are more than two to pick from, and maybe something will fit. We don’t know. But we can hope whatever pair we pick is preferable to what it replaces.

My worries about the world can get me down. Yes, we’ve always had problems to face; but, until recently those problems were limited by a household or a community. Our community now includes every latitude and longitude, and is precariously constrained to one vulnerable planet.

Shudder. Quick. Get onto the next paragraph, because why would I write about personal finance if there are no solutions?

I see the way we adapt and accept change, as long as it makes sense. People are hunting for solutions to economy and education: alternative currencies, tiny houses, sharing economies – and – homeschooling, flipped classrooms, MOOCs. We humans are marvelous at finding new ways to do things. Somehow we’ve always found solutions, and sometimes didn’t even realize the problems they would solve (and others they would cause). Computers exist because someone developed the math of logic, and someone else developed a semi-conductor. The Industrial Revolution existed because someone figured out the power of steam, and someone else found a better way to make steel. Take it back far enough and the species probably survived because someone learned how to hunt and someone else learned how to cook.

I’d love it if the first real hunter was a woman and the first real cook was a man. But, no one was taking pictures back then, unless you think the cave drawings weren’t subject to artistic license.

The world may be falling apart. Our collective consciousness may be transcending our problems. I don’t know. But I do know that I’ll teach a class about tiny cameras that were initially ridiculed, and I’ll wonder what surprise will come along that will carry us somewhere unexpected and better. How far can we go?

Taken with my phone's camera - or is it my camera that has a phone?

Taken with my phone’s camera – or is it my camera that has a phone?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cheer Good Cheer

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Tom Trimbath

Good Cheer! Not just a holiday greeting on the south half of Whidbey Island. Good Cheer is a food bank, thrift shop, garden, and – the folks I’m more familiar with – a group of gleaners: the Good Cheer Gleeful Gleaners, a group of volunteers who harvest fruit from willing residents’ trees.

Me strategically positioned waiting to load the truck.

Me strategically positioned waiting to load the truck.

They had a potluck this afternoon (which is why I’m typing so late on a Saturday night). There were tales of abundance and want that become entwined as free food is delivered to people who need it. It is such a simple idea, and yet, can be so hard to implement when it is more than apples, pears, and plums.

Fruit trees are so popular that the fact that I have four of them in my backyard is considered a selling point. They produce lots of flowers, shade, and sometimes people even eat the fruit. For Sale - alas Most times they don’t. The deer and the yellow jackets are happy to devour the rest, but most fruit ripens and falls without being used. If anything, homeowners can find an abundant harvest means a messy lawn. Enough folks pick their crop to spawn a flurry of dessert photos and recipes on facebook every autumn. But many more are mowing apples when they mow the grass.

I’d like to give credit to the person who came up with the idea, but it is an egalitarian group. No one claims the spotlight. (The local paper probably did all the right research.) The idea is simple. Every year, they compile an expanding list of trees. Scouts check for ripeness. A coordinator finds an agreeable owner and then cajoles a small crowd to gather to gather. The fruit is separated into ones that look ready for a store, ones that are more rustic, and ones that are fed to less picky sheep and goats. There’s more than enough supply. There’s more than enough demand. The limiting resources are gleaners and storage.

The part about there being more than enough demand sunk in yesterday. Good Cheer’s Facebook page included a post that included this quote.
“We have served over 1,000 in the month of November and we still have one more day in this month. In the past 2 months, over 110 families who have not used the Food Bank this year or ever before came through our doors to ask for help with food.”
They were talking about the Food Bank, which supplies much more than gleaned fruit. It is an impressive operation. Those numbers impressed me. More than 1,000 families. 110 families that hadn’t used the Food Bank before. That doesn’t sound like a recovering economy.

A few minutes later, a factoid percolated back from memory. After a bit of research I confirmed what I remembered, and I had to respond.
“The number of people you feed just sank in. According to the census, South Whidbey only has about 17,300 people (Clinton + Langley + Freeland + Greenbank). If the average household is close to two people, then you’re feeding over 10% of the south half of the island. Is that true? Amazing, sad, and a mix of emotions.”

Later, the implications expanded. (Unfortunately, I was in the shower, which made it difficult to scribble notes. It is late enough tonight that I had to give up my research foray. Enforced conciseness.)

There’s enough demand for the food. There’s enough supply (especially considering how much food we waste.) There’s always a constraint. For the gleaners it is getting enough people and finding enough storage. (I don’t know if the Food Bank’s overall supply has a surplus, and don’t know their constraints.)

There are too many people without enough. Enough food, clothes, housing. We know there is a demand.

One of Good Cheer’s other success stories are their Thrift Stores. In the dichotomy that is South Whidbey’s economy, there are a lot of people proudly wearing donated clothes. I go there for household stuff that works fine even if it has a scratch or is an off color. Demand and supply meet, but not always in my size.

There are over 14,200,000 vacant homes in America. There are less than 700,000 homeless people. I am glad to see that the number of homeless isn’t higher. What keeps us from finding some way to open a few percent of those vacant homes, or let people build smaller, more affordable houses? Cabin by Angela So many homes on South Whidbey are vacation homes that neighbors meeting new owners are very likely to ask, “So, are you a snowbird, a weekender, or will you actually live here?” Some neighborhoods, especially in winter, seem to drop to 25% occupancy. Yet, people are living in the woods because they can’t afford housing, and because there is no homeless shelter.

South Whidbey prides itself on being an open and accepting community. Some people living here travel the world giving classes in how to build community. Yet here we are, a microcosm of the American macrocosm. Over 10% of the population needs the Food Bank. How many more need food stamps? How many are homeless? How many are unemployed, or barely getting by? We have the resources. There’s enough wealth of money and spirit. Yet, lack persists.

If a place like South Whidbey, with its wealth of enlightened millionaires and a passionate volunteer population, can’t feed and house everyone then how can anyone expect such a large community as a county, state, or country to succeed?

Maybe what it takes is seeing something like Good Cheer as a very good and necessary first step, something to celebrate; but more importantly, something to replicate and emulate. Here, maybe it can be a model for more than food. In those other places that don’t have food banks, thrift stores, and gleaners, maybe Good Cheer can be cheered as a good example.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thanksgiving 2013

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Tom Trimbath

A short and random list of thanks:

Most prominent considering Monday’s meeting: Thanks to whoever pushed for and passed the homeowner protection regulations and legislation

And then, thanks to:

  • The flora and fauna that sustain me
  • Friends and Family that support me
  • Good health
  • People who know how to have fun
  • Everyone who made it possible for us to share without traveling
  • Everyone who made it possible for people to travel and visit in person
  • The power that’s on
  • The water that’s clean
  • The air that is clear (after I finally got the fire to catch – hmm)
  • The folks that taught me the fun of frugality
  • Drew, who I hope is taking a day off
  • That I remember my katas (and thanks to Sensei for teaching them and everyone else for helping me practice them)

and much more, but why bore you with a list that could go on ad infinitum?

I’ve been asked “How do you keep your spirits up while going through what you’re going through.” (massively paraphrased, of course) I assume everyone has their ups and downs, their own battles regardless of appearances and I assume we’re all doing the same thing, but if not – even when there’s bad, there’s also good. Maybe it’s standing off to the side, but it is there, somewhere.

I’m not talking about the “closed door, open window” mantra. When I pull a bill from the mailbox I look around at the world. If something unseemly is happening financially, I remind myself that the scenery may be even more appealing. If I watch a stock go down, I remember the compliments I’ve received for my writing. If something uncomfortable is happening in one area, I don’t ignore it; but, I do remind myself that nothing in my life is everything in my life. I don’t always succeed. Sometimes it takes hours to remember to pick a different perspective, then I feel foolish for not having done so earlier.

I haven’t been able to will my problems away, but I have been able to tip the balance back by tipping my point of view.

An exercise we played at the Thanksgiving table was, “What would be different, while sitting at the table, if you were worth ten million dollars?” I’m happy with the friends who were there. The food would be almost exactly the same. There’d be no need for a fancier house, or a nicer neighborhood. At that moment, I was as rich as I needed to be, and millions wouldn’t change that.

And now, hours later, there are dishes to wash and food to put away and an evening without work. And, of course, one of the best things about Thanksgiving: a toasted turkey and cheese sandwich with a glass of the remaining wine, and sending out good wishes to you all.

That’s more than enough to give thanks for. Thanks. And, thanks for reading.

Focus on the brightness, not the darkness.

Focus on the brightness, not the darkness.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mesmerizing Mortgage Mediation Meeting

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Tom Trimbath

Well, that certainly didn’t go according to plan. Housing limbo continues. Today was the long awaited and comically delayed mediation meeting with the mortgage company. Finally, I’ve got enough work to make enough money to pay my mortgage, but would they agree? The arithmetic suggested they should say yes; but, the process has been irrational enough that any answer was possible. So, what happened? Something none of us in the room expected. Puzzle this one out. My account is closed and I’ll get more time to prove I can make my payments. If those two sound contradictory, congratulate yourself on your cognitive ability.

Thanks to the wonders of blogging, I don’t have to belabor everyone with the entire history of my personal mortgage crisis. Between tags, keywords, and categories (check: mortgage) you should be able to step back through the story. For those not comfortable doing such things, here’s the quickest version. I stopped paying my mortgage about a year ago because my investments were almost totally depleted. Since then the discussion with the mortgage company has been – illustrative of business tactics I’ve never witnessed before. Fortunately, Washington State makes counselors available, and they’ve maneuvered me into the mediation process that forestalls the foreclosure process, hopefully long enough for me to find or make enough money to pay a modified mortgage. Today was supposed to be that meeting.

Skipping the suspense, there was yet another classic miscommunication. I was there. My counselor was there. The mediator was there. The mortgage company’s lawyer was there. The mortgage company wasn’t. A half hour of phone calls later we learned that the mortgage company had “closed out the account” less than a week ago, and therefore there was no one assigned to my case. Evidently they didn’t tell anyone, not even their own lawyer.

For those following the folly, you may notice a trend. This is the meeting that was held because the previous meeting was convened without informing me, which invalidated that meeting. That meeting was held because the previous meeting had two different meeting times. My counselor and I were told to show up in the morning. Everyone else was told to show up in the afternoon. Hard to have a discussion that way.

So there I sat, somewhat aware of the standard foreclosure process thanks to my counselor and a bit of research, and confused because I’d never heard of an account being closed. Was that one step closer to foreclosure? Evidently not. Is it encouraging? No. Is it reversible? Evidently, though I still don’t know how it gets reversed and by who.

What I was pleased about was the professional manner of everyone in the room. They agreed that the mortgage company would like to have three months of profit and loss statements, and several months of bank statements substantiating my income. The only way to do that is to give me more time. We already have the October data. We’re almost through November. Add in December, wait for checks to post, and submit a new package by early January and there may be no need for mediation – assuming the mortgage company re-opens the account, somehow. But hey, since we were all in the room, and we were all looking ahead, we decided to schedule yet another meeting (which costs me $200, and that’s okay.) Next best date is early March, just in case.

One consequence of having a scheduled mediation date is that the mortgage company can’t proceed with foreclosure while mediation is in progress. Effectively, my situation doesn’t change. I continue working hard, as I’d planned to anyway. My incentives for working on the house are somewhat contrary, so I’ll work on what I want or need to. Eventually, the mortgage company will present me with a bill or an option or a deal or who knows what other surprises they may present. Even though I think I have enough money in my account to make a payment, I don’t know what number to write on the check. A couple of months ago they sent me a letter stating that the offers they’d made were to be ignored because the payment calculations were incorrect and that they’d send me updated payment requirements – which I haven’t received.

The process works within a well-defined legal system, but considering what we learned in the meeting about the account being closed, I keep in mind that some bureaucratic machinery may yet be churning its away to posting a foreclosure notice on my door. Even if it is invalid, I’ll probably react emotionally, the real estate market may react, and interrupting the process will take time.

On the larger scale, the housing and mortgage crisis look unstable. On an individual basis, it isn’t much clearer. I feel sorry for anyone going through this who isn’t aware that counselors may be available, and that isn’t comfortable with finances, and that isn’t experienced in business negotiations. My anxiety level rises whenever I deal with my mortgage shortfall, and I have admirable support. What’s it like for someone without experience, education, or help?

Believe it or not, I’ve simplified the morning’s events. To adequately describe that one hour meeting would probably take all day. That’s one reason for this blog post. Calling all of my supportive friends and trying to answer every question would be a full time job. Step one is reminding people that this is a process that surprises and confuses the professionals that deal with it every day. Hopefully, this synopsis lays a good foundation, and provides some reassurance to others in similar situations.

My situation is one of the simplest: single guy, one house, one mortgage, and a beginning credit rating of about 800, now severely reduced. And yet, as the meeting closed, the mediator pointed out that the name Trimbath is a cause for entertainment in their office. Whether that is through meeting mishaps or some other story, I’m happy to give folks a reason to smile amidst the chaos – as long as I get to keep my house out of foreclosure.

Such a small house, yet such a large issue.

Such a small house, yet such a large issue.

Posted in mortgage, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments