STOP ALLOWING YOUR BANK TO STEAL FROM YOU

I have to get going.I"m late for work, but I want to start this off in hopes that I can somehow reach people. I want to start a revolution - against the banking industry. I want to see people taking their banks to small claims court for excessive fees when they are overdrawn, especially when they're overdrawn because the bank no longer shuts your account down when you are out of money. The bank is inviting you to a loan with an interest rate in 4 figures (that's over 1,000%). I don't know about you, but that's illegal in the state where I live. It's called "usury". It's the reason Jesus freaked out in the temple and went on the rampage against the money changers.

The banking industry has been chastised, but not spanked by the US Government. We should be reporting these fees to the office of the comptroller and we should be taking these banks to small claims court to recover what has been stolen from us. If I make a mistake in my bank book, I might not protest a single fee that brings the mistake to my attention, but when I have a $20 overage that adds up to hundreds of dollars in fees or, as happened to me in '06, a $2 overage that added up to $200 in fees, then this is a bank stealing from low-income people. An estimated 80% of the people they steal from are low-income.

Before you get judgmental and start lecturing me about balancing my checkbook, just attempt to grasp this one concept. I made a small stupid book-keeping error in my check register - or I forgot to register one $2.00 debit taken out by a business that will not allow me to pay them any other way. Because the bank holds transactions for periods they have yet to justify - and because they have a policy of deducting them from high to low - I can be (and was) just $2 in the red (there is no crime in being math impaired). Instead of covering two smaller transactions that came in first and would have been totally covered, the bank policy allowed them to use a larger transaction that had just come in, ignoring the two transactions that they had been holding for no reason that they can justify. The $2 error caused an immediate bounce and instead of one fee, I got hit with three. Then, I got $5 daily overdraft fees on each one until it was paid up. Guess what? Low-income folks can't just rush in and cover something like that - they're in the process of trying to figure out how to scrape up enough to finish paying the water bill before the water is shut off. I had to wait for some online auction sales to happen (not an exact science)and transfer the money from PayPal ASAP. That would have been the money for the water bill, so I was back at square one, trying to raise the water bill again and trying to remember to register every little payment and debit that came out of a bank acct that is increasingly vulnerable to these elements that want permission to dip in and help themselves. The more control you give up, the harder it is to even monitor what is going on in your bank acct, so do not be fast and willing to allow automatic debits.

Let's do something about it once and for all. If the US Govt. won't stop them, then we can. Sue the bastards!!!! Take them to small claims court - for every NSF fee that the statute of limitations will allow you to reclaim. They aren't allowed to send lawyers to court to defend themselves and sending a bank employee leaves the bank vulnerable. Unless they want to hire and specially train people to defend them in small claims court, the bank can't show up in court. They can't use such an employee, because these practices are indefensible in court. The bank has to decide how many of these claims they want showing up in court - opening the banks up to public record, looking really stupid when they lose in court. In most cases, they are going to cut you a check out of court to shut you up. You just have to decide if you want to take the money and run or make a point and show up in court. I think it's kind of pointless and that it's good enough to just get back the money that was stolen from you.Here's a film by someone who did just this and also made his point by documenting the process and the situation.

I don't think my financial circumstances have ever been worse. Yet, there's so much potential shining at the end of the tunnel. It's just so bleak right now, that I'm not sure how I'll get to the end of the tunnel.

I filed tax returns on April 15th - in the morning - not at midnight lined up in front of the post office. I filed Zach's and realized that I have to redo the ones I did for him in 04-06, because I did it wrong and cheated him out of a lot of money. I also have to do my own for 05 and 06, so I'll be ready to file for bankruptcy. Eventually, I have to do 01 - 04, but not sure I can do them without professional help. Got time, since I don't know where the money for filing will come from. Ironically, it could come from George's kickback check, if the feds don't red flag it and keep it. If I got the returns done correctly and if they don't red flat and keep it, then I'll have enough for back property tax and a lawyer. I must have done it wrong.

My desk was delivered and Tom's bed brought back to the condo, which is where I am right now. I'm using his computer whenever I can get over here, because I realized that it was the loss of my computer that has destroyed me financially. I can't produce enough work on the dinosaur that I'm using right now. Tuesday evening, on Tom's computer, I did work that would have taken me a 3 day weekend to complete. I should have thought of this long ago and I would not be in this position where every utility is about to shut off, I can't put money in my bank acct if I want it to actually be paid out for my insurance (I'm in the red because the check I wrote for the Farmer's Market jury was held for 2 weeks and I forgot about it - ironic).

I got into the Farmer's Market. The first Lincoln City show is a month away and then I start the Market in June. Willowbrook starts at the end of June. Busy summer, but if it means income, I can stand it. My focus now has to be on my studio - I have to get into it, start chucking stuff into the trash, hauling things upstairs, until I have workspace in there - a tabletop, chair, buckets, tools on hand and access to materials. I think it can be a work in progress as I weave. I'll allow it to reorganize as I work. I have to stop this obsessive compulsive need to make everything perfect before I"ll allow it to work for me. Getting that space to be perfect is so complicated.

I'm supposed to have my porch painted by June 15th. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it. I have a huge stack of vintage knotty pine paneling on the benches and no where to move it. It's for finishing my studio and a little of it is for the hall bathroom remodel. I'm not going to have time to do any of that work until August, but I have to move the damn paneling somewhere where it won't be in the way of my work in the studio. sigh.... it was so much work getting it onto the porch. Might have to settle for tarps in the back yard ...

awww gawd, the back yard. I could start at one corner and work my way across, raking the ground, pulling ivy, cutting off limbs, branches, vines, removing dead trees, unwanted bushes, mending the fences and gates and I'll never get done this summer. I want to do it, and it will be beautiful eventually, but it's so frustrating when I just can't spare the time. Yet, I have to get started this year, because the canopy from the trees on the edge of the lot have almost reached my roof - arching completely over my little yard. I'll get pictures posted soon.

I was ready to paint my living room until I realized that I just don't have the time yet. So it sits there stripped down, almost ready - with most of the carpet ripped up and furniture removed to other rooms - awkwardly. I'm not giving up. I finally have a plan that is perfect and all the materials collected. I have the paint I bought 4 years ago, the almost new carpet from Freecycle, some ceramic tile I'm going to use to build a border around the edge of the carpet and tiles for the windowsills because the dogs just scratch up the paint. Their toes skitter across the sample tiles I placed across one of the windowsills and I don't think they like to climb up on it.

I'm frustrated with the dogs, because I just don't have time for them right now. Poor dogs. they deserve better. I need the walking and so do they and I have to work that out in my head. I've got to lose weight. My boyfriend has nearly died from starvation , but he's not only going to survive, I think that his testosterone is building back up (he had measured out at 0 levels). We were watching TV a few nights ago and I felt this hormonal rush that has eluded me for several years, probably because there were just no pheromones coming from him. Now, I'm fatter than ever and look like hell. I need to rescue myself from poverty, obesity and the possibility of losing the man I love. I'm lucky that he loves me back, but he deserves better - we both do.