On the soapbox again… This time it’s about people who drive too fast.

Okay, I live in an area that’s near another area that is known for it’s maniacal drivers. So much so, that I try to stay out of the city as much a possible and only go there when I have to. But the trend is starting to reach the suburbs too.

First, yes I do have an SUV. And before you start to beat up on me for it. I also have to haul kids and product around on a normal basis. Plus, most of the things I do are within 10 miles from my home, so I really am not wasting that much gas. Basically, I could drive the HOV lane every time I leave my home. AND when I bought my vehicle, there were not any good hybrid cars available and my SUV actually gets pretty good gas milage for what it is and it could fit three car/booster seats. lol.
So, back to the story…

The crazy driving is making it’s way to the suburbs. Plus, in view of all of the news you hear about people doing strange and awful things on the road, I’m scared to do anything about it. I’m talking about those people that drive faster than the speed limit and drive so close to your bumper that if you had to stop or slow down for any reason, they’d ram right up your back end. Defensive driving tells you to slow down a bit to make them slow down, but I fear that if I do that, they’d get mad and do something crazy. My husband says put on the breaks, but I fear that too sometimes. Especially when I have my kids with me. So, basically, I either have to speed up and break the law or put my children’s (and my) saftey at risk. What kind of choice is that? I also live in an area where many of the lanes are turn offs. A lot of the roads meet up in sections then split off. So most of the time the lane I’m in, I have to be in it to get where I going. Plus I rearely travel in the far left lane unless I have to.

What’s a person to do? In this age where you hear about road rage so much, and people shooting others over nothing, how do you protect yourself? And don’t say ride the bus. I also live in an area that has no buses.

“Oh, I’m sorry I was speeding, Officer. That man was driving so close to me that I was trying to get away before he hurt me or my kids.”

Another pet peeve: big rigs that drive way too fast on the roads with cars. But that’s yet another soapbox….

Woo hoo! Another credit card down the drain. This really is starting to get easier. Once you get the hang of the rapid reduction strategy and start applying it, it really makes a difference!

What you do is list all of your credit cards and minimum payments in order from smallest to largest. Carve out an extra hundred dollars from your budget somewhere. Apply that hundred to your smallest credit card – above the minimum amount. And pay until it’s gone. Then you take ALL of that money and pay it towards the next one. You’ll find that your cards start falling like flies. Of course we took an additional step on the front to jump start our payoff by applying some of our tax return to totally pay off our smallest card. Then put the initial one hundred and minimum of that card towards the next card. We were able to pay that one off and start on the next one. It’s really cool.

You never think about how much debt you’re really in until you do something like this. I never thought we were poverty stricken  or anything, but any time you cannot pay off everything you owe it’s not good. Our society has become so used to the subtlety of debt that we don’t even think of it much any more. In the 1950’s, credit cards and “on account” barely existed and where you did have it, you were required to pay it off on a periodic basis. Yeah sure we can get that big screen TV right now, but think of how much you are actually paying for it in the long run. Our goal is to totally pay off everything, including our cars and house. What’s yours?

That reminds me, buy something please. lol. Or sign up for a class. (wink, wink). Have a glorious day!