We seem to have entered into one very bad economy. I think stupidity got us into this mess - why can’t it get us out?

Seems like the boys in Washington and Wall Street are trying their best. They say they’re working for us, the little people in the heartland who toil away for years, following the rules. And then we read about billions in bonuses to bankers who screwed up royally, and the congress people don’t exactly look like they’re going hungry either.

We’ve had our own money problems here in Kane County. My wife lost her banking job and my days at the plant were over in 2006 already. We’re working part time jobs here and there, piecing it together because we really don’t have much of a choice. We’re too young to retire, but too old for some of the salaries we see in the advertising. But we’re making do and there’s nothing stupid about that.

I found a new trick, car title loans.  It’s the kind of loan you can get when no one else has money for you.  With us, it was when the old stove gave out. We can pay it in installments, but just try getting a loan with part time work only.  The great thing is South Elgin Title Loans didn’t care about our employment status. They just needed to see we hold title on our cars.  We got that money in two days, just in time to go to Glenview and get a deal at Abt appliances. And I’ll do it again if I have to.

By the way South Elgin is near Batavia, Aurora, Geneva, Huntley, and St Charles.

I had to give it straight to my wife: I didn’t fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian.

We moved out to North Aurora from the city to get a little more fresh air, and to be closer to our jobs out here. The idea was more quality time together, less commuting, having a garden, the whole thing. And that worked pretty well for two years.

Then my company moved downtown, while her job ended. With two kids and a new big fat mortgage, this was a shaky proposition. She said in the spring that we could turn the whole back yard into a small vegetable farm, which the kids didn’t like too much because the idea of corn growing around the pool just didn’t seem right. Her argument was we’d be eating off the land and saving money. I asked where we’d keep the cattle since I like my beef.

Just around the time she found a new job (no time to garden, thank god) we were up against a wall on the mortgage and other expenses. It really was a matter of timing – we knew we’d have money in a month, but by letting some payments go then it would kill our credit rating and negate our ability to refi the mortgage.

So I went online and looked for car title loan companies. What I found was North Aurora Title Loans, a car title loans firm that works online only, no scary stores on Western Avenue in Chicago. And they were fast — the money came in a day, in time to keep the bills paid.

We’re both working and putting food – MEAT – on the table again. Whew.

By the way North Aurora is near Mooseheart, Batavia, Montgomery, South Park, and Oswego.

I’m getting a little sick of all this fitness stuff. If you ask me, I don’t want buns of steel. I want buns of cinnamon. I’m just being honest.

Last year my husband bought me a membership at the Curves here in Geneva. And that was after he went to Chicago Home Fitness to buy “us” a treadmill. That’s the way he spends money — always on a hope and a dream. Me, I’m happy to be part of the mainstream majority in America that is overweight and comfortable with it.

But another way we’re part of the mainstream is in our household debt. It’s gotten bigger than what we’re comfortable with. So when we got hit with a home repair bill (the boiler went out), we didn’t have the reserve or cash to cover it. And I’m not the kind of girl who can take cold showers.

So on the Internet I found Geneva Title Loans. It’s a car title loan company that uses your car for collateral. That would be our minivan. I was able to get the $1200 we needed to get a new space pack heater, which is more efficient (uses less energy) in the long run. It was a good investment, and we were able to do it pretty fast because that car title loans company gets you your money in a day. After that, I sold the treadmill on Craigslist and that helped too.

By the way Geneva is near Naperville, Wheaton, West Chicago, Winfield, and Batavia.

There are lot of things in life I don’t know. Like, what hair color do the put on the driver’s licenses of bald men?

But I recently learned an important lesson in personal finance. I had allowed my credit card charges to build up. Here in DuPage County, we’re a little too caught up in keeping up appearances, so this economic slow down doesn’t stop many of us from spending money. My husband and I decided we still deserved vacations last year, and some good clothes for work, and dinners out in restaurants in Chicago. And then wham!, all of a sudden we ran into some big financial hits that took away our ability to pay some credit card bills on time. It was then that I noticed our interest charges had climbed to 28%!

So I went on the Internet and learned about car title loans. Both our cars are older (five years and six years), but the good thing is they’re paid for. We figured out we could borrow against our car title and do better with that than carry those big credit card balances. My friends couldn’t believe it. So I sent them to our car title loan lender, DuPage County Title Loans. Two of my friends did the same thing we did. It’s easy, takes about ten minutes to do, and you get your money fast — in time to pay off the ugliest of bills.

Bald men and their driver’s licenses are something I still don’t know.  But car title loans I understand and recommend.

By the way Dupage County is near Batavia, Warrenville, Wheaton, Glendale Heights, and Bloomingdale.

I just got back from Afghanistan. The whole thing pretty much sucked, but my buddies and I stay in touch. It turns out my wife is blonde, and maybe not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so they razz me with their favorite jokes:

Q: What would you do if a blonde threw a hand grenade right at you?
A: You’d pull the pin and throw it back.

Q: What do you do when a blonde throws a pin at you?
A: Run like hell….she’s got a hand grenade in her mouth.

Q: How do you make a blonde laugh on Monday mornings?
A: Tell them a joke on Friday night.

They’re just jealous. My wife did have a hard time managing without me when I was gone for 18 months.  The car broke down while driving on the East-West Tollway, and the repairs were more than $1400.  We were living close to the edge as it was financially, since my Army pay isn’t anything close to what I made before the war, but I was able to go online and find a solution.  I knew the car still had good book value, so I investigated car title loans.  I found Dekalb Title Loans, a car title loan store that I was able to manage from the base.  I set it up from there, and in one day she had the cash to take it to the shop in Sycamore.  I even talked the repairs through with them online.

And I never allow her near grenades.

By the way Dekalb is near Malta, Sycamore, Batavia, Creston, and Genoa.