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Archive for March, 2011

Little bit of everything

March 21st, 2011 at 01:40 am

Well, I think I’m finally caught up on finances. We got our state refund back this week, and federal will come out tomorrow. I paid the accountant, transferred savings to ING EF, and sent in an extra $200 to Car Loan 2.

I’m really stoked about my idea to be debt-free by time we go to Russia in 2014. Even on my lesser pay, I think we can make it work. If we send in an average of $200/month extra to Car Loan 2, then by Dec 2013, it will be paid off. Car Loan 1 (0% financing) will be paid off on our payment plan by then. DH Student Loan 3 will need an extra $300/month for a year (in 2012) to wipe out, and Student Loan 4 will need an extra $600/month for a year (in 2013) to be wiped out. I think we can swing it.

Hubby interviewed for a full-time job on Friday. This job is kind of (barely) in the same lines of his dream job, but it is way less pay. It actually pays less than his part-time job now (about 85 cents/hour less), but instead of 34 hours a week at random times, he would be working full time consistent hours. We’re not sure about any benefits. The good thing is that they won’t drag him along for months, like his dream job applications did. We’ll probably get a yes or no by the end of the week. This job will by no means increase our take-home pay by enough (if at all) for us to move out, but it will help a little with sanity.

I’ve scheduled a week off in April to stay at home and just found out that it might be the nieces’ spring break. I’m thrilled if that ends up being true. I haven’t seen them in forever. I’ve also signed up for two “personal enrichment” courses at the local tech college that will help me with work. They’re only 5 or 6 classes each and should give me more of a background on the stuff I’m learning to do on the fly.

I’ve also moved two of my tall bookshelves out of the basement up into our make-shift den. I couldn’t bring myself to bring up my books yet (I have boxes upon boxes full of books). Husband thinks I’m funny and wasting energy (“You’ll just have to re-pack them!”), but I haven’t seen or read my books in 2.5 years. Who knows if/when we’ll ever move out at this stage? I don’t want to go another 2.5 years packed away.

I’m actually tempted to unpack everything except for kitchen stuff. Perhaps after all that work, maybe a windfall will happen and we’ll be able to move out. I would rather see my stuff, that I do actually cherish and would use, than to keep it boxed up for years. Maybe I’d even find stuff to sell. Plus, I don’t mind packing, should I have the "mis-fortune" to pack it all back up. It’s a thought…

Musings

March 8th, 2011 at 04:19 am

I paid off DH Student Loan 2 with the save-for-taxes money. I’m going to put all leftovers to Car Loan 2 now on. I really hope to get it down to 4 digits this year. I’m tired of paying $70 in interest every month.

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I have a new long-term goal. I want us to be debt free by the 2014 Olympics. That gives us about 34 months to pay off two student loans, two car loans, save up EF to 6 months, and pay for the trip in cash. Lofty, yes, but I’m going to do it. I don’t want to think about payments while on vacation for two to three weeks.

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If I were to go look for a job elsewhere (not that I am looking, or even want to), I’ve decided that they will pay me well, or I won’t take it. No more of this less than the average salary work. I am worth every penny.

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What if we never move out? If you think about it, in about 20 years, my parents need to be taken care of and/or living with us. We could save a lot of money over the years by not paying rent or a mortgage to someone else. It’s an idea, but I don’t know how valid of one.

Whew

March 5th, 2011 at 05:12 am

I just want to say that I love our accountant. She is so awesome and answers all our questions and finds everything and does it so fast. I should bake her cookies. Can I do that? Or is that questionable thing to do for accountants?

I only owe $800 to the federal government. If I would have gone with what Turbo came up with, I would have owed $2500. Ouch. Plus we get $1200ish back from the state! Whereas Turbo had come up with only $300 as a refund. BIG difference. Not that I blame them. They really didn’t design the system for a boss’s daughter.

I am so relieved. My Emergency Fund will be untouched!

My husband is a little disappointed though because he thought we’d get a large refund back. I think he forgot that we weren’t in school in 2010 and that makes a huge difference. We also made more than we have in past years (not that our take-home pay reflected that).

I’m going to bed very happy tonight.