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Randomness

November 14th, 2012 at 09:43 pm

DW and I just signed the rental agreement for our new apartment. We are moving to the Palm Jumeirah, the man-made islands here in Dubai that look like a palm tree from the air. We got a sea-view where you can see the Burj al Arab, the Burj Khalifa, and the indoor ski slope. DD and her husband are coming to visit in December, after we're all moved in, so they'll get to see the view from our window.

As I've been reading the posts of others, I keep seeing people who are trying to save to "retire before we're XX years old." I don't think I'll ever fully retire. Part of my job requires travel. Right now, I'm in negotiations for a job in Australia. If the negotiations come through, I'll take DW with me. For the cost of a plane ticket, she'll get two weeks in Australia at the company's expense. Often, the hotels I stay at are resort hotels or similar. Why should I retire and pay for the vacations out of my own pocket. I may have to work for 8 or 9 hours each day, but I often get weekends off, so there's still time for tours and short excursions.

Does anyone know where Credit Karma and Credit Sesame get their real estate value estimates? One of them has me listed at about 75% of my US house value. The other has be listed at about 20%. Neither of them is right, but how can one of them be off by so much?

Apparently, I have a credit card I don't even know about. It says I've had it for like 5 years, and it has no balance (and never has had a balance). I'm going to call the bank and ask them to send a new card to my US address. DD can bring it with her when she comes. I won't use it, but I hate to have the credit without the card. I don't want to close the account, but it won't affect my credit score if I do, I don't think. 0% of X is the same as 0% of Y credit available.

Speaking of credit cards and Credit S and K, it looks like my score has finally recovered from my depression spending. The Amex that I let go into collections is still showing on one of the reports, but it's gone from the other two. Of course, I paid it off when I started recovering, but it was still hanging around as a reminder of my "don't get a hoot" days from a few years back.

Looking back, letting the bill go ended up being a good thing. Because I did that, I got fed up with banks and bills altogether, and paid off everything. All's well that ends well, I guess.

DW and I are trying to decide if we should buy a house now or wait a bit longer. Interest rates are probably at all-time lows, but the closing can take quite a while, so we'd have to make time to come back to the US for all the paperwork. I'm not sure how my oversea's pay would count toward salary. I guess I'll need to talk to a banker when I make my trip back to the US.

Speaking of the trip back, I was scheduled to leave today (my time), but had to postpone due to job happenings. Basically, a customer had an emergency, which forced me to cancel my reservations. In the end, it turned out that I could have left after all, but now it is too late. Oh, well... things happen.

Next week is DW's birthday. I asked her what she wanted. She said, "new clothes." I told her she'd have to buy them herself. Trust me. She and I don't see eye-to-eye on fashion. Maybe I'll get her a burka. One of the problems with budgeting is that you don't have extra money "hidden" to buy surprise gifts. I really have no clue what to get her. She specifically said not to get her any Pandora charms, which is one of the reasons I got her the bracelet. It gave me a fullproof gift to get her every occasion. I guess I cashed that check too many times already.

7 Responses to “Randomness”

  1. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1352930078

    Your new rental residence: !!!!!
    I understand there is amazing shopping in Dubai, so your DW should enjoy looking for her Bday present.

  2. Wino Says:
    1352930943

    The new place is so cool, JOTA. I thought we were over-paying for rent, but when I told a friend where we're moving, he said, "That's great. Our place is just across the water from yours." Well, that ended up starting a housing discussion, during which our rents were mentioned. He's paying about $1000 more per month than I am! Rents are NOT cheap here in Dubai, but that's still an outrageous amount to pay for rent, in my opinion. It is not unusual to pay over $4000 per month for rent. Of course, we don't really pay rent here. The companies pick up the tab for our rent, else no one would move here. The fact that the companies pay is also one of the reasons rent is so high. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between cause and effect, I guess.

  3. pretty cheap jewelry Says:
    1353009917

    try a consignment store for a gift certificate if there is one in the area. She will get what she wants and the dollars will stretch alot further.

  4. Looking Forward Says:
    1353039116

    I think you are right to want to keep working and getting all that "free" travel. Big Grin What is it you do for a living?

  5. Wino Says:
    1353072122

    LF, I work for an oil field services company. My areas include panels, control systems, training, and a few other items. We do electrical work mostly, and sometimes computer-based systems. I just got a call that may mean I'll be going to Pakistan. I don't think I'll take DW with me on that one, if I go. Fortunately, I have a Pakistani who works for me who will probably go in my stead.

    pcj, I don't know of any consignment shops over here. That doesn't mean there are not any, but just that I don't know of any. Dubai is a shopper's Mecca. A couple of the malls around here have every designer store you could imagine in them. I'm pretty sure I won't be buying a $15,000.00 purse for the wife, even with all of the shops touting them.

  6. baselle Says:
    1353096578

    As far as real estate value is concerned, I'd search for the local assessor's office and look at that number.

    And as far as retirement is concerned, I see even less time planning than I do $ planning. If your work interests you and you are good at it, why not? I just would have those $ ready in case your company doesn't see it that way.

    re: the burka. Please say your DW has a sense of humor. Smile

  7. Wino Says:
    1353130010

    baselle, our values are online. Neither of the estimates is close, though Credit Sesame uses "Zestimates" which are Zillow.com estimates and it is off by a ton. The Credit Karma site is much closer to the assessed value, which I fight to keep at a minimum. Why would I want my tax base to go up unnecessarily? I'm sure that one year before I sell, I can get them to raise it to any level they want.

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