Our day is here!

The day we've been working towards for a while, is finally here! Unfortunately we won't be making the final payment to our credit card as we planned. There are a few reasons for this temporary delay...

1) We were spontaneous and took a sudden trip away for the long weekend. We spent more than we planned and have to play catch up with some things. We decided not to beat ourselves up over it, but it still wasn't a good slip up.

2) We decided that it's time to move... now. I sent in our rent check today with a nice little note, giving our 30 days notice. (NOTE: We DO NOT have anything else lined up yet. Although I am a bit nervous, there are plenty of rentals available and I'd rather not pay rent on 2 places, so waiting until later in the month works okay for us.) This does require us to save up cash immediately though, since all the places we've looked at require a good sized deposit.

3) I received a verbal offer of employment today! I am super excited and anxious to read the actual letter (which should arrive soon, I hope). I had mentally prepared for a pay cut, but it looks like it will actually be a small bump up. Unbelievable! I am so ready to accept the offer and move on. I don't know enough yet on how their payroll will work, so we will also need to build up a little buffer, in the event that I'm not paid on the schedule we've grown accustomed to. Ahhh, the pains of living paycheck to paycheck!

So, that's the skinny. Sorry I didn't do my normal Weekly Money Check-Up this week. I'm sure I'll be back on track next week!

How can I owe MORE taxes?

Well, we are one week away from the final payment to our oldest credit card. I was basically walking on air yesterday, having just got the news that the positions I've interviewed for are moving forward in the process. Yayyy!

Then, we checked the mail.

Stinky, old mail.

Looks like we forgot to include something on our taxes from 2010. We had won a small jackpot on one of our casino trips back then. It was $3,000! It was the first and last time that ever happened to us. We didn't get anything in the mail to trigger us to remember to include it on our taxes, so we forgot.

The government didn't forget. They were notified by the casino and are looking for their 25%. $750. Oh, plus $31 for interest. A whopping $781 due to the government. Shucks.

Looks like I could file an amended return and somehow write off equal amounts of gambling losses. That's if we itemized our deductions. We've never had enough deductions to do that, so we've always taken the standard one. I'm not even sure that if we did itemize it, if it would just be a wash or if it doesn't work like that.

Part of me just wants to pay the $781 and be done with this. But, another part of me says that I should try to pull out our old taxes and file an amended return with itemizing our deductions and hope that the number somehow decreases. I'm not sure it will though and I don't really want to spend the time on it.

The bill will be considered "closed and paid in full" if we pay the $781 by June 20th. We will have the money. Sure, it was earmarked for something else, but we can make it work.

Sometimes it's worth the money to just put something behind you, ya know? I haven't made a final decision but that's how this is feeling right now. We'll see.

My Weekly Money Check-Up 5/21/12

(Photo is from My Pretty Pennies)

Here's my Weekly Money Check-Up, courtesy of My Pretty Pennies. 
 
1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on another payment to our debt! I can't believe in 10 days, I'll be making the final payment to a card that has been like an annoying monkey on my back for years! I can't wait.

2. Today I am thankful for long weekends! I'm really looking forward to having Memorial Day off next Monday. Even though we don't have any plans, it'll just be nice to have an extra day to relax.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was exploring a different part of California. We took a drive up the coast and got to check out some new places. It was a really nice day!

4. I will consider this week a success if I stay on track with our budget! We are so close to the finish line with this stinky old credit card and I just don't want to mess it up. This week will be a success if we behave.

5. I am really trying to stay on track with our healthy eating. We are about 10 weeks away from our vacation and we are trying to drop some more weight before our trip. We've done well so far but I really want to kick it up a notch as we get closer!


Hope you all have a great week :0)

We made it!

Geez, it feels as though it's been a long week. But, we made it! Even though I had a couple of "shorter days" where I left early for my interviews, the week actually feels longer since I had to be "on" so much. Ugh, being "on" can be exhausting!

I do have to say that sometimes I second-guess my thoughts of leaving this position. It's pretty easy work here and it pays quite well. The companies I have been interviewing with are super, crazy busy and may actually pay less. Plus, the commute will definitely be worse and cost more. As I write this out, I'm really starting to wonder if I'm nuts for looking for another job!

I have to though. It's the right thing. I'm not enthused when I come into work. I dread the new assignments I'm given because I don't find them at all challenging or interesting. I need to work for a place that is busy and makes me stay on my toes.

I'm glad I'm writing this post, so if I do move on, I can look back at this a few months from now when I'm stressed and wondering why I left, I'll remember! :o) Have a great weekend.

Job Interviews

So, I had a job interview today and it went very well. I have another tomorrow. Unfortunately, I'm starting to feel pretty icky with a fever and sore throat. Not sure what I'll end up doing. Hopefully by the time I wake up tomorrow this feeling will have passed. I'd hate to have to reschedule the interview. (If they'd even be open to that!)

I'll keep you posted, but it's possible that by this time next week I could be moving along to greener pastures. It's been a long time coming. I'm ready! Night :-)

Another Payday Closer!

Today was payday for me. I made the final payment for our upcoming trip this summer. Boy, that felt good! Not as good as making the final payment to credit card #2 is going to feel on the 31st! That will be a wonderful day. It's been a longgggg time coming. We had about $20K on that card when things started. Actually $25K at our highest point before we starting the blog. The account is actually closed and I just want it paid off and put behind me. 16 more days, 16 more days!

As I've mentioned recently, it's looking pretty good like we may end up taking a slight detour and saving for a down payment starting in June. It's not official yet, but that's what we're really leaning towards doing. We have had it with our studio apartment and the neighbors upstairs. We've made great progress on our debt and the only remaining amounts from our original debt of $60K, would be a zero percent interest card that we did a balance transfer on last year and our car loan which is pretty low at .09%. Not too shabby!

I'll let you know for certain if that's the decision we make but after another loud night, I'm leaning more towards it! Plus all of our high interest cards will be PAID IN FULL! Booo-ya :-)

My Weekly Money Check-Up 5/14/12

(Photo is from My Pretty Pennies)

Here's My Weekly Money Check-Up, courtesy of My Pretty Pennies. 

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on a huge payment ($3,151.09) to our debt!

2. Today I am thankful for new beginnings. Last week's interviews went well and I should have two follow up interviews this week. I'm really looking forward to moving along and starting fresh. New beginnings can be exciting!

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was painted my toenails. I know I use this one often, but really, I just love when my toes look so cute and fresh for free!

4. I will consider this week a success if I can successfully sneak off to my interviews this week without being noticed!

5. My favorite Disney character is Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She's adorable!

I hope you all have a good week! I'll keep you posted on what happens at my interviews :-)

Under $20K and 20 Days!

It just hit me that with the debt payment I made yesterday, that our debt is now UNDER $20,000! Holy crap! That's 2/3 of the way done. I don't typically update my status bar on the left until the new statement comes out, but WOW.

Plus, in 20 days I will be able to post that credit card #2 is GONE.

I. Can't. Wait.

Here's to progress! Have a great weekend :o)

Big Payments!

Yayyy! Today I made some big debt payments. I'm really excited with the thought that I'll be able to cross off credit card #2 by the end of this month! In total my debt payments equaled $3,151.09.

There was a little delay in the payment being made though because the hubby felt pretty strong that he wanted to use the money towards a down payment on buying a home. I was torn, but needed to follow my gut. I want this debt to be GONE FOREVER! I want to start fresh with a clean slate once we've paid our debt off. I wanted to compromise though, so I asked for the month of May to continue to pay our debt as planned and then we could reassess in June.

I'll keep ya' posted! 

My Weekly Money Check-Up 5/7/12

(Photo is from My Pretty Pennies)

 Here's my Weekly Money Check-Up, courtesy of My Pretty Pennies. 

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on groceries again! Lately we've been going a bit overboard on our food budget. We've been trying to buy lots of veggies and fresh food and that stuff doesn't come cheap!

2. Today I am thankful for sunshine. It really does impact my mood. Today is cloudy and gray and my mood is the same. When it's a bright and sunny day, I feel more alive and my attitude is definitely more positive!

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was drove around and looked at houses and condos with the hubby. I haven't been posting too much about it but we are in turmoil right now about what we want to do. I actually have 3 draft posts on the subject and hopefully this week, I'll actually sit down, write a clear thought and get it posted so you all know what's up.

4. I will consider this week a success if I do well at my interviews. I have 2 interviews this week and I tend to interview horribly. Here's hoping I do well at at least one of them!

5. The most delicious thing I ate all week was a quick sandwich I made for lunch yesterday after we did our grocery shopping. I had a loaf of French Bread, so I cut a slice of that, put on a couple pieces of ham and a slice of pepperjack cheese to make an open faced sandwich. I microwaved it for 1 minute and it came out delicious! So simple, but a yummy treat!

Tuesday...

Here's my thought for a cloudy, drizzy, cool Tuesday....


I want to have a job where I can wear comfortable shoes. 

The End.