New Laptop!

I'm not sure whether to report this as bad news or good. It is exciting since it's been 6+ years since I've had a new computer (and I am not someone who is usually satisfied with older technology). But on the other hand, it is another serious set back to the old debt payoff. :|

However, it's done now so I am enjoying it. I got an HP Pavilion DV7 which I had actually researched a while ago when I was first thinking about getting a multimedia laptop. That aspect of it is very nice because watching things from online on my tv is as easy as plugging in the HDMI cable. It does all the rest automatically (which is pretty cool).  So now I am really not missing having cable at all.

But the biggest thing I love about the laptop is NO MORE WIRES! Here's a picture of my new & improved "desk":

 

I moved the wireless router & cable modem over to the bookshelf and was able to get rid of SO MUCH STUFF that was taking up space. I thought about keeping the monitor to plug into when I'm in the office but the one on the laptop is actually bigger (and nicer).

(P.S. - Extra points if you can name the dog shown in this picture.)

End of Sept TMMO Check-in

Ugh. It feels like this is just SO SLOW. Of course, didn't help that I had a trip up to Boston this month that cut in to my "snowball"...plus living without a credit card means that I have to come up with cash for expenses that come up like 80k car maintenance (~$500!), termite warranty, heartworm prevention for the dogs, etc.

On the plus side, when I look back to when I started, I've paid off over $11k so far, I've taken the plunge into selling things (still haven't tackled craigslist yet but I did get some $$ for some books, DVDs and games)...and I've got a much more realistic budget going. I think that has been the hardest part for me so far. I didn't realize how reliant I was on using credit to hold me over until the next paycheck, etc. (The sales I have passed up this month alone!)  Even though I usually paid off the balance each month, it feels like I am in more control over my spending now. And I'm actually enjoying the challenge of stretching every dollar.

It's going to be slow-going here for the next few months as I'm trying to build up a little more cushion plus have Christmas with all those hidden costs. I've added categories to my budget for every big expense I can think of that could come up - from vet visits to car maintenance to my sweetwater membership so hopefully once January comes, these big expenses will stop sideswiping me and I can really get going.

I am so smart

So I took a look at Quicken last night and could not for the life of me figure out how that loan would work unless Chase not only waived closing costs but PAID ME an additional $7k. So it was not a huge surprise when I got a message from the processor saying that he'd been wrong; that he couldn't figure out a way to do it for less than $7,000 in closing costs. At least with that, I didn't even have to ponder what to do.

As soon as this market comes back....I am so anxious to be done with these crazy mega banks!

High Finance

So the refinance is back on. I think. I'm hesitant to say anything for sure at this point since they have been so...inconsistent but I just got a phone call from my processor saying that he'd had to run it through underwriting and had a counteroffer for me - all the closing costs can be rolled into the loan + the total loan amount will be $1,500 less than before (which also makes my monthly payment about $50 lower). According to what he told me today, I will only have to bring about $150 "to the table". Huh?

I'm not sure whether they miscalculated before or if they just decided it makes more sense to lower the costs in order to keep me with them. But since it costs me nothing to keep going at this point (other than the inconvenience of getting another appraisal done), I told him to keep going. So stay tuned, I guess.

Makeover Progress

Here's my current status on the TMMO (Total Money Makeover). The teeny percentage that still runs into the zero is a bit discouraging but I've called off the re-fi so I'm looking forward to starting in really hardcore on this now. I'm thinking it will be good to go by percentage markers since the student loan makes up 70% of the total and all the "easy wins" are going to be loaded up here in the next few months (I hope!) Boy, do I wish I could go back in time and not get those things to begin with. I swear they never seem to decrease!

I'd decided to reward myself at each payoff so i might need to add in rewards at the 50% and 75% markers too, just to keep myself going...