Dad's Visiting!

I had received a phone call from Dad while in Ocean City, letting me know that he was coming to the area, and that he'd be staying over Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Day One of the visit has gone fairly well. It was raining most of the day, so when I got a phone call from the restaurant, asking me if I'd like to be cut for the night, I jumped on the offer. I then called Dad and Tom to let them know that I'd be off, and I went home and fixed dinner. While dinner was cooking, I started to talk to Dad a little bit about our financial situation, and then Tom came over and talked about it. We ate dinner, then watched the Penguins beat the skates off of the Red Wings. During the game, I worked on my charms for the Things with Wings Charm Swap, and feel good about the sense of accomplishment. After watching a little more TV, Tom went to bed. I stayed up a little bit longer, finishing up what I was doing, cleaning up, then I talked to Dad about the financial situation for another hour or so. It felt good to let Dad know about what's going on here, and I hope some of his questions were answered.

Sneak Peek - Part 1

And even though I forgot to call, Happy Birthday, Wanda!

Money Matters

Today, I took another money matter into my own hands. When we returned home from Ocean City Saturday night/Sunday morning, there was a credit card bill in the mail that I thought should be addressed soon. And then, after rifling through another stack of bills, I found a doctor's bill that hadn't been paid for a couple of months. I took care of them today. I went to the doctor's office and paid that one, then set up an on-line account for the credit card, and arranged for a payment to be made. Getting all of this bill stuff straightened out is not easy. I think I've accomplished a lot since I decided to get involved, but it's slow going.

This Mission Accomplished

Well, I did it! The task I assigned myself, with the May 24th deadline, was a success! I put enough money in the bank to bring one of the credit cards current, and they'll be extending me a credit to my account for doing that. But, of course, my life wouldn't be complete without a little more stress. Part of what I deposited was a local check. Normally, checks take three days to clear, which would put me past my deadline, but in my experience, local checks have been available right away. My available balance on my deposit slip did not include the check total. I tried to make a night drop after work, but the night deposit box doesn't have a slot for envelopes! I can only hope that the money from the check becomes available really soon.

Baby Steps

Finally! With the encouragement of a co-worker, and after being incredibly frustrated about how Tom has been handling our finances these past few months, I finally did something on my own. I went ahead and paid off our credit card bill with the lowest balance! It was only for $178, and that won't be happening again for a while, since the next lowest is in the $700s, but the feeling of accomplishment that it gave me is wonderful. Now, I feel like I can gradually work on everything else, without worrying about whether or not I'm doing the right thing. My next goal is for the 24th - I've made arrangements to have money taken out to bring one of the credit cards current. I've worked out the numbers, and I should be able to make it. I'm crossing my fingers.