Are we there yet?
I don't know that I could adequately describe recent events as well as you could get the gist if I just list them. So here goes:
- As I've mentioned numerous times, Tom & I are in bad financial times right now. Tom has been counting on our car getting paid off this year, sometime mid-summer, so that we can start using the $400 a month on other bills and improve our standard of living a smidge.
- Well, he did some research the other day and was very disappointed to discover that it's going to be September that it'd be paid off, rather than June or July like we'd hoped. *sigh*
- In my post a few days ago, I commented on the fact that we have a few money amounts coming in soon - a (rather large) tax return we didn't expect, some money in savings we had planned to pay the taxes, and Tom's bonus.
- Now neither Tom nor I ever count on bonuses being much, but just to give you an idea, we both got bonuses last year (when I was still working there) in the 4-digit range, and that was for one of the worst years our company had seen to date. We decided to be conservative in our hopes for this year, just in case, and guessed a mid-3-digit number for this one.
- Tom found out this morning when check stubs were handed out that he did NOT get a bonus. Nothing. Not just small, but nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Something came down the grapevine that it was only Exempt folks getting a bonus or something like that. Argh. Tom was just a *tad* annoyed. Okay, he was pissed. Hrmm.
- So, what does this do to plan "Let's pay off the car?" Aha. Yeah.
- So, I started doing some research into our Budget spreadsheet that I create every year, to see if we can squeeze some more money out of somewhere that would equal the amount we were hoping his bonus would've been. At this point, I'm working with the number he had found out before - $2400 by 3/15 (this may not be a big number to most people & it didn't used to be to us, but things have changed since moving to the megalopolis of Parkersburg - anyhoo, I digress...).
- Okay, so Cristy does some magic number crunching, and... Ta Da! She comes up with a way for us to pay $2400 by 3/15, using the payment for the car we would've made on 3/13 to add in. She im's Tom to give him the good news. Tom says, "Great! Let me call to confirm everything. I'll get back to ya'"
- Moments later, Tom im's Cristy back with, "Now, they're saying it's $2900 by 3/10." HUH??? What, did they just MAKE UP numbers? And, when did the deadline change? Geesh. Grumble. Grumble....
- So, now, not only is it $500 MORE than they said before. It's also due 5 days earlier, which if anybody's looking at the calendar next to their desk, they'll see takes away a week's paycheck to work with. *sigh* Are we doomed to pay this stupid car payment til September then??
- I *briefly* contemplate calling and chewing someone's butt about the matter, but by the time Tom gets home from lunch, I just want to get it figured out, and talking to some nobody on the phone isn't going to accomplish anything. *BIG SIGH* Okay...
- So, Cristy busily crunches more magic numbers, and... Voila! I found a way for us to pay the @F%^%$*%^!!*&%'ing amount on the *(&^%$&$'ing date. All we have to do is move this over there, and that over here, and make sure we don't sneeze too hard for 2 weeks.
Sooooo..... We're going to pay the car off next Friday. Tom's taking the morning off, and I took him back to work to do the juggling act with all the bank accounts to get it ready. Now, we just have to get the tax return deposited before next Thursday. Cross your toes, everybody! Please throw your prayers, voodoo, runes, best wishes at us for a few weeks. I think we're going to pull out of this, but just by a hair!
Your exhausted,
Cristy
- As I've mentioned numerous times, Tom & I are in bad financial times right now. Tom has been counting on our car getting paid off this year, sometime mid-summer, so that we can start using the $400 a month on other bills and improve our standard of living a smidge.
- Well, he did some research the other day and was very disappointed to discover that it's going to be September that it'd be paid off, rather than June or July like we'd hoped. *sigh*
- In my post a few days ago, I commented on the fact that we have a few money amounts coming in soon - a (rather large) tax return we didn't expect, some money in savings we had planned to pay the taxes, and Tom's bonus.
- Now neither Tom nor I ever count on bonuses being much, but just to give you an idea, we both got bonuses last year (when I was still working there) in the 4-digit range, and that was for one of the worst years our company had seen to date. We decided to be conservative in our hopes for this year, just in case, and guessed a mid-3-digit number for this one.
- Tom found out this morning when check stubs were handed out that he did NOT get a bonus. Nothing. Not just small, but nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Something came down the grapevine that it was only Exempt folks getting a bonus or something like that. Argh. Tom was just a *tad* annoyed. Okay, he was pissed. Hrmm.
- So, what does this do to plan "Let's pay off the car?" Aha. Yeah.
- So, I started doing some research into our Budget spreadsheet that I create every year, to see if we can squeeze some more money out of somewhere that would equal the amount we were hoping his bonus would've been. At this point, I'm working with the number he had found out before - $2400 by 3/15 (this may not be a big number to most people & it didn't used to be to us, but things have changed since moving to the megalopolis of Parkersburg - anyhoo, I digress...).
- Okay, so Cristy does some magic number crunching, and... Ta Da! She comes up with a way for us to pay $2400 by 3/15, using the payment for the car we would've made on 3/13 to add in. She im's Tom to give him the good news. Tom says, "Great! Let me call to confirm everything. I'll get back to ya'"
- Moments later, Tom im's Cristy back with, "Now, they're saying it's $2900 by 3/10." HUH??? What, did they just MAKE UP numbers? And, when did the deadline change? Geesh. Grumble. Grumble....
- So, now, not only is it $500 MORE than they said before. It's also due 5 days earlier, which if anybody's looking at the calendar next to their desk, they'll see takes away a week's paycheck to work with. *sigh* Are we doomed to pay this stupid car payment til September then??
- I *briefly* contemplate calling and chewing someone's butt about the matter, but by the time Tom gets home from lunch, I just want to get it figured out, and talking to some nobody on the phone isn't going to accomplish anything. *BIG SIGH* Okay...
- So, Cristy busily crunches more magic numbers, and... Voila! I found a way for us to pay the @F%^%$*%^!!*&%'ing amount on the *(&^%$&$'ing date. All we have to do is move this over there, and that over here, and make sure we don't sneeze too hard for 2 weeks.
Sooooo..... We're going to pay the car off next Friday. Tom's taking the morning off, and I took him back to work to do the juggling act with all the bank accounts to get it ready. Now, we just have to get the tax return deposited before next Thursday. Cross your toes, everybody! Please throw your prayers, voodoo, runes, best wishes at us for a few weeks. I think we're going to pull out of this, but just by a hair!
Your exhausted,
Cristy