6th Blogiverary - Cars and Medical

Always great to stretch out the torture celebration!!!  Yesterday we talked about the retirement loan and student loans.  Today's subject:  Cars and Medical.

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Mysti's Car 

Day one of blog:  This loan didn't exist.
2014: $6,260.00
2015: $3,550.00

Back in 2009, my mini van was paid off.  It was starting to have problems....and had our situation been different, I may have pushed to get another car.  But we just couldn't imagine having another bill, so we let the car nickel and dime us to death (here are just some of the highlights: debacle, the continuation, and the vacation issue)  It finally died  in November 2011 and we replaced it with my current car.

Last year I started paying just a few bucks extra (min payment is $230)  to the loan each month to bring it to a round number.  Not that this has made a huge difference in the total number...but psychologically it was helpful.  We are coming down the home stretch! We are about 15 months away from the end.  Unless something changes.....which it could.....and this loan is part of that plan.  More on that another day.

The car has 109k miles on it, and despite a very pricey repair this past winter (the start, the middle, the end  it is fine.  I would like to get it to 200k....so maybe 5 more years.  The next 5 years are going to be ushering in huge changes so who knows.

G-man's Car
 

Day one of blog:  This loan didn't exist, but we had a different car loan
2014: $4,000.00
2015: $2,390.00

In 2009, we had a car payment for G-man's previous car.  We should never have gotten that car.  His previous car died (it was a hand me down from my parents when the previous hand me down from his parents died).  We had been driving beater cars for so long and kept trying to keep them alive.  So when we were trying to buy a new car, we were trying to get a car that would last....and we were so wrong.  We chose that car for the wrong reasons (it could tow the boat that we never used; he wanted a big car).  It killed us on gas.  And the payment was higher than what we had planned for.  By the time we realized all of this, we had created such a mess that getting rid of it wouldn't have solved anything....the car was having problems and it just didn't seem viable (wanna revisit just SOME of this fun....and there was ALOT of it...look  here and here and here and here)

In 2013, we limped the car in and got $500 for it.  We bought an old car for $6,000.  And I was so upset that this was the best we could do.  It was all about the payment.  We were now having to deal with 2 car payments and we weren't prepared for it.  And I was really surprised how far $6,000 went....which wasn't far.

The car is fine now, even though we we had to replace the catalytic converter in early 2014.  But it won't last forever.  We are hoping to replace it before Sassy starts driving in 3 years...eeek.  Then this can be "her" car.  But I hyperventilate thinking about this, so we are going to leave it in the future for the moment.

The loan was originally 5 years just so we could have the lowest payment.  Because of the age of the car, we didn't qualify for a "car" loan....and had to get a "personal" loan at 9.99% (that was the rate at the time). I am happy to say that in the 20 months we have owned the car, we have paid off 60% of the loan. We are roughly 18 months away from the end, but I am shooting for 15 months or less so both cars are paid off at the same time (if my car is paid off on time....basically this car can be paid off within 4-6 weeks).

Medical

Day one of blog: $1,200...maybe?

2015: Zero

I have to divert from the format for this one.  This number has gone up and down and up and down over the past 6 years.  The original debt was from our son, and was paid off in 2010.  In 2012, I needed root canal and a crown, I had surgery, and we had to pay that off.  We lost our financial waiver for Bossy's supplies, paid a ton, got the waiver back.  More dental issues.   All of this is paid off now.  The quick number I can come up with for the "big stuff" is we have paid $6,400...but I know it was way more than that when you account for co-pays, regular check ups, other procedures.

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We having fun yet???  Stay tuned for the big credit card discussion tomorrow!!!

Wrapping Up The Chaos

Maybe....just maybe.....things are calming down.....

It is going to snow again on Thursday....no idea how much.  Anyone want some snow?  Free for the taking!  I am so sore from shoveling.  However, I have lost 4 pounds in the past 2 weeks....the stress and snow diet??

***
Got my car back yesterday...almost got killed on the way to get it.  Another story....geez, I have no idea how regular people just go and do stuff and nothing happens.....  The quick version:  The girl who was driving me from the rental place to the shop TOTALLY blew through a red light.  Like, she was in her own little world (not the best place to be while you are driving in a snow storm)...and didn't even slow down.  A car was coming from the side street....and almost T-boned us (me!!!!!). 

So I have my car back....hopefully we are DONE with this.

My mother-in-law told G-man she was going to send us a check to help out with the cost of all of this.  I called her and told her it was generous, but not necessary.  We will take care of it.  She said she just feels so bad that I am on my own here dealing with everything under the sun, and it is the only way she can help.  So, thanks MIL!  No idea how much the check is for, but it will be going directly towards the car expenses.

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Sassy will be home late tonight.  I miss her little face!  Her teacher uploaded almost 200 pictures yesterday!  Most have other kids in them....but thought I would share this one of my girl....I am glad to see she is bundled up!

Bits and Bobbles

Since January 24...my world has been at MACH-10.  I am ready for it slow down a little.  Not sure that is actually going to happen....but it is a nice fantasy. 

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Ooh La La
I was glad that I wasn't the only parent on Saturday morning who needed "one more hug" when dropping the kids off for Quebec.  (And thank you for all the support on our decision to do this!)  They made it there safely, although later than expected.  The teacher has sent an email each night (or morning, as it is posted at 1am!!) that everyone is fine and having fun, even though it is COLD. 

Sassy has NOT e-mailed us....which either means she couldn't figure it out with the Wifi (and we told her to ask an adult for help....) or she is just too busy/excited and having fun.  Either way...not happy that she is not checking in.  But very happy she is enjoying herself (or at least she appears to be in the few pictures she has been in that the teacher posted).  And she had her camera in the pictures we saw....so at least we know that she hasn't lost it.  lol

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SNOW!
Yes, this is New England in the winter.  It snows here.  But we have had back to back storms for 2 weeks...enough.  Need a break.

It is snowing now, and my office is closed until Noon, but I told Boss that I am just going to work from home today anyway.  No school today....still need to shovel....and

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My Car
My car is back in the shop....for the third time in 2 weeks.  I had to get a rental car last Thursday that I still have (and that was a story in itself....seriously.....not everything should be a story, but it seems like in my world, that is just how I roll).

My car actually is at a different shop (again....a story) and should be done today.  Front drive shaft....$724.  On top of the $812 we already paid...oh and the $93.....oh and the rental car..... this little episode is somewhere around $1800 now.

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Finances
I have to balance the checkbook, pay some bills, sort some stuff out.  I have just been in crisis mode for 2 weeks, and I have just done the bare basics to get by.  I "think" that is on the slate for tomorrow night.

I would like to do our taxes this coming weekend and be done with that.  Plus, we could use the refund.

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Treating Myself
I am going out on Valentine's Day with a girlfriend, and a few of her friends. We are going to have dinner...and go to see  THE MOVIE.  If you don't know the movie....you should be able to figure it out fairly easily.  I NEED some time off!!!

I did take Bossy to the trampoline park this weekend, with 2 friends and their kids.  I thought I would feel silly jumping on the trampoline, but it was INCREDIBLE stress relief.  I highly recommend it.

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The House
Things are starting to roll!  I am holding off on reporting too much right now, but we are hopeful at this point.

As for a new house...we are actually looking at a NEW house.  Never did we think we would be able to do that!  But there is a popular builder who is an "all inclusive" (i.e., many of the standard features are what most think of as upgrades) and we are looking at that community.  While there is a floor plan that I LOVE....that one is out of our price range.  But there is another we like and IS in the price range.  The community has a pool.  It is the school system we wanted, and because this area is a little further out than we wanted...the taxes are even cheaper.  Our drive will be just a hair bit longer than we were hoping for, but still less than we are doing now.  And this is an up and coming area, so there is a good chance that our house value will continue to go up.

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Like I said....bits and bobbles!  

I now have an "uphill in the snow" story

You know the old joke that "old timers" would tell....you kids today have it so easy....when I was a kid, I had to walk uphill in the snow to get to school....


***
It is currently snowing...again.  School and office are closed.  They are calling for up to a foot by the end of the storm, and the worst of it (as in falling 1-2 inches per hour) is happening right now.   Keep this in mind.

So I got my car back on Thursday night to the tune of $812, for towing, battery, and power steering cables (and labor!!) plus the $93 from the towing on Monday.   We are now the proud owners, to the tune of $189, of AAA plus.  Yippee.

Friday morning...I drove the car FIFTEEN minutes...that is 15....and my car started making the same noise and doing the same thing that caused me to pull over last Monday (I can't believe it has been a week already).  I called the shop, and they said I had to bring it in.  And as it turns out....they didn't "really" investigate what was making the noise to start with.  I couldn't bring it back that day....I had to be at the office because everyone was in a conference, and I was waiting for the copier guy (because as it turned out...the repair that the guy from Monday did broke again).  They said I could drive it, just be careful.

(and for the record....on my way home from work....the car started making the noise again....about 17 minutes into the trip).
 
I brought the car in at 7:30am this morning.  Right when they opened.  I asked the guy about the previous repair, and he said that it must have been a miscommunication.  They found a broken hose, so they ASSUMED that was the problem.  And he is claiming he didn't know anything about the THUD noise and the back end shaking.  Which was the reason I pulled the car over to start with.

Now, I was having ZERO problem with the steering before all of this.  Interesting.

Fine...you know now...fix my car.  I was told how because of the snow, they may not be able to get to it (which isn't what I was told on Friday, and we all knew there was snow coming by then).  They probably can't road test it.  I said...well...you know what I am describing....look at that part.

Then.....and this is really the point of the post.......I asked if they could drop me back home (they offer shuttle service for local addresses).  I live about a mile away.

Oh no....I can't do that.  All my guys are out plowing and I am here alone.  You know, it is snowing...

Unbelievable.  I brought my car in for the 2nd time in a week...because you didn't actually FIX the problem....and it is snowing, and you can't help me out?

I was told I could wait....but it could be a few hrs before someone could do it.

So I walked home.  In the snow.  And it was uphill the entire way.  Took me about 20-25 minutes.  I had to walk on the road because the sidewalks already had 6 inches of snow on them. 

I am guessing I won't have my car back today.  I have a reservation for a rental car for tomorrow.  My neighbor let me borrow her car last week, which was so generous of her...but I don't feel comfortable asking her about this week (she offered last week...I didn't ask).

I am going to go get some coffee now.....because 8:30am is too early for wine.

Exhausted

I planned on writing a more detailed account of things...but I just don't have it in me.  The past seven days has kicked my physical and emotional tushie.  I have been overwhelmed and stressed out.  So I am HOPING that this weekend can be less eventful....let me catch up on some sleep and house stuff....and start February fresh.  February is booked solid....I gotta get geared up.

But I will at least give you the highlights of the past week....some of I have already shared:

Saturday, January 24

• Shovel out from snow
• Fix broken sink
• Wedding anniversary

Sunday, January 25

• Calm before the storm (literally!)

Monday, January 26

• Busy day at office (including the copier breaking)
• Car break down on the side of road
• Drank wine

Tuesday, January 27

• Shovel out from 2 feet of snow
• Multiple calls to deal with car
• Multiple calls to talk to Brother about something big with my parents (I will not be going into this...but this has been a huge source of stress, has required many hours of phone calls, and we weren't sure how it was going to end)
• Work from home for 6 hrs

Wednesday, January 28

• Kids still home from school
• Shovel the several inches of snow we got overnight
• Borrow neighbor's car for work (I can't believe she offered...and it was a lifesaver)
• More phone calls about car, and had to go down to the place that towed my car to deal with them

Thursday, January 29

• Copier broke at office (2nd time this week...and I NEED the copier for alot of things....and the repair guy couldn't make it out to fix it), 
• Work computer died (seriously....not my week for things breaking....),
• Borrowed car again
• Car repaired to the tune of $812 (+$93 from Monday, but $100 will be reimbursed from insurance....needed new battery and my power steering cables blew out....part of the bill was for the 2nd tow, and half of the remainder of the bill was the labor charges)
• Children locked themselves out of the house
• Things came to a head with my parents (but thankfully went way better than expected)

Friday, January 30

• As I write this, it is only 6:40 in the morning...the day is still young!  
• Will need to deal with the little bit of snow we got overnight and whatever falls today

ETA, 10:30am:  Car still making noise that caused me to pull over on Monday...called shop and I have to bring it back on Monday....and get a rental car.

Realtor wants to do a showing on Sunday...so I have to get the house show ready...and leave.  And did I mention we ate getting more snow Sunday night?


Stick a fork in me......I am done.  I have a busy weekend of paperwork ahead (normal bill paying, taxes, and submitting financial waiver request for Bossy's medical supplies), need to catch up on laundry and do the "once over" in the house, and prepare for something else that is next weekend (that I will share after it is all said and done).  I hope your week was WAY better than mine.  I am not a football person....so no Super Bowl stuff for me....but if that is your bag, baby....you have a great time!!!!

Let's NOT repeat this situation

I have had some scary moments in my life.  The top ones involve the kids.  But this one is definitely ranking up there.....at least cracking into the top 5.


*For the record, while we currently have a foot of powdery snow, we will NOT be getting the 30 inches that were forecasted...or at least not where I am.  However, Boston is getting pummeled...and that is what was supposed to be here in CT*   ETA, 11:30am.  Boy was I wrong!!!!  I thought it was about a foot....closer to 2 feet!!!!  I had the kids help in the beginning, but it was very cold, and I didn't want them out for too long.  Plus...as much as I love them....I just wanted to get it done, and this was not the time for the teachable moment.  Please enjoy some snow pics before getting to the REAL story in this post.  :)

#Snowmeggedon2015 started about Noon on Monday, but wasn't sticking yet.  I left the office at 3:30 with a box of work (office had already closed for Tuesday, as did school).  I stopped at a nearby shopping center....picked up cat food and a puzzle for the kids.  Headed home.  I was going to make chicken and potatoes and green beans for dinner.  Planned on doing some work so that I wasn't as busy on Tuesday since I had to shovel out as well.

However....as Kim has said before....Mysti makes plans, God laughs.

I was about half way home, on a major highway....traffic was slowing down because the snow was falling much heavier by then and was starting to stick.  Plus it was WINDY.  All of a sudden....I hear THUD. THUD thud THUD thud.

Aw crap.  What the heck is wrong with my car?????  Since it was rhythmic, I thought maybe I rolled over something and had a flat tire.  I was on the far left side of the 4 lane highway with no shoulder....made my way across to the other side where there was a shoulder.

Looked at the tires....they looked fine.  I called G-man, and he told me to check the lug nuts.  Well, then I couldn't find the tire kit.  He googled it, and I now know that is is screwed under my back seat.  So I am hanging out of the car, upside down, unscrewing the tire kit.

Checked all the tires....they were fine.  Not dragging anything.  Nothing looked out of place.  By this point it is getting dark, and snow is really blowing.  I decided to limp the car home, and would deal with it there.  Except.....

Now the car won't start.  Seriously.  It started just fine at the office....after my errands....and now it is dead.

I am sitting on the side of a major road....in a snow storm (albeit still early in the storm, but my car was covered in snow by this point)....with a dead car.

Deep breath.  I don't have AAA (but that is changing this week!) but we do have roadside assistance through our car insurance.  Tried calling them....all circuits are busy.  OF COURSE THEY ARE.  I try again a few minutes later.....get them on the phone....and......The state police pull up to tell me I can't park on the side of the road.

I am not parked!!!!!  My car won't start!!!!

Roadside assistance tells me it will be 1.5-2 hrs to get someone to tow the car.  Police say that isn't acceptable and they will call a tow truck which will respond faster.  OK...what choice do I have.  Luckily, the tow truck came quickly....

Except he can't tow my car where I want it to go (15 min away, near my house).  He can take it to his shop that is at the next exit on the highway.  We passed several other disabled cars in just that short distance, so he had to go get them next.  So he dropped me off at a Dunkin' Donuts on the corner and took my car.

I am walk into Dunkin' Donuts with a paper ream box with my work, cat food, and my purse (I left the puzzle in the car.  *sad* ).  I had been on the phone with my friend around the corner to see if she could get me.   She can't....she is home with her kids....and her friend's kids....and her husband is at work.

Ok...called my boss....he was the next closest in distance and he has a truck.  I felt stupid calling...but I didn't really have many options.  So he came and got me and brought me home.

I got home a little after 6pm (remember...I left 2.5 hrs before).  I fixed a frozen pizza for my kids (nothing but the finest processed food for my family!)....because my patience to now cook dinner was left on the side of the road.  And....I opened a bottle of wine.  And I drank....a bottle of wine.

Yep.  I drank a bottle of wine.  So no, I didn't do any work.  I was home....the kids were fed (not the best dinner, but it was food).....and since I wasn't going anywhere without a car in a snowstorm.....I drank a bottle of wine.  And it was delicious.  I was in warm jammies, with an awesome buzz.  I am not a drinker, and usually don't have wine...but I was given this bottle at Christmas as a gift.  I need to really thank the gift giver....

My friends all tell me someday I need to write a book....because the stories about stuff that happens to me really just can't be made up.  Not that having a broken down car is unique...but really???  Didn't I just fix the sink the other day....haven't I put in my "this wasn't part of my job description" dues for the week???

So here we are....I have to call about my car, but there is a good chance, per the tow driver, that they won't even be able to look at my car until Thursday.  I am hoping that since the storm wasn't as bad as predicted, that maybe the time line will change.  Meanwhile...I will probably have to rent a car.

ETA:  The car nightmare is turning into a whole other post....stay tuned for the next part tomorrow!

I can't complain about my car too much.  We have owned it for over 3 yrs, and the only real issue we have had was when I replaced the tires last year.  So now I have to pay the tow truck (insurance will reimburse up to $50)... get my car fixed....and possibly rent a car....

Yeah, that wasn't in the budget. 

I stayed calm....I did what I had to do....but it was scary.  A broken down car when it is dark and snowy....ugh.  I was just glad I didn't have the kids with me.  Even if I did have AAA, the police wouldn't have let me wait for them, so the scenario would have still played out.  But I do want AAA now....just for the peace of mind.  Nope, that wasn't in the budget either....but I don't really care about that. It was scary...and even if I only use it one time...it will be worth it.

Well.....I guess I better get some work done before I have to shovel the snow!!!

New Year, New Totals

Here we go....the new, updated totals for the new year!  (note, graphics are from various sources.  The car pics are not out actual cars, but pretty close look alikes!)

For prosperity:

Retirement Loan:   $13,460.50

As I stated previously, we adjusted the terms of this loan in October 2014 to allow a greater cash flow in anticipation of G-man's move to NC.  Previously this loan was going to be paid off in April/May 2016, and it is now April/May 2017, based on the current repayment of $221 per paycheck (26 checks a year).  Previously it was $380 per check. 

Student Loan:        $22,474.73

This loan is the last on the list of priorities of repayment.  It always has been.  We pay $229 a month for this loan.  I *think* I am out of deferment or forbearance time for these loans, so even though we are dealing with some income fluctuation, I am not sure there is much I can do.  If we get to the point where we have to find a place to reduce...I will call and ask.  The worst they will say is no.

Credit Card:          $9,998.97

*sigh*  This total is a self-soothing, psychological game.  I couldn't deal with it going into 5 figures, so I made sure it was UNDER 10k, even if it is only by $1.03.  This is by far the BIGGEST area for improvement.  We have used it as a crutch, and we know it.  Especially in the past 6 months...there has been so much change, we failed to really pay attention.  That is on us.

Mysti's Car:           $5,150.00

At $230 a month, and a very low interest rate....this loan just gets chipped away each month.  It is scheduled to be paid off in November 2016.  I have started this little habit of paying an extra dollar or two to the principal to round the number off.  I just like the zeroes at the end. 

  

G-man's Car:         $3,500.00

This loan started at $6,000 at the end of October 2013 (first payment was November 2013).  So in 14 months, we have paid off  41.7%, and this was scheduled to be a 5 year loan (even though we never planned on taking that long).  This loan was done as a personal loan due to the age of the car (2001 Camry), so it also comes with a hefty 9.99% interest rate. 

Med/Dental:          $0.00

This is our starting number.  The question mark for 2015 is if this will STAY this way.  Bossy's supplies are on a 100% financial waiver that expires in February.  We will reapply for assistance, but there is a chance that we could lose the waiver, or have it reduced.  At that point...this number is going to go up.  Other medical and dental procedures will hopefully be covered by insurance and our FSA.  But we also have put aside extra to cover costs once the FSA is used up. 








Lastly....our EF.  It is currently sitting at $3,000.  My EVENTUAL goal is to have this at 5k. (In my perfect world, there will also be an account that has 6 months of expenses, but that is so far down the road, I don't really think about it). 

Financial Update...part 2

I promise....part 3....or the Year in review....or some post.....will talk about the side bar and the soon to be updated number.  But here is a continuation of part 1 from last week.....


The Boat

G-man sold the boat 3 weeks ago.  I hated the money sucking boat (even though it hasn't really been a financial issue for awhile).  But when the new owner was driving it away....I got sad.  The boat was purchased 6 months before G-man and I met, and I do remember the pre-kid days when we would take the boat out...he would fish, I would read.  Couple that with the major changes we have in general, and I just got overwhelmed.

We got $2000 for the boat.  Blue book was around $5000 for an excellent condition boat, and this was far from excellent.  It probably needs a few thousand in work, and time.  For the 20-something kid that bought it, who's best friend's dad is going to help him fix it up....they got an excellent deal (a trailer and a boat).

So we now have $2000 in cash......plus

Miscellaneous Money

Way earlier in the year we had saved about $2000 to make a massive snowball payment.  I just had a really hard time actually pulling the trigger, so it sat for a bit.  Then the move entered into the picture.  We used about $800 toward the getting-the-house-ready, and another $100 went to something that is escaping me right now....leaving $1100.

Add in the boat money, and we are at $3100.

Plus, we received a cash gift when G-man left his CT office.  That is another $350.

So now we are at $3450.    This is not our regular savings account.  This is not part of our EF.  This is pure "extra."

The Debate

As usual, I can't just pull the trigger on one thing with the extra money.  In some parallel universe there is a Mysti who has ONE plan and just follows it.  If I ever meet her, I will ask her how that is working out for her.

Meanwhile, in this universe, I keep running numbers....in no particular order.....

• Pay off G-man's car.  I haven't updated the side bar yet, but G-man's car is about $3472 with the December payment.  We keep a little slush in the account, so another $20-ish dollars and the car loan is gone, freeing up $127 a month, which could go toward debt or toward living expenses while we are living in 2 households.
• Huge snowball to Mysti's car.  My car loan is about $5100.  Add in whatever we get from our tax return, and there is a pretty good chance that by spring the loan is paid off, freeing $230 a month.  Again, go to debt.....or living expenses.  The biggest downsides to this option are that the loan has a very low interest rate so we aren't saving a huge amount there, and there is at least a few month delay before this is actually paid off....so the freeing of the money doesn't help in the short term.
• Huge snowball to the CC.  Obviously it doesn't get rid of the debt, but it is a boost to your credit score, which has fallen a few points because of the utilization ratio.  We are still in the high 700's, but I get an icky feeling seeing it drop.  As always, the concern is that using the CC as a crutch will bring the total up again.....yes, the simple answer is don't do it.  But let's just lay the cards on the table...there is a chance this is going to happen.  I know some of you will yell at me about this, but your yelling doesn't solve the problem that is "cash flow."
• Save it for the move.  We already know the move is going to run us in the $6500 range (between the movers, my trip to go house hunting, misc travel expenses, setting up a few home expenses, etc).  Obviously this covers about half....add in the tax return in a few months, and we should have about 3/4 covered.  We had figured at least some of our move would be charged, with the plan that we would have it as a tax write off...but that won't happen until 2016.  Whatever money we get back will go to debt in one form or another, it will just depend on what the situation looks like in 2016.
• Living expenses.  I started writing this post before we got paid yesterday and saw our $159 check.  The idea of saving it for living expenses was sort of on the bottom of the priority because a) we really didn't think the check would be THAT low, b) concern that it would get eaten away at "nothing", and c) G-man getting a second job was always a consideration to make up for a deficit.  But now that we know that we have about $330 less per month....this would float us for 10 months.  And we already know that this move is going to happen before then (hoping for May or June!)
• Fund the miscellaneous accounts.  I have talked many times about our on-line funds to pre save for expenses, such as car insurance and maintenance, water bill, taxes, etc. We also save for the cats, kids activities, Christmas....but right at this moment, those are secondary.  We could put aside money we know we are going to need for at least the next 6 months and not have to worry where that is going to come from.

In the short term.....it is going to sit and wait.  The next 10 days are just not the right time to make a decision, so we will mull it over.  (Although I would love to pull the trigger on 12/31 and bring out 2014 down!!!)  I am trying not to split the money into small piles, because it really doesn't help the big picture.

I really do wish we were in a situation where we could SPEND this.  But we aren't.  So this option is not an option.  But the thought was nice for the 1.3 seconds that it lasted.

Feel free to interject.  Am I missing something?

Murphy Near Miss....and a new piece in the puzzle

I came home last night to G-man telling me that his car was running hot.  Well terrific....

He looked a few things up, and found an $8 thingy that needed to be replaced, so he took my car and got the part.  Of course I didn't get home until 7pm, so by the time he got back, the sun was down and he was changing the thingy in the twilight light.

This may be fixed.  It may not.  It could hold for a month, or a year.  Who knows.

Dealing with a radiator issue was not on my radar....

****

G-man also told me that he is scheduled for an out of town training in November.  WHAT????!!!!!

The team leader is aware that we are waiting for news about the new job.  And most likely, if we are going to be moving, G-man will be removed from the list of people going to the training.  But maybe not.

I told him my feelings (and that I reserved the right to change my mind at anytime!) were:
1)  If we were ALL moving together.....then he might as well go to the training.  At that point, we would be mostly packed up, and it wouldn't really make a huge difference.  AND....

2)  If he is moving without us, then he isn't going to the training!  It would be about 10 days before he would have to report for the new job, and if he was about to leave us on a temporary-permanent basis, then NO, I don't support him being gone an extra 5 days.

****

We also got another piece of information....NO, not THE piece of news....yet.....

G-man spoke to his Administrative Officer (who was one of his references, and has been SO SO supportive of G-man with all of this), who said when she spoke to the Charlotte office the other day, the AO let it slip that there are 2 positions open (which we knew), and they only ended up with 2 candidates!

If they didn't like the candidates, then they would have closed the posting again, and re-opened it with new parameters.  But basically, unless something was really out of whack....both of these candidates will be offered positions.

G-man and I are both WAY calmer at this point than we were a few days ago.  I think we both are just in the "we know this is going to happen....just don't know when" category.  It is a little "counting your chickens before they hatch" mentality.  But there hasn't been anything to indicate that this ISN'T going to happen.

We know that HR is backed up, so we have no idea when an offer will be made.  In the meantime, we are continuing to work on the house and get our ducks lined up.  The kids still don't know, but that may change later today. 

We have 2 realtors coming in today, and our very astute daughter may start asking questions.  We had hoped that we would have known before today so we could talk to the kids, but it didn't happen.  I am anxious to tell the kids so they can better understand what is going on.  Bossy will want to know exact information, and we don't have that yet.  BUT....I found a virtual tour of the town we are looking to move to on You Tube....and I know he will be thrilled to watch that!


Ok....gotta get cleaned up before the realtor gets here........wish us luck!

Taxes and jobs

New week...yay!

Today is one of the kids' predetermined "late arrival" school days for professional development.  I will say it again....whoever thought having the kids start late (10:30, vs 8am) just didn't think about parents.  *sigh*  While it was nice to not have the alarm go off at 6am, it does throw off the rhythm of the day.

Taxes are almost done.  All the main numbers are in, but I have to fill in a few minor details.  But.......drum roll please.......

Federal:  $2653 REFUND
State:      $117 OWE

I have no idea what happens with our state taxes other than they just go up every year.  We have taxes taken out, and we have EXTRA taken out, and we almost always owe (last year was a rare $34 refund).  I am not sweating this....it isn't that bad.  And our federal refund is WAY larger than we expected (considering I thought we would owe).

We have too many little amounts that we have held on to for one reason or another.  We are going to corral them all, and decide what to do.  I already know that part is going towards new tires for my car.  The tires are still ok for the moment, but I will need new tires (which we were already planning on for later this year....it was just a bummer that we spent $200 of our car savings on the alignment).  And I already mentioned our poor bathroom floor.

The rest....*ducking from the eggs being thrown*....will probably sit in savings for a little bit. 

G-man has applied for a new job out of state, and we will wait until that is decided before we do anything.  If a move is in our future (it is a long shot), then the money will go toward that.  G-man put CT as his second choice office, so if he gets that instead of out of state (they are the same job, just in different locations), we would still lose some money initially.  He would move to a day position, and we would lose his night and Sunday pay.  His base pay will be a lateral move at this time, but the potential path is much greater.  In his current position....he will not receive any raises, ever.  He is at the top of the scale, and his current position is considered a low grade position.

We are trying to laugh if I end up getting a new job at the same time we find out we are moving.  Wouldn't that just be how we roll???

If none of the above work out....the extra money will go toward his car to pay it off faster, per What's the Cost (and Tanner, I haven't had a chance to check out your calculator suggestion!).  We have started saving half of G-man's second job pay (since I increased my hours at my job) to see if we can make it without that money.  If we can, then that savings will go toward either the move, or towards the car.

Anyway you put it...we should know about G-man's job within a month, so it isn't like this will dangle on forever.  But we definitely will have a month in flux!!

A Day Home

G-man didn't realize that I had today off for MLK day.  He is working both jobs today.  So he was bumming hard....he figured at least I was in the thick of it as well.  The positive thing about today is that he gets "holiday" pay at the office.  The negative thing is that I don't get paid today.  It basically is a wash.

I have not gotten as much done over the weekend as I would have liked, so I need to be a little more productive today.  This coming week is a busier than usual week, so I won't have as much time later.

On the agenda for today:

• Dishes (I swear, all I do is dishes.)
• Laundry - one load is in the washer now, and have at least 1 or 2 loads of clothes, plus all towels and bed sheets to do.  (and I have been doing a load a day just to keep this from happening, and it still happened)
• Bills/Checkbook - Due to the bank holiday, G-man's direct deposit won't hit our account until tomorrow, but he already looked up his paystub, so I can plan accordingly.  Included in the bill paying are our car taxes for January (which are really for the car we got rid of....I hate the way this works).
• Put away misc stuff - I have a pile of stuff that just is sitting there annoying me.  Just need to bite the bullet and put it away.
• Wipe down bathrooms
• Self care - no need to go into that

Wish me luck!  Hope you all have a great day, either at work or at home!

Net Zero

If two things happen in the same day, and they cancel each other out....are you still allowed to be excited and upset?

Excited
Our town did a reassessment of the houses for tax purposes, and it assessed lower than what we have been paying for the past 5 years!  I wish I was more savvy over the past years about this, or I would have had the house reassessed when the marked bottomed out. 

In 2008 (previous assessment), our house assessed at $133K (70% of market value).  Then the market tanked, and our house value plummeted.  But we continued to pay taxes based on the 2008 assessment.  Each year they have increased the mill rate, and our taxes continued to go up.  In 2008, our taxes were $3400 for the year.  Last year we paid $4126.  That is 21% higher than 5 years ago.

So, at a lower assessment, we are hoping our taxes will go down some.  It is all dependent on the mill rate, which hasn't been announced yet.  This will all go into effect for Oct 1.  They are sneaky that way....we will still have to pay at the higher assessment rate for July 2014 taxes, but our January 2015 will have the new numbers.

MAYBE it will go down a bit.  MAYBE.

Upset
G-man got cut off on his way to work, and in order to avoid being hit, he swerved....hit the curb....and blew out his tire.  When we bought this car in October, the tires were practically new.  And now, one is dead.

He has a full size spare on the car now....but now we will need to get a new spare, or at least a donut, incase something else happens.


I love how these things happened in the same day.....it is like the cosmos just can't let the good stuff just hang around.  It has to make sure it is negated.

Cars are stressing me

I am a realist.  I know stuff happens, and I try to prepare for it.  Where I sometimes go to the extreme is how far in advance I plan for the inevitable.

G-man's car is a 2004.  It has 165k miles.  And he is hard on his car (as he is on everything....clothes, shoes, electronics....).  His car is a mess inside (which I try not to think about, as it is his car, and I am rarely in it).  But the bottom line is....he needs to take care of his car to make it last.

I have already told asked him to please make a list of what maintenance needs to be performed on the car, and to look at what should have been done at 150k.  A few things I already know that need to be done are an oil change and new air filter.  It got a new transmission last year, so that BETTER be fine.

But I am also thinking about tires....and those puppies are expensive!  I am pretty sure they are ok right now, but again....nothing lasts forever. No idea what else.

My car just got an oil change last week (when it was in the shop for the recall notice).  And since we had the car inspected when we bought it, I am fairly confident that it is ok.  But again, at some point down the road, it will need tires.  The brakes are squeaking a little...hoping they just need to be cleaned, but maybe they need new pads.

I have just about convinced myself that we need to save more for the car stuff.  So now I am thinking of changing the budget (again) to accommodate that.  It may mean taking some money from extra debt repayment, or using the overtime money to continue to pad the account.

I guess this rambling post comes down to the security I feel knowing that there is a pile of money available for life stuff.  And while I want to do it all, I can't.  This again plays into my post from yesterday about a boost in income.....I would feel better knowing the accounts are full and happy.....and for some reason that gives me more "energy" than the debt repayment (but trust me....watching numbers go down is a jazz!)

Do you save for this stuff, or just deal with it when it happens?  Is this what you use your EF for?

ETA:  We do have a "car" fund.  At this point, it just covers little things....wipers, oil changes, etc.  We have been able to use it for some "larger" expenses, like the alternator that died in April.  But something always happens before we are able to let it really build.

I guess I don't want to use the EF for the car because I already know that maintenance on a car is a given.  It really isn't an emergency.  On the flip side....if all of a sudden my master cylinder croaked....that would be an emergency!

Nasty Numbers

I have mentioned before that we are required to do a financial disclosure for G-man's job once a year.  (One of these days I will do it as we go instead of having to go back and look at stuff....wait....I am doing that for this year!  Yea me!).

This packet is a PITA.  The basics of it are starting and ending balances of ALL accounts (CC, mortgage, car, investments, banking); how much we paid over the year, large purchases (like the car).  This year is particularly a PITA because we have the refinance of the house, paying off G-man's car, purchasing my car.  All of this has to be documented.

I started working on it last night (it is due in mid-May), and it wasn't pretty.  I knew it wouldn't be....but it REALLY wasn't pretty.  By going through 12 months of statements I discovered 

• We paid $13,814.84 on our credit cards combined.
• We paid $5,105.16 towards Lending Club.

This is a total of $18,920.  This number includes interest we occurred, payment towards purchases (including car repairs, PTA stuff I fronted and was reimbursed for, and any other purchases).  This does NOT include the balance transfer we made, which just rearranged the money.

But the truly sick part....

• Overall starting balance for those 5 accounts - $34,634.94
• Overall ending balance for those 5 accounts - $36,408.94

That is an increase of $1,774.  We paid almost 19 THOUSAND dollars, and increased the debt load.  What this means is that we paid off everything we used the cards for, minus the $1,774.


To those who want to be a hater and tell me how little progress we made...go right ahead.  This is not an open invitation to bash me....just that I am not in the mood to fight today, so say what you will.  I am not going to argue with you about it.  I will agree that the numbers will support your argument, but the numbers don't tell the whole story, and you know it.

I am so looking forward to hitting the reset button soon.  I need to put 2011 behind me for good. 

How do you define Progress?

***ETA:  I wrote this post last night, and scheduled it to go live today.  Almost no one actually GOT the point of the post.  Everyone is still on the "should we buy tickets" bandwagon....which for the record, I never asked if I should or shouldn't.  

In my GBU yesterday, I mentioned that we were "thinking" about getting concert tickets.  Our last concert was almost 10 years...oops....8 years ago (the kids were ALMOST 2).  Are they pricey?  Yep.  We were thinking about it; no decision made.  We have had 2 big date nights in the past year....and this would be the next one (not counting the wedding we have in May).

Is it the BEST use of money?  Depends on your definition of BEST.  No, it isn't going to debt.  But if you define BEST as "the ability for a couple to have a night out, see a show we both would enjoy, and have a night off from the stress of our life,"  then yes.  We have also considered only having G-man go (as he wants to go more than I do, even though I do want to go).  Then we would only have 1 ticket and parking.  No sitter or anything.

Consuelo made a comment regarding our numbers and our "lack of progress" in the past few months.

I am not going to deny that numbers are ugly.  I never have.  We were making progress, and last year really wrenched that.  No denying that.  But to say "lack of progress" in the past few few months isn't accurate.  I haven't updated our sidebar in the past few days because I know it is all about to change, and decided to wait until the big change to do the update.  But the comment really upset me, so I looked a few things up....a few things that may not be as apparent to you all because I don't share EVERY detail.

Since January 1....

• We have increased our EF by $324.    Prior to my root canal, we had just under $1,300 in there.  We withdrew some to float that money to get a discount.  When our FSA reimburses us, it will go back to the EF, and we will have the $1300 again, and are working toward
• We have saved over $500 towards the kids' camp for the summer, which acts as day care for us while we work.
• We have saved $550 in overtime pay.  Part of this is paying for G-man's speeding ticket and fishing license.  The rest is going toward our weekend trip to Sesame Place for Autism Day (entrance to the park is free, other than a $25 parking fee which goes to charity.  We have a gov't discount for the hotel).
• We have saved enough so far to pay for our water bill, which will come in May.  And we are on track to have the money saved for our personal property taxes in July.
• We paid off our retirement loan (whose numbers were never added into any of the tallies, but at the start of the blog....we had about $7100 left), a few year early.
• We established a "cat fund" that currently has enough for all three cats' check-ups, and have been working on saving per month for food and litter.

Based on the numbers on January 1, as reported in my Financial Goals for 2012:

• The student loan has decreased $456.
• The car has decreased $642.
• Medical has increased $50, but as long as Bossy has medical needs, this bill will always be in flux.  Considering I had a $700 root canal, and the overall bill has only gone up $50, I am happy.

This just leaves the CC bills.  Taking the mattress out of the equation, which we had planned to take a little extra out of the next retirement loan to cover....the CC has gone down about $400.  Now, what this means is that we have basically paid off everything we have charged in the past 3 months, and a little more.  This was considerably more, but as I said, we back slid a little on this in the past month.  Included in this have been a few gifts (baby shower, bridal shower, birthday parties).  Some has been eating out when we have been lazy about cooking.  But NONE of it has been shopping for the sake of shopping.  There has been no clothes, music, home decor (as tempting as it has been!!).

Once we take out the loan, I will update all the numbers.  At that point, all of the debt will be at an interest rate of 3.375% or less.  I know that not everyone will agree with the retirement loan for this purpose.  It is taking money from our future.  But in no more than 4 years, it will be paid off, and we will be just about debt free other than the mortgage (right now we are at 5 years to be debt free....but I think we may be able to shave at least some of that off).

I know this is a long post.  So if you made it this far....good for you!!!  But we HAVE made progress.  It isn't gazelle intense....never has been.  But it IS progress.

So to Consuelo....thank you for reading and spurring me to investigate this further.  I am sorry you don't feel like we are making progress, but in the end, we only have to account to ourselves.

I did all of that....for 16 cents.

My bad day just continued to get worse.   I won't bore you with it.  I will say that the Walmart trip was particularly amusing, and ended with me sprinting out of the store, just so I could get the heck out of there.

But the story I would like to share today involves gas for the car.

I have mentioned the fuel point program that some of the local stores have.  One of the programs is $0.10 off per gallon for every $100 spent.  They have other deals going on, like buy 6 of these items, get a bonus $0.20 off. That kind of thing.  I usually save up points until I have $0.50 or $.60 cents off before I redeem them.

Now, there are 2 gas stations that take these points.  One is a little further away, but typically the gas is cheaper.  I try and use that gas station if I can.  I based my errands around going to that station.  I drove PAST the closer station.  Get to the "cheaper" station to find out......

The gas was a big ole whopping 1 cent cheaper this week.  1 cent. 

My day was already lousy.  And there were several other mis-steps in errands prior to the gas station incident (but I will say the Walmart incident was AFTER the gas station).  But to find out I went out of my way for 16 cents total.  Not cool.

Additionally, the store has stopped its loyalty program, where you automatically get $0.05 off additional if you use your store loyalty card.  Now it is purely based on the points you accumulate for purchases.  That stinks.

16 cents.  I did all of this for 16 cents.

I updated it....

The side bar.  With the new numbers.  *sigh*  Total is now $3,000 MORE than it was at the start of the blog.....

The cash we were using towards the difference between the car loan and the final price was sent to the retirement loan.  Since the retirement loan payment will become the car payment, we decided to try and get rid of this as soon as possible.  Right now it will be the beginning of January, but I am going to TRY and kill it by the end of December.

We had to transfer some money from our EF to the new checking account at the credit union for a short period of time.  The CU will autodebit the car payment from the checking account, and until the direct deposit starts with the next payperiod, we needed to make sure we had enough in there to cover the Dec 15 payment.  Once we have enough in the checking account to cover the car (it will take a few months because we are one pay check off from where it was supposed to be), that money will go right back to the EF.

As I have said previously...the remainder of this year is more about survival and reset than paying down debt.  We really need to let the dust settle and see where we are.  We have a tentative budget for January, which will have the retirement loan paid off, the new medical FSA reimbursements, and hopefully a small cost of living increase.

On the positive side:

• The student loan is going down now that it is out of deferment. 
• Lending Club gets paid at the end of the week, so that will go down as well (which will bring us to 44% paid off).

Am I feeling good about all of this....heck no.  We have spent a great deal of money this year.  All of my plans went down the drain.  But it is what it is and all I can do is keep digging my way out.  This coming year should be much less expensive (no crisis repairs to the car, the pool is fixed.....).  As I have said before...we aren't that family that will pay this off in a year and boast how we survived on 4 Cheerios a day to make it work.

So there they are.....the new numbers.  One other note....I removed the progress bars.  They depressed me. 

The unpopular choice

I so appreciate everyone weighing in on the car situation.  And ultimately.....We are getting the car.

(ducking to avoid the rotten tomatoes)

I know this isn't the popular choice.  In the end, we had to separate our feeling about the car from our feelings about the customer service.  The car is the long term; the rotten service is short term.  Once the car is in our possession, we will have no further dealings with the dealership.

As for the car itself, I know alot of you think we are in over our heads.  And I will agree with you in the short term.  Until the retirement loan is paid off, it is going to be dicey.  Right now the loan is set to be paid off in early February 2012, so about 2.5 months (unless we get some kind of windfall). After that....the money that has been going to the retirement loan will go to the car loan.

Our insurance is not really changing.  We were paying $120 a month....it went down to $111 last month....and it will be going back up to $121.  No real difference there.

Taxes...yes, they will be higher.  We are guessing that the taxes will be close to where the Explorer taxes are.

We did look at under $10k cars on line...and really, there wasn't anything that truly wowed us.  The difference in the monthly loan amount is about $50 more with the car we got vs. some of the others.  And we are getting alot more car.

The difference we have to come up with between the loan amount and final price is about $1100.  We could pay cash for all of it...but we are choosing to put half on the CC.  I just don't want to drain that much cash.  It is a choice we are making. 

There was going to be a car loan one way or another.  Public transportation was not an option due to commute times (both in how long, and the times we need to be where we are going).  Sharing a car....we have managed....but I have been missing work to make that work, plus all the other cancelled appointment.

Someone mentioned selling the boat.  If you read about my "love affair" with the boat....you will know that I am all for selling the boat (which by the way....isn't worth much).  But that is G-man's call...and he will NOT sell the boat.  The boat overall doesn't cost us THAT much, but it does need work (enter the now empty boat maintenance fund)

So there you are.  The unpopular choice.  Just pretend you are happy for me that I am getting a new car.  I know that when I see all the numbers in black and white, I will vomit.  But we are trying to figure out EVERYTHING. 

I sit as it all falls apart - UPDATED

Just once in my life....I would like something to be easy.  But knowing my cynical side...if something was easy, I would be waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The new car......

We sent in the loan papers, everything was set up.  We figured out how to pay for the difference (half on CC, half is made up of cash from emptying the boat maintenance fund, and taking some from EF and some from home improvement fund).  We were figuring out what we needed to do in order to pick the car up today (as in Wednesday).

Yeah.....not so much.

We get a call from the dealership yesterday afternoon that 1) one of the hoses to fix the car is backordered and 2) the finance paperwork guy isn't there on Wednesday.

Let's talk about #1.  No one told us that the car wasn't actually fixed yet.  We knew about the repair at 1pm on FRIDAY.  We went in to do final negotiation paperwork on SATURDAY.  We talked to the MONDAY about getting the check.  So why was it TUESDAY before they mentioned this????

#2....less of an issue, but still.

G-man went 10 rounds with the sales manager, who was a jerk and a half.  Completely unwilling to talk about anything other than WE were beating a dead horse.  So he spoke to the general manager.  Now we are in a holding pattern.  They are unwilling to negotiate any further, but I told G-man that they certainly can throw in some oil changes or something for all the inconvenience.  We will see.

The dealership is taking the attitude of "buy the car, don't buy the car...we don't care anymore." We are tempted to walk away.  GRRRR.

UPDATE - We found a similar car (not as many upgrades, but only 25k miles) and put a hold on it until we can get there to see it.  We are keeping our options open until we figure out what to do. 

UPDATE 2 - Apparently we don't have the other car on hold yet.   But Car #1 is now fixed and is ready when we are.  General Manager offered us ONE oil change for our troubles. 

UPDATE 3 - Car 2 has a hold on in the hour we were waiting for them to call us back.  

Additional info:  We will not have any dealings with the dealership once we purchase the car.  The car will have a 60 day warranty on it, but after that...we have no reason to have any dealings with them.  Alot of people have said "how will they treat you later?"  They won't treat us anyway....we will never see them.

No car on Tuesday

I have no idea whose fault it is....I think it is a combination of G-man, the dealer, and the credit union (please notice...I had nothing to do with this).  But the check did not go out today.  It will go out tomorrow, and should arrive on Wednesday.

So now I will have to cancel Bossy's OT appointment AGAIN.  I have a meeting at 7pm that I probably will be able to attend, but it will be hectic.

I am so fed up.  This is why I like to do things myself.  I swear, when other people do things, everything gets mucked to all hell.