by Tricia
It always happens…I speak too soon. I thought things were going to be slowing down and I’d have more time for blogging. But that will not be the case. However, I am going to try my hardest to keep things going on here like normal. I miss blogging!
I owe some updates, so I’ll make them short and sweet for tonight this morning. I’ll talk more about some of them later in individual posts.
First Update: I was asked by Kim at Alpha Consumer if I would like to share my 2008 financial goals. The email sat in my inbox for a little bit because I hadn’t even thought about it yet. Last year, I didn’t get our 2007 goals posted until 11:50 PM on New Year’s Eve. After about a week of thinking about it, I still wasn’t sure of a debt payoff goal for 2008. Finally, I decided on $10,000. I basically pulled that number out of thin air. Things are so up in the air at the moment that I have no idea what 2008 will bring. That ties into the second update.
Second Update: My husband’s temp job is soon coming to an end. In January, the grant money that is funding his paycheck will be all used up. He’s been busy applying to jobs in his field across the US. Of course, we have a preference for jobs closer to home or closer to our family, but we aren’t disregarding jobs because of location. It turns out there isn’t much out there. In a way, I am excited for a change of pace. But at the same time it scares the heck out of me because I know our finances will go crazy for a while until we get into a “financial groove” again.
Third Update: I guess this one is sort of a confession. With my husband’s income soon disappearing, I haven’t even looked at our financial situation and how it will be affected. I know things will be really tight for a while until more income starts coming in. It’s in my nature to plan, so I better look soon and figure out a game plan to follow in case my husband’s job search takes a while.
Fourth Update: I have another confession. I paid a bill late this month and got hit with a minor late fee. While I’ve been busy with other things, I didn’t open my Quicken file at all. I totally missed that our gas bill was due and it got there a day late. One thing I don’t like doing is paying extra money due to late fees. I should still stick my nose in our Quicken file every few days no matter what.
Fifth Update: Our Christmas shopping is basically done, thanks to the power of the internet. I am so glad I won’t be scrambling at the last minute because I think things may be crazy all the way through the New Year.
That’s all I can think of at the moment. If you are wondering about something that I haven’t gave an update on, please feel free to mention it in the comments and I’ll reply. I really feel like like I’m forgetting something.
Did you stick to a Christmas budget? If so, was it hard?! I know I love giving people gifts so much it’s often hard for me to stick to a gift giving budget and I often go over…
Thanks for all the updates. I’d been wondering where you were on them.
I set up all my utilities with automatic payments. That way I never forget and I save money in stamps (and buying checks).
Where possible – I try to have the payments go on my rewards credit card. [And pay the credit card in full every month.] When your oil, phone, cable, and electric bill (and any other utility you need to pay monthly) are on the rewards credit card (and you pay in full every month), you are getting free money.
But one might be scared of paying the credit card in full on time. In that case too, I have that set up to automatically pay in full every month too via direct debit.
So the amount of work I need to do in my bill paying … minimal except for the journal entries and making sure all my balances stay above 0 so I don’t bork my automatic credit card payment.
I’d encourage you to call the gas company and ask them to wave the late fee. It’s worked for me in the past….
Good luck!
I agree with DM. Usually companies will waive a late fee once a year. If this is the only time you’ve been late, you should call and see if they will forgive it. I mean it was only a DAY late!
I completely understand the third update. It’s a scary situation…even if you have confidence that things will work out in the end.
I’m surprised they actually charge late fees for utilities. I’m sure they would waive it if you asked them. 🙂
I would love to see an article on the stress of moving from one financial groove to another one, and your best practices for dealing with it. I find myself in the same situation, and am worried about depleting my savings and having to completely rewrite my debt payoff plans. I’d love to hear any strategies you have.
I totally understand the uncertainty that goes with not knowing where you’ll be. My husband is looking for another job elsewhere in the country, although it’s a choice we both made because we knew when we took this current job that it would only be temporary. We’re looking at our next move as being our last one, at least for awhile, where we can buy a house and finally “settle down.” It means really tightening our belts for the time being, as we anticipate some financial sacrifices during the relocation.
I pay my utility bills basically when I get them so that I don’t forget. I use online bill pay so that I can do it lickety-split and not have to spend money on an envelope or stamp. I refuse to use automatic bill-pay because I’m concerned about giving that kind of power to a third-party, especially with problems I’ve had in the past with vendors who take forever to stop the withdrawals even after I’ve requested it.
Thanks for a great post!
Salut,
Marjorie