Future Planning

$5000 in the next month

2012-01-19T18:31:00.000-08:00

In the next month, DH and I will getting back $5k from his quarterly bonus, a holiday bonus I was eligible for, our tax refund, and a credit for some dental work I had done right before Christmas. Dear lord, we can not blow this money! This is enough to knock out a significant chunk of our debt. Our current plan is:
$5000
(271)-IR credit card-DONE as of 1/25/2012
(1950)-Pay off Chase card
(1700)-Pay off other Chase card
(500)-Savings
$579 left over. I am not sure where this will be going. We have a few small projects around the house to do, and DH is in desperate need of clothes for work. Paying off the three credit cards will free up $160, and we will be freeing up an additional $85 a month by April due to some cost cutting. That's an extra $245 a month, which is awesome and should really let us make some progress on getting this mess paid off. It seems like this is where we always mess up though. We pay off 2 or 3 cards, and then we start up with the reckless spending again. If we could just stay focused, it would only take us a year and a half to get everything paid off.

So Far So Good......

2011-09-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

Mr. Kitty is doing great so far. The vet put him on a prescription food that will run us about $40 a month, but this is only $20 more than what we were currently spending (and if it keeps Mr.Kitty healthy, it's priceless). My final vet bill wound up being a few hundred less than I thought, which is absolutely awesome.
September Goal Update
1. Pay off veterinarian bills-we have about $400 left to pay-DONE as of 9/7
2. Pay off the rest of DS's hospital bill and a doctor bill of mine-about $800-this is at $500 as of 9/8
3. Put money aside for tax payment or adjust DH's withholding to compensate-DONE as of 9/8-I wound up just changing DH's withholding. It's just easier to change that than mail in an estimated payment.

I've been working really hard to make sure I get in as many hours as possible with my work and make sure I am being accountable with how I spend time during DS's naps and after he goes to bed. It's amazing how much more time you have when you cut back on message boards and online window shopping :p I mean honestly, DS sleeps 3-4 hours during the day and 11-12 hours at night. There is no excuse for me to not utilize this time wisely and be productive.

The credit cards are frozen in the freezer, and they will be staying there. I have paid the stupid things off and run them back up so many times now; it's ridiculous how much I have wasted in interest and balance transfer fees on the stupid things.

Financial To Do List

2011-08-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

The past month has been rough financially, to say the least. My kitty had to see the vet several times and then have emergency surgery, to the tune of $1500! He had several cat UTIs, and then he was blocked completely, hence the emergency surgery at 1:00 AM on a Saturday night. I know some people would think I am crazy for spending that on a cat, but he (and my 3 other cats and dog) are my second babies and I will do whatever I can to keep them healthy.
September is looking like a good month, but we need to tackle a few things before we can really focus on the debt payments again.
1. Pay off veterinarian bills-we have about $400 left to pay
2. Pay off the rest of DS's hospital bill and a doctor bill of mine-about $800
3. Put money aside for tax payment or adjust DH's withholding to compensate

DH and I have talked about trying for number two around January 2013. We have a lot of work to do financially if this is going to happen. The credit card debt doesn't have to be gone completely, but we need to pay off 4 of the 6. This would cut our payments by $200 a month, which would put us in a much better position to afford a new to us car. DH's is getting close to 200K miles, but still going strong. We just need to be in a better position to be able to pay a car payment when it finally dies.
Our tentative financial schedule:
October 2011-Pay off Chase card 1
November 2011-Set aside money for the holidays and Christmas
December 2011-Pay off Chase card 2
January 2012-Pay off BOA card 1
March 2012-Pay off credit union card, Capital One card
April 2012-Start building emergency fund

Back on track? Maybe?

2011-06-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to sugarcoat it-the last few months have been an absolute disaster for us financially. I lost my highest paying contract position, which absolutely killed us financially, since the pay from this job is what we were using to pay down debt, savings, and unexpected expenses. I have other things that I do, but this one was the highest paying by far. Our credit card debt is up to $28K now, and we still have about $1K in medical bills to pay off.
I found a new contracting position that will be close the same pay as my old one, so we should get going in the right direction very soon. Baby Boy goes to bed at 7ish each night and sleeps till 7 AM, so my plan is to work 4 hours once he goes to bed, Monday-Thursday. Friday and Saturday, I will work an hour in the morning and three hours at night, and Sunday will be an hour in the morning and two hours at night. Total hours will be 27, and the pay will be around $1600 each month. I need to draw up a new budget and draft a new plan. Having some type of plan always makes me feel better, even though things rarely always go as planned!

DH's New Job

2011-04-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

We finally got all the details about DH's new position today. He'll be making $65K, and he will be eligible for a bonus of up to 15% twice a year, depending on quality, waste, etc. for his plant. The 401K match is great, 100% up to 6% of your salary, no cap. That alone will enable us to get our retirement savings to 15 percent, which is awesome! Now, if we could just get this debt consistently going down again, I would be very happy. We've already agreed that if he does get bonuses this year, the majority will be going to debt.
I think I need to put myself on an allowance. I have guidelines of what I want/need to spend, but I don't follow them like I should. Between cute baby stuff, cute summer clothes, and eating out, I waste so much money every month:(

Time to Get With the Program

2011-03-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

It's time to jump back on the debt pay down wagon. I have to admit, I kind of fell off the last part of 2010 and when baby boy was born. Not because baby boy was too consuming, but because one of the reasons I wanted to pay down our debt was so DH and I could have a baby. Well, we had a baby without getting it paid off, and the world didn't come to an end, so we kind of lost some of our intensity. However, I know it is in my family's best interest to get this debt gone. It will give us more flexibility in our life, and it will allow us more funds for "fun" stuff once it is all paid off.
We still have 25K in credit card debt we need to blast. I'm not sure yet when our goal is to have this paid off. DH got promoted to a supervisor position, but they have not yet negotiated salary with him. Keeping my fingers crossed it is something awesome! I'm just tracking the credit card debt now. We have student loans too, but I'm not really focused on them right now.

27-Mar
BOA1	8970
BOA2	2100
Chase1	1900
Chase2	1740
Citi	10165
	24875

Random Thoughts

2011-03-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

*I love our new bed. My only regret is that we didn't spring for it sooner, like when I was pregnant and my back was KILLING me all the time.
*My hardest adjustment since having a baby? The lack of structure/definite associated with a newborn! Baby boy eats when he wants and sleeps when he wants. I know as he gets older, some trends and patterns will emerge (and they are starting to already, just not very consistent). I have found that making a list of things I want to accomplish in the morning, in the evening, and in the afternoon helps me stay organized and feel like I am sticking to some type of plan, but also allows for the flexibility needed for my baby.
* I got baby boy's 529 plan opened.

Random Financial Things

2011-02-20T00:03:00.001-08:00

*Our current total for the medical bills from baby boy's birth is $2144.00.
-$557 is to my OB, which I only have to pay ten percent a month. I am going to pay $60 a month till it is gone.
-$1587 to my hospital. The plan is to pay $450 a month and have this gone in June.
*DH and I bought a new bed and mattress. I know, bad, bad, bad. It's a king sized bed, and the mattress is like laying on a slice of heaven. Total cost:$1630, interest free for three years. $50 a month will take care of this before the interest free is up.

Baby Spending Thus Far

2011-02-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

Baby boy is sleeping, DH is sleeping, and I am relaxing and catching up on the Biggest Loser. DH took complete baby duty last night, and I took some Nyquil and got 10 hours of sleep. I feel like a new woman!
Here is what we have spent baby-wise in January and February:
Jan.
Air purifier (I consider this a baby expense, since DH insisted we had to have it):$73
Baby shoes:$4
Diapers:$17.5
Total for January:$94.5
Carry over for January:$15.50

February
Formula:$53
Diapers:$19.15
Clothes:$20
Total:$92.15

Left for Feb.-$17.85
Money from Feb. and Jan. to spend:$33.35

I did a more in depth analysis of my diaper stash, and it looks like I am good through August, and I need to start getting size 4 and size 5. My baby is a big boy. He was 10 pounds, 11 ounces at birth, and he is now 12 pounds, 14 ounces at a month old. He was in newborn diapers for 2 weeks (even though he was born over the 10 pound weight limit on them, he is relatively slim for his size, so I was able to use all I had). He's been in size 1 diapers for almost 3 weeks and is about ready to move to size 2 as soon as I finish using all the size 1 diapers.

Ramblings

2011-02-11T14:56:00.001-08:00

I need to get some thoughts on paper before I forget everything running through my head. This week has been rough, not so much because of baby boy's sleeping habits, but because I have been a total insomniac this week. Normally I can take Benadryl or Tylenol PM, and I am out like a light. Nothing has worked this week, but it's like the tireder I get, the harder it is to get to sleep.
1. Spending for baby boy has been on track this month and last month. There is a killer diaper deal at Walgreens next week, so I plan on stocking up like CRAZY! I have about six month's worth of diapers in the closet, but I'd like to get that up to 18 months. It's that good of a deal. I went to Babies R Us today and returned some clothes that baby boy outgrew before he ever got a chance to wear. I used the store credit to help buy him 6 sleepers, 4 outfits, 2 cans of formula, and a pair of shoes. I spent $44 out of pocket, which I was VERY pleased with. We should be good on formula for the next month, and baby boy now has some clothes in 3-6 months and 6-9 months. I am just guessing he'll outgrow his 0-3 month clothes in about 2-3 weeks. The pants still have a lot of room, but the onesies/shirts are getting kind of small. The one piece things fit him perfectly right now.
2. DH and I are thinking of buying a new mattress. Our current one royally bites, and it is so uncomfortable. We're going browsing this week to see what is out there and how much a new one would cost.
3. Still waiting on more info about the medical bill situation. Still planning on doing a payment plan over 6 months.
4. Have opened baby boy's 529 plan, will make first contribution of $25 next week (hey, ya gotta start somewhere).
5. Mulch account is fully funded.
6. Credit card debt isn't going down, but it isn't going up. It's stagnant for now.

6. Next objective is to add $200 to emergency fund to get it at $1500.
6.

Upcoming Financial Obligations

2011-02-03T13:14:00.001-08:00

Just trying to get this down on paper before baby boy wakes up from his nap:

1. Federal Taxes-$678-(will be offset by $425 state refund), so actually $253-by April 1st
2. Mulch-$125-by April 1st-DONE 2/11
3. Medical bills-$2400-Yeah, our insurance pretty much lied when we asked how much we should expect to pay from the hospital stay. Not too happy about this and really upset with the insurance rep who didn't have a clue what she was talking about. I'm still trying to get things adjusted and have a few appeal forms to file, but this is the current number. I can get on a payment plan with the hospital for 6 months, interest free, so this is what we are going to do.-August 3rd
4. Passport for the baby-$105-May 1st
Total:$2883
From Feb.-May-Put aside $421 a month for these expenses
From June-August-Put aside $400 a month

2 Weeks, 2 Days Old

2011-01-27T12:34:00.000-08:00

My baby boy is two weeks, two days old today. I am just so in love with him. I could sit and hold him for hours. We wound up being in the hospital longer than anticipated, so DH took off an extra week from work. This kind of threw a wrench in our budgeting this month, but I don't think it's not anything we can't work out.
We are doing really good with our spending this month. The only category we are over in is our grocery budget, by $24, and that's because we did a huge shopping trip before the baby was born and stocked up on a ton of stuff. The baby is doing wonderfully on the generic Babies R' Us formula, which is AWESOME in terms of savings. My diaper stash is going a little faster than expected, but I managed to get a 224 box of Luv's diapers for $7.77 by combining a bunch of coupon and promo codes on Amazon.
I think we're going to spend the next little bit just enjoying our baby. DH is trying to get the amount of over time he has to work cut down so he can be at home more. We aren't going to completely abandon our debt paydown and savings goals, but they just aren't going to take top priority right now. I know he'll only be a baby once, and I just feel like we can find a better balance than what we have now with work versus life, especially for DH.

Sooo anxious

2011-01-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

I am so anxious for this baby to get here. It's kind of hard to describe, but I'm just so ready to move onto the next phase of my life. I'm ready to go from a pregnant work at home wife to a stay at home mom who can still work part time from home. I'm ready to have my baby in my arms and be able to hold, feed him, and play him! I'm ready to lose this baby weight. I've looked up some 'mommy and me' type exercises that I can do with the baby in his Moby wrap. Hopefully, I should know something tomorrow about a possible induction date.
My goal is to keep the baby spending at $120 or less per month. I have a six month supply of diapers in the newborn size to size 3, thanks to some couponing on my part, but also due to some very generous family members. I would say we have about a two month supply of wipes, and we have the generic type of formula to try from Target.
Here is the breakdown I am thinking (not counting the diaper/wipe stash I currently have):
Diapers: $20
Wipes:$5
Formula:$50
Copay for well baby check up:$20
Misc. (clothes, toys, etc.):$25

My plan is to take any surplus left over from this and put into an account and just let it build up for when I do need it. Obviously, I will coupon as much as possible to get the wipes/diapers for the best possible price. I think this baby has enough clothes, toys, etc. to get him through his first 3-4 months of life. People were so generous at my shower, and they gave me clothes in a variety of sizes, which is awesome. When I do need to buy new clothes/toys, I plan on hitting up Once Upon a Child, which is an awesome consignment shop specifically for babies and kids. I have found outfits from Old Navy and Baby Gap for literally $3-$4 with the tags still on. I'm not going to lie; I totally want to dress my baby up in cute, adorable outfits all the time. I think this store will help me accomplish that, but on a budget :)

Barely Eeeked out a Positive Net Worth this Year

2010-12-18T00:06:00.000-08:00

DH and I started the year with a negative net worth-(-$21,800) to be exact. We will be finishing the year with a net work of $382 to the positive! I wanted to end this year with a positive net worth, even if it was only be a few hundred dollars, and we did it! Unfortunately, we didn't do quite as much debt pay down this year as I had hoped, but we did make progress, which is the important thing.
Next year, I just want to keep moving in the right direction. The mortgage and the student loans HAVE to go down, so I know we'll make progress there :p There credit cards are the hard part, but I know we can keep them going down too.
With DH's next paycheck (his 'extra' one this month since this is a three paycheck month), I am going to add $1180 to our emergency fund. This will put us at $1500. From then on, I want to add $110 every paycheck. If we get through next year without ever having to touch the emergency fund, we'll end 2011 with $4360 in it, which would meet my goal of having $3000 in it by year end 2011. Heck, that even gives us a little bit of buffer to still meet our goal in the event of an actual emergency!

Oh boo.....

2010-12-13T21:40:00.001-08:00

I was going over our numbers for our taxes tonight, and I completely forgot that this is the year we have to start paying back the $7500 first time home buyer's tax 'credit' DH and I got when we bought our house. Basically, $500 gets added to our tax liability every year for 15 years. If we had bought 6 months later, we would have been eligible for the $8000 tax credit that didn't have to be repaid. Oh well. What's done is done, but I can't believe I completely forgot about it.
Without considering the $500, we'll owe around $100 on our federal taxes and get back around $300-$400 on our state. That puts us $200 to $300 to the positive, so considering the $500, we'll need to pay $200-$300. That's not too terrible, but I like for everything to come out as even as possible. I'll need to go back and make sure I'm not missing any deductions of course once I have all of our tax documents, but it's nice to know ahead of time what to expect come tax time.

I don't really like one of my best friends anymore....

2010-12-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

This is not even close to being related to finances, but I just have to rant: I do not like one of my best friends like I used to. Myself and 3 other girls have been best friends since our freshman year of high school. Of course, we have had a few spats, a few differences along the way, but nothing insurmountable.
One of these girls just gets on my nerves lately. She has basically said I am "wasting" my life by having a baby at a young age. She doesn't want to have children till she is 30-35, if at all, which is fine, but please do not insult my and my DH's carefully planned life choices. DH and I have our reasons as to why we wanted to have a child now, just like she has hers for why she doesn't want kids till later in life. She constantly makes comments about how my baby boy will grow up to be an inconsiderate jackass like all men are (she's married BTW, supposedly happily). Yeah, last time I checked, my DH is an awesome, thoughtful guy who intends to raise his son to be the same way.
She just rubs me the wrong way a lot lately, and some of the things she has said to me are downright insulting and hurtful.
In financial news, DH and I are still spending a bunch on eating out! No surprise there, with the random food cravings I have. Last night, it was hot dogs at like 11 PM. At least hot dogs are a cheap craving to fulfill! I still need to post a debt update. I have been so lazy about keeping up with it lately. I know it's important to keep track so I stay accountable, but my mind is just elsewhere right now!

Goals for Next Year, Take 2

2010-12-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

I've had a chance to talk to DH about our goals for next year. I have a few things to add, and a few more specifics to add. My itch has gotten better, so thankfully I have been able to back off the Benadryl. My head feels so much clearer now.

Financial
1. Increase retirement savings from 11% of household income to 13% of household income. We'll do this by increasing my IRA contributions $1200 next year ($100 a month) and by increasing DH's 401K contributions by 1 percent.
2. Pay off all consumer debt by December of 2011. In order to do this, we will need to pay $1520 (starting in January) a month to it, every single month. I think we can do this if we are a little more diligent about tracking our spending and reigning it in when our numbers get high
3. Start 529 plan for baby boy. I don't care if we only put $10 a month into it, I just want to get it started. DH said we should try put $25 a month into it. This is less than a dollar a day. If we do this, we will add $300 to it next year. Not a huge start, but a start, none the less.
4. Have $3,000 saved in emergency fund by year end
5. Track our spending every single month and stay within budget guidelines

Personal
1. Lose all baby weight, plus 25 pounds
2. Go out on one baby free date with DH every two weeks. I want to make sure we make time for each other and our relationship. I don't want to be on those couples where everything falls apart after having a baby-you know, the ones who never go out together any more, never have intimate time together, don't communicate. Relationships require work to keep both partners happy, and I imagine this is even more true when things change a lot in a short time (ie. having a baby!).

Goals for Next Year

2010-12-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

Normally, goals make me feel refreshed and remotivated-not today. I have this nasty itch, and the doctor has me taking Benadryl since it is safe during pregnancy, but it sure does put me in a fog. And when I am in a fog, I feel VERY apathetic. I guess I should look up last year's goals and see how they went, but I just don't feel like it at the moment. I'll just focus on next year for now!

Financial
1. Increase retirement savings from 11% of household income to 13% of household income. We'll do this by increasing my IRA contributions $1200 next year ($100 a month) and by increasing DH's 401K contributions by 1 percent.
2. Pay off all consumer debt by December of 2011. I need to crunch the numbers to see what we need to pay every month to make this happen.
3. Start 529 plan for baby boy. I don't care if we only put $10 a month into it, I just want to get it started.
4. Have $3,000 saved in emergency fund by year end

Personal
1. Lose all baby weight, plus 25 pounds
2. Go out on one baby free date with DH every two weeks. I want to make sure we make time for each other and our relationship. I don't want to be on those couples where everything falls apart after having a baby-you know, the ones who never go out together any more, never have intimate time together, don't communicate. Relationships require work to keep both partners happy, and I imagine this is even more true when things change a lot in a short time (ie. having a baby!).

Tis the Season......

2010-11-29T10:17:00.000-08:00

Only 26 days till Christmas! DH and I got our Christmas tree this weekend, and we got it decorated and the rest of the house done too. It looks like a Winter Wonderland. DH and I did a little bit of shopping over the weekend, taking advantage of the deals (mainly online, DH did a little bit of instore shopping though). We bought:
Pair of dress shoes for DH: $41
Soothe and Glow Sea Horse for the baby: $8
Sterling silver hoops for myself: $11
Christmas doormat: $5
9 foot blow up Santa: $35-this would definitely be DH's purchase :)
Router for DH's mom: $22
New pedometer: $10
Earrings for my mom:$10
Wallet for me:$7

All in all I was pretty happy with what we got. I only have one more Christmas present to buy, and then I am done! Awesome. Now to work on getting that mountain of presents wrapped....

It's Thanksgiving Eve!

2010-11-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

Yay for Turkey Day tomorrow! DH and I are frying our first turkey tomorrow to take to his grandma's house. Keeping our fingers crossed that it comes out great! I am tackling a big, long to do list today that is being slowed down by the fact that I have a nasty cold. Blech. Our Christmas shopping is so close to being done. I have to order one more present online, buy two gift certificates, and order a few more things for DH. Now I just have to work on wrapping the mountain of presents that has taken over the baby's nursery.
Speaking of the baby, I had my shower, and we got sooooo much stuff. This baby is seriously going to be so spoiled. I think there were only two or three things we didn't get that we really needed, but the gift cards we got more than covered those things. I am trying to get everything organized with some semblance of order to it.
Here's the updated to-do list before baby:
1. Vacuum and steam clean living room couches and game room couches
2. Clean out/organize game room-DONE
3. Install car seat and have it checked for proper installation-by Dec.13th, just in case baby decides to come early
4. Meet with pediatrician
5. Go on hospital tour-11/16-DONE
6. Get maternity pictures taken-11/6-DONE
7. Repair/paint bathroom ceiling
8. Clean all blinds in house
9. Clean baseboards
10. Organize coat closet
11. Stock up on frozen/easy to prepare meals and such
Some progress has been made, but not quite enough. We're getting there though!

Here's the rest of the to do list for today:
1. Dust living room
2.Sweep living room
3.Mop living room
4. Vacuum living room furniture
5. Get all my coupons together for some early morning deal shopping tomorrow at Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid
6.Mop kitchen
7.Sweep kitchen
8.Finish contract work for today

Blah! Guess I better get my self in gear.

Seeing Red

2010-11-17T23:12:00.000-08:00

Alright, so excuse me while I go on another rant here about my dad. I am just so irked by him and some of the things he did/said this past weekend.
He came over Sunday so he could use our computer to put in some job applications and so I could make him a resume. Well, in the four hours he was here, he did not put in a single job application. Instead, he told me the places where I 'needed' to put in an application for him. He said he types too slow, and that he really had to get some applications in today. First off, we have 2 computers in the house-a desk top and a laptop. I always use the laptop, and he could have used the desk top. He did not go near neither computer. When he had been here four hours and was still giving me places to put in applications at, I kind of snapped. I told him HE needed to be putting in these applications, that it was not my responsibility to spend four hours of my Sunday putting in HIS job applications. He gave me the typing excuse again, and I told him the only he was ever going to get better was to practice. He just pisses me off because he doesn't even TRY to learn. He just wants me to do it.
That will never happen again. My time with my husband is very limited lately, and I don't appreciate spending 4 hours of it doing job applications for him. His work has been crazy busy, due in part to good business, but also because they have fired a few people who didn't meet the quality standards. He works 12 hours Monday thru Friday and some weekends. By golly, I want to take advantage of the time he does have off!
My dad also made a bunch of comments that make me realize why he is so horrible with his finances and finding a better job. He seems to have a 'glorified poverty' viewpoint. Seriously, his expenses could be paid with a full time, minimum wage job. He is currently working about 18 hours a week at a job that pays $.50 over minimum wage. This had to go on for months before he decided he needed to look for another job. The economy is pretty good in our area; he just has to make the effort, which he does not.
I have such strong feelings of anger towards him right now. His behavior is just really ticking me off. Some of the things he says are just so stupid and incorrect, they literally make me want to punch a wall. I love my dad, but his behavior and actions right now just anger me so much.
In other news, DH's company shorted him about $200 on his last paycheck. They are so slow correcting mistakes too. It's not a huge deal, just a pain to get fixed because one payroll lady covers 3 plants, so it's hard to catch her. We'll get it fixed though.
I really need to post a debt update. I have been keeping track on my spreadsheet, but for some reason, these numbers just haven't made it to my blog. We have been eating out like crazy lately; even worse than normal I think. I am so hungry all the time, and what sounds good to eat is literally all over the place. I am surprised I haven't gained more than 20 pounds as much as I am eating. I guess being pregnant really does boost up your metabolism because I have been eating like a cow lately and I'm still hungry in an hour.
My baby shower is this weekend, and I am so excited for it! I can't wait to get to see my family and friends, and I am anxious to see the cute things that the baby is going to get. Less than eight weeks till we get to meet the little guy! I am so excited. DH is excited too, but he is so scared he is going to 'break' the baby. It's kind of funny to think that a grown man is intimidated by a little eight pound baby! I hope once the baby gets here he gets a little bit more confidence in his baby handling skills.

So Ironic

2010-11-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Literally three days after I paid my car off last week, I went outside and there was a HUGE crack in my windshield. I have no idea how it even got there. It looks like a huge rock hit it, but there are no huge rocks in my drive way! Anyways, $238 later, I have a new windshield. I just thought it was ironic that not even a week after I pay my car off, the windshield goes kaput!

Rant: My dad called me a few days ago, wanting to know if I thought my mom (whom he is now divorced from) would let him borrow $400. Apparently, when they got divorced 16 years ago, he feels he got the short end of the stick because she got to keep the house and he received nothing (even though he had sold land he owned before the marriage for the down payment). I'm sorry, but if you thought you weren't getting a fair deal in the divorce, the time to deal with it would have been then, not 16 years later. Secondly, my mom is horrid with money. I seriously doubt she would have $400 to lend him (not that she would anyway, but still). I paid his car payment for him and told him to think of it as an early Christmas present. He just irks me sometimes. He complains about his work being slow, but says he 'needs' for me to put in some job applications for him because he types too slow. Um, hello?! The only way I know to get better doing something is to practice it! And I'm sorry, but if your work is slow, then it really doesn't matter how long it takes you to put the application in, now does it? Grrrr..................

Car is Gone!

2010-11-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

The car loan is officially gone! The last payment finally posted. I am psyched. It's a 2005 with 60,000 miles on it; I'm praying it will run for many, many years to come. Now, if only the Bank of America card would disappear along with it.......

Oops...

2010-11-02T23:43:00.000-07:00

DH and I were cleaning out the game room the other day, and I find boxes of stuff I *thought* I had sold on eBay, but apparently had never even listed. I am such a slacker. I just got the two biggest things listed. Hopefully, they will sell and bring in between $40-$60. Not an astronomical amount, but every little bit helps! This will go straight to Bank of America to get it paid down.
DH and I are still trying to conquer the eating out monster. Honestly, I don't know why this is so hard for us! We have literally been trying to cut down on our eating out for the past three years. Some months we do well.....others, not so much. Like last month, when we spent almost $250 just on eating out! This month is not off to the best start in regards to not eating out, but I know we can get back on track. I have a roast defrosting to throw in the crock pot tomorrow for dinner.
I'm still waiting on payments to post so I can do an update and see where we stand, debt wise.

Fingers Crossed x

2010-10-31T22:53:00.000-07:00

The other day, DH's plant manager asked to meet with him. He told my DH he is interested in making him a supervisor in the 'near' future. How near, I'm not sure. But DH has been hoping and working towards this for a while now. If DH gets promoted to a supervisor, his pay will increase by anywhere from twenty to twenty five thousand a year. This would be HUGE for us. I don't want to get my hopes up before we know for sure, but I am keeping my fingers crossed!
I've worked on a little Christmas shopping this past week. One of our nieces is now completely done, and I got a few things for DH. DH will have his bonus on the next check, then we can really put the pedal to the medal and get this Christmas shopping done! I even did a little bit of gift wrapping the other day, since I felt in a *Christmasy* mood (not sure why, since Halloween was a few days away, but hey, I figured I better capitalize on it!).
Next week is going to bring some LONG hours on one of my contracting jobs, but the payment will be worth it (LOL, or that's what I tell myself). I am feeling pretty good for being almost 31 weeks pregnant, so I guess I should take advantage of that and work on a few more projects.