Job Offer

I had a job interview yesterday. I think they are going to formally offer me the job, but I'm not sure if I want to leave my current situation.

I don't know how much money the new job will offer me, but I know that I would have substantially more to do there and have room to grow, with the potential to move up within the company. I really don't have that here. But here, I basically get paid to do whatever I want, as long as I man the front desk and answer the phones and greet the guests.

This is the conundrum.

My health insurance here is not expensive, but my coverage is not that great. My 401K match is better than what the new job is offering me. The health insurance there is more than twice what I pay now, but the coverage seems a lot more comprehensive. Less deductibles and an actual prescription cost coverage AND an FSA. None of which I have right now. Yes, I could, but I chose the lowest cost plan for a reason. To save myself the money. But I also have to pay for parking here. The parking is free at the new job. But I don't think the savings from the parking cost would make up the difference of the more expensive health insurance. And I'm not sure if Dental and Vision are included with the health coverage or not. I'm going to assume not.

This is stressing me out.

Although, I'm also stressed out by the fact that my cumulative balance in all of my accounts is less than $1000. It hasn't been this low in months. I did just spend $550 to get my brakes pretty much rebuilt and another $135 on my kitty cat to go to the vet.

Oh. The never-ending money woes that encompass my life. /sigh.

My Student Loans, A Neverending Story.

This is another one of those things that I really just need to "man-up" and deal with. My student loans.

I am one of the far-too-many Americans who are currently underemployed. I make a pithy amount of money. Terribly small considering the degree and amount of education I have. I hold two Bachelor's of Arts degrees in English and Anthropology and started my Master's of Arts degree in English a few years ago. Yes, I did drop out of the MA program, but it was simply to spare myself the oncoming mental breakdown that I saw myself crashing into. It was for the greater good of everyone in my life, really. And at that point, I had eradicated so many people that I probably should have just stuck it out and been friendless and alone with an MA.

As good as that sounds now, considering I am friendless and alone WITHOUT an MA, I think the impending mental breakdown would have been too much for me. But, the reality is this, I am edumacated. I have gottens my schooling. And for what, really?

I work as a receptionist at a national brokerage. This in no way fits my highly liberal arts education of English and Anthropology. I make way less money than the average college/university graduate does. The qualifications for my job only require that you be a high school graduate with reception experience. I could have gotten this job at 19. And yet, here I sit, at 27 with 2 college degrees. This seems wrong. And probably is. Thanks American recession!

The real point of this post, and I'm posting a lot today, is that my student loans are due. They actually WERE due 3 months ago. I had them in forbearance last year since I didn't make any money the year before. I didn't make 10,000 total in 2010. It was much less than that. Last year, my finances were only double what I made the year before, and the total was still less than 20,000 gross.

Well apparently, I am 1000 past due to one of my student loan lenders. At this point, I have 3. I know, it is my job to keep up with exactly when my student loans are due and take care of them accordingly, but dammit, I am a normal American. I forget things like this when I haven't paid them for over a year. And yes, I should have been paying at least something towards them, to knock the interest down a bit, but I have not had the extra money. And maybe I have. I don't know. I'm terrible with finances. That is one of my goals this year. To get a better handle on these little fiscal responsibilities.

I scheduled a payment of 100.00 to go through on the 18th, which serves to eradicate the 1000 I'm overdue and put my account into forbearance, once again, until March 2013. I need to start auto-paying 50.00 a month to this lender at least. It'll help get the principal down while the government (wonderful entity that they are) is paying my interest.

And I need to stop spending so much money on useless trinkets and booze. I feel like this has become my life. And books. I also like books.

Dealing With Scavenger Debt Collectors

I have been getting phone calls from what I believe to be a scavenger debt collector. It's no secret that I have not been the best with money in the past. I also didn't open my mail or answer the phone for about three years. During this period, I didn't answer the phone because I didn't have a phone. Now I am getting calls multiple times a day from a business called RPM. This business is known as being a scavenger debt collector. I have found multiple complaints online citing their predatory and borderline harassing debt collection practices. They do not comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, nor do they listen when simple requests are made.

They have called me multiple times a day for the past few weeks and even called me right at 9 pm one night, not completely illegal but so close that if I were in a different time zone they would have been in non-compliance.

At this point, I am almost 100 percent sure that they are continuing to call me about a debt they have no legal right to collect on. The only thing I can think of is past the statute of limitations for collection. This is pure conjecture on my part, given their record of purchasing up old cell phone bills and harassing consumers into payment, long past the time of legal collection.

In the state of Tennessee, the statute of limitations on open accounts, including credit cards, is 6 years.

As a consumer, I like to know my rights. As a renter, I feel the same sense of responsibility.

The first thing on my checklist for dealing with these bottom-feeders is:

1. If they actually get to talk to me, which they won't, I will request a letter stating the validity of the debt.

This is a good sample letter to send to a collection agency that will not get the hint. If they refuse to comply with this, or fail to do so within the allotted 30 days, on to step 2!

PS. The collection agency cannot charge you for digging up your old records.

2. If the collection agency fails to deliver the letter of the debts validity, or if the letter does not include one of three important bits of information:
a. proof that they actually own or have been assigned the debt
b. original statement or copies of from the original creditor
c. original signed loan agreement or copy of
AND if they are still reporting to credit bureaus, this step involves sending ANOTHER letter to the creditor.
The second letter includes: A copy of the certified letter receipt, a copy of the original letter sent to them, and a statement letting them know they are not in compliance with the FDCPA.

If they do not respond to this letter and do not remove the blemish from my credit report, I will proceed from there. But until then, I will keep avoiding them. Since I am almost positive they have no legal grounds to collect anything from me, it never hurts to put a little bit more time behind us. Plus, I can't afford to pay anything right now anyway. Not that I owe any money, but still.