Women in Red Racers - Northeast Region

[chiver78]

well, I'm going to be honest here. the only reason I am still here at this point is because I was hoping the sale would actually go through. I don't know if you remember any of my posts on the old boards, but I was fully ready to walk away last summer due to having had enough of the BS that I'd been just tolerating the whole time I'd been here. that's a very long story for another time, and there's no alcohol at my desk to help me write it all out. rumors of a sale started around that time, and I thought I'd do my best to wait it out and still retain my sanity. it's been touch and go at times, but the extra long-sleeved white jacket still eludes me. personally, I think will look better to a future employer if I have the length of service to company A, followed by a few months at company B post-sale. if I don't like the new company at that point, I can walk away pretty much unscathed. please let me know if you think I'm reading that wrong... I guess what I'm looking to find out is what other people's experiences have been with the transitions. I'll be the first to admit that I have stayed here too long, and that I'm rather lucky to be able to cash in on that mistake with the company sale.

to answer lark's questions, I don't have much information. my company is scattered across the state (locally) with offices all around the world. our HQ are in the city, while I work about 30 minutes outside in the biggest concentrated manufacturing/R&D campus. there's about 10 buildings in my campus, my building is primarily engineering and the supporting finance and administrative people. we don't hear anything until almost last, so I'm not surprised this is how it's all gone down.

the atmosphere has been crap, but it's been that way for quite awhile now actually. as far as profits go, our stock is still doing OK, about $10/share below its high point. we are a pharma company currently under consent decree though (public knowledge, it's all good), and have been chasing our tails trying to right the ship. we're still hitting profits as projected for other areas outside that affected by the CS.

as far as the resume, we got a new VP early last year who requested that we all update our resumes into the "CV" format. so our entire organization has been documented as of last spring. I guess I'm figuring that the new company will come in and look at that as "this is what we're inheriting, do we want to keep any/all of them?" I can't imagine that they would want to cut out the team that maintains the equipment that they are also inheriting.

thanks for listening....sorry for being so long-winded. I'm just thinking aloud here. this is the only job I've had since college, so I really have no idea what to expect. all I know for a work environment is this place.

[momofg]

Hello everyone,

Here is this month's update:

Cards	06/04/2008	01/10/2010	02/15/2011
Citi	4145.23	6020.65	3094.37
Optima	14941.3	14780.31	14847.11
HELOC	34020.27	29418.02	29259.54

Momofg 01/10/11 $50,191.02 (6/4/08 $53,106.80 NE207)


Well it is finally going down, but not for long. I got home today to my furnace blowing cold air. $215 later the heat is on but they don't know if the furnace will last the rest of the winter. So now I need a new one and it will cost somewhere around $4200. I don't even want to think about it right now. I am planning my sister's baby shower and her BF's mother has decided to invite their entire family. Who ever heard of a baby shower with 100 people? This is going to cost a fortune. If I had that kind of money I wouldn't spend it on the shower I would spend it on the baby!

Thanks for letting me vent.

[upstatemom]

[quote author=

Well it is finally going down, but not for long. I got home today to my furnace blowing cold air. $215 later the heat is on but they don't know if the furnace will last the rest of the winter. So now I need a new one and it will cost somewhere around $4200. I don't even want to think about it right now. I am planning my sister's baby shower and her BF's mother has decided to invite their entire family. Who ever heard of a baby shower with 100 people? This is going to cost a fortune. If I had that kind of money I wouldn't spend it on the shower I would spend it on the baby!

Thanks for letting me vent.

[/quote]

Make sure that you look into the Federal tax credits for energy star purchases, make sure your new furnace meets the requirements. Also find our if your state or local utility offers any incentives. Good Luck, hopefully your pain now will result in lower heating costs in the future

[kristin11]

Lark & Momof4

Thank you both for your advice. I knew something didnt sound right to me after I talked to him and I certainly did not like the idea of getting late notices showing up on my credit report. I have been working with some excel sheet payment calculators and for the next 6 months things are going to continue to be very tight because by just paying minimums on cards and loans its almost $750 a month which is a third of my monthly income. If I follow the schedule two of my cards will be paid off mid August which would open up another $130 a month. Instead of putting that whole $130 into my snowball I was thinking of only keeping $50 in it to free up some extra cash. I am attempting to build up my small emergency fund again (currently at $26 but better then nothing). Hopefully I can manage with my small amount of free cash at least until May when I can start working overtime again and bring in some more money. Thanks again!

[chiver78]

Current Update: chiver78 2/16/11 $21475.83 (8/20/08 $45152.97 NE266)

Creditor	Start Balance	1/20/11	Paid Off!
BofA #1	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Chase	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

[/td][td]$0.00[/td][td]$0.00[/td][td]$0.00[/td][/tr]
[tr]
[td]Discover #1[/td][td]$543.07[/td][td]$683.31[/td][td]($140.24)[/td][/tr]
[tr]
[td]AmEx[/td][td]$3142.50[/td][td]$3703.93[/td][td]($561.43)[/td][/tr]
[tr]
[td]Acura[/td][td]$4602.06[/td][td]$0.00[/td][td]$4602.06[/td][/tr]
[tr]
[td]Discover #2[/td][td]$5648.17[/td][td]$2481.51[/td][td]$3166.66[/td][/tr]
[tr]
[td]SL[/td][td]$7528.74[/td][td]$0.00[/td][td]$7528.74[/td][/tr]
[tr]
[td]1st National[/td][td]$9862.14[/td][td]$5482.08[/td][td]$4380.06[/td][/tr]
[tr]
[td]BofA #2[/td][td]$13826.29[/td][td]$0.00[/td][td]$13826.29[/td][/tr]
[tr]
[td]CitiCards[/td][td]$0.00[/td][td]$4975.00[/td][td]($4975.00)[/td][/tr]
[tr]
[td]SMCU[/td][td]$0.00[/td][td]$4150.00[/td][td]($4150.00)[/td][/tr]
[tr]

[tr]
[td]Total[/td][td]$45152.97[/td][td]$21475.83[/td][td]$23677.14[/td][/tr]
[/table]

hmm....not as bad as I was expecting. that's good, right? so the AmEx went up a little because my $75 annual fee for the membership rewards program on my corporate card came up this month. I didn't up my payment to cover it, and I'm paying just over the minimum while I snowball the Discover #2 whose promo rate expires next month. the Discover #1 has a balance because I registered my hockey team for a tournament, and I haven't collected back from everyone yet. this will be paid off before any interest accrues.

given my rant at the top of this page, I really have no clue what my next update is going to look like. I can only hope that the total balance continues to go down. this morning, we had our "town hall" type meeting, where we could ask questions of both CEO's, followed by another with our organization's VP. no definitive information about any workforce reductions because of the sale were given, and then we were told in the 2nd meeting that the already planned layoffs for next month would still be happening. this struck a nerve when I realized that if I were to get laid off in that pass, I wouldn't still be here when the sale transaction closes and all my unvested stock fully vests. I have a question in to the powers that be as to whether that tidbit will be taken into account with the severance packages of any affected employees, or whether they will just be royally screwed and shown the door. (obviously I worded it a little better, but you KWIM) supposedly, we're all still getting bonuses next month. that's generally around 3% of annual salary, so I should be able to wipe out that Discover #2 balance with it.

focusing on the positive....and getting a headache.

[lark1964]

Upstatemom - or... I'm sorry, whoever you quoted... have you looked into the utility rentable program? Some utilities - not all, mind you! - will offer a leasing program for a new appliance, they charge a nominal fee, like $25 a month to "rent" whatever the appliance is, and it's usually a 6-year contract you have with them. And they maintain it the whole time, then at the end of the 6-years, they will replace it if you want a new one, or you can buy your own at that point. I don't know what the rental price would be for a furnace, but it may be worth checking into it, instead of trying to buy the whole thing? Probably more than $25 a month, but even $50 a month would still be cheaper for 6 years than $4200!

[munjoyhill]

MomofG - Do NOT buy a new furnace without checking things out first. This happened to me several years ago, furnace broke down, the oil co came and looked at it, said we needed a new one. AND WE DIDN'T. Question them, over and over and over, you may need some serious repairs, but unless the furnace "box" is cracked down the middle, you do NOT need a new furnace.

They'll tell you that a new one is more efficient, blah, blah, blah, which it will be, but between you and me I would much rather pay $8-900 for repairs than $4,200 for a new furnace. And $4,200 sounds cheap, I suspect it would be a lot more than that.

When this happened to us years ago, I was so upset, but a man I worked for who used to service furnaces, saved the day when he told me the same thing I'm telling you. So I did question the oil company, come to find out I needed a new boiler, which cost about $350 at the time, and I didn't have to pay for a new furnace, which they estimated at $3,800. But they don't want to tell you that, they want you to buy a new furnace. And the efficiency be damned, with what I saved -- $3,450! And come to find out, with my new boiler, it made it more efficient anyway.

Seriously, question them, lots of questions, ask about simply repairing it, and not replacing it. Check around to other companies, have them give you an estimate -- on fixing it, and on a replacement.

It will be worth the time and effort you put into it, and your wallet and budget will thank you.

[momofg]

upstatemom, lark, munjoyhill,

Thanks for the suggestions. I have not done anything yet, and will probably try to get through the winter before deciding. I will talk to the company about the furnace. I have used them before and they installed my central air. They have been trustworthy so far.

They did also mention a rebate and the tax credit. I thought the tax credit expired at the end of 2010.

Unless the furnace dies soon I will wait and get as much information as I can before I decide what to do.

[thriftymom]

Small update:

DEBT	START	January 31, 2011	February 18, 2011
SL	755.58	0	0
CC1 (BOA)	7869.49	3888.63	3754.91
CC2 (Citi)	9877.05	0	0
CC3 (Cap 1)	0.00	16066.51	16066.51
TOTAL	$18502.12	19955.14	19821.42

thriftymom[2] 2/18/2011 $19821.42 (3/25/10, $18502.12 NEU 160)

Still waiting to see how much the dog's vet bill is on Wed, but I get paid Tues, so I went ahead and made a payment on BOA in the meantime. Once the dog's bill is paid I can more clearly see what's left to put toward CC's before the end of the month.

Good news: DH's boss managed to finagle him a 4% raise after two long years w/o one because of the economy. There was a raise freeze in the whole company, but his boss really went to bat for some of his guys, including DH, and while they used to get bigger raises than that, he was at least able to get them something for all their hard work. Now I just have to convince DH to put it toward debt. While he's behind us paying down our debts, he doesn't have the motivation to put it into action and pay as close attention to his account balances as I do.

Well, everyone enjoy the weekend!

[raven64]

Congratulations IrishMaude!!!

[Minnesotagirl7]

The 5500 Club has been updated, you can see it here:
notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wir&action=display&thread=1118

The 5.6k-24k Club is up-to-date, check it out here:
notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wir&action=display&thread=1117

[raven64]

Update: Raven64: 2/18/11: $49,796.23 (1/19/10 $53,326.18 NEU60)

Credit Card	Rate	1/19/10	1/18/11	Difference
Barclay	18.24%	$8123.54	$8,047.08	$159.16
Discover	15.99%	$5236.61	$4,705.64	$312.76
Chase	13.99%	$5447.62	$4,736.59	$658.62
US Bank	9.24%	$8721.55	$8,310.34	$321.53
Barclay	8.99%	$7315.37	$7,246.35	-$9.24
Citibank #1	7.24%	$6199.01	$5,647.71	$658.62
Citibank #2	7.24%	$12282.48	$11,102.52	$658.62
Total		$53,326.18	$49,796.23	$3529.95

Total % paid : 6.62%

Goals
Be under $45,000 by June 30
Increase EF to $2000

Well, I didn't do so well this month. My total only decreased by about $7. At least it didn't go up. Murphy decided to visit us again. My dog was diagnosed with cancer and the vet bill put a dent in things. He only has 1-2 months to live so DH and I are spending lots of time making happy memories with him until it's time to say goodbye. I'm not really upset about having a bad month as long as I can keep him comfortable and happy. The meds are a big help and you wouldn't even know he his sick right now.

The good news is we are getting back $2668 for the IRS for a tax refund and we are using the money to pay off my car loan. This is non-racing debt but it will free up $324 a month to put toward debt and give us some breathing room. This is huge progress for us. Hopefully, next months update will show more progress.

[cls328]

Update:

2/18/2011
SL 9,883.39
CC1 0
CC2 11,442.13
CC3 11,252.23
CC4 0.00
32,577.75

CLS 328: 2/18/11 $32,577.75 (12/21/08 $42,189.11) NE 397

[meltingdebt]

Feb 15, 2011 9:50:49 GMT -5 kristin11 said:

I have a question for everyone ... I have been speaking with a few different debt counseling agencies to see if there is any program I can use to give myself a little breathing room each month and I spoke to one just the other day that talked about a program called debt negotiation where it is a low monthly payment however I was told that on my credit report things will show up that my payments are 30, 60, 90 days late because they pay my companies directly. They explained that I would take the hit now and that in 3 or 4 years my credit will be great again. This makes me very uncomfortable because I have a very good credit score right now and I dont want there to be any record of me being late. Has anyone ever done something like this that can give me information on it or has anyone else used another program that worked for them? Thanks!

Kristin11: Don't do it!!!! My husband used one to negotiate lower payments. The debt company held onto his money until they had enough to pay off the entire balance. Which means, his credit score tanked, because they did not pay any money until after 6 months. My husband was actually sued by 2 credit card companies. He finally smartened up, canceled the debt consolidation company, lost a couple of hundred dollars in fees, and has now made arrangements with the credit card companies. Much better progress, and less headaches.

[IrishMaude]

raven: I'm sorry about your pup. I couldn't imagine having to go through that, considering our pup is our life along with my lil guy. My thoughts are with you and your pooch for happiness and comfort. Kisses and hugs to your 4-legged angel.

Tomorrow night marks my almost 13-yr olds first concert. Yea, it's our favorite band and my DH and I are very excited about it. Ear plugs and a rockin' good time.

Cheers to all.

[bankergurl]

$100K Club updated as of 2/20/11! $31,046.41 paid off this week! Fabulous!
- Congrats to SunshineGal1981 from the NE for graduating from the $100K Club! Great Job!
- Welcome to new $100K+ Racer, Accountant4Christ from the South!
notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wir&thread=2929&page=1

[thriftymom]

Another update: I had to do my BT from Cap1 to Citi to avoid being hit by interest charges come March 1. Of course, now I've absorbed $480 in BT fees, but that will still work out to be less than the interest over time. Just discouraging to take a step backwards, even if it is a strategic and practical one.

I now have 1.99% until Jan 1, 2012 on the Citi card, and I have the same till end of June on the BOA card. Vet appt for the dogs is Wed night, and then I can assess how much I can plop onto the BOA card so I can hopefully get that really low before we buy our kitchen cabinets and run it back up again. Whatever the amount, I will have an additional $200 in freelance work to put toward it, and I'm working on another freelance project now that will add another $400 or so to next month's payment.

DEBT	START	February 18, 2011	February 21, 2011	Change
SL	755.58	0	0	(755.58)
CC1 (BOA)	7869.49	3754.91	3754.91	(4114.58)
CC2 (Citi)	9877.05	0	16480.00	6602.95
CC3 (Cap 1)	0.00	16066.51	0	0
TOTAL	$18502.12	19955.14	20234.91	1732.79

thriftymom[2] 2/21/2011 $20234.91 (3/25/10, $18502.12 NEU 160)

I hear we're expecting another 2-5" of snow tonight in the Philly metro area. Kind of discouraging, but at least the big snow piles melted over the last 4-5 days, so it will be like starting over, instead of adding to an already horrible amount on the ground. Hope those of you who worked today had a good day and those who had the day off enjoyed it!

[IrishMaude]

Hi all! So, update on the house front...

OUR OFFER WAS ACCEPTED! ;D We put an offer in on a 1700 sq ft foreclosure and yesterday it was accepted! The house was only on the market 2 days is perfect for us. It's a 3 bed/1 full 2 half bath home with about a 1/2 acre, fenced in back yard, garage, back deck, and fireplace all in a quiet neighborhood. The home needs TLC and has some freeze damage, but we've gotten estimates and it's nothing we can't handle. As long as the septic and well inspections pass, we should have our first ginormous project home on our hands. My DH and I couldn't be happier; in fact, Mr. IM looked as if he wanted to just jump out of his skin because of excitement.

[LilBall]

[glow=red,2,300]The 25K-50K List has been updated, check it out here![/glow]

notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wir&thread=3150&page=1#145831

[foxybrown77]

UPDATE
Foxybrown77: 02/23/11 $10,650.68 (07/16/08 $80,213 NE239)

IrishMaude: Congrats on the house!

[debtheaven]

Congrats on the house IrishMaude!!!

[lark1964]

YAY IRISHMAUDE!!

Don't let the size of the place or the work that has to be done intimidate you - I have lived in my house five years, now (wow, that's... staggering), and I haven't done everything I "want" to do, mostly because... I keep changing my mind! Each room has been a project, and every time I finish, I go on to the next one, and then I look at the last one and I think, "You know..."

It's fun! It's like a playground!

[thriftymom]

While I'd like to think that the health of my two dogs is priceless, last night it came with a price tag: $582. That covers all their shots for the year, plus tests for HW and Lyme and their Frontline and HW pills for the next 3 months. It was a little higher than I'd expected, but it's been awhile since I had both dogs' shots done at the same time. Luckily, they are on opposite years for the 2yr rabies shot, so that saves me some $ until Feb 2012.

At least I was able to pay cash since that $ is coming out of my CC snowball, and tonight or tomorrow I can look at my accounts and decide how much I can afford to put toward that BOA card before my next paycheck comes on March 8. And I have the peace of mind knowing that my doggies are healthy and vaccinated against all the yucky stuff they might run into once we're walking around the neighborhood again after the warm weather comes for real.

Congrats on the house, IrishMaude! I'm sure you got a great deal since you are a WIRR. When we bought our house in 2002 it was the nicest one we'd seen (out of about 4 dozen home tours), but it still needed some work. Doing stuff to fix up your house makes it feel more like yours, though, so as long as you're up for it (and it sounds like you are), then you're going to have a blast!

[ravenhaired]

Ravenhaired: 2/24/11 $59,037.65 (12/23/09 $72,190.66)
Pittsburgh, PA NE U4


EXPENSES

Bills	Dec 2009	Dec 2010	Jan 2011	Feb 15, 2011	Feb 24, 2011
Mortgage	52,585.13	48,777.29	48,506.06	48,506.06	48,506.06
LOC	11,280.70	9,825.83	9,015.83	8,515.83	7,999.83
SL	5,481.90	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
CC1	2,232.93	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
CC2	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Fridge	610.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Surgery-bill 1	0.00	0.00	0.00	395.29	395.29
Surgery-bill 2	0.00	0.00	0.00	801.01	801.01
Yoga Course	0.00	0.00	0.00	1,250.00	1,125.00
Washer	0.00	0.00	0.00	230.46	210.46
Totals	72,190.66	58,603.12	57,524.19	59,698.65	59,037.65
Change:		-13,587.54	-1,078.93	+2,174.46	-661.00

********

SAVINGS

Savings	Dec 2009	Dec 2010	Jan 2011	Feb 15, 2011	Feb 24, 2011
EF	0.00	1,985.02	1,763.82	2,013.82	2,013.82
Liquid Savings	190.20	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Totals	190.20	1,985.02	1,763.82	2,013.82	2,013.82
Change:		+1,794.82	+221.20	+250.00	0.00

Received my federal return – I’ll use it to pay my car insurance, put 200 in savings and the rest will most likely go in the EF. Also, I am expecting $70 rebate this week, which I’ll probably put all in savings.





2011 Financial Goals
BS#1 – Establish 1K EF – Complete (2K)
BS#2 – Pay off LOC (In progress – Target completion August)
BS#3 – Establish 10K EF/Re-adjust retirement contribution to 10%
BS#4 –Re-adjust retirement contribution to 20%
BS#5 -- Complete
BS#6 – Pay off mortgage (approx 2018)
BS#7 – Build wealth & give
RETIRE from corporate America!

[oceanfire31]

Oceanfire31: 2/24/2011 $11,960.10 (09/07/09 $22,908.15 NE679, NE692)

1/22/11	2/22/11	Difference
CC: Closed	$0	$0
SL1: $864.38 @ 3.360	$0	-$864.38
SL2: $12,043.35@ 3.2	$11960.10	-$83.25
Total Debt $12,907.73	$11,9960.10	-$947.63

SAVINGS

1/22/11	2/22/11	Difference
Savings/EF $50.00	$0	+$0
Scotland $0	$0	$0
Moving $300	$460	+$160
Rothe @ 2.25 $847.23	$847.23$0	$0

Feeling happy that VSAC got paid off but wishing I had more money right now to throw at this last loan. Turtuling for me right now until I can get some more work. Really hopes this moving thing works out I should probably start looking to see if I can get a deferment on my student loan payment for a couple months or a month at least when the time comes.

[sparalach]

Sparalach: Update 2/24/11 $14,918 (2/8/10, $20,141 NEU93) still here

[fitzgal]

Update: FitzGal 02/25/11, $34,014.62 (7/29/10, $34,936.92, NEU263)

CC1: $2,757.42 - down $56.00
CC2: $3,208.59 - down $32.21
CC3: $4.280.68 - down $88.00
CC4: $23,767.93 - down $93.42
Total: $34,014.62 - down $269.63
Down $922.30 in 7 months. =(

Well, I'm a turtle, but at least I'm not going backwards.
Having to build my Emergency Fund back up so that's #1 on my priority list. I've also been doing really well with not using my cards and sticking to my budget. Unfortunetly there was a glitch somewhere and I never got my notification that my CC4 was due so that was a little late, but now I know to double check that I paid everything. I should have known I had too much money in the bank, but I thought maybe I had forgotten about some overtime or something (wishful thinking). Finally getting around to filing my taxes this weekend. Mary Kay has been a financial drain so far and I've yet to come close to breaking even so hopefully I'll get a little break on my taxes because of it. Also hoping to have my condo back on the market in the next two to three weeks. Second times a charm right??! =)

[Delphinus317]

Creditor	Starting Balance	2/25/11	Total Paid	Current Balance
Capital One (5.99%)	$102	$2,033	$2,135	$0
Citi (0%)	$4,667	$70	$140	$4,527
Chase (0%)	$2,575	$51	$51	$2,524
Littman 1 (0%)	$1,287	$300	$1,287	$0
Littman 2 (0%)	$4,900	$50	$100	$4,800
Fidelity (0%)	$9,070	$400	$500	$8,570
CU Loan (9.9%)	$6,000	$0	$0	$6,000
Auto Loan 1 (3.99%)	$14,550	$227	$454	$14,093
Auto Loan 2 (14.19%)	$10,824	$240	$240	$10,715
Total	$53,975	$3,371	$4,907	$51,229

Total percentage paid: 5.1%

UPDATE: Delphinus317 2/25/11 $51,229 (1/19/11 $53,975)

Well, I just got my IRS refund, and we could've made better progress had our new truck not needed over $2000 worth of repairs earlier this month. Next month, I'm going to transfer the Auto Loan 2 over to Capital One to get that interest rate down. Plus then we won't have the lienholder on the truck. Next item on the list is to attack the Fidelity card since the promotional rate is over in April when it shoots up to 14.9%. Yuk. I really hate being this far in debt, but it's even more motivation get it paid off.

[redwagon]

redwagon: 2/25/2011 $25532.81 (7/16/2007 $27323.79 N290)

Account	7/15/2007	12/31/2010	2/15/11	2/25/2011	Paid Off This Month	Paid This Year	Paid Total
CC#1	1451.67	1178.69	680	0	680	1178.69	1,451.67
CC#2	931.42	0	0	0	0	0	931.42
CC#3	8908.36	12650.97	11304.5	10625.09	679.41	2025.88	-1,716.73
CC#4	0	0	1499	1499	0	-1499	-1,499.00
CC#5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
CC#6	0	231.75	380.46	0	380.46	231.75	0.00
CC#6	0	231.75	211.36	190.48	20.88	41.27	-190.48
SL	16032.34	13376.02	13197.36	13197.36	0	178.66	2,834.98
Total	27323.79	27437.43	27272.68	25511.93	1760.75	2157.25	1,811.86

Back down again, due to tax refund. This should go down another thousand once I get state back and get a good look at things. I know I've said this before, but I NEED to not let this get up agian. So sick of see-sawing...

[redwagon]

I should also point out that CC#4 is a course and I will be reimbursed by my company $1000 in May when the course is over. So that's a tad less depressing...