International Region, Women in Red Racers

[debtheaven]

We're back! The Lake District is really, really stunning. We were very reasonable!

Minnesota, fingers crossed for the new job! Even if you're not sure you want it, it's always better to have the choice.

Idawn
Nearly 70% paid off, great! Good luck with the kitty. DD is getting a new bunny (I didn't really agree but I was outvoted). I am going to look into pet insurance, thanks for making me think of that. I have to go to the vet on Wed to pay the 202e bill. I miss Muffin.

In answer to your question, yes it is too late to back out. Technically we still could but we'd lose nearly 6K in "earnest money". Since I know it's a good buy, I don't want to do that.

I (foolishly/stupidly/optimistically) thought I would have paid off the reno loan, which would have freed up 190e/mo. But the boiler loan will be paid off in February, which will free up 155/mo (which I am NOT planning to snowball). So things should get easier as of March 2012. I'm hoping to throw another 465e at it (the minimum extra payment) and be done by November 2011, but we'll see.

Sometimes I think I have become TOO debt averse! This new loan shouldn't bug me because it's for an appreciating asset ... but I definitely thought one of the two "small" (ie under 10K) loans would be gone by now and money would be less tight.

[debtheaven]

PS As I've said before, we got a 3K price reduction since the building reno on the new apt was not voted or done by the seller as he promised.

I initially said I would save that money for the inevitable reno. But it looks like that reno won't happen this year. IF that is the case, I'll use 2.5K to pay down debt, and worry about the reno if / when it happens. The other 500 would go towards the rental account since this transaction is taking so long.

I could still find out they start the reno this spring, although it's highly unlikely and getting more unlikely every day.

[debtheaven]

Idawn
I have to admit that I was thinking along the same lines as FFBC ... you have been such a STAR managing all this, and your DF's debt is all wiped out now, but yours is not. Perhaps you are a better woman than I, but I would want some financial return on that ... either a few extra payments to help my own race along, or a one-off payment from the unexpected tax return.

Of course you know best, but personally I do think you deserve a "reward" that will benefit you and YOUR payoff directly.

[el1504]

So the new job has started and I work 10 or 11 hours per day (and its not a busy week yet) so I'm not getting a chance to read and catch up with you all and I miss it! Hopefully when I get my regular schedule underway I can build in WIR time.
DH - I'm so sorry about Muffin

[ldawngirl]

I don't look at it at his debt versus my debt. Our finances are combined already, so both of our money is going towards "my" debt (much of it came with me into the relationship). I have been paying off this loan for quite some time now (it was originally a 5 year loan way back when), so the bi-weekly payments are so natural to me. Although it would be nice to get the loan paid off soon, the payments are do-able (especially with DF's bankruptcy almost over and him going back to a regular work schedule), and I think money in the bank is even nicer.

As you said DH, you think you're averse to debt now, even when it is a good debt, and while I feel the same way, I'm now addicted to saving, saving, saving. My payoff in the end will be have having money in savings that we can use for a house, car, etc. Plus, I get a nice wedding later this year! And I know that we can easily swing a couple extra payments here and there, especially after the wedding, so it'll be paid off in the spring or sooner.

[ldawngirl]

DH - Sorry to hear about Muffin! How is DD doing? If you have any say at all, I would recommend waiting a few weeks before jumping in to getting another bunny. When I lost my fur baby a few years ago, I needed that time to mourn him and so when I got my new fur babies, I didn't look at them as replacements, but rather just new babies.

[ldawngirl]

Another visit to the vet today. This time to the regular vet (not emergency hospital) and even she's a bit puzzled. It may be pneumonia, so fur baby is on antibiotics and we have to separate the cats for now.

I love pet insurance now more than ever. Of the $711 bill (for both visits), we will pay $222. Not too bad! Plus we may have to go back for another visit if he doesn't improve in the next day or two.

[indebtyogini]

Shoutouts!

Only one again this week. I assume its because everyone is out there enjoying the spring weather!

Idawngirl – Woo hoo for 70% paid off! You are cruisin’!!

[indebtyogini]

Please report for me someone

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: 4/19/11 $8,513 (1/4/2010 $27,993 IU10)#party##wink_smile#
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

[ldawngirl]

Apr 25, 2011 16:58:25 GMT -5 indebtyogini said:

Please report for me someone

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: 4/19/11 $8,513 (1/4/2010 $27,993 IU10)
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

[bankergurl]

$100K Club has been updated as of 4/25/11! Wave BU-BYE to $7,263.60 in debt!
- 1 Leapfrog, dragon2008 from the West!
- Congrats to lark_1964 from the Northeast for paying off over $40K!
notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wir&thread=2929&page=1

[debtheaven]

Idawn
You are right! I am too used to having a yours / mine / ours system, but you are both benefiting and it will be great to see the debt going down and the savings piling up! Hope you get good news about your kitty.

DD is OK, not great. She and DS3 chose a new, very young bunny, so it will only arrive about three weeks after Muffin died (after he's weaned). Still very soon IMO, but at least there will have been a few weeks' wait, as you suggested. Thanks, you made me feel better about the new bunny.

Minnesota
Congrats on the offer! I think HappyCat gave you great advice. Let us know what happens!

Work update
Started new PT teaching job yesterday. It went great but unfortunately I don't think she'll be scheduling me as often as I'd hoped, because it turns out she needed me because she has one person on vacation and another on short-term sick leave. I have two days scheduled there next week but alas none for the week after, which is a problem.

There is a PT opening at DS3's international school that I'm applying for (MS and/or HS level). But I know it's a VERY long shot, because I don't have enough / the right experience.

ETA: I sent off the application. I know I don't have a snowball's chance in heck though. There are a ton of qualified and experienced teachers in the expat community here.

[Minnesotagirl7]

Idawngirl- I hope your cat is ok! You have a fantastic attitude about your debt situation, good for you. When is your wedding? I’m off to one this weekend, and I’m so excited. I love weddings!
debtheaven- So glad you enjoyed your vacation! I’ve heard the Lake District is absolutely lovely. Thanks for the kudos on the job! Good luck with your search as well.
EL1504- Those are some long days! Do you like the new job?

I interviewed for a different job last week, was offered the job on Tuesday and accepted it yesterday. It was a really hard decision, but after talking to about a dozen people I finally decided to go for it. It’s a supervisory position, and there will be a lot of bs that I will have to deal with down the road. But I’ve been very unhappy and bored with my current job, so a change was necessary. Hopefully it works out and I’m happy. I start the beginning of June.

[debtheaven]

Well done Minnesota! Did you accept their offer or did you try to negotiate? Either way, I think you did the right thing accepting the new post!

[Minnesotagirl7]

debtheaven- I did try to negotiate, but they had no wiggle room (or so they claimed). That's part of why it was such a hard decision to make. If they would've been closer to the number I had in mind, or even been willing to meet me halfway, it would've been a cinch to say yes. We'll see if I made the right decision. There is a pretty hefty bonus, which I'll only get about half of (I'm certain it will be prorated to my start date), but its better than nothing.

[debtheaven]

I'm glad you tried! I still think you did the right thing though. Sit with this for a while and see where it goes. Hopefully it will go where you want. And if it doesn't, you're still in a much better position to make a change.

But don't worry about that for now.

[ldawngirl]

Congratulations Minnesota! I hope it all works out for you!

My cat is doing better. Not yet 100%, but on the mend. He's on antibiotics and they seem to be helping. Hopefully they do the job, as if they don't, the vet says they may have to do some minor surgery to go in and find out what's wrong. I'm not worried about the cost, but I don't want my poor baby to have to go through that!

Our wedding is October 8! Just over 5 months and I'm very excited! Most of the big plans are done, so we now have to do little things here and there, but mostly just save up our pennies for the big day! It's hard seeing money in the savings account knowing it's earmarked for the wedding, so I have to keep my paws off of it!

[indebtyogini]

Update!

Hello All! Here's my update for the month. 64% paid off!!

Card	APR	Starting	Payment	Current
Victorias Secret	22.80%	$385.12	$0.00	$0.00
Express	22.80%	$283.40	$0.00	$0.00
Wescom	15.90%	$5,458.22	$0.00	$0.00
Citicard	13.99%	$4,214.15	$572.87	$729.25
Nordstrom	11.90%	$159.26	$0.00	$0.00
Capital One	7.83%	$3,990.68	$53.71	$4,484.28
Total		$14,490.83	$626.58	$5,213.53

InDebtYogini 4/29/2011 $5213.53 (9/19/2007 $14,490.83)
Citicards is under $1k!! Two more months and that bad boy is history! I'm almost under $5K of debt and I'm almost at $10K paid off! Everything else is going well. Just bought my tickets and accommodations for my annual trip to Mexico (Puerta Vallarta this year!) all in cash. My not so new DBF is completely fabulous and we're planning a trip to Taiwan in the fall to visit his DGF before he passes. That will all be paid in cash as well. Next week is finals at school and I'm going out of my mind with everything I have to do but once the semester is over I have a trip to Palm Springs planned with my best friend and a trip to Santa Barbara wine country for a wedding and tastings. Also all in cash Lots of things coming up and my credit cards are still locked safely in ice. So happy! Life is great right now. Much love to the universe for all the wonderful things it has brought me this year

[speechchick71]

We have a new winner in the South! Go over and send some congrats to FORWARDWEGO!!!!!

[ldawngirl]

Congrats InDebtYogini! You're going to have a lot of big milestones coming up and it sounds like you have some great celebrations planned too!

[debtheaven]

Hurray Yogini, I'm so happy that everything is going so well for you, financially and otherwise!

Idawn
So glad your cat is better! Your wedding is getting so close now!

Change in summer plans. DS2 just announced that he comes home in three weeks, as soon as his semester is over! He wants to work for a couple of months and then travel with his friends and DS1. As much as we would have liked to visit him in Mexico or the US, we will now do a local vacation rental instead. Which will be MUCH cheaper! While I was looking forward to travelling with him, financially I'm VERY relieved!

So I just threw 1K at the boiler loan! It will be paid off in August (10 months early!) which will free up 155/mo!

[debtheaven]

This message has been deleted.

[forwardwego]

debtheaven Thanks for popping in to cheer for me...so nice of you!

[debtheaven]

Forward it was my pleasure!

I wrote to my credit union two months ago asking if I could consolidate my 29.5K mortgage loan and the 9.5K reno loan (both on the same rental), and never got an answer. I wrote to her again yesterday.

Per the mortgage calculators I could save about 70e/mo. It would add a few months to the loan but I don't mind as long as it's paid off before DS3 starts college in 2016. Hopefully she will get back to me this time!

Even if it doesn't work out, come September we will have an extra 155/mo in the budget. I am LOVING my new signature LOL!

[el1504]

DH – I don’t mind the new job. It is, however, really really boring… I’m doing this for a year and that’s all. I’ve even started a list of people for me to all in 10 months for a new job (but hopefully a promotion rather than back to my old position).

Yeah on the boiler loan. That extra money each month will be a nice little buffer for you and then you can do more fun things – like more holidays!

Yogini – I’m so jealous of all the trips that you have planned. They sound fabulous. Citicard is almost history and once you snowball that payment Capital One won’t be around for long either. Way to go!!

Idawn – Karma for you and your little cat.

Minnesota – Congratulations on the new job

[el1504]

So the new jobs really boring and really long hours but... I get an extra $424 per fortnight for doing it. I am only going to do this job for another 11 months and I don't want to waste this extra money and the hard work that I'm doing.

So this is what I plan to do.

I have a loan for my car (which I'm not racing) which is currently $2883. I pay $160 per fornight so if I up the repayments to $260 per fortnight I can pay it off in 12 pays (or 6 months).

I also want to give my parents $2,000 (they haven't asked for it but I feel I owe them this money) so if I give them $100 per fortnight I can have this debt repaid in 20 pays (9 months)

Then I still have an extra $224 per fornight to do with as we wish.

Or I could give my parents $200 per fortnight have it paid off in 10 pays (5 months) and still have an extra $124 per fornight and have everything paid off in October.

Its all extra money and will not be added to our budget sine it is not ongoing money I just don't want to waste it.... Any thoughts?

[el1504]

UPDATE
EL1504[2]: 04/30/2011 $1,033.00 (3/19/2010 $6,751.42 IU62)

[debtheaven]

Hi El
You're so close! It's really up to you, both ways work. I'd probably care more about the loan to my parents than the car loan, but then again, you're paying interest on the car loan.

Or I could give my parents $200 per fortnight have it paid off in 10 pays (5 months) and still have an extra $124 per fornight and have everything paid off in October.

I'm impatient (no secret there lol) so I'd probably opt for that solution. You'd still have an extra $124 every two weeks. Whatever you decide, kudos to you for taking on that new job and using that extra money wisely!

Yes, I am really looking forward to having that 155/mo "wiggle room", especially with utilities and gas going up!

[forwardwego]

Hi el1504! Thanks for visiting the Southern US (Florida)to wish me well on my win...all the way from Australia...WOW!!!

Debtheaven Thanks for the suggestion to take a breather between races...makes sense for a lot of different little reasons

[ldawngirl]

Eli - I think either way you've got a good handle on the situation. Like DH, I'm also a bit impatient, so I'd throw as much at the various debts as possible. The rest of the money you can throw into savings for an e-fund or maybe save up for something fun that you've been wanting.

We had my other little kitty in to the vet today - she has the same thing as her brother. Luckily the meds that he is on seem to be doing their job and he's getting better, so she'll be better soon enough too I hope. Even with the pet insurance, we're still out a chunk of money. We have the money in the bank, but it's supposed to be for the wedding, so we'll have to cut back on other things to get the wedding savings up again.

In happy news, May 1st means DF is out of bankruptcy! We haven't gotten the official letter yet, but that should just be a technicality. We'll pay his last bankruptcy fee this week and be done! And he's now able to work 5 days a week again, so his pay cheques will be higher. Hopefully we can get back on track with the wedding, savings, etc.