Tuesday, January 17, 1984

I'm into high finance today. I got my W-2 form from where I worked last year in the mall, and I'll get all of the income tax, I paid in, back, all $84.00.

I'm also trying to decide my future, I don't want to be on some type of welfare the rest of my liife, but the older I get, the more unemployable I become. With the economy the way it is, I'd better try to think of an alternative. I really don't want to go to school and couldn't afford it anyway, and frankly, don't need it in a decent job market. It's just that there isn't a job market, at least there isn't any market here, and I can't afford to move. I sincerely doubt if there's a jpb market anywhere in this country now. If I did find a job somewhere else, I couldn't afford to make the payment here and still afford a second residence somewhere else. And what would Mom do. I only owe $5.000.00 on this house, and Mom's house is paid off, but there aren't any buyers for either one of them. I really don't have any choice but to stay here, at least as long as Mom is alive. First it was my child, now it's Mom, I'm still stuck here, only more so, because of the economy. I had a duplex-townhouse in a suburb picked out for Mom and me, and we both put our houses up for sale in 1980, aarranged interim financing, but that was the same week that interest rated rose by six percent. If we could have sold our houses, we each could have paid half of the townhouse price, and been pretty well set. I could have afforded to stay home most of the time when Mom needed me, without too many financial difficulties. Now, it takes all of Mom's Social Security money just to live and do the needed repairs on her house.

When Mom passes away, if I turn Mom's house into a duplex-condominium, someone could have a dream efficiency apartment with kitchette, living room-bedroom, laundry facilities, bath and garage. The other owner-rentor could have two bedrooms, large kitchen and living room, laundry facilities, aath and room to build a garage with a connecting entryway to the outside and the garage. It wouldn't cost much, maybe $5,000.00 for everything, including a brand new kitchen in the two bedroom apartment. Right now today, I could probably realize $250.00 a month from the two bedroom apartment and $150.00 a month from the efficiency apartment, if I could sell both of them contract for deed, no money down. If I could sell both houses outright, each for $40,000.00 today, I'd owe $5.000.00 on my mortgage, 7% of $80,000.00 or $5,600.00 for the services of a real estate agent. There would be income taxes to pay too, and that would be quite a chunk, maybe as much as a third. I could invest the rest at maybe nine and one-half percent interest, but I'd have to pay rent, utilities, necessities and income taxes somewhere else. I really just need a decent job.