I just filed an expense claim for my GAZILLION dollars of tuition (which I've been carrying on my credit card for 6 weeks, waiting to get grades back). That will go a long way to making me feel less skint when it comes in :)

My mortgage is split into a (very) large chunk fixed for a long period, and a small chunk fixed for shorter periods, in order to have the ability to make lump payments when I refix it. Through the unpredictabilities of life, this 'clever' move ended up being a bit of a liability, and the last rate I fixed that one for was 9.8%. OUCH, that stung ( Read more... )

I signed the papers yesterday to refix my mortgage at a much lower interest rate. It knocks $250/fortnight off my bill :)

I am doing my part to help the economy by spending money I don't have. My laptop, which has given 6 years of service across many continents, is on its deathbed. It intermittent problems have become more frequent, and today it started overheating and making a terrible death rattle in the fan ( Read more... )

I am exceedingly pleased to announce that I have just paid off a student loan. Way ahead of schedule. It was the smallest, but it still makes me happy. That's 2 down, and now I keep chipping away at the remaining 2 (which will take quite a while). Nickels and dimes make dollars, as my father likes to remind me. Not that makes any sense in NZ, ( Read more... )

I just found out that my department will be paying my fees, and the grad division will be providing me a $5000 stipend for the spring. As stipends go, that's pretty stingy, but you won't hear me complain. That really gets me out of a pinch for next semester. I *could* have taken out a fat loan, but I really didn't want to. It required a lot of ( Read more... )