We got news today that our crate has arrived in port and should be delivered next week. I say should because Jeremy will be away from Tuesday to Friday on his first "on-field" job. The shippers had wanted to deliver it on Wednesday or Thursday so they have to see if they can deliver it on Monday or Jeremy has to see if he can cut his trip short and have them deliver it Friday. Otherwise, it will have to wait until the following week.
I am itching to finally have our stuff. An air mattress and a lawn chair are taking their toll on my back and neck, and it will be nice to eat off plates instead of a Pyrex bowl and take-out tins. Oh, to sit on a couch! I can feel it now!
Tomorrow should be my first trip to the supermarket. I have tried to go before now but between being sick and the fact I wanted to go with Jeremy my first trip, the days have just not aligned properly.
I found one app that has coupons to take in store, but so far that's it. I have spent all day trying to find "freebie" sites and coupon sites to no avail. I have found a few freebie type sites but for one, they are all make-up and perfume related, and secondly, they only give out a handful of freebies so by the time I get to them, they're all gone. The coupon app is interesting. You download the coupon and with proof of purchase, either through using a store loyalty card or by scanning the receipt and barcode, you are refunded directly to your bank account.
Speaking of, everything is done through your bank account here, as there is no such thing as credit. Anything with a monthly payment is taken directly from your bank account. Our rent, cable, electricity, phone, everything comes straight out of the bank account. When we went to sign up for my phone plan, we had to bring a slip of paper from the atm that states our account information which they put into their computer. There is no such thing as credit, either. Approval for big payments such as apartments, cars, and so on are done by your salary, and what kind of work contract you have.
For example, the two types of job contracts are CDD and CDI. A CDD job contract is basically how it is in America, you go to work, you work hard, and you can get fired for any reason. A CDI job means after an initial 90 day period, it is almost impossible to be fired. Unless you do something illegal or go tell a CEO to **** off, you are basically invulnerable.
So the higher your salary and whether you are CDC or CDI takes the place of good or bad credit here. In one way, I like it a lot. There is no worrying about what a missed payment or a freak accident involving medical bills will do to your credit. On the other hand, if it were just me here, I'd be hard pressed to find anyone willing to let me get a 10 euro cell phone plan let alone an apartment or car. It's funny the way things turn out. I was the one with impeccable credit and Jeremy was the one with the money, now I feel useless!
It's odd not working, but I make try to make myself useful with money management and, once the necessary equipment gets here, cooking and cleaning. It's a whole new world, that's for sure. I've been working from the age of 14, thanks to my parents owning a deli, until my car accident last year. Now I am a lot better, though still fighting with a few injuries, and ready to work and I can't! Even though we're not married, it's like being a house wife.
When the cleaning goes unnoticed, the cooking goes unthanked, and the only one who cares about a budget is yourself, well, let's just say it's a lot less of a gratifying job then protecting puppies and kittens from disease and removing cancer from beloved older pets. Almost every day I got to say, "I helped save a life today!" Now it's "I vacuumed and found a 2 euro coin while grocery shopping!"
Hopefully I will eventually learn to find benefaction and self-fulfillment in what is now my "job", but I imagine it will take a while. Hopefully when our stuff gets here and I can throw myself more into my hobbies, I will feel better.
I am itching to finally have our stuff. An air mattress and a lawn chair are taking their toll on my back and neck, and it will be nice to eat off plates instead of a Pyrex bowl and take-out tins. Oh, to sit on a couch! I can feel it now!
Tomorrow should be my first trip to the supermarket. I have tried to go before now but between being sick and the fact I wanted to go with Jeremy my first trip, the days have just not aligned properly.
I found one app that has coupons to take in store, but so far that's it. I have spent all day trying to find "freebie" sites and coupon sites to no avail. I have found a few freebie type sites but for one, they are all make-up and perfume related, and secondly, they only give out a handful of freebies so by the time I get to them, they're all gone. The coupon app is interesting. You download the coupon and with proof of purchase, either through using a store loyalty card or by scanning the receipt and barcode, you are refunded directly to your bank account.
Speaking of, everything is done through your bank account here, as there is no such thing as credit. Anything with a monthly payment is taken directly from your bank account. Our rent, cable, electricity, phone, everything comes straight out of the bank account. When we went to sign up for my phone plan, we had to bring a slip of paper from the atm that states our account information which they put into their computer. There is no such thing as credit, either. Approval for big payments such as apartments, cars, and so on are done by your salary, and what kind of work contract you have.
For example, the two types of job contracts are CDD and CDI. A CDD job contract is basically how it is in America, you go to work, you work hard, and you can get fired for any reason. A CDI job means after an initial 90 day period, it is almost impossible to be fired. Unless you do something illegal or go tell a CEO to **** off, you are basically invulnerable.
So the higher your salary and whether you are CDC or CDI takes the place of good or bad credit here. In one way, I like it a lot. There is no worrying about what a missed payment or a freak accident involving medical bills will do to your credit. On the other hand, if it were just me here, I'd be hard pressed to find anyone willing to let me get a 10 euro cell phone plan let alone an apartment or car. It's funny the way things turn out. I was the one with impeccable credit and Jeremy was the one with the money, now I feel useless!
It's odd not working, but I make try to make myself useful with money management and, once the necessary equipment gets here, cooking and cleaning. It's a whole new world, that's for sure. I've been working from the age of 14, thanks to my parents owning a deli, until my car accident last year. Now I am a lot better, though still fighting with a few injuries, and ready to work and I can't! Even though we're not married, it's like being a house wife.
When the cleaning goes unnoticed, the cooking goes unthanked, and the only one who cares about a budget is yourself, well, let's just say it's a lot less of a gratifying job then protecting puppies and kittens from disease and removing cancer from beloved older pets. Almost every day I got to say, "I helped save a life today!" Now it's "I vacuumed and found a 2 euro coin while grocery shopping!"
Hopefully I will eventually learn to find benefaction and self-fulfillment in what is now my "job", but I imagine it will take a while. Hopefully when our stuff gets here and I can throw myself more into my hobbies, I will feel better.