I could identify with Sarah's emotions as she talks about growing up even though I grew up in the city while she was in farm country and there is over 30 years between us.  She had a hard life but survived and succeeded by choosing not to follow her family's cycle.  She is between two worlds but can handle both.  She tells the truth and I felt bad for her but rooted for her to break the cycle of poverty.  I was glad to see her make it.

Putting up with an unreliable car can be very stressful, especially if you depend on your car to get to work. Many people spend hundreds of pounds trying to maintain older cars and never seem to have enough money to buy a newer, more reliable model. However with buying a cyone can afford to buy a new car. This can be a cost effective option in the long run as you can get a more dependable and economical car that will not cost so much money in repairs or fuel

Buying cars on finance can be a great way to start driving a brand new car without the initial outlay. This is a brief guide to the aspects you should consider when looking for new cars on finance.

Credit Rating

The first step to ensuring you get the best deal is to check your credit rating. This may contain inaccurate information which will negatively affect the deals available to you. By checking your rating with a credit report provider and correcting these problems before seeking a loan you can ensure they are calculated correctly and offering the best price.

Terms of the Loan

When looking for cars on finance it is important to make sure you are comparing like for like. Simply comparing the rate of APR between deals can be misleading. Be sure to check all aspects of the finance agreement such as monthly repayment, total repayable amount, payment protection insurance, APR and any additional charges which are not included in the APR. This should give you a clear picture of each deal on offer.

Requirements

Often lenders will request some proof of residence such as one or more utility bills. This can also verify to the lender, the duration you have lived in the country. The lender may impose this and other requirements to assess suitability.

Payment Protection Insurance

This service has had some bad press over recent years. The objection is not the service its self but the ability of the lenders to set vastly different prices on the service. Being covered by payment protection insurance means you are covered in the event you should suffer a loss of income. If this is a service you want, comparing loans from different companies for the same amount should give you a frame of reference for the correct amount to pay.

Secured or Unsecured

This is the basis on which the money is lent to you. Very few lenders are willing to provide unsecured loans over £15000. A secured loan involves agreeing some form of collateral with the lender. This will be an asset of equivalent or greater value.

Other Costs

With any loan there may be charges which are not included in the total repayable amount or APR. The most common is a fee for settling the difference early. Also defaulting on the agreement may cause the terms of the loan to change. As long as you are aware of any additional costs you can make an informed decision.

Plan the Purchase

When buying cars on finance, you can get an idea of the required loan amount from the average cost of the make and model you are after. Take your time and find as many lenders as you deem reasonable, this may include the manufacturer. Once you have a frame of reference you can speak to a dealer. The most important thing is to be prepared and only proceed once you are happy with the terms of the deal. If you are unhappy with anything you can always return another day.

Clear Benefits of Car Finance It is clear that if you are considering buying a new or used vehicle that buying cars on finance has some very useful benefits for saving consumers the inconvenience of making a large initial investment


There are car finance deals available to suit many different personal circumstances. This is a very practical way to upgrade your car for a more reliable model. You could save a lot of money in the long run by buying a new car on finance as you will be able to afford a much newer and more economical car. This means lower fuel and repair costs and much less hassle for you

This book arrived and I showed it to MT and said "look! our retirement plan arrived!" (referring to the goat part, not the broke part. I hope.)

When I first saw this title I was immediately drawn to it because I wanted to hear from people who'd done what we sometimes talk about doing: leaving urbanity behind for a quieter, more sustainable and slower paced life.  Preferably surrounded by a mix of domesticated animals and nonvenomous wildlife.

But this book ended up being more complicated than that and my review is going to sound a tad ungenerous because of it.  Ungenerous because the complicated bits are well written, and at times riveting, but not what I was looking for.  Look at that title and cover; that cover and title imply a certain level of quirky adventure and maybe a humorous mishap or two while journeying the learning curve of homesteading.

Instead, this is primarily the story of the author and her husband's experience with the Global Financial Crisis and the consequences of living on credit, written by a woman who sounds like she's still very much on the road to emotional recovery.  McGaha's husband - an accountant - didn't pay their personal state or federal income taxes for four years.  By the time she finds out, the IRS and the state have put liens on everything, seized their bank accounts and garnished their wages.  With no choices left, they walked away from their home, and took up residence in an ancient cabin in the North Carolina woods that distant relatives of her husband offered them for a peppercorn rent.  So less quirky and fun than the marketing department would lead you to believe.

The first third of the book covers this downward spiral and it is a cautionary tale and almost the cliche for a great many living in the 1990's.  McGaha doesn't pull any punches about her anger at herself and her husband, nor how bad things got between them.  There's also a horrific but ultimately irrelevant chapter about her brief but terrifying first marriage, told as a flashback.  It's gripping stuff but it honestly has no relevance at all to the rest of the book, especially as we never find out what happened to him, or his relationship with their daughter, if any.

The remainder of the book focuses on their experiences at the cabin; cleaning it up, trying to cope with the transition from city water and sewer to spring fed water tanks and wood burning boilers.  Their encounters with local wildlife of both the venomous and rodent variety, and their first forays into keeping chickens and goats.  Interspersed throughout are flashbacks to her grandparents and ... I don't know what to call them ... daydreams? about her great-grandparents and their connection to the land in Appalachia.  

Again, these 'memoirs' are really well written, but this reader bought a book about being broke and raising goats, not about dreams of the author's Appalachian ancestors.  And while I DID get the stuff about the goats and chickens, I'd have liked more detail; I wanted to know more about the cabin, the chickens, the structures they built; I got a lot about the goats, but the cheese making was brief, as was the soap making.  I can't help but think if there'd been fewer memories, maybe I'd have gotten more of the pertinent details. 

Even though I think there are really two books here - the story of their recovery and altered lifestyle, and a collection of stories/memories/dreams about her ancestors - it is still an incredibly eye-opening, informative read.  So much so that I handed it to MT when I finished and told him to read it, but that he should feel free to skip the disjointed bits.

Two Old Women is on sale for 1.99.  It is a great book.

Christie's Evil Under the Sun

Geekerella

Scourge of Henry VIII

Flat Broke with Two Goats (I liked this one)

DC Icons Wonder Woman

Marlon Bundo

Several romances including Janet Dailey, Debbie Macomber, and Beverly Jenkins.

American Gods Graphic Novel Vol 1

By a Spider's THread  by Lippman

Several DK eyewitness Travel guides

Books by Heather Graham, Mary Stewart, and M C Beaton as well as Joe Grey Mysteries and Lady Julia Grey Mysteries

Notorious RBG

Several Miltary/Police canine harlequin looking books

Pancakes in Paris  (I really enjoyed this one.  The author worked on TNT's Robin Hood series)

As Always Julia

Nasty Women

Becoming Madeline (biography of L'Engle by her daugthers)

Dr. Who Cookbook

A few Ted Dekker books

Young Frankenstein The Making of the Film

The Card Catalog

Not One Damsel in Distress

Cruel Beauty

Bull by David Elliot

Construction worker Russell Hart has been head-over-work boots for Abby Sullivan since the moment he laid eyes on her. But he knows a classy, uptown virgin like her could never be truly happy with a rough, blue-collar guy like him. If only she'd stop treating him like her personal hero—a role he craves more than oxygen—maybe he could accept it.

With the future of her family's hedge fund on her shoulders, Abby barely has time to sleep, let alone find love. And her best friend Russell acting like a sexy, overprotective hulk any time their Super Group goes out in public definitely isn't helping her single status. But after a near-tragedy lands Russell in her bed for the night, Abby's suddenly fantasizing about what he looks like shirtless. Chest hair and tattoos—who knew?

As Russell struggles to keep Abby at a safe distance, she begins to see through his tough-talking exterior—and acknowledge her own feelings. Now she's ready to turn the friend-zone into foreplay…and make him lose control.