[mommieswamie]

Without going into all the reasons, suffice it to say that I need help with what could be loosely called day to day personal business. At the moment I am spending 8+ hours every day Mon-Fri in my home office, opening mail, paying bills, calling insurance companies, doctors, medical supply companies, making estate planning decisions, coordinating schedules for a variety of things, managing all aspects of maintaining a home here, plus maintaining another home in another state that is now rented, making appointments plus changing them when necessary, plus we have been "fortunate" enough to be victims of credit card theft - a still continuing legal battle - and in a separate incident victims of identity theft as the IRS has now informed us. The phone rings all day every day with 100% of the calls being things that I have to handle. My husband is quite ill and we do have caregivers every day for him. I could go on and on, but I think that this is probably enough information to make my point.

I am considering engaging a "Virtural Assistant", a service to remote forward the phone to their office for several hours per day, plus I would send them our business mail, plus instructions on how to handle the multitude of business issues that just do not seem to let up. The company that I am considering hiring is 100% reliable and well known. My son has suggested that I also consider turning some things over to a CPA firm for "Business Management".

I am considering both options. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions about either of these ideas, or anything that might relieve the necessity of spending so much time on "personal business".

I very much need to leave the home office, close the door and not answer the phone for a while. I need to be with my husband and enjoy the sunshine.

[kfierle]

Not sure if this helps but, someone posted this about a personal assistant a few months ago.

[NIPAS K-9]

My wife is an accountant and has many years experience as a remote assistant. She would be very interested in speaking with you about this opportunity. Please call my wife at (847) 828-0007. Thank you

[Francie]

May God's peace be with you and your husband during this trying and stressful time. I don't know of anyone that provides this service, but I will pray for you both.

[mommieswamie]

Thank you so much, Francie. Your prayers are very much appreciated.

[rjm1cc]

I can see that this is more than paying bills but you might have to split the problem into two parts. A CPA firm or a booking firm might handle your bills. I would also search for a secretarial service to handle the correspondence.

[mommieswamie]

Thank you so much for your suggestion. Yes - it is more than just paying bills and I do appreciate your insight.

Also many thanks to the people of TOTV for their understanding. I am not feeling so alone now and am exploring some possibilities.

[mommieswamie]

rjm1cc - I was looking back again at your suggestion. While I am moving along toward a real solution to this mess, thanks to TOTV, I do have one question. I certainly know what a CPA firm is, but what is a "booking firm"?

[mommieswamie]

I wish to thank everyone who responded to my request for help with personal business. I received responses both on the public message board and through private messages. It was very heartening to know that there were so many people out there who were caring and concerned. I even made a lovely new friend through this experience. (You know who you are.)

After a great deal of thought and trepidation, I decided to go with the virtual personal assistant associated with the large business based in Pennsylvania and Florida. It is working very well. We communicate through email, text messaging, fax, phone, FaceTime, and DropBox - the virtual desk in the sky. Also she remote forwards my phone several times per week answering phone calls. (I love technology.)

So - another thank you to the kind people of Talk Of The Villages. You have come through again.

[hotrodgirl]

I wish you peace and quality time with your husband. I had much the same situation recently maintaining several homes, a terminally ill husband, work, plus caring for my 90 plus mother. It was a most stressful time but somehow I managed to come through OK. I hope you are now spending every spare moment with your wonderful husband and finding some relief with everything else. My prayers are with you and God Bless.

[mommieswamie]

Thank you so much, hotrodgirl. You do sound like someone who really understands. Your good wishes and blessings are much appreciated.

[Boudicca]

So pleased to read of your good solution. I have you and yours, in my thoughts and prayers. Sandra