On payday (the 15th) I was able to put $1600 extra toward the credit card. That sucker is down to a $1710 balance! I don't think I'll manage to pay it off before our trip in October -- what a celebratory trip that would be! -- but I'm pretty sure I can get it done by the end of October.
Also, one of AS's student loan payments went through, with $91 going to principal.
So we've already paid $2932 of debt this month, surpassing my $2500 goal! Woo hoo!
Since AS is starting to think more seriously about trying to get pregnant next year, I finally got around to calling a family planning lawyer, and I emailed a couple financial advisers with a list of our myriad financial conundrums around taxes and retirement planning, asking which they could help us with.
One financial adviser got back to me; the other probably thought it was a joke or something. 
The guy I talked to I didn't like at all; first off he said the retirement and college-fund stuff didn't really matter since it was 18+ years in the future (so I guess I just shouldn't plan at all??), and second he was vague about pricing, but told me it would cost $1500-$2000 just to get started looking at the U.S. portion of mine and NT's taxes, not even dealing with AS's taxes or NT's UK taxes, and not even being the final number for looking at our taxes. Uhh...even if I'm making tiny mistakes on the tax preparation, I doubt any penalties could amount to what this guy would end up charging me! I think I'll muddle through another year, unless I can find someone who actually seems to care about the future and will give me a firm, reasonable price to consult on my taxes.
However, the lawyer was great. He's $185 an hour to consult, which seems like a good price to start getting our heads around what our legal challenges are. Even if we can't afford the next step once we get more details on pricing, at least we'll have a better idea of what we need to do to get our parenting rights sorted out. His firm works with all sorts of nontraditional families such as gay couples and surrogate situations, and he was confident he could get parental rights pretty firmly in place for all three of us. I'm hoping that has good ramifications for me and NT being able to take parental leave for AS's baby.
So, I'll probably set that meeting up pretty soon! The offices are a ways out, and I'll need to rent a car if I can't borrow one from a friend, so it might cost a little more. But my doctor recommended him, and a personal recommendation means so much to me when I'm about to entrust my family's future to someone, so it will be worth the extra cost.
Reached September debt-repayment goal! and other promising news
September 16th, 2010 at 05:46 pm
September 16th, 2010 at 06:54 pm 1284663258
September 16th, 2010 at 07:07 pm 1284664070
September 16th, 2010 at 07:25 pm 1284665123
I am glad that the meeting with the lawyer went well, and it looks like you'll be able to get everything in place to solidfy your family (legally) before baby #2 arrives!
September 16th, 2010 at 07:35 pm 1284665758
September 16th, 2010 at 08:12 pm 1284667962
Financial advisors tend to not do very well with the tax side. I would not know any international tax advisors - it is a very complex area. I have had other friends ask me for help - I just couldn't. (I seem to know a lot of canadians, anyway, who jump between countries a lot).
I am used to advisors saying retirement should come before college, and thus putting off college. But not worrying about retirement? That's a strange one!
September 16th, 2010 at 08:26 pm 1284668808
That lawyer sounds like a good investment.. It makes such a difference to have the legal organs of the state behind you as opposed to against you. So it's definitely worth it to get your family on a sound legal footing.
September 16th, 2010 at 09:29 pm 1284672575
September 17th, 2010 at 12:02 pm 1284724978
September 17th, 2010 at 12:54 pm 1284728093
September 17th, 2010 at 02:18 pm 1284733103
The lawyer sounds like a good one - I hope he can help you all figure everything out.
September 21st, 2010 at 04:32 am 1285043555
September 21st, 2010 at 05:54 pm 1285091645