More on the new job

[garnigal]

Since I started working at UoGuelph, I've had 3 extra paid days off due to weather. I assume we're done with that for the year (though there is another storm predicted for tomorrow), but it's been nice. Last week was also reading week for the students, and parking was a dream (when you pay 68$ a month to park, you want it to be close and easy).

In other news, I'm feeling totally broke. I made a commitment to Derek that I'd take over the mortgage, so I send him 800$ out of every paycheque. That makes my slightly higher take home painfully small, especially once I cover my debt repayments, and leaves me nothing to contribute to savings, either for fun stuff like travel, long term stuff like house improvements and new furniture, or retirement.

I think my next step is to talk to my credit union and see if I can get an unsecured line of credit with them that will pay out my existing line of credit at my bank. Hopefully Meridian can get me a lower interest rate, I'll close my line of credit at BMO, and that should get me a bit more take home. Currently I'm paying about 1400$ a month on my line of credit, at 9.222%. I should be able to do better than that.

Other than that, we're planning VV's 6th birthday parties - one for family and one for her friends. I'm also trying to figure out summer camp. It looks like she'll be in camp for about 5 weeks of the summer, if Mom takes 2 weeks, and Derek and I each take a week. Though I should be able to do 2 or even three weeks, since I get time off at Xmas when the school closes... The camps are pretty reasonable compared to some, but we're still looking at 900$ for summer coverage, more if I put her in camp up in Wingham.

Other than money, we're doing pretty well. How are all ya'll?

Comments

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

Sorry you're feeling so strapped but it's great you're doing so well otherwise. I am sick of all this snow. 25" so far and more on the way. We've already had more snow this winter than the last four winters combined.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

We seem to have had mostly freezing rain, though there is a bit of snow as well. For me at least, snow and cold is no problem, but things shut down in freezing rain. It's making me think as climate change continues to worsen, that more and more people will be forced to live closer to work, because the extreme weather will make it impossible to get there. It would be cool if that meant a re-invigoration of our small towns, with companies moving out of the cities to avoid delays due to extreme weather. More likely it will mean the science fiction future of everyone in skyscrapers, but a small town girl can dream. :)

[jerusha]

I can't believe VV is turning 6 already! What?!

I'm better than I was (a little more on top of things at work), but that only means that I need to deal with the things I let slide because I was dealing with deadlines. Plus, I"m over winter.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Right?! She's halfway done her second year of school, (which I'll grant is still play based, but still!) and we're aiming to get her first belt at tae kwon do in June. I was listening to her jabber at me yesterday, and was simply marvelling at the complex concepts she's able to present and ask about, and the clearness of her speech.

Once she can read, there will be no stopping her!

[trepkos.livejournal.com]

By "summer camp", do you mean, your 6 year-old will spend the whole 5 weeks away from home? Or do they just go there for the day, and come home at night?

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

I'll be putting her in Day Camps where they go from 8-5 and come home for the evening.

Thank you for asking, I spent so much time looking at the camps I never even thought how it might seem to someone else!

[trepkos.livejournal.com]

Yes, I wasn't sure where you lived; the only summer camps I'd heard of are in the US, and I don't really know how the system there works. What ages they take, or whether you can be a day camper.
I mean, I know some posh parents in the UK send their kids to boarding school very young, so it didn't seem impossible ...

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty far from posh! Though somedays sending her away for several months doesn't seem bad...

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I hope you can get some good news from the credit union! *fingers crossed*

[snogged.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a very stressful money situation. :/

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

It is and it isn't. On the plus side, debts are getting paid and someday I won't have to deal with them at all. In addition, I'm able to take some weight off Derek's shoulders by giving him the 1600$ a month. On the minus side, we aren't adding to our future plans accounts, but at the same time if I stay here forever, I'll get a pension which will take a lot of the urgency out of the retirement savings, and allow us to shift that to some more current projects.

No one wants to feel broke, but I know I'm luckier than most. And I have to remind myself, I can create wiggle room. The big one will be lowering the interest on the loan and paying that off faster, but there are other places we can cut. We're eating out less, staying home more. Doing things that are family fun instead of family $$$.

And as much as I hate to think about it, our parents can't last forever. Hopefully it won't happen for at least a couple of decades, and it's possible that they'll go through their savings (not likely with my parents, as they still have 300 acres to sell if it gets to that point, which is worth about 3 million, plus Mom's rental properties) but I suspect there will be some significant money left to us, just as we are getting to retirement age. Put that way, it seems a LOT less dire.