Just came through a very trying financial stretch

[MissMillie]

between 2 paychecks. The financial surprises that hit me last month were substantial, but by really cutting corners wherever I could, I made it.

*phew*

September will be better, and October even better than that... I may even be able to put some $$ aside to buy a few Christmas presents.

Tax return in the beginning of next year might mean I can take a REAL vacation next year... you know... actually leaving my house. Haven't done that since '94.

My life sure has changed by not using credit cards. If I had been using them, I would have charged a lot of these surprises and then I would have had to use my tax return to pay off the cards so that I wouldn't be paying interest on those charges.

There's something to be said for living within your means.

[Wcross]

1. That's the way it should be.

I'm working on the last debt now which is the house. My target date is February, 2008. I am then planning on saving up six months of living expenses and putting that in a savings account or money market. I will be able to use this emergency fund to cover life's unexpected bumps in the road.
My ultimate goal is to have a "0" Fico score. If all goes well I won't NEED a "Fico" score at all. Fico is actually an "I love being in debt" rating. The only way to have a high score is to be in debt continuously and making your debt slavery payments on time.

[MissMillie]

2. how does one determine a Fico score?

I never heard of it.

[Wcross]

3. It's pretty complicated.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_score_(United_States)

The gist of it is you must stay in debt to have a good score.

[Gormy Cuss]

5. FICO score is the name of the most common credit score.

FICO is an acronym of the company name (Fair, Isaac Co.)
It's used to assess your creditworthiness based on a predictive model. It's based about 1/3 on payment history, 1/3 on credit history, and to less degrees on other credit info contained on the credit report.

Read more about it here:
http://www.fico.org/

[Parche]

4. I feel Your Pain

Its going on right now......:hi: :hug:

[lizziegrace]

6. Same here

I'd wanted to save the diamond from my engagement ring for Lelapin but I may have to sell it. Home heating oil is the same price/gallon as diesel. I can blow through 150 gallons in a month if it's a bad winter and that's with the thermostat at 55. Anyone want to buy a .48 carat oval diamond? :(

[Wcross]

7. I don't know how people do that!

150 gallons @ 2.50 a gallon = 375 bucks! Just to heat your home.

[lizziegrace]

9. 2.89 a gallon right now

150 minimum fill. My tank holds 275 gallons.

I can't afford to move and can't afford to heat the place this winter. Hopefully it won't be a bad one. :(

[MissMillie]

10. yep

my last oil bill at my last apartment was for $534.... but I think that oil lasted me a couple of months.

oh and it wasn't JUST heat, it was hot water too.

[Kali]

8. heretic! anarchist!

next thing you will be tossing your television! the machine will not tolerate such non-compliance!

[MissMillie]

11. no way...

how the hell do you think I managed to keep my entertainment costs down.... I stayed home and watched TV (and read)

I'm totally addicted to Top Chef, No Reservations, the Red Sox and How Clean is Your House?

TV is about $1.03/day...that's pretty cheap entertainment.

[grasswire]

14. How Clean Is Your House -- hahaha!

I unthinkingly turned it on a few weeks ago when a relative was here who is a very sloppy housekeeper. She didn't find it amusing. Ouch!

[grace0418]

12. Glad to hear it MM!

I hope you get to take a trip soon. You deserve it!

We paid off all our credit cards a few years ago. We still use them to buy almost everything because we get American Airlines miles on the Mastercard and Hilton Points on the Amex (since Costco doesn't take Visa or MC). After a few years of signing up for every offer American Airlines has, we almost have enough for my dream trip to Australia & New Zealand!

But I make sure to pay them off every month, no matter how painful.

And lately it's been painful. We had some planned large expenses (getting the condo fixed up to sell including granite countertops, a wedding in California, a 10-yr anniversary trip to Europe) and some unplanned large expenses (strange repair issues in our condo, not realizing that losing 75 lbs each would mean having to buy two completely new wardrobes, car issues). So the Amex bill with the counter tops, the MC bill with our airline reservations to California *and* Madrid, our mortgage, and car insurance were all due within a span of 3 days. Ouch! I thought briefly about not paying the total amount on the cards but decided not to get myself in trouble. The savings account sure took a hit but our credit cards are paid in full.

Now I have to build up the savings a bit before we leave for Europe, or we're going to be eating day-old bread on our anniversary. LOL!

[Kali]

15. Hey! Whatever happened with the basement floor?

Did you solve the mystery?

[grace0418]

16. Hey Kali. Nope, not yet. It's definitely turned into one of those "unplanned expenses."

We've had a floor guy, a basement specialist and a highly regarded home inspector come out. None knew what it was or what to do about it. We've called several other people who weren't even willing to come out. We have a plumber coming out on Friday (at the suggestion of our home inspector) but he sounded reluctant to help as well. It's difficult too because I have my days off already allotted for the rest of the year, so I can't take any more. As it is I'm going to have to work through the holidays without a break.

Meanwhile, everything that used to be on that side of the room is now piled in front of my closet so there is open access to the lump. I haven't been able to open my closet door in weeks. I just keep washing the same things over and over and leaving them in the laundry basket. We are no closer to knowing what it is or what it's going to cost than we were last month. It's soooooooo frustrating because it means all our other home improvement plans are on hold. With a busy fall approaching this could mean it will all stretch well into 2008. Grrrrrr...

The only encouraging news is that everyone we contacted thinks the condo association will have to pay for the repairs, which helps us out a bit. It's always irked me that we pay the highest assessments based on the square footage of our unit but we don't use any more of the common resources than anyone else. All the units are two bedroom units occupied by two people. I could see different assessments if the units ranged from studios to a 4 bedroom penthouse with private roof access. But in our building all the common areas are common to everyone, we don't get use of any more it because our condo is bigger. Nor do utilities have anything to do with it because we pay for our own in-unit utilities. But that's a rant for another day.

Anyway, thanks for asking. I will definitely post an update when I have anything to update. :(

[Kali]

17. OMG

that is crazy and makes me (husband) even more curious! He asked about it the other day (we have no life) so I went to the home improvement forum and posted to your thread there. - That would be a good place to post whatever/whenever you find anything out. Is it growing or changing in any way?

Good luck!

[grace0418]

18. I will definitely do that. Thanks for thinking of me!

It hasn't changed one bit since we discovered it. And considering the *unbelievable* amount of rain Chicago had in the last few weeks I'd say it's a good indication that seepage from outside is not the issue. The home inspector somewhat suspected it was a pipe underneath the floor with a slow leak. But he agreed with me that we shouldn't go digging into it without a professional there to handle the problem if anything should start spewing out.

Thanks for the good wishes. We will need them!

[Redbear]

13. Good for you

and Texas is lovely in April

All the bluebonnets ya know.