Looking Forward's Personal Finance Blog

I had my first hair appointment of the year this afternoon - a cut with some highlights.

The salon is downtown and parking is tight.
I parked in a two hour lot.
I was 15 minutes over and got a $35 ticket.

The parking enforcement guy was making the ticket as I walked up. He asked if I had gotten/paid for a new pass. (You prepay for a minimum of 15 minutes to a maximum of two hours.)
I said, "No. I just finished getting my hair done. Should I get another one now?"
And he was like "Nope. Here's your ticket."

If you can park longer than two hours why not let people prepay for longer than two hours??
UGH!!

Received an email Friday from the company I had the phone interview with last week.

They said they are hiring someone internally for the position.

I did feel disappointed when I read the email.
Not terribly crushed or anything. But the disappointment I felt made me realize I was hoping for this more than I actually thought.

I'll just keep pluggin' along as usual for now.

Having a heat wave this weekend.
Today it got to a high of 94F.

DD has two friends staying over the weekend. I think they were all up until 3am last night. They were pretty quiet so I'm not sure exactly when they fell asleep.

DH took DS and the three girls to one of the city pools (very near the house) for the afternoon. That left me home alone to work on laundry and housework. (Oh Joy - lol - actually I like it better when I can be alone to get things done)

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Received an alert that someone used our Ting referral code. Yay!
We've had a couple the past few months.
Thank you to all of you who have used my link!

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This past week some of DD's bees swarmed.
That means because the colony is doing well they outgrew the hive, so some of the bees volunteer to "move out" and make a new hive somewhere else.

As a beekeeper you try to stay ahead of the bees growth by adding additional boxes to the hive for them to fill. We had an empty box ready, but hadn't added it. Just wasn't thinking about it with all the busy end-of-the-school-year stuff going. Little bummed about that.

If we find the bees nearby DD and her project leaders might be able to recapture the bees and start a second hive. *fingers crossed*

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Big battle episode tonight on Game of Thrones - Can't wait!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everyone.

Had my phone interview this afternoon. It went smoothly. I got the feeling there are many people they are phone screening, so we'll see.

I was told I should hear in about a week if there will be a face to face interview.

The interviewer asked what my desired salary would be and I said $42k, which is a decent increase over what I make now. She couldn't offer exact details on compensation, but there is base salary, commission, "spiffs", vehicle & fuel reimbursement.

Still feeling unsure/anxious about this, but as I keep saying, the possibilities are exciting.

If I do get a personal interview I am thinking at that point I will tell my current boss what is going on. If I do not get the job it will open a dialog about the fact I will be leaving at some point.
And if I do get the job I will have given him a bit more advanced notice - I think that is the right thing to do given nearly 14 years of employment.

What do you all think?
Everyone here (DH, coworker, friends) think I should just stick with the standard two weeks notice.

ETA: I was able to speak with the woman who just left this position after 13 years. I've known her for a long time so I told her I had applied and asked for her perspective.
She said she didn't get along with the regional manager (her boss) who was hired two years ago. She said, "she is very middle management. Some people get along fine with her. You might like her just fine."
She didn't say, "Heck NO - Run away!" So I guess that's good??

This is the last week of school.
DS will go to some summer sessions of preschool, but not with the regular teachers or program.
DD will be *free* of any schedules except for 4H camp and possibly a four week musical theater day camp.

The past few mornings I have had a really hard time getting going - we are all ready for a more relaxed "summer schedule".
I can get about 20 more minutes in bed or hanging around the house because I won't have to drive DD to school.

Phone interview is on Thursday.
I plan to ask several questions since the job posting was so vague.

I told my co-worker if I don't get this job I will plan to leave current job next year when DS finishes his preschool year. It is hard to make changes, but I think it needs to happen. At the very least applying for this job has got my mind more accepting of change.

I received a phone call this morning from the company I applied with last month. They set up a phone interview with me for Thursday afternoon.

At first I got that scared feeling again.
I had to ask myself what am I so afraid of?
I've decided it's a fear of change and fear of the unknown. But I also know this could be a wonderful opportunity so I've got to keep moving forward on this.

The phone interview will give me a chance to gather more information.
For one, I want to find out if I will be given a company car or reimbursed somehow. I also want to ask about the training period and amount of travel outside of "home area".
Is it too soon to ask about salary?

Haven't said anything to my boss about any of this yet. I am thinking if I get called back for in-person interview then I will say something.
That is another hard part for me - I'm feeling disloyal about thinking of leaving. (I am sure that will seem silly to some of you, but I've been with this job/boss for 14 years.)

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My coworker rents a one bedroom house (part of a four-plex). This weekend she received notice from her landlord that he is planning to sell the property and she has 60 days to move. She is feeling really stressed. I feel bad for her - it sucks to move even when you want to, let alone when you don't.

She has started searching - wow have the rents gone up since she moved a little over a year ago!

She called on a one bedroom apartment and its $1295/mo. Well over 50% of her income.

The voicemail message box for a $900/mo studio was full and not accepting new voicemails when she called on it.

She is feeling really discouraged right now.

Although not as bad as previous weeks we are still running short each payday. With the increased heat DH's work is busier, but still not back to full paychecks. Friday we were just about $100 short.

As long as my work is not dead slow and the boss sends us out early then my paychecks are predictable. It might be + or - an hour per week depending on what's going on and there's not much I can do to change that.

You might recall several months back my boss increased, then cut back on my Tuesday hours.
For a long, long time I only worked a half day on Tuesdays. Then he and I agreed to increase it to a full day because it was so much work for just him and the receptionist alone. That worked well for awhile until he decided he needed to save money and cut my hours back to where I had been.

Well I think that choice has really been biting him in the butt.. There have been several busy Tuesdays recently where there is a bunch of extra work.. But he hasn't yet asked me to stay all day.

I really enjoy getting home early on my half days, but I wouldn't pass up the extra hours if I could get them here and there.

Anyway...
I received my usual $15 check for the inventory tracking on Friday.
I applied it to my *Special Focus Debt*.

$1109 Starting Balance

$15 Payment

$1094 New Balance

Yesterday afternoon I had an eye exam and ordered six pairs of contacts. $275.

I was well overdue for an exam - it had been two and a half years since my last one.
And my contacts are *supposed* to be disposed of monthly - but, I only ordered six pairs last time and they lasted me this long (30 months). I take extra care to clean them and treat them gently so they last me - I can't imagine throwing good lenses away every 30 days.

Unfortunately, the office doesn't take AmEx so I couldn't use the new card.

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My co-worker needed to pay her PG&E (gas/electric) bill in person with a check. I offered to put it on my CC using online and she could pay me. My thinking was to get the $107 charge on my new AmEx. Unfortunately, they don't take AmEx either.

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Late last night I made a major grocery run so I wouldn't have to go during the long weekend.
$252 that I did get on the AmEx.

Good news for us - had a letter today from DS's preschool that we will be receiving $1k in tuition assistance for next school year. Tuition is broken down into 10 monthly installments, so that is $100/month savings!

We also received a check from DD's 4H club for $50 toward her week at 4H camp this summer.
The camp is a deal at $245 for six days/five nights of sleep-away camp with all meals and activities.
The $50 "scholarship" brings the cost to under $200.

Charged $71 to the Propel AmEx today for a tank of gas. It was $3.95/gallon at Costco.

I applied for this card after getting tipped off about the $400 bonus from MonkeyMama via CCFree's blog.

It arrived today and I used it for chicken feed and a few groceries. I hope that DS's preschool and our health insurance takes AmEx because that would be a huge chunk toward the spending requirements.

Getting close to my birthday and I've been thinking more about how fast time goes by.

There are many things I think about doing, like:
Things I'd like to learn. Places I'd like to see. Time I'd like to volunteer. Hobbies I'd like to pursue.

Seems like the easiest way for me to do all that would be to achieve the highest goal on my wish list - wealth.

I daydream of being independently wealthy. I would never have to worry about where the money would come from and I could do whatever I wanted (within reason!) whenever I wanted.

Okay, back to reality...

Mother's Day we ventured out to a local goat dairy. They do an "open farm" one weekend in May and again in June each year. I have posted about our previous trips - we always have a fun time.
And I get to buy some very excellent cheese at a reduced price!

While there you can pet the kid goats, brush the big gals, climb a straw stack, milk a goat, try as many samples of yogurt, cheese and ice cream as you want and there is face painting and live music too. There isn't a charge to visit, but I spent $22 on three types of cheese and a yogurt tub.

(Tried twice to upload a picture, but the site is acting goofy, so??)


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This afternoon we turned in our entry forms for the local fair. It was $12 for all our entry fees.

I signed up for the table setting section again, a hanging basket I will plant soon and a creative small planting using a jam jar.

DD signed up to enter four canned items (two jams, a jelly & an apricot syrup) and she is going to enter mini cheesecakes and lemon bars in the junior baking category.

And this year DS is going to take in a piece of his "art". Not sure if it will be a painting or what yet. I just entered it as "preschool art".

Entering in the fair is fun!
All the fairs I have entered give free or reduced admission tickets to people who enter, so you could save money by entering. And there are usually many types of things you can enter from sewing to web design; cooking to gardening.

Do you enter anything in your fair?
If not, will you check into it this year?

My paycheck bounced last week. No, I'm not kidding.
The boss deposited the amount plus the $12 fee my bank charged into our account the next day.
I am feeling much more comfortable and excited to move to a new job. Really getting the feeling that the boss just doesn't feel shame at all anymore; he bounces checks to everyone. Before there was one time paychecks were returned in the span of 10 or so years. Now twice in what, six months? Bad business.

My RVT license is due for renewal this month. It is currently $140 and renews every two years. I always pay for this myself; my boss has never offered to pay it or a portion. Whatever.. that way I don't feel like I owe him anything for my license, and I do write it off on our taxes.

Thursday I joined the local veterinary nurse and assistant association. It has been around for about two years I think. I have been meaning to join, but now is really a good time for me to reconnect professionally. I am excited because I already know several gals that are members. It will be fun to catch up with them and to network with new people. The other good thing is that each monthly gathering includes an hour of CE learning. The cost is $40/year.
I have RSVP'd for the next meeting which is next week.

I also looked into requirements to become a certified veterinary practice manager. It is just another option that I could persue to advance myself.
Need to get some college credits in business and accounting, but that would be interesting and fun to me.

My pet sitting website is up and my business cards arrived Saturday. I already handed one out at work and plan to leave some at the nearby pet shops and feed store bulletin boards soon.

Over the past several days I have been looking at business cards for my pet sitting.
Sunday I created one online. I showed it to my coworker yesterday to get her thoughts - she liked it.
I spent just under $20 for 250 cards.



While I wait for the cards to come I will work on polishing the website I am putting together.
I paid $57 for two years of hosting using iPage. The domain was included and I am using their drag and drop templates to put the pages together.
I think it looks very crisp and clean so far.

$1151 Starting Balance

$5 Payment
$15 Payment using inventory survey snowflake

$1121 Current Balance

So far the $15 check I deposited last week is still "there". I think I'll give it one more week before I transfer that to our savings.

I created a resume and applied for the sales job yesterday...

I am SO conflicted..
My feelings alternate between excitement about the challenges, increased income, travel and changes with a new job. And anxiety about the unknown, the travel and leaving my current job where I am happy (despite my boss' poor business skills).

I am not typically a person who is confused by her feelings - and that is stressing me too!

At this point I am telling myself Fate will decide - if this is meant to "be" then I'll get the job and if I'm better off where I am then I won't.

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In the meantime, I am moving forward with increasing my pet sitting work. I am getting my insurance in place, designing some business cards and putting together a little website.

Working on this is exciting.. mostly exciting.. I'm a little nervous about this too. I'm worried I will spread myself too thin. But I keep reminding myself I don't have to take every job that is offered.. I'm going to have to say "No" sometimes.

There is an opening for an outside sales rep in our area. This is selling veterinary drugs and supplies.

Lots more money. There is base salary plus bonuses and commission. Potentially triple (or more) than what I make now.

Way more traveling. Sales meetings in other areas, or states. Staffing vendor booths at large conferences.

I know - nothing ventured; nothing gained.

I am actually kind of scared to think about such a change.

Went to Target this morning.
I rarely shop there, but the new one is so close to the house it is so easy to get in and out.

I went for shampoo, laundry soap, fabric softener, sliced bread and a gift for a birthday party DS went to this afternoon.

For the first time EVER I texted a number to get a coupon.
It was text TARGET the promo text LAUNDRY1 and get $5 off a $20 purchase of laundry related items. The coupon then came online on my smartphone with a barcode that the cashier scanned.
I like the savings, but what about folks without smartphones? I don't like that sort of exclusion.
**ETA: CCF commented that this coupon was online and in their ad. So I feel better about that. **

For the birthday gift - a giant bubble wand in a tube of bubble soap. I bought five at $1.99/each. DS has two parties next weekend, as well as one at the end of the month, AND his own birthday.
I felt like this is something that is high fun value, but easy on the pocketbook. Plus you can refill the tube all summer long.

DH made homemade Alfredo sauce for dinner tonight. He and DD took most of it over to his boss' house for a birthday party there. DS and I opted to stay home. We are using up some old, opened pasta to have our sauce with. DH bought the cheese and cream for about $8 (butter and garlic we already had on hand) - so this was also an inexpensive gift.

Friday morning my boss hands me an envelope from one of the monthly inventory "surveys" I do. Inside was the worksheet and the usual $15 check.

Then that afternoon he hands me another envelope from the same company. Now I'm confused 'cause this one had a worksheet and another check.

Looking more closely I see the first envelope was from January. I can only figure it was in an old pile of mail that the boss finally went through? Or hopelessly lost in the mail?

The check was dated January 15 and it had one of those *Void After 90 Days* statements on it.

I went ahead and deposited it in our checking account - hopefully everything will be fine. Once I'm certain it won't be returned I will transfer the money to savings.

The other $15 I am going to use on the "Special Focus".

Putting a lot more thought into doing more pet sitting. Like actually signing up with professional associations, getting insurance & bonded and creating business cards, maybe a website.

KiKi here on SA has been giving me lots of good info via email - Thank You KiKi!

Brainstorming some business names right now...
Any clever ideas? I want something that reflects caring and professional service.
(Leaning toward - Pawsitively Professional Pet Care)


In other news:

DH had a short day yesterday and a short day today.

I had a survey come into work this morning. It was online and I earned a $20 Amazon gift card. The company is supposed to mail it and it could take up to 10 weeks!
It will be a nice surprise when it does show up.

Last Friday our paychecks managed to meet our budgeted amount, so that was a good thing.

Need more though..

Easter weekend was very nice. We visited my sister, her DH and their baby. The money we spent was on gas (about $80) to drive there and back. To save money we slept on her living room floor in our sleeping bags instead of getting a hotel room. And we didn't buy any candy or any Easter treats this year - not even one. (My sis did get the kids a few little candies - I was glad for that.) My mom and dad came and brought my Grandpa with them. That was extra nice because we rarely get to see him as he lives so far from us. It was really special.


Yesterday I transferred $5 to the "special focus" just to feel like I was making progress *somewhere*.
I'm only kidding myself because in reality the "special focus" now is just getting enough into the checking account to cover regular bills.

Not going to be able to swing much extra to any of the cc debt for the next few months. Hopefully there will be money to put back into savings starting in June or July.

Some of the savings that I used recently I had earmarked for new tires. The current set we purchased in May 2011 and they are worn. I think I can get by for a few more months without any trouble.

Truck still needs a water pump...

My car was repaired last Sunday.. sort of..

I took it for a little test drive just to be sure it didn't give me any trouble before my commute Monday morning. It was a beautiful late Sunday afternoon. I cruised just out of town and through rolling green hills with houses, gardens and animals. I was really enjoying my drive and then the car started running badly again..

Even worse, actually, because it had no power whatsoever. I was glad I was on a quiet country road with nobody behind me. I puttered for a few miles, pulled into a school parking lot and had to call for a tow home.

I was glad it was only me stranded and that I was in a safe place and not on the side of the highway.
I passed the time by watching baby goats playing in the field next to the parking lot and catching up with games on my phone.

Unfortunately, I was 9 miles from home and we just have basic roadside service that covers up to 5 miles of towing (or to closest repair garage), so we had to pay the 4 mile overage.

Turns out there was a second sensor that needed replacement. The car would run fine until it got hot then it would crap out. Our mechanic neighbor finished that replacement early Tuesday afternoon (and the car has been running great since *KNOCK on WOOD*). We returned the rental car that night - we had it for five days.

$542 - repair
$ 82 - car rental
$ 40 - tow


AND as if that isn't financial headache enough, we had two more paydays short of the weekly income I budget for.

On 4/4 we came up short by $240.
On 4/11 short by $318.

The costs for the repairs and the funds to balance the budget have come out of the now pitifully depleted EF.

Two houses very near us both went on the market within a few days of each other. These houses are the same size as ours; 1144 sf. Our lot is larger and, in my opinion, a better location at the end of the street.

It is interesting how these homes were presented. Home #1 was polished and had much nicer pictures taken. The listing stated it had been owned by the same family for 30 or so years. The kitchen needs an update - I'm pretty sure that brown & yellow went out in the 70s.

I think the owner of Home #2 needed to get out from under the house quick. The house could've been presented much better. Clutter and fuzzy, dim pictures.

Still, both houses sold in less than 30 days.

House #1:
Sold for $380k (listed at $395k)

Front room looking into kitchen.


** See that big sliding glass door? In our house it's just a big window. Changing the window to French doors is on our home improvement To Do list. **

ETA: I just noticed the color of the paint in this room looks like the exact same as I painted ours!


Backyard





House #2:
Sold for $365k (listed at $350k)

Front room looking toward kitchen.




A Bathroom (The photo makes the grout look dirty to me, does it to you?)




I am going to update our home's value to $350k. This is conservative, but if we had to sell right away I feel we would easily get at least that amount. (Our house is much prettier than #2 and we could stage for pics as nice as #1.)

IF I value the house at $350k that gives us just over $100k in equity!

Do you like looking at pictures of homes for sale?
Have you been looking at sales in your neighborhood or town?

This morning my car really started coughing and surging. It died twice on the way back home from taking DD to school. Ugh!

DH drove DS to preschool and he drove me to work. I ended up getting there 30 minutes late, but at least I got there.

Without knowing what the problem with the car was or how long it would be out of service I rented a car. I used Costco travel again. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that it was $9.99/day for the weekend - Compact car category. I went to pick it up on my lunch time so I had something to get me and DS home in this evening.

The rental office gave me a Honda Fit. Very peppy!

Anyhow, our mechanic neighbor got my car to do it's "thing" for him and it is a cam shaft sensor that went/going out. He ordered the part and should have it fixed tomorrow.

*fingers crossed* it's quick and somewhat cheap!


I'll address some of the comments from my last post re: my boss ..

First, I have been working with him for nearly 14 years. And he is a nice person. Awful with his finances! Not much business savvy. BUT, really calm and kind. Very good at doctor-ing.

Our clients are wonderful. I am close with many of them and their pets.

Second, this is the way he has run this business for many, many years - maybe even since the start! And so far it is still sputtering along.. He robs Peter to pay Paul and then robs Bob to pay Peter and Jill to pay Bob and so on and so on..

I am VERY well aware that at some point his business could fail. I am not ignorant to that fact at all. (All the more reason to have some of my own income producing options firmly in place.) I also have contacts all over, so I am not overly worried about finding new employment. I am comfortable finding work in various areas, not just veterinary medicine.

First, can't believe it is April!

The Good:

- My cat care client gave me a bonus gift - $20 Starbucks card.

- My coworker gave me a code to get five stars on my Starbucks account (Free drink every 12 stars).

- A client gave me and my coworker a $100 bill each!

- Trees are cut down and all cut up.


The Bad:

- DH hurt his knee playing racquetball with his boss last week. It seems pretty bad to me, but naturally DH doesn't want to see a doctor. He has injured this same knee before and it takes weeks to feel better. I am of the mind that it might need surgery. If that is what it needs to "fix" it, well we'd have to do it, but oh man could that create some financial bumps.

- Water pump went out in our truck. FUDGE! I wanted to get a load of garden soil/amendment this weekend so we could get started with our boxes. That didn't happen. And the repair will have to wait. Quoted $750 and I don't want to take any more from savings.

- My car has had a few weird episodes where it seemed like it wasn't getting fuel. Was okay last night and this morning. Our mechanic neighbor looked at it this morning and of course it didn't do it for him.
Going to change the fuel filter wait and see if it does it again. Might be the fuel pump..

- Disgust is at an all time high for me at work.
My boss owes money to almost, strike that, *every* vendor we use. Some have stopped accepting orders from us until they get paid.

I haven't gotten one cent toward my health insurance yet; although the boss says that is coming.

Sore subject for me.
At first it was, "pick a plan you like."
Then it was, "choose a few you like and we'll discuss."
Then he was, "I'll need to limit the amount I pay to $300/month."
That meant not getting a plan I "liked"; just a plan that was cheap.

Tuesday I asked what the status of reimbursement was because I paid the April premium two weeks ago and just received the May bill. He asks me how much the premium is. And I'm thinking - "look you pledged $300 so don't you dare think of shorting me now."
I told him just under $300 because I can't afford to pay anything beyond what he is offering.
SO he was like "Oh, okay, so you'll need $280 to $290 then?"

I am not trying to sound ungrateful. I am thankful that I have had 100% employer paid coverage and hopefully still will. But I feel pretty unappreciated with the way he is handling all this.

By the way, I have the day off today because he and his wife went to Tahoe to ski ... Heaven forbid he say "No" to the family.

As most of you know we use Ting here and LOVE it.

Recently we were able to switch DH and his beloved iPhone over to Ting. That simple change has saved us $60/month. Which came at just the right time because we ended up needing $60 more per month to cover the new health plan for the children.

As stated in the title Ting service actually saves us more than $60 each month.
Here is how I am basing that statement:

Sprint (network Ting uses) is now offering it's "Framily" plan. So assuming all three of us phone users in our family used that plan it would be $45/pp/mo. That is $135 per month. And say another $6 for taxes and fees, so $141 total per month.

Here is our Ting bill from February 18 to March 18.
(so you all don't think I made up numbers!)



(Our texting is high due to DD. She pays difference between the $5 Medium level and whatever level her texting lands us.)

Yes, that total is $61.97 for three smart phones. Really it could be much lower if we tried harder to limit some of the usage.

AND the amount I actually *paid* last month was $36.97 because I had a $25 referral credit (THANK YOU dear person!).

I think the savings are even greater if you compare plans from AT&T or Verizon. One of them is offering a "special deal" - a four line plan for $180/mo.

SO, if changing your cell service to Ting sounds like something you'd like to do you can save $25 right away by using my referral code:

We have had two large trees that we wanted removed from our yard. One in the front yard and one in the backyard. I previously mentioned that we planned to use some of the tax refund to pay for this project.

My dad is a timber faller. His whole life (nearly) has been spent in the woods. He has primarily worked forest fires falling burned trees and for road building companies clearing road space.

My dad is saving us money by falling the trees. Then he and DH will cut the large stuff into rounds that we'll be able to burn in our fireplace next winter.

My dad insisted he'd do the whole thing - he has the equipment to do it. This would involve dad climbing the trees and cutting them down in pieces as they are too large and near houses/fences to cut down whole. But, he is much older now then the last time he climbed into a tree. Not worth it to me for him to take risks like that! I vetoed that plan.

DH and I hired a local tree company to limb and top the trees. Having the company only do part of the job cost much less than having them do the whole job.
A difference between $2600 (estimated by one company for the whole job) verses the $550 we paid!

This will make the part my dad does much easier for him and less stressful for me. We are still saving a huge amount by *only* paying $550 to remove two large trees. And we will have firewood for next winter that will help reduce winter heating costs. Maybe saving $200+ over the course of the winter?

Snowflake to "Special Focus":

$15.00 Honorarium for monthly inventory tracking
$ 0.46 Paid from checking

$1197.00 New Balance

The wonderful preschool DS goes to has a scholarship program. I was a bit on the fence about applying.. Paperwork to fill out, tax returns to copy and a $27 application fee. I had pretty much decided not to apply.

I know it seems silly that here I am blogging on SA and I WASN'T going to apply. It seems silly to me now that I really think on it. The reason is that I don't look at our family as a family in *need* and I don't want to take from a family that truly has *need*.

(Have you ever found yourself stepping aside for others; assuming someone has a greater need than yourself?)

The front office lady, EL, swayed me to going for it when she told me these two things.
First, there is a pool of money and some years it doesn't all get used. (Um.. What?!)
Second, our part as parents is to apply; not decide if we qualify for anything or not. That is the job of the tuition company the application goes to.

When she put it in that perspective I thought "why not?" EL was very encouraging about applying. (I hope that hints at a favorable outcome!)

Last night I filled out the application. The most difficult questions was "How much can you pay toward tuition?". If I put too small of an amount am I trying to get more than I need? If I put too high, then am I shorting the possible assistance payment? I settled on $5k less than full tuition - that would be a huge savings.

This morning I made copies of the W2s and tax returns. I just put the packet in the outgoing mail here at work.

Any help would make a difference to the budget next year.

You may have read that I have choose a *Special Focus* debt to use my cat care cash on.
It is our Discover card. Currently at 0% for a few more months, but then that goes away. Must be paid off before that!

I just made a payment with the cash I made Monday.

$1272.46 Balance
$ 60.00 Snowflake payment

$1212.46 Current