Aussie Health Insurance

We have made a lot of changes to our spending habits in the last 2 months and stopped wasting money buying 'even more stuff.' As a result we have decided to start paying into health insurance. We have taken out a basic hospital cover with no extras for $105.35 a month. For a long time I said we couldn't afford health insurance, but I was wrong. We could afford it, we just needed to make it a priority.

I have seen the health system from the inside and the outside having worked in health for many years in various roles. We used to have insurance when we were younger but once we hit some financial problems years ago it went by the wayside. In deciding which policy to take out I did a lot of research. I have not gone for one with extras such as massage, gym memberships, etc. I did not get one with dental but that may change. Yesterday hubby broke a tooth and that cost $350! So I will look into the dental side of things later.

This government site is the best private health comparison site and it is free. It has all the information and links to the health funds, policy's, and hospitals.

iselect is a free online service to compare funds. I did my own research before trying the site and came up with one of the funds that iselect also recommended. The customer service staff were really helpful and pleasant when I rang them about a problem with submitting the form online. I would have no hesitation in ringing them if I had any problems and the guy who answered gave me his name and direct line to call him on in the future. Joining the plan via their site also entitled me to a discount card for shops and offers.

There is also the choice magazine site which I have not used myself as it had a fee but it looks good.

Monday, 30 July 2007

A few good links...

What does a frustrated pf blogger do while sitting for 2 days with her leg elevated? Well yesterday I created a personal health blog, Health Nut Wannabe, to keep me motivated to improve my health.

Some other blog posts I have enjoyed reading include:

Get Rich Slowly wrote a great post on Lifestyles of the Rich & Stupid

Cheap as Chips writes about a difficult topic, the lessons learned from his younger brothers death while on a holiday. He gives some excellent advice worth reading.

While looking into credit card transfers I came across this helpful post at The Mint.

If swearing offends you then skip the next few links.
For Budget Beater Food to Avoid see: Steve Don't Eat It! A very funny site.

Ever thought about all that money you spend on tolls? Well this describes a very funny experiment to see if you can save money on tolls. The Turnpike Prank.

It look like I'll be sitting here with my foot up for a bit longer. I suppose it is one way to save money! I can't drive so no petrol costs, I cancelled lunch with my friend so saved $12, I can't stand for more than about 2 minutes to have a shower, and I can't stand to shower Dad, so less hot water costs, I'm eating brown rice and pears so saving heaps on food, tea, coffee milk. I am a dreadful patient so I am trying my best not to drive my family crazy.

At least it is only 2 days to the end of the month and I can start calculating again.

Debt elimination & health side effects.

One of the positive side effects of our debt elimination efforts has been that we have taken out health insurance. Previously I have thought that we can't afford it, but it is very obvious that we could afford it, we just chose to spend our money on other things.

One of the negative health side effects of our debt elimination efforts has been that I stopped buying chicken breast fillets and started buying minced beef. It certainly has saved us money but I wish I had remembered why I stopped eating so much red meat!

Last night I went to bed fine and this morning I woke up with very, very painful gout in my ankle. It really hurts! I haven't had an episode for almost a year. Those of you that have had it know what I mean when I say painful. I am allergic to all the medications and pain relievers so diet is my main treatment.

Anyway, today was supposed to be my first day back at work so I had to cancel.... I can only hop on the other leg so I planned on a day of Internet surfing but my computer decided to die.. or else it is seriously injured! I finally have another to use now.

So I will be returning to eating chicken again, focusing on the weight loss, drinking lots of water, hopping to the loo and reading pf blogs! What a weekend!

The good news is that the numbers look good! Only a few more days and that red bar is going down!

Thursday, 26 July 2007

Saving money on groceries.

Well today was the day I take over the grocery shopping after nearly 4 years of this being my husbands job. I wrote a list and away I went with a budget of $200.

I have just got back from my first shopping expedition to Aldi. It was different. Fast... not friendly... clinical almost..... but a LOT cheaper! So I will be shopping at Aldi in the future and making big savings on groceries.

I filled the trolley to the brim and it cost me only $157. I estimate that the same groceries at Coles would have cost me about $210-$230. Here are a few comparison prices with the Aldi price in bold and the price I usually pay in italics.

Bread 650g loaf .99c 1.47
Powdered Milk: 4.69 8.27
Wheat Bix 1kg 2.49 3.99 6.15 @corner shop!
Cornflakes 5oog 1.99 3.74
Pasta spaghetti 500g .69 1.49
Pasta penne 500g .49 1.49
Chicken drumsticks 1 kg 2.99 3.99

That is just a few examples. The cat food costs have also been solved. I have bought tinned cat food at .69c for 400g. We used to use the pouches which are 100g each. 4 of these a day bought in the boxes of 12 from Coles for $6.85 (or the corner shop more frequently for $8.69!) worked out at .57c each (or .72c each!). So this cost us $15.96 each week in wet food.

Now I will open a tin, divide it into 4 little containers and it will cost us $4.84 a week! So just this small change will save $595.92 each year!!! I find that incredible! And it is just a simple change that anyone can make.

On the home front, hubby and son now have half the retaining wall built. Cost was almost $100 for concrete. Rocks, labour, blood sweat and tears, transport all for free.

I have saved the petrol discount vouchers that come on the shopping dockets and I will use them tomorrow. Again it is something I just have never got around to.

There are savings to be made everywhere if I just take the time and make a little effort to do it.

Surviving Boot Camp

This week I discovered my 'inner platoon leader'. It has been like boot camp at our house since I last posted. The last few days we have put in a mammoth effort and we are really pleased with our progress.

Exhausted yes.... but happy.

In keeping with the recent spirit of efficiency that has struck our family....and because I have made and crossed off so many To Do lists (I am having nightmares about them)...a lot of this post will be in point form.

We have:

• cleaned up my bedroom including all the wardrobes, drawers & hidey holes
• sorted all the clothing by putting it in sizes then sorted and packed them into 4 groups:
• 1. fit now and keep
• 2. don't fit but keep
• 3. for charity
• 4. sell on eBay or garage sale
• thrown out ( a few!) old shoes and kept 32 pairs. (That's just one pair for each day of the month with a spare for good measure! I swear I won't buy any for 12 months, I promise...)
• sorted out all the books into piles of keep or sell
• took photos of all the books for sale and started listing then on eBay & oztion
• realised that I have just been too busy to look after the important things in life. There is no avoiding the fact that I am a PFF, a Personal Finance Fattie! To the tune of 26kgs! If I lost 5 kg's I would have a whole new wardrobe to wear without spending a cent.

Now if I had lots of spare time I would consider starting a health & weight loss blog but just at the moment I don't. I have discovered that I am not alone in being a PFF but I won't point any fingers...

Taking responsibility for our financial situation and making changes to improve it does require a fair amount of effort and time. I am hoping that once we are back on track it will take less effort. I suspect it is like gardening, some regular maintenance and pruning would have made the whole job a lot simpler in the long run.

While attending boot camp we have:

• claimed more medical receipts and paid straight into mortgage
• applied for the interest free balance transfer credit card
• earned a few more dollars from eBay sales
• taken out health insurance with rebates directed into mortgage account
• eaten lots of leftovers, (tinned tomato's and garlic can make anything taste good)
• saved $120 we were going to spend on a skip bin by borrowing a friends ute
• joined simple savings club which is going to save me a fortune!( this is available for other countries as well as Australia, just click on the country link on the free newsletter sign up)
• posted all the outstanding business accounts, reports and made all phone calls
• made appointment to get tax done next week
• told colleagues that in a few months I will be looking for 2 days more employment
• treated ourselves to the Harry Potter movie
• took bottled water from the tap at home and junk food from local shop to movies saving $3.50 on water, and $2.00 on each treat for 3 people = $16.50 saving
• heard confession from son that he failed a unit at college (Arrgh!!)
• advised son if has extra time at end of degree to make up he will be funding himself
• once son recovered from shock put him to work in the front yard (= free labour!)
• collected rocks (free!) to build a retaining wall in front yard
• crunched the numbers again (I know.. I know..but it works for me..) and all got very determined to reach this months goals even if we do live on rice and tinned tomato's!
• all feel really bloody proud of ourselves and amazed that we ARE doing it!!

So taking a week off work and getting stuck into things was a good idea... and there are still 3 more days to go!

...can we keep up the pace?

Time to stand down.... at ease family while I get to work on the next To Do list.

Transfering credit card balance

I had yesterday off reading Harry Potter. It was great! I love the series and it was really nice to forget about the world for a day and just escape into a book.

I have been looking into transferring our credit card balance onto a new 6 months interest free account. So far applying online i have had a few problems so I will send off a paper application tomorrow. That will save us 6 months interest at 9.99% on almost $13,000 so it will be worth it.

I have listed a few more of the old coins. I don't expect as high a price for these ones but every little bit helps!

I decided to take the week ahead off work to finalise all the business paperwork and tie up loose ends. Then I can really concentrate on reaching my financial goals ASAP! I will be taking over the grocery shopping from next week as now I will have time to shop and track down the bargains. Hubby does a great job but is more of a convenience shopper than a bargain hunter. I am quite looking forward to the challenge of seeing how little I can spend!

The sorting and decluttering continues today. I am really looking forward to the end of the month when I do the finance totals. Onward and upward!

Saving money on energy bills.

I received our gas bill yesterday: $$396.41 for 3 months. We have reduced our consumption compared to the same period last year:

This account: 252 mjoules a day
Last year: 345 mjoules a day

So almost 100 mjoules a day reduction!
Pretty good considering it has been much colder this winter and we have had snow on and off for the last 4 weeks!

Our hot water, heating and cooking are all gas. These are the changes we made to reduce our gas bill:

• lowered the heater to 4-5 instead of 5-6 setting
• wear more clothes inside, and use a knee rug
• turn heater off in the middle of the day unless really cold/snowing
• take shorter showers (we tried a water saver and HATED it so all agreed to less time in the shower instead)
• more efficient use of the oven, do all baking at the same time, once a week
• more stovetop, crockpot/frypan cooking instead of oven cooking of meats
• closing doors & heavy curtains and draught stoppers under doors

Prior to 2002 we could not choose our energy supplier in Australia. Now the industry has been deregulated and in NSW and some other states households can choose who provides their gas and electricity. I have never looked into changing or comparing deals. So I have decided to get quotes and work out if more savings are possible with a different supplier.
I have spent the last hour filling in quote forms and comparing tariff rates and my head is aching with numbers & joules!

It will be interesting to see what the quotes come back with.

This site is excellent and has all the links you need for anything to do with energy supply in Australia.

Choosing Energy Supplier

Later I know I have to tackle the phones.....

Pass the panadol....

Plodding along...

I have put in a good effort today on my business with finalising client files, arranging handovers and accounts. I have only 2 more files to finalise and I am done, and yes I have left the hardest till last.

Soon I will have an extra 2-3 days a week to myself to put into practice my more frugal lifestyle. I am actually looking forward to having some time to myself.

I am feeling relieved, tired and excited as I think about the next few months.

Today I phoned the pre-loved clothing store to find out their terms. They take clothes on consignment. After one month they are paid 50% of the price of the item whether it is sold or not. The item has to be removed after 2 months if it doesn't sell. Hmmm.....

I think I can do better than that....

I have come across an Aussie auction sites called Oztion. The fees are very reasonable:

$0.05 - $3.30 = $0.10 flat
$3.31 - $100.00 = 3% of sale price
$100.01 - $500.00 = $3.00 + 2.5% of sale price over $100.00
$500.01 - $1000.00 = $13.00 + 2% of sale price over $500.00
Over $1000.00 = $23.00 + 1.5% of sale price over $1000.00
Maximum sale fee $30.00

If and item does not sell there is no fee and you can relist it again for up to 60 days automatically.The other thing I like about Oztion that it has a community where people list things they are looking for. I have already sold one item after seeing it requested.

I have also been very tempted with some fantastic bargains at this site! But I have resisted so far.... My daughter was really shocked when I told her of my committment not to buy any clothes or shoes for 12 months. She loves finding shoe bargains on ebay for me...or aleast she used to! (that Imelda post is coming soon!)

Rockin' Girl Blogger!

I've been tagged by nomorespending of Diary of a Reformed Spendaholic.
This time for a Rockin' Girl Blogger award. Thanks!

The Rockin' Girl Blogger award was started by Roberta Ferguson at Blogging Made Devilishly Simple. If you want to learn about the award please visit her website.

If you want to participate you have to:
Put the badge on your blog
Give credit to Roberta
Nominate 5 other bloggers

Here's my 5 Rockin' Girl Bloggers!

1. Ladies in the Red. I love this blog! Here is a teaser from the site:

"Just over a year ago I was co-director of a Company, had a city centre apartment, a house that was rented out, a BMW, went for weekly clothes shopping trips and had not a care in the world (although I always found split-ends a worry). A year on and I've lost my Company, apartment, car, house, and you'll find me selling most of my designer stuff on Ebay" Truly a Rockin' Girl Blogger!

2. Single Broke Female. "The incessant ramblings of a single 20 something trying to get her life and her debts in some sort of order..." single broke female is considering adding a 'hottie of the week' to spice up her site...

3. Debt Free & Financially fit. Renee is facing a lot of challenges at the moment as she digs herself 'out of this hell hole $1 at a time. Definitely a Rockin' Girl Blogger!

4. Savvy Budget. "Watch as a 30 something woman dust herself off and starts all over again."

5.Low Income Lady is an Aussie blogger who is also trying to pay off her mortgage.

Mortgage v's credit card debt.

Well we are back and Dads surgery went well. He has to go back again in the next few months but so far so good and we will take it as it comes. Thanks for the good thoughts that were sent our way.

I seem to be having a lucky streak at the moment with 'money finds'. I had a letter waiting for me telling me that my 2005/-6 tax has been reviewed and I am entitled to an extra $2447 in super co-contributions!

Yay!! I love an election year when pollies are trying to win votes like this! It's been good for my bank balance. So that will add a bit more to my retirement funds. I will post those totals here once I get my tax done and I have all the information available.

We went reasonably well with money while we were away. We were able to get accommodation at the hospital for $40 a night including breakfast and the only other cost was takeaway food and petrol. I refrained from eating junk snack food for comfort which is what I used to do so that saved money as well.

With the sale of the coins I had enough to transfer money out of pay pal so another $217 into the mortgage account!

Here are the numbers for reaching our target of paying off the mortgage in 5 years:

Monthly payment: $3,067
Total interest paid over life of loan: $31,692

With the savings and changes we have made we are now paying $500 each week into the mortgage account instead of $250-300.

Then I have to work my butt off and my grey matter to come up with the rest each month. I am only thinking one month ahead otherwise I get discouraged. I am enjoying the challenge!

So far we are on target to hit our goals this month and maybe exceed them!

A reader asked me why I was paying the mortgage off before the credit card. The savings at this point in the loan for the house are huge. If we waited another year or two to make the extra payments it would not have as much impact as it is having now.

With the credit card I am trying to pay the minimum plus an extra $50 a week. I will record the progress to paying it off in the monthly progress report. I am quite confident that we can get it paid off in a reasonable time frame, but it isn't my priority at the moment. I know I can do that.

The mortgage goal is exciting and motivating because it is really hard and difficult and sometimes seems unachievable! Since starting this blog and writing down my goal I have become so determined to do it!

I get up every day and my mind is thinking about how I can either save money or make money without spending money. It has forced me to think about how I want my life to be in the future, and what price I am paying for debt in terms of health, happiness, freedom as well as dollars and cents.

This goal has motivated me in a way that paying off a credit card never could!

I have a clearer vision of the future I want for myself and my husband in retirement now. I think about what I will do when I no longer have to pay a mortgage any more. I will have more choices, I will have money to travel, to spend as I please. My mortgage feels like a weight around my neck and it will be gone. Gone for good.

I am not in a position to rely on any family inheritance coming my way to make my life easier as I age. It is up to me and my husband to provide for ourselves in retirement. The decision to pay off the mortgage has focused our efforts. I suppose we stopped pretending that old age, health problems and financial security as we aged would somehow sort itself out.

So my decision is a financial one and a pyschological one. It works for us at this point in our lives. It may not be the right decision for others.

Ebay profits!

A fast update. My old coins that I listed on eBay have sold for $215!! That money will go straight into the mortgage account. Altogether my ebay sales so far have totalled $590.50!!

All that extra money that was lying around the house and I didn't even realise it. As soon as I get back from Dad being in hospital I am going to list the remaining old coins, take the clothes to the pre-loved shop and take some furniture to an auction house.

I am really determined now to keep focused on decluttering and selling off 'stuff'. I look around me and there is so much to do.

My grocery budget has been a bit more than planned. We had takeaway last night. I was just too tired to care after spending the day arranging client handovers. Once we get home from Dads surgery and he improves then I can get started on preparing a vegetable garden for spring. Hopefully I will only be away for 1-2 nights.

I am relieved to be planning and working towards a simple and more frugal lifestyle. More peace, more time and less stress.

Using Mortgage Calculators to Eliminate Debt

I have found using mortgage calculators essential to understanding and eliminating my mortgage. Calculators can help when making decisions about the repayments. Understanding how extra repayments will affect the debt keeps me motivated when it begins to seem to difficult. Wooley Woman has asked me to share the calculators I use. There are four.

Loan Repayment Calculator

Extra Repayments Calculator

Lump Sum Repayment Calculator

You need to know the amount, the term and the interest rate. I like these calculators because they have a interactive graphics as well as text.
Enter you information, move the mouse over the graphed area, you can make the graph shaded by ticking the box. I have the graph for repaying the mortgage in 5 years stuck in the front of my new Bills folder so I see it every day.

Play around with the numbers and the savings you can make will astonish you.

Try the extra repayments calculator to see how much you save just by paying an extra $20-30 a week. We have always paid extra. When we first moved into our home interest rates in Australia were 18% !! Even then we paid weekly and rounded up the amount with an extra $10 or so. Money was tight then as our children were young and we earned less. It was tight at times.

Five Years later when we suddenly found ourselves both out of work for 6 months (through a layoff & illness) we were 9 months ahead in our mortgage. If we had not been ahead we would have lost our home for sure. Instead we had 9 months mortgage free to find work, luckily it only took six!

In Australia the option to pay mortgages weekly has always been available and well used. I have been told that this is relatively new to other countries.

The other calculator that I use is:

Amortization Calculator

**It really is worth the time to use it and understand what it means if you are serious about eliminating mortgage debt.**

Enter you loan amount, the interest and the term only. In view results put yearly then submit. Now scroll down to the yearly payment schedule. Notice how much interest is paid each year and how much principal. It can be a shock to realise that at the end of the first year or two you may have only paid a few hundred dollars off your actual mortgage.

OK now you are over the shock you can use this information to your advantage. If you can pay the amount in the left column, principal paid, ahead of time, then you effectively save yourself a years worth of payments. You jump down to the next line.

So simple it kind of stuns you doesn't it.

Try it for yourself. The more you can pay in the early years the more you save. The calculators can help you see for yourself that small amounts can make a huge difference.

So why not crunch some numbers for yourself and come back and share what you found.

Eliminating Mortgage Debt

Tagged again but with an interesting twist!

I have been tagged by Stubsy of Financial Independence to give you 8 Random facts about the subject of my website:
Eliminating Mortgage Debt.

Rules
1. Each player must post these rules first.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts about the subject of their website.
3. People who are tagged write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Eight Random Facts About Eliminating Mortgage Debt

1.Start making payments as soon as the loan is approved, before the settlement date. If you can make a full payment on or before settlement date this can save thousands of dollars. It reduces the principal amount from the start.

2. Make sure you will not be penalised for paying out the mortgage early. Check the fine print to avoid fines and hidden fees for extra payments.

3. Negotiate the lowest possible interest rate on your mortgage with interest rate calculated daily. Ask lenders if you are eligible for a professional package. The reduced interest rate in these packages can save you thousands of dollars over the life of a loan. Shop around and see where you can get the best deal.

4. Make weekly - fortnightly payments off your mortgage.

5. Do you really need the bells and whistles type mortgage? All those extras cost money and often have extra fees attached. Get a simple mortgage that you can understand. Know EXACTLY how much you are paying in hidden costs.

6.Pay bonus payments, unexpected income, eBay money, winnings and any other irregular income straight off your mortgage. Set up automatic payments into your account.

7. Pay extra off you loan in the first few years. This is when most of the payment is directed to paying interest. Any extra you pay will reduce the principal immediately.

8. Use online calculators to see the impact of making extra payments, increasing payments. Calculate how much your mortgage is REALLY going to cost you in time and money if you only make the minimum payments. Take the time to crunch the numbers each month and hopefully it will shock you into action!

I will have to tag later as I am running out of time. Leave a comment if you would like to claim a tag.

The only other thing I would add to this list is to make a decision to Just Do It! Do whatever you have to do to keep focused and stay on track. For me that is blogging.

Focus! Focus! Focus!

* A quick update on the eBay coin auction : now over $205 and still 24 hours to go!!!

Decision Time.

After a long and thoughtful night I have made my decision. I am going to finish up my business and just work at my part-time job. I feel relieved to have finally decided. It is the best option for the time being when I never know how Dads health will be. The extra days at home will give me time to sell everything on eBay, shop for bargains and plant a vegetable garden. To live a simpler life instead of trying to juggle 10 plates in the air at once!

It will take me 8-10 weeks to handover my clients, and I will keep seeing 3 clients who have been with me since the beginning. Then I can concentrate on my job, my debt reduction plan and finding ways to make money working from home while caring for Dad. (Please don't send me mlm & other ops I will just delete them).

I feel better for just making the final decision. It is not a financial one as it was potential income not actual.

After setting aside money to pay for 2 nights accommodation and petrol I was able to still pay extra off the mortgage this week! Mainly because all the bills are up to date.

Here is a mini progress report to keep my spirits up!

Paid off mortgage in July: Total $1442.50 today's balance $149,726.00.

I have yet to bank the loose change and the unclaimed money from the medical bills.
We are on target for our financial goals this month. The only difficulty will be if the hospital stay gets extended for longer than 2 days.

A Mixed Bag and a Rant to boot!

A lot has happened today. My dad has been unwell for a few days and will be admitted to hospital for a day or two next week. This means a 4 hour trip, accomadation costs and time off work and business. If all goes well I will be off work about three- four weeks to look after him. I have leave available so I will get paid. If it doesn't go well.... who knows.

I have spent today contacting clients and cancelling appointments for the next few weeks. After I had just phoned colleagues last week requesting referrals and I had begun to fill my diary. Tommorrow I have to ask them to take over the new work that came my way. My colleagues are understanding and will help me out. However to the companies I contacted last week requesting work, it appears very unprofessional for me to be phoning them again a few days later saying I am again unavailable for at least the next month and possibly longer.

I have considered just shutting shop for the time being to take care of Dad. As a carer I never know what will happen from day to day. I thought the worst was over and last week decided to get stuck into my business again and build it up. My concern is that I am begining to look unreliable to companies that would send me work. I wouldn't want to send work to someone who appears to be frequently unavailable, however valid the reasons. I have a good profesional reputation and I don't want to spoil it.

Now I have to hand over all the new clients that I received last week to others as I can't do the work. I will definitely be thinking long and hard about what to do over the next few weeks. It may be in my best interests to stop the business, and just stay working part-time. My business did make some money but I don't take any as income. It all got put back into the business. So our family does not draw money from it and it would not decrease our income if I stopped.

My dad is not going to be around forever. I can start a business anytime, in my line of work it is not an expensive start up.

Don't mind me I am just having a rant, writing helps me think. Now I have a lot to think about.

On a postive note I checked my ebay auction this morning and the bids on the coins have gone even higher! Are people mad? I actually started worrying that maybe I got the coin details wrong so I got them out and checked that the details I listed are all accurate. Yep. They are. And still 4 days to go!

I found this interesting article about a man browsing through Ebay and finding his own baby book for sale. His name is Bill Mack. The whole Ebay experience is an interesting one. I don't think I will ever pay full price for things again.

Preventing Identity Theft. A Cautionary Tale.

Would you know what steps to take if you discovered your identity had been stolen? Last night I spoke with and old friend who's elderly mother was the victim of identity theft a couple of years ago. It was very sad as this dear old lady lost the lot and had to declare bankruptcy. Even though this has nothing to do with my debt elimination I decided to post about it today. Why? Because I can't stand these scumbags!

Here is what has been pieced together with the wisdom of hindsight.

My friends mother is a sweet lady who had always been active in the church and believed in helping others. Lets call her Pearl. Pearl lived alone and was becoming more forgetful. Her family lived away and even though they kept in phone contact they only visited every few months.

Pearl met a woman at church who told her she had escaped from a violent marriage. She said she was in hiding from her husband. Pearl offered her a safe bed in her home until she could get on her feet. The family now know that she was a professional con woman with a criminal background. Her story gave her a cover for convincing the old lady to keep her movements and activities all a secret. So the family did not find out she had moved in for some months. The con woman also used this story to convince others to keep secrets and avoid attention.

Once inside Pearls home she had access to all the financial records. Pearl had a book with all her accounts details, insurance policies, identification and financial records listed. She had put everything in a folder so that if ever something happened to her the family could easily find and access the information. Unfortunately so can a criminal. The con woman now had all the personal information required to open accounts online, conduct transactions and steal an identity. Simple!

Pearl lost all her life savings in about 12 months, approximately $42,000. She had debts of almost 20,000 run up in her name. Pearls signature was on all the documents with the credit companies. It appears this woman initially convinced Pearl to loan her money by telling her she needed to take legal action against her husband. Later she became more aggressive and intimidated her. Everyone hopes there was no violence, we will never know. Friends and family began to notice changes in Pearl who resisted all efforts from her family to find out more.

When Pearls family started to get suspicious they tried to get rid of the woman. But it was too late. As they were in the process of trying to decide what to do next the Police raided Pearls house one night and the con woman was arrested. She is now in jail for other offences. It turns out she was in hiding from the police, not an abusive ex-husband.

No money is able to be reclaimed, the woman can't be prosecuted for what she did to Pearl because Pearls memory and health is worse and she is in a care facility. She could never testify to what happened due to her health. Her family decided the stress and expense of trying to prosecute this woman was not worth it.

The family were left to sort out the mess. Creditors don't care about the circumstances. They just want money! The family had to declare bankruptcy on Pearls behalf. Pearl has no money left except her weekly pension.

Now it might be easy to think this only happens to other people but that is the point of my post. Pearl and her family are just average, hardworking honest people. Pearl had helped out people before, she was raised to to offer a helping hand when you can. Initially the family was not suspicious. Pearl had shared her home with students and others at different times over the years. After all, Pearl met her at church. She seemed so genuine!

Con artists are professionals at their jobs! They make a living our of fooling people. So don't think it can't happen to you or someone you know. It does happen and the emotional and financial consequences are devastating.

To find out more about identity theft check out these sites. (they are not affiliate links)

Identity Theft Stories

Identify Theft Resources

Identity Theft Kit

Identity Theft: Don't Become a Victim

Identity Theft Resource Centre

Patrick has a great blog entry on Identity Theft: Jury Duty Scam

Another blog post: My Mum Stole My Identity