The goal in December is once again to pay the minimum on debt--at least $1550.
That's because any extra money gets stashed at the bottom line in anticipation of taking a loss on our condo if we sell. I think I only managed to set aside about $250 extra this month, and some of that may go to a dental bill, and possibly a new suit for NT if we can find a good deal.
No news on the two bites and new showing, but it is the weekend after a holiday. Hoping we hear something in the coming week.
I completed NaNoWriMo! I finished writing my novel and made it to a little over 50,000 words at about 2 a.m. the morning of the 30th. So I had 22 whole hours to spare. AS finished hers later in the afternoon. It's a great exercise but we're SO glad to be done.
We all have tomorrow off to celebrate a milestone: 9 years of dating, and Tuesday marks 8 years of marriage. (But Monday worked out better to take the day off.) I've racked up $160 in plasma donating money on a prepaid card, and I also have a $25 Amex gift card from my work. We have a reservation at a nice restaurant and I'm perfectly happy to spend it all. We're also going to brunch in the morning (I can use my weekly spending money for that) and shopping during the day (we each have a Xmas budget we're allowed to spend on ourselves and the kids). It'll be a spendariffic day but all the money was carefully set aside, so I feel pretty good about it.
We have free babysitting from my friend whom I've been helping with budgeting. Our tenants/friends are giving us some free babysitting two other days this month. Three in one month--that's incredible! Since we don't have any money or time lately, we simply haven't been going out for fun this year. But one by one, the things that are causing time and money crunches are falling away, just by us being patient and waiting them out and being hypervigilant about our spending.
The biggest time-suck (besides AS's old job that she ditched) is NT's education, and he's done in three weeks (two more weeks of classes and one of tests--I know I keep repeating that, but we just cannot wait).
The biggest money issue is carrying the condo and association dues, and preparing to take a big loss when we do sell it. Once that biggie is out of the way, there are a few other things that will clear up our budget further: refinancing our main mortgage, NT getting a raise, less money toward flex spending and (later next year) daycare, AS possibly ramping up her freelance work.
But once NT has graduated and we sell the condo, things are going to be much rosier even without all the rest of that.
December debt goal, finishing NaNoWriMo & other news
December 1st, 2014 at 04:34 am
December 1st, 2014 at 01:30 pm 1417440641
Have you dropped the price on the condo again? It seems it has become a bit stagnant and is costing you each month you don't sell.
December 1st, 2014 at 07:16 pm 1417461373
Things are slowing down because it's winter, but I'm encouraged we've had some interest recently and are still getting about a showing a week. Looking at the other listings in our association, our realtor thinks we're well-positioned. These things aren't moving fast at any price, but they are selling slowly but surely.
December 2nd, 2014 at 02:31 am 1417487508
December 2nd, 2014 at 03:58 pm 1417535923
Great job on NaNoWriMo! Happy Anniversary!
December 2nd, 2014 at 04:02 pm 1417536130
Basically, I go back and forth. Lots of pros and cons to consider.