What is a Cease and Desist Letter?

The Cease and Desist Letter simply notifies the creditor of the violation and requests that they cease contacting you. It also gives you a form of evidence if you have to sue the collector. You are able to file a lawsuit within one year of the violation. If you win, the collector may be ordered to pay you up to $1000, and reimbursement for attorney’s fees and court costs.

First though, you will need the collection agency’s information. It is a good rule of thumb to get this information at the beginning of the phone call. You need the name of the person you are speaking to, the name of the collection agency, and an address and phone number and the account number they are calling about. Also, keep a journal next to the phone and log what time the creditor calls and the exact dates. Try to obtain as much information as you can regarding the account and the creditor.

Sample Cease and Desist Letter
Date
Your Address
Cit, State and Zip Code

Collection Agency Name
Collection Agency Address
City, State and Zip Code
RE: Account #___________
Original Creditor_____________

Dear Collection Agency:

Your company contacted me on _____ regarding a debt. I request that you cease and desist immediately in your efforts to collect on the above referenced account. It is my personal policy to not deal with collection agencies and I will only deal with the _________ (state original creditor) at this time.
You are hereby instructed to cease any further collection effort immediately or face legal sanctions under applicable Federal and State law.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Include in the letter the alleged violation along with dates and times that it occurred. In this situation, the more information you can provide regarding the collection calls, the better. For example, for calls that occur before 8 or after 9, include “I have received X number of calls after 9 p.m on the following dates from your company, which is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act”

If you are disputing that the debt is yours, state in the letter that you do not believe you owe the debt that they are contacting you about. In this example, you will also need to request in the letter that the collection agency provide you with what you owe the money for, how it is calculated in a way that you can understand, copies of papers where you agreed to pay, a copy of a judgment (if any), identification of the original creditor (if you don’t have this information) and a demonstration that the collection agency or company is licensed in the state you live in, along with the license number.

Be sure to copy the letter before sending, and mail it certified and return receipt requested. This will either stop the bill collector from calling you, or will result in the proof you will need if you proceed with a lawsuit. Most often, considering the cost of going to court and the possibility of losing a lawsuit, a cease and desist letter will be sufficient in stopping the phone calls.

Here are the rules: You need to sign up for the newsletter, which isn’t a bad idea anyway. Even people that have filed bankruptcy deal with credit cards and Mr. Credit Card has information on ALL credit cards, including cards for people with bad credit and no credit. There are also tons of great deals not only with the credit cards but on rewards and other stuff that you may find useful.

You also need to “like” the fan page and “like” one of the updates and that’s it. You’re entered into the contest and can now wait with your fingers and toes crossed until they message you on Facebook and let you know you won.

The rest of the rules and contest information are on the website. Easy, right? Good luck and don’t forget me when you win.

I am one of those people that always thought I enjoyed being able to hold a book and look at it on the book shelf, but I can honestly say that the handiness of the Nook has totally won me over. I understand now why everyone’s screaming that print, as in printed books, magazines and newspapers, will someday become obsolete. It’s sad as a writer to imagine such a world, but as a new owner of an eReader- well, I get it.

The best function of the Nook so far, is that I am able to download the reading material for my classes and read it on the Nook while at work, or wherever. I don’t need to go into how uncomfortable it would be for me, at my age, to be carrying around a stack of school books. With the Nook I can read the assignments without anyone even knowing what I’m reading. I can also view PowerPoint presentations and Word documents. The Nook Color also comes with Pandora (which I use ALL the time), as well as Chess and Sudoko puzzles and crossword puzzles.

But, besides all of that, you do have access to virtually any book, magazine or newspaper that ever existed and currently exists. There are always deals available at Barnes and Noble for bestsellers and you can find a large number of books there for one or two dollars. There is also a lending program that allows you to lend the books you have and you can lend from others as well. I haven’t tried it yet, since I currently have plenty in my library to read.

I have also come across quite a few websites that provide free eBooks.

Project Gutenberg – this is probably the most well known place for free eBooks. If  you’re looking for a classic, you can probably find it at Project Gutenberg. (Or one of those old books you’ve always wanted to read but never did.) These are all books that are in the public domain and thus, free to distribute.

Barnes and Noble Free Nookbooks – Barnes and Noble has a section online of free Nookbooks that you can browse and download. Amazon also has free ebooks available for the Kindle. There are programs that you can use to convert books from one eReader to the other. From what I’ve seen and read, it seems like a bigger pain to try to convert the books that are strictly for the Kindle, so I don’t.

Free eBooks.net – this site carries a ton of books, but is also a site that allows you to write your own eBooks as well. It appears as though there are a lot of free eBooks here that are written by people you’ve never heard of. Still, they’re free and when you’re looking for something different to read, this is a good place to try.

Public Libraries – Check for eBooks at your public library. You can usually check them out and download them to your eReader, exactly the same way you would check out a regular book. Also if you’re a student, you have a large amount of books available to you for free.

Many Books.net – I’m including this site even though it contains a large amount of the same books from the Gutenberg Project (and other sources) as well as a bunch of conversion tools for different formats. If you have an eBook for one eReader and want to convert it to another format, you will need one of these programs or tools to convert it.

There are a ton other sites for free eBooks if you don’t want to pay for them. Enough that  you will never run out of anything to read. eBooks are significantly cheaper than regular books so I don’t see a problem with buying one once in a while. In fact, one of the free children’s books that came with the Nook is an audio book and my daughter loved it, so I let her download the Tangled book about Rapunzel.

All in all, I think it’s an awesome gift (and not a bad investment if you’re planning on buying one). Happy reading, and if  you have any tips on free eBooks, let me know.

Obviously most people are thinking they’ll leave behind some money. That in the end all of this frugality will not only save enough money for when we ourselves are old, but for our children and loved ones when we are gone. This is important. This is one of the reasons we work. But, I want to leave something more tangible. Something that not only reminds my daughter and family of me, but that reflects who I am/was.

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I have a very close friend that I went to highschool with that lives on practically the other side of the planet. We have seen each other once since school, but we communicate daily (thanks to my new texting disorder). She remembered writing her autobiography in English class. Noteworthy because it brought our favorite English teacher to tears. She wished she still had it for her daughter.

Aha! I’m brilliant, right? Well, thanks to her I’ve decided that an autobiography is probably the greatest legacy I could leave for my daughter. What better way to see where her crazy mother has been? Granted this will be no bestseller and I doubt I would even want many people to read it. I’m quite frankly proposing a movement that for now I have named “Regular People Writing Autobiographies.” (Working title.)

Some things I have considered are important to this concept.

1.  Everyone, I mean everyone claims they can’t remember anything. I’ve been around the world and in so many different places that I often confuse who, what and where occurred in which place. My plan is write sections as I remember them, and undoubtedly once you get started you will figure out you remember more than you think.

2.  There doesn’t have to be a completion date and thus no hurry. Hopefully your completion date doesn’t happen for a very long time, if you know what I mean. At this point there won’t be an ending because my life story is far from over. Unless I think of something so fantastic that it works and I just fill in chapters as I get older. Alternatively, you cannot be too young to write your autobiography. Write it to the point where you are at.

3.  This legacy is as close to free as it gets. If you have a word processing program, if  you have a pen and a notepad (which by the way are less than a dollar at the Dollar Store), you can participate for almost nothing. All it costs is a little time and thought.

4. Another point people bring up. “I’m no writer.” We’re not shopping publishing houses, we’re not trying to get into Barnes & Noble. Therefore, whether you’re a fantastic literary genius, or someone that barely made it through elementary English, it makes no difference. The point is to get it down and to preserve it for the people that actually want to read it. Maybe no one wants to. Save it for yourself. Our lives are made up of memories and if you think you don’t remember much about elementary school now, wait until you’re 80 and see how much you remember then.

5.  Truth is better than fiction. I love all things real and true, from movies to books and to me, reading about ordinary people and how the path they traveled to get where they are is more intriguing than which pop star is sleeping with which actor. People think their lives are boring, but trust me, the only reason you’re not a clone of your neighbor is because of your own life’s events. We all have a story to tell, even you.

As if I’m not busy enough, I’m taking my own challenge to get my autobiography down on paper. I hope others will take a chance and do so as well. And if you’d like to share, I’d love to read. Thanks to my highschool friend, I may be leaving my daughter a better legacy than I thought.

And just to prove that my friend is not actually me, I’m going to add that the other day I noticed I have a frighteningly similar drawer. Only my drawer is in my desk at work. Top drawer, no less. I also found a box of unopened pantyhose in that drawer. Okay, that doesn’t really prove my friend isn’t me, but I digress.

“Why in the hell do I have a condiment drawer?” I asked my co-worker.

“Probably because we might need…something…in there…one day.” Notice that she said “we”. I am the only person at my job that has a condiment drawer. Notice also that no one at work has ever come into my office and asked for a packet of mustard.

Maybe, I thought, it’s because I get sick of driving away from the drive-thru and realizing that they didn’t include any honey mustard to cover up the fantastic-ness of the mystery meat nuggets. Except, if that were a common dilemma, I wouldn’t have 6 containers of honey mustard in my condiment drawer at work.

I recently drove through the local taco place and was asked if I needed any hot or mild sauce. A quick pic of my condiment drawer popped into my head and told me “no, you don’t need any. You have a drawer full of hot and mild sauce at work.”

“Yes I do,” I told the taco person. “I need a lot of sauce.” Because that’s what I always say. I drove away feeling as though I had stolen something. I knew full well that I did not need anymore sauce of any kind. And after we all ate our tacos I threw the leftover mound of sauce I had “stolen” into the condiment drawer.

Because I may need it one day. I have gotten hungry and eaten crackers with whatever sauce I grabbed. It’s like an afternoon munchies, surprise I picked the weird duck sauce no one ever eats, kind of game. I hope I never pick that again, by the way.

So what do you do with all of the leftover condiments? And please, no fantastic recipes for shampoo or laundry soap and I don’t want to empty them into a used ketchup bottle and pretend like I bought it. It can’t be only me and the friend from my past; there’s no way everyone is using all of the ketchup and mustard packets and if you don’t have a special drawer for them, they are even further wasted by going in the trash.

I suppose I could take them back to the restaurants and let them reuse them. Except I don’t really know how long some of them have been in that drawer. I’ve had that desk for a couple years now and I only recently realized I even have a condiment drawer. My other thought is that I could start a website for swapping sauces but I have a sneaky suspicion they still wouldn’t be used.

By the way, I noticed I also have those little packets of butter in there. Need any? Suggestions welcome (except for those things I already mentioned I would not do).

• U.S. Uniform Services Identification Card
• U.S. Uniform Services Retired Identification Card
• Current Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)
• Veterans Organization Card (i.e., American Legion and VFW)
• Photograph in uniform
• Wearing uniform
• DD214
• Citation or Commendation

Check with the Applebee’s near you ahead of time to make sure they are participating in the offer, but it appears as though it’s national.

There are other restaurants offering similar specials today, including Outback Steakhouse (a free Blooming Onion and beverage) and and Golden Corral. I would suggest if you have a favorite restaurant, that you call ahead and ask if they are having any specials. There’s a good chance that you will receive a discount or a free meal.

In case you aren’t able to take advantage of the Veterans Day specials, I did come across this site at military.com which includes a wide range of deals and discounts for veterans throughout the year. Search the site through the headings (ie grocery, health and beauty, automotive, clothing, etc.) or search by your state to find available discounts that veterans can take advantage.

Of course, there is never any harm in asking either. Many retailers have discounts for veterans that aren’t particularly advertised except on Veterans Day so it may save you some money to ask at the checkout if they have any deals available.

No amount of deals or specials can actually express enough gratitude to our veterans but it is nice to to treat them to something special today. It is because of our military that we’re able to enjoy so freely and safely, things like restaurants and shopping. It is only right to reward them with what we can, no matter how small it might seem.

So, thank a veteran today, and have a great Veterans Day!

(Thanks, dad!)

I may be a shopaholic too. I found myself watching the Home Shopping Network late one night and decided I really needed to order some wrinkle cream. I paid the HSN credit card off months ago and for some reason cannot locate it now. I hid it from myself and can’t find it. After searching through drawers and purses and wallets in the middle of the night, I realized that there was a reason I had hidden that damn card. I also realized that I didn’t need any wrinkle cream.

So I’ve been thinking of the things that make me feel good that are free and healthy.

On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl, by Haruki Murakami-
Most everyone that knows me knows that this is my all time favorite short story. It’s not a happy story but the fact that it’s a seize the day kind of, take advantage of the now story, makes me feel good. Give it a read, it’s only a about a page.

Matisyahu-Jewish Reggae

I’m not Jewish and reggae music isn’t my top choice for music, but the music of Matisyahu completely clears my mind and enables me to regain my hope and outlook on my life. To be honest, I don’t even know what he’s saying most of the time, it’s just a sound that I adored the second I heard it. Guess you could say it’s my present day Enya. Check out his new song…guaranteed to make you feel good.

sometimes in my tears I drown
but I never let it get me down
so when negativity surrounds
I know some day it’ll all turn around
-Matisyahu, One Day

Christmas Movies and Kids Movies

My parents occasionally listen to Christmas music and I could watch Christmas movies any time of the year as well. There’s a reason that people continue to watch It’s a Wonderful Life and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, it’s just that not many people realize that they can watch these movies any time of the year. Okay, so unless you’ve TIVOd it or recorded it, movies aren’t always free. I have DVRd a couple so I can watch them anytime of the year though.

There are also kids movies that aren’t seasonal and almost all adults have a favorite. Finding Nemo is one of mine. I also have to admit that I actually crave Mary Poppins and Pollyanna once in a while.

Feed the Spirit

Whether it’s going to church or just meditating, taking a break and focusing on our own spirituality can help refocus and get us back on track. We forget that our spirit gets tired and run down and needs nourishment just as our bodies and minds do. It is also reassuring that in the end, it is all in a higher being’s hands, whether you believe in God or Buddha. We can only do what we are humanly able to. After that it’s up to Him.

Blogging and Journaling

Maybe it’s the writer in me. I had my first diary in elementary school and since then have found that writing is cathartic, even if I’m not writing about my immediate problems. Putting everything on paper puts it into perspective and I can find solace when I look back later and realize that things always work out.

Always. See, I feel better already.

For anyone that’s going through the doldrums or are just plain tired, take a look at some of the things in this post. Most of all, keep your head up. It’ll be okay.

Operation WITHIMMG
Day 11-fast food dinner $10.00
Day 12- Walmart jeans and long sleeved shirts for my daughter and misc. items I probably didn’t need. $67.00
Day 13-bought soup for lunch $5.00 and cranberry juice (2 for $1.00)

Mom always has spare food. That’s where I want to be, that no matter what, there’s enough food in the house to skip the grocery store for a couple months if necessary. While she was getting the lunchmeat I asked if she had a frozen pizza for dinner and just my luck, she had one that her and my dad couldn’t eat.

Then, since they were going camping for the week, she gave me a cucumber that would go bad, bacon that needed to be eaten, 5 packs of the new coconut M&Ms (which rock, by the way) and a bowl of homemade strawberry ice cream.

Not bad, huh. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t especially like asking anyone for anything and know that on this great and wonderful earth, not one soul owes me anything. But, if Mom has food that absolutely must be eaten, why let it go to waste? I’m pretty sure that once in awhile the things she throws in aren’t necessarily going to go bad (do M&Ms ever go bad?). I appreciate that and I’m grateful. It’s okay and even wise sometimes to accept when something is being offered. It took me a while to figure that out.