Payments (past and future)

Since it's been a while since I've talked about any payments here, I thought I would share a few that were made and ones that will be made this week.

Made:

Car Payment was $450, and with that payment it pushed my next payment due to 03/17.  Of course, since we now owe less than $9000 on it, this is one of the targets we have to pay off in the next few months.

Truck Payment continues to be $540. We got such a low interest rate on this that we'll continue to make the regular payments on this until we can budget to make extra payments to the principal.

Upcoming:

This week I will be making a $1000 payment to my Canadian MBNA Mastercard and a $500 to the RBC Visa.

The $500 payment will bring the balance below $5000 for the first time in I can't tell you how long, and the $1000 on MBNA will bring it below $17000 (in fact, it will be close to $16000, I may even be able to swing an extra amount to it here soon with help from J).  I seriously can't tell you how long it's been since I've seen that number.  Makes you sick how much interest we have paid in that card.  I can't wait until both of those are paid off.  I am thinking February they will be gone! 

February is usually a good month for us money wise, as it is usually when we get our tax return and I get my yearly bonus.  I will be most likely be getting $2500 after taxes for my bonus since I got an Exceeds Expectations in my last Performance Review.  However, since J won't be back from Afghanistan until May, we have to file an extension and file when he gets home.  We will be using a CPA for the first time ever, and I have to admit, I am actually nervous about letting someone else handle our money/taxes.  I know it's their job, but I have heard too many horror stories about their CPA not doing it right and the IRS coming after you for back taxes.  The only good thing about it, we will get a ton of those taxes back for the 'Foreign Earned Income' Tax credit.

I'll have to remember to keep you all informed on how that turns out.

Well, it's Sunday and unfortunately I have to work today.  Tomorrow is my weekly 'day off' which means I have to fit everything in that I need to, and I will mostly likely spend half of it at Firestone having the car looked at. I think the battery is dying/dead and it needs to be replaced, and an oil change.  Yay, fun times.  Maybe I'll bring my laptop and blog from there!

Have a great rest of your weekend all! :)

Car Is Under $10,000!

Just made another $400 payment to the car, and we are now under $10,000 on it!
Right now it is $9748.

We're hoping to pay this off with the second deployment.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

May Maintenance

So the month of May has started out by not giving me a break...or maybe I should say 'brake'. Went in to get my car a good one over, with a tune up, fuel cleaning and oil change. Well....... that's all I THOUGHT I was going to have done. Turns out that all of the brakes need to be done. Thing is, I just had the front breaks done about 20,000miles ago. Good news, Firestone will not charge me for the brake pads or rotors. Bad news, the calipers needed to be replaced, and the back brake drums as well. Front brakes were done today, but the drums weren't in stock. In fact the only place you can get them is through Toyota. So I will have to come back for those.

Today's damage? $841. Was supposed to be $300. Plus sitting around for 4.5 hours.

Soooo...May is definitely going to be a cheap month around here! Mac n' Cheese (or as I know it as, Kraft Dinner month!) woo hoo!

Debt Updating, or the Lack Of!

As you can probably see, the whole sidebar thing with our debt hasn't really updated at all, besides the car payments.
Because of our added debt (the new SUV), and other things that have come up (especially with my husband deploying) I will esentially have to start over with the DRP in Quicken here soon.

Plus, when my husband does deploy, the DRP will most likely take only the next 7-8 months, rather than the 2-3 years as before.

We will be saving quite a lot in that time as well. We will want to start looking for a house when he returns in September.

I do apologize for anyone who reads this blog for the lack of debt updating, but I hope to have it re-organized soon here!

Time to Re-Organize

So, with the purchase of a new vehicle, it's time to do some reorganization of our finances (for now) and our lives.

Last weekend we went car shopping, which turned into car buying. We had the intention of buying a used vehicle. Well that went out the window. We ended up buying brand spanking new. But with the financing we got, we just couldn't pass up a new vehicle. We got a 2010 Ford Explorer. I had been looking at a 2007.
Oh well, another payment to make. But J just got his raise (which kicks in next paycheck) and I got my raise. And with the 2% reduction into social security, our take home pay is a little higher.

We've also got our taxes coming in, and my work gives a bonus either in February or March which I've heard is pretty much a paycheck in between paychecks, so that will be nice (I Hope!)

I also need to seriously reorganize our house. We live in a tiny house that definitely does not have enough room for us, the two cats and all of the stuff we own! Time to do some purging of stuff (mostly paperwork that I need to shred or recycle).

Well, back to work today after visting Ontario over the weekend. My maid of honour got married herself of Friday to a really great guy. So happy for them, and makes me realize how great my husband is. We're coming up on our 4year anniversary. Hard to believe! haha

Car Shopping.... *sigh*

I guess I've put it off long enough.
Back in May, J had an accident and our second vehicle, the Ford Ranger (which was awesome!) was declared totaled. Thankfully, Geico paid off what was still owed and we no longer had another car payment. Yay! But now we are down to one vehicle. Boo!

We've been surviving pretty good so far, although there have been some frustrating moments. Back in July I started an earlier shift, 7-4 which was ok. J hated getting up early, but at least he wasn't getting to work at noon when I worked mid-shift. I on the other hand, would have to wait until 5 or 6pm until J would pick me up. Not good.

Now, since I started my new position, I'm back to a mid shift, and I'm being dropped off at work at 9:30am when my shift starts at 11:30am.
Again, not good.

So, we bit the bullet and applied for another auto loan. So we'll be out shopping today to find another vehicle. We definitely want 4x4, and I'm a little partial to Ford, so we're looking for an Used Explorer. I've found a couple, so we'll check them out.

I guess the only good thing about this year, is that it will all be paid off by the end of the year with J's deployment :) Again...yay and boo lol