International Region, Women in Red Racers

[startsmart]

Okay Racers, Challenges are up on the main board so we can all get closer to those saving and debt pay down goals! I decided to make it a new thread so hopefully we can have more crossover between regions. Learn from each other and all that good stuff.

So, big favor: pop over to Challenges - Women in Red Racers and leave a comment. Answer this week's challenge, suggest some area you want to save money in, give a tip that's helped you so we can learn from you!

Thanks!

[Minnesotagirl7]

So much going on around here with the GSOTU and now the challenges are back. Woo hoo!

I had a fun, busy and productive weekend. DH was out of town, so I spent time with girlfriends and family, and got some much needed Spring stuff done around the house.

My non-racing debt is moving right along. I still have my fingers crossed that its paid off in August. Unfortunately though, I think there's a problem with our well system. Our water pressure is getting worse. We're going to call someone and have them come take a look. Fingers crossed its an easy (and cheap!) fix!

Hope everyone had a good weekend, and didn't overspend!

[financiallyfreeinbc]

Minnesota-I hear you on the well thing... I am new to the whole well idea and it terrifies me to think something might go wrong because our well is deeeeep. I have my fingers crossed for you!

[bubbleepink]

UPDATE	04/17/2009	03/19/2011	04/11/2011	Diff Last Post	Total Diff
Student Loan	23,997.78	21,777.48	21,408.18	369.30	2,589.60
Car Loan	17,650.81	15,600.63	15,365.40	235.23	2,285.41
TOTAL	41,648.59	37,378.11	36,773.58	604.53	4,875.01

Bubbleepink 04/11/2011 $36,773.58 (4/17/2009 $41,648.59 N178, IPT7, IPT9)

So there it is: just over 600 bucks paid off this month, but I am getting tired of looking at this debt. I am thinking about breaking up my debt into more manageable chunks by creating mini goals for myself. I think that when I get myself to 20,000 for my Stu loan and 15,000 for my car then I will celebrate. I don't know what I will do, but I need to do something... Maybe a well deserved shopping spree!

[debtheaven]

Minnesota
I hope your well issues are resolved soon and cheaply! You are SO LUCKY to have a well!!! Remember that even if the fix isn't as cheap as we hope it is, long-term, you're still saving money.

I definitely overspent. DS1 came home from the Stans on Friday, and Sunday was DH's 55th BD. It was a lovely, low-key day but we all went out to lunch, and I told everybody to order whatever they wanted. And ordered a cake, and bought presents. But hey, birthdays only come around once a year, right?

[Minnesotagirl7]

ffinbc and debtheaven- Thanks for the “well” wishes! I called the company that installed the well & pump last night, and fortunately it was something DH was able to look at and (fingers crossed) fix. There’s a filter in the line between the well and the water softener, and it was a little clogged. The lady from the well company (who was super nice) said to check that and hopefully save us a service call. And it worked! My shower this morning was fabulous. Whew!

[ldawngirl]

Congrats bubbleepink! I definitely agree with the need to have mini goals! They're what's keeping me going right now.

[debtheaven]

Minnesota
Great news on the well!

Bubblee
Great update! It's true you won't have any "quick wins" with those numbers so you are right to set smaller goals. I like your idea of the "5K" celebrations!

We are going away to the UK on Thursday for about 10 days. NOT reasonable given that we plan to go abroad this summer but DH never wants to take time off work except for the summer and he really, really wants to do this.

He found a very reasonable rental so we will can cook most of our meals and pack picnic lunches. I was really hesitant, partly because of money and partly because DS1 is here but DS1 will be away for half the time.

Although I am not racing my boiler loan I am constantly running numbers and hoping to pay it off by the end of this year. I am hoping to send another 465e to it next month when we sign for the new rental. That would change the payoff date from May 2012 to Nov 2011. I really want that 155e/mo "raise" LOL!

[Minnesotagirl7]

Shoutouts!

Idawngirl- Great update! Can’t wait to see you hit that $20k paid off mark!!
Bubbleepink- Nice job! To echo everyone else, I say go crazy with your mini goals & celebrations. I know they really work for me and help me to stay motivated.
debtheaven- Regarding the regional state of the union – your wins are something to be proud of!!

[Minnesotagirl7]

Smiley update!!!

=$100, ;D=$500, =$1,000, =$5,000, = $10,000, = $25,000, = $75,000, = $100,000, =$200,000, = Location Needed

debtheaven[4]: 2/23/11 $0 (11/25/2009 $11,500 I257) ;D
alicesfreedom: 3/11/11 $12,167.57 (9/2/2009 $25,341.42 I226, IPT4)
bubbleepink: 4/11/11 $36,773.58 (4/17/2009 $41,648.59 N178, IPT7, IPT9) ;D
financiallyfreeinbc: 12/24/10 $0 (1/5/2010 $28,343.05 IU13)
EL1504[2]: 3/3/11 $2,469.44 (3/19/2010 $6,751.42 IU62)
Idawngirl: 4/5/11 $8,789 (1/4/2010 $27,993 IU10) ;D
InDebtYogini: 3/29/11 $5,840.16 (9/19/2007 $14,490.83 N559) ;D
Psychobabbler: 2/15/11 $19,129 (4/1/2010 $22,653 IU68) ;D
Thrifty_in_mtl: 3/21/11 $177,765.59 (1/6/2009 $201,231.48 IU142)
Writer88: 1/4/11 $0 (12/21/2006 $27,917 IU51) ;D
ZsDebt: 4/2/11 $40,402.31 (1/7/2010 $59,198.18 IU16) ;D

[Minnesotagirl7]

InDebtYogini- You have mail.

[rpprt]

Head on over to the Northeast to congratulate our newest winner - ronnyanna

[el1504]

UPDATE

EL1504[2]: 04/14/2011 $1,397.02 (3/19/2010 $6,751.42 IU62)

4 more pays to go.

[debtheaven]

EL
Yay! You're SOOO close now!

Today was an AWFUL day. DD woke me up crying that her bunny was in bad shape. He was in FINE form only last night! We took him to the vet first thing this morning (I even passed a couple of police cars illegally to get there faster). They did a bunch of tests (ding can you hear it adding up) and apparently he has come down with a form of bunny encephalitis. Apparently most rabbits are healthy carriers but only 12 percent of them ever develop the disease. His back legs are both paralyzed. I wanted to put him down when we went back to see him late this afternoon because he was so pitiful. But I left the decision up to DD who wanted to wait till tomorrow "hoping for a miracle". She cried so hard when the vet told her that no, nobody stays overnight that the vet promised to bring the bunny home with her.

And we leave at the crack of dawn for the UK. We can't put it off because DH has a college reunion tomorrow. I wanted to cancel but DS1 who is here from the Stans has promised to take good care of DD, and her BF will be staying here too. Everything has been paid for already, I am so torn.

I had a check in my bag for the boiler loan but I tore it up, lord knows what the damage will be, but I just wish my DD had her bunny back in good health. We got him from a small breeder, I refused to get an animal from the pet shop. We are all so sad, he made us all laugh so much and he was DD's best friend.

A lot of rabbit sites have info on keeping a paralyzed bunny so I guess sadly this is not that rare. But it is a LOT of work, it pretty much necessitates somebody being home, and she is at school and I work. Looking into his eyes as he tried to move, I just don't believe that "they adapt perfectly well to being paralyzed" like the sites all say. The vet used to call him psycho bunny he was so energetic.

I'm sorry we leave for the UK in a few hours and I don't know when I'll be able to read your comments or update. As sad as we will all be I hope he goes peacefully. I think the alternative is worse.

ETA: It makes me doubly sad because I remember how excited CMRobin was when we got the bunny nearly one year ago.

I SO don't want to go. The timing could not have been worse. Even 24 hours would make a huge difference.

[financiallyfreeinbc]

Minnesota-I am so glad your well issues worked out. That was great news!
DebtHeaven-I am very very sorry about your bunny and your daughter's distress. It is very hard to lose a pet, especially as a child. hugs to you both.

[LilBall]

The 25K-50K List has been updated. Check er out here:
notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wir&thread=3150&page=1

[runewell]

This message hasn't been deleted.

[bankergurl]

$100K list has been updated as of 4/17/2011!
Congrats to NoMoreMrDebtGuy from the West for paying off over $15K!
notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wir&thread=2929&page=1

[indebtyogini]

Shoutouts!

Only one this week!

EL1504 - Only four pays left?? You are cruising! It will be gone before you know it. Great job!

[indebtyogini]

If someone could repost this so all the smileys show correctly I'd appreciate it!

Smiley update!!!

=$100, ;D=$500, =$1,000, #wink_smile# =$5,000, #party# = $10,000, #angel2# = $25,000, #tongue2# = $75,000, #kiss# = $100,000, #palm# =$200,000, #lightbulb# = Location Needed

#rose#debtheaven[4]: 2/23/11 $0 (11/25/2009 $11,500 I257)#party# ;D
alicesfreedom: 3/11/11 $12,167.57 (9/2/2009 $25,341.42 I226, IPT4)#party#
bubbleepink: 4/11/11 $36,773.58 (4/17/2009 $41,648.59 N178, IPT7, IPT9) ;D
#rose#financiallyfreeinbc: 12/24/10 $0 (1/5/2010 $28,343.05 IU13)#angel2#
EL1504[2]: 4/14/11 $1,397.02 (3/19/2010 $6,751.42 IU62) #wink_smile#
Idawngirl: 4/5/11 $8,789 (1/4/2010 $27,993 IU10)#party##wink_smile# ;D
InDebtYogini: 3/29/11 $5,840.16 (9/19/2007 $14,490.83 N559)#wink_smile# ;D
Thrifty_in_mtl: 3/21/11 $177,765.59 (1/6/2009 $201,231.48 IU142)#party##party#
#rose#Writer88: 1/4/11 $0 (12/21/2006 $27,917 IU51)#angel2# ;D
ZsDebt: 4/2/11 $40,402.31 (1/7/2010 $59,198.18 IU16)#party##wink_smile# ;D

[alicesfreedom]

My update for today and it is a good one for me.

UPDATE
Credit card 1 - 10.49- 10.49- 0.00
Credit card 2- 0.00- 0.00- 0.00
CIBC PLC - 9853.06- 375.00- 9478.06
C. Union PLC- 3993.90- 3309.25- 684.65

Total : - 13,846.96- 3694.71- 10,162.71

The C. Union PlC goes up and down as it is attached to our checking acct and we use the plc to live on when the pay cheque is deposited. By the end of May that should not be happening, should be out of the over draft for the rest of the year and forever.
So next update I should be under $10.000.00 and then push for the next few months to get rid of the CIBC PLC.

alicesfreedom 4/18/2011 $10,162.71 (9/2/2009 $25,341.42 I226 IPT4)

[debtheaven]

Shoutouts to El and Alice! Way to go!

Here is a repost of the smileys:

Smiley update!!!

=$100, ;D=$500, =$1,000, =$5,000, = $10,000, = $25,000, = $75,000, = $100,000, =$200,000, = Location Needed

debtheaven[4]: 2/23/11 $0 (11/25/2009 $11,500 I257) ;D
alicesfreedom: 3/11/11 $12,167.57 (9/2/2009 $25,341.42 I226, IPT4)
bubbleepink: 4/11/11 $36,773.58 (4/17/2009 $41,648.59 N178, IPT7, IPT9) ;D
financiallyfreeinbc: 12/24/10 $0 (1/5/2010 $28,343.05 IU13)
EL1504[2]: 4/14/11 $1,397.02 (3/19/2010 $6,751.42 IU62)
Idawngirl: 4/5/11 $8,789 (1/4/2010 $27,993 IU10) ;D
InDebtYogini: 3/29/11 $5,840.16 (9/19/2007 $14,490.83 N559) ;D
Thrifty_in_mtl: 3/21/11 $177,765.59 (1/6/2009 $201,231.48 IU142)
Writer88: 1/4/11 $0 (12/21/2006 $27,917 IU51) ;D
ZsDebt: 4/2/11 $40,402.31 (1/7/2010 $59,198.18 IU16) ;D

My DD put her beloved Muffin to sleep the next morning.

[Minnesotagirl7]

alicesfreedom- Nice update!!
debtheaven- Thanks for reposting the smileys.

I just finished an interview with my current company. Its for a supervisory position. I'm not 100% sure I want the job, but I'm interested. I've been fairly bored at work lately, so a change (and raise!) might be nice. We'll see - they have to offer it to me first!

[ldawngirl]

UPDATE

ldawngirl: 4/19/11 | $8,513 (1/4/10 | $27,993 | IU10)

$19,480 (69.6%) paid off

Another PL payment! I hope to have the loan paid off this time next year. It will require some extra payments beyond the regular bi-weekly payments, but it should be do-able.

In DF's bankruptcy news, he has one more payment to go! I found out that they base his bankruptcy approval on his average pay from the first eight months (even though the whole process is done over nine months). So, according to my calculations, he is only $80 dollars over the baseline and there's a $200 cushion, so we should be a-okay! He's back on to a full work schedule now, since month 9 doesn't factor in, so it'll be nice to start having a full dual income again.

And we've decided that the bankruptcy fee that we've been paying each month ($175) will go directly into savings instead of just spending it mindlessly.

Good luck with the job Minnesotagirl7!
Congratulation on the great payoffs Eli & Alice!

[financiallyfreeinbc]

@ Idawn- or you could split the bankruptcy fee between debt repayment and savings so you save some of the interest. Good for you for having a plan for it, though!

[ldawngirl]

I thought of that FFinBC, but I did the math and it will only save me about $40 in interest, so I'm going to throw it all into savings. We want to buy a house and I think just the act of putting that money into savings will get us in the mindset of saving for the down payment. (We have been good about saving for everything else, but the DP isn't something we automatically do, so we wind up spending the money before it gets into savings). I think I'll just feel better knowing that money is being put away.

[financiallyfreeinbc]

I totally get it! I do things when the difference isn't that big just to get in the mindset for something else. Good for you!!!!

[debtheaven]

Hit and run. We are still in the UK.

We finally have a closing date for the purchase, 18 May. They offered us 5 May but I can't do a Thursday and so it got put back by nearly two weeks. Which s.ucks because we lose over half yet another month's potential rent, but what can you do? This delay will have eaten up a bunch of money.

I am really questioning the wisdom of this new rental, but what's done is done. Long term I know we are doing the right thing. But this is definitely my last "stretch".

[ldawngirl]

DH - Is it too late to get out of this? If you haven't closed yet...?

[ldawngirl]

We had to take one of our cats in to the emergency vet yesterday because he was making these awful coughing/retching sounds and was lethargic and we didn't know what was going on. Well, almost $400 later, the vet was useless and knew nothing. It could just be a really bad hair ball, so we're giving him something to help him with that, but it could also be some other things (that I learned through googling his symptoms) as the vet had no thoughts. I'm going to call our regular vet tomorrow after the holiday and see what she says. We may have to take him in to see her though, which could be another couple hundred bucks. But at least the blood test showed that all his levels are completely normal and the vet ruled out an obstruction or breathing issue.

We do have pet insurance, so some of the bill will be covered, but we have to pay the deductible (can't remember if it's $100 or $200) and then 20% of the remainder.

Luckily I had just gotten a freelance cheque on Thursday that will easily cover our portion, but it was set for the wedding, so we'll have to juggle some other things to make it all work.