Finally...

I have never been so happy to see a pay period get here!  OK...that's not exactly true because all pay periods are good...more money always helps!  But this time with DH's mistake I was really looking forward to this one.  

And there are NO BILLS due for these next 2 weeks!  I can really put some money aside for DH's tires and hopefully he'll be able to get them really soon!  I've already replaced all the money I've "borrowed" from the other accounts.  Plus the normal transfer of $442.60 into the savings account for our mortgage payment.  

Getting into the routine of transferring 1/2 the mortgage payment every two weeks into the savings account it automatically gets pulled from was a great idea!  The mortgage is the first thing I "pay" every pay period.  I have never made a late payment or missed a payment!  And I know the money is always in the account when it's time for it to come out.

I don't expect to have any problems paying my bills, but if I did I would pay my mortgage and heloc first because I would never want to lose my home.  Second, I would make the truck payment because DH needs to get to and from work (though if we were really that bad off we would probably sell the truck and get a cheap, reliable vehicle--unless it was already paid off).  Lastly, I would pay the credit card.  Of course mixed in all that would be buying food, prescriptions, and paying for utilities.  Those would also be before the credit card.  

Of course all of this really doesn't matter if you plan well.  That's why we have an emergency fund.  If DH loses his job we don't have to make decisions on what to pay and what to not pay.  

And someday our plan is to not ever worry about it at all!  Our plan to payoff all our debt including our mortgage is a long term one for now, but once I can go back to work that will turn into a short term plan.  

• Everything I make will go towards debt!  
• Anything over what we've been currently living on from DH's paycheck will go towards savings.  

Right now it's just send whatever we can to pay down or off our debt.  Living below our means definitely helps though we don't deny ourselves either.  I have 2 more years (Spring, Summer, and Fall terms) of college to complete my B.S. degree along with my double minor and 3 certificates.  Once that is done I'll volunteer for a few years to get my foot in the door of my new career and still be available for my youngest son, who will still be in elementary school.  I'll be able to get a job again when he gets into middle school (my oldest will be in high school by then).

I can't wait to see how fast the debt disappears once I'm working again!  I almost want to see about getting a job sooner because of it, but I know I have to concentrate on my schooling and children first. Though if the right opportunity came along that still allowed me to do all the things I do with my boys, then I would consider it.

Final Dentist Bill and Incoming Money

I received the last claim statement from the insurance company so on Wednesday I went into the dentist's office to settle up with them.  The final bill came up to $299.50 so my total out of pocket for all their dental work was $671.60.  I'm glad I took care of it and got it out of the way.

I'm now waiting for the remaining balance of my student loan to post to my account.  You may wonder why I take the full amount when I also get a grant.  The reason is that it still doesn't cover everything.  I only get $600 a term in grant money.  That is about the cost of my books in a fall or spring term, which I pay out of pocket and then reimburse myself with the loan.  My tuition is around $1,800.  Any left over goes towards paying down my credit card to prepare for the next term.  The remaining also covers my summer term costs, which I receive a small grant for but no student loans.  

This is what this term cost:

Tuition--$1,831.28 minus $600 Grant = $1,231.28 minus $2,722.50 = ($1,491.22) remaining.

Books/DVD's--$582.18 minus $1,491.22 = ($909.04) remaining.

That remaining $909.04 needs to be "saved" for the summer term's tuition, books, and supplies, as well as any additional supplies needed for this term.  I'll add whatever is extra from the spring term to the fall term's remaining balance, too.

Freebies, Grades, Textbooks, and Things to Sell

Today was a day of more stuff in the mailbox.  Both were for my husband though.  

First was a gift card I ordered for him through MyPoints.  I use it almost exclusively to help pay for his work lunches.  He really enjoys going to Subway so I got him a $10 gift card.  I have enough to order another one, but I have to wait for the pending points to go through first.

The second was the Gillette Shampoo for Men sample from Walmart.  And they even enclosed a $1.00 off coupon, too.  I more than likely will never use it.  If anyone wants it, just let me know (use the e-mail in the sidebar, leave me where to send it, and I'll mail it to you).  It says it's for "$1.00 off on any one (1) Gillette Shampoo or Conditioner (Excludes Trial Size)."  It expires on 10/31/2008.

I finally received my final grades in for the summer term, which ended August 1st.  For those of you who are new here, I went back to college a couple of years ago to finish up my degrees.  I completed my A.A. in Social and Behavioral Sciences in December 2007.  I'm now working on my B.S. in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology (I keep on meaning to add a second minor in Sociology) and 3 certificates: Behavioral Forensics, Criminal Profiling, and Victim Advocacy.  My plan is to finish up by the end of December 2010.  To do this I need to take some classes during the summer, though not as many as during the spring and fall terms because I have the boys home with me, too.  I just finished 6 credit hours--Basic Learning Processes and Personality Theories--and I got A's in both classes!  So far all my grades since transferring to the University have been A's, including the classes they transferred to completed my B.S.  It's a lot of hard work, but it'll be worth it.  Now let's see if I can keep up with it!  The fall term starts in 2 weeks and I'll be taking 13 credit hours:

• Statistical Methods in Psychology--4 cr.
• Police and Society--3 cr.
• Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice--3 cr.
• Prosecution and Adjudication--3 cr.

The textbooks for these classes as usual were outrageous!  Unfortunately, buying them from the school book store was easier for me this term instead of searching out for the better price.  Two were in bundles and another was a new edition (so no used available).  I was able to get the last two books as used, but couldn't find the right editions elsewhere.  So needless to say I ended up paying $506.79 in total.  I am unable to drive to the campus bookstore to pick up my books so I had to have them shipped, which added $14.75, plus $33.19 for tax, and $458.85 for the books.  The federal loans along with the grants will help reimburse me for now--at least until I have to start paying them back.

On another note, I'm starting to get some furniture ready to be put on Craigslist.  I have a nice mirror on a stand, two computer desks, and a bunch of other stuff that I really would love to get rid of now instead of waiting until I get up off my butt and have a yard sale.  My garage and living room are getting a little crowded.  I'm also thinking about putting some more books and stuff on Half.com.  I've sold on there before and feel kind of comfortable with them.  I would love to get rid of the rest on eBay, but I'm not sure if I'm comfortable enough yet or not.  I've heard of so many seller problems and I just don't know if I want the hassle.  Maybe I'll check out the eBay store.  I won't make as much, but I also won't have to wonder how much to charge, handle the shipping, etc.  I'll have to look into that.  The important thing right now is to try to make something off of my old useless stuff and get rid of it.

End of 2-week Pay Period

Another end to another 2-week pay period.  I had a whole dollar left in our checking account!  It has now been divided up into different savings categories.

On another note, my grant money has gone through and paid my college tuition for the summer.  I'm now waiting for the remainder to be deposited in my account so I can pay that extra on the credit card.

Grades

As I mentioned in my introduction post, I'm also a college student.  I received my A.A. degree in Behavioral and Social Sciences in December 2007.  In January, I transferred to UCF (University of Central Florida) to continue my Bachelor's.  I'm going for a B.S. in Criminal Justice, a Psychology minor, and 3 certificates: Behavioral Forensics, Victim Advocacy, and Criminal Profiling.

My grades for the Spring term are now in and I got: Criminal Justice System--A; Crime in America--A; Research Methods in Criminal Justice--A.

On May 12th I start my 2 Summer term classes: Basic Learning Processes and Personality Theory, which end August 1st.  On August 25th I start my 4 Fall term classes: Prosecution and Adjudication; Police and Society; Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice; and Statistical Methods in Psychology.

Unfortunately, I'll have some student loans to pay off when I'm all finished, but luckily I have been getting some grants, too.  So that helps a bit.