Quote:
Originally Posted by
lilacvioletiris 
trekkingirl, that is exciting news! Had you looked at the house before you put an offer in on it? I hope things work our for you. A new house for Christmas sounds like a great gift, even if there is some fixer upper things to do.
eirual, good for sticking to your guns!
AFM, so now for my amazing turn of events. I work for a Christian school as a teacher. On Monday night I was talking with my superintendent and principal about some school related issues. My principal is a man and just moved here this year. The superintendent has known me from my college days when she was a professor at my college. The principal stepped out and I shared very quickly with the superintendent that my DH and I were going to have to go through IVF in order to get pregnant and that it was influencing my decision whether to continue employment at my school next year. My principal came back in and I let the conversation end quickly. We finished our conversation with the three of us and then we departed. My superintendent asked to speak with my privately in my classroom. She asked if finances were influencing our IVF journey. I said they were and that we had a 1/3 of the money saved for the procedure. She told me that from time to time there are some individuals that donate to special causes in our school system and she asked my permission to ask for the remaining money that my DH and I needed to go through with our IVF. I told her that was okay.
On Thursday night, she called me and said that she had asked the finance committee and that they approved giving me two bonus pay checks one in December and one in January or February to cover what out of pocket expenses my DH and I will have for IVF. I was in tears of happiness. DH and I are going to make an appointment to figure out exactly when we will go through with the procedures - either March or June - and exactly what time commitments we are talking about - when I have to go in to get ultrasounds done as follicles grow, then egg retrieval, fertilization, and then egg transfer. Now we can concentrate our money on paying off some more debts so I can stay home with our kids for a few years when they are little. I have to say it is the best Christmas present I could have gotten that wasn't a BFP.
I just have to remember - don't give up, stay positive, keep the faith that the best is yet to come! I am so glad that last year my DH and I started Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and made so many changes to our finances. We are in such better places than we were a year ago. Next week Thursday will be our one year anniversary of following a cash flow plan and getting our finances in order. It feels so good to see a light at the end of the tunnel that means financial freedom.
that is the best present that could happen pre-baby!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
orangemomma Sarah, meandk0610 - I think I read that you recently bought your home? Have you had an energy audit on it? We did this with the house we live in and they had helpful weatherization suggestions etc....
Some areas of the country have programs which are free based on income.
If you have Dominion Virginia Power for example, they have an income- qualifying home improvement program.
Just thought this could save you on heating/electricity - we have found that the ceramic room heaters really drive up our electric bills in the winter.
i did not realize that some would do an energy audit for free. we're far enough out that are actually in a co-op for electricity (major power companies can't make enough profit to run the lines so a co-op does and then charges us a monthly fee on top of generation and distribution charges - i didn't know these existed before moving out here!). i'll have to check with them to see if they have a program that can help. i can feel drafts in some places. i admit that i just used shipping tape a couple of days ago to tape our kitchen door closed. i wanted to be able to open the blanket that's hung over the window on sunny days and plus i already had the shipping tape.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
lilacvioletiris Great work Sharlla! I love being on the budget plan for my electric and natural gas - helps me to deal with my salaried paycheck that doesn't change from month to month.
Yesterday was my Dave Ramsey anniversary! My DH and I have been budgeting and saving and paying off debts the Dave Ramsey way since Dec. 20, 2011. It feels good to have paid off over $8000 in debts over this year and saved over $2000 so that means we are ahead over $10,000 over where we were last year. Today reminded me how important having an emergency fund is. My DH's car kept making a nasty noise when it was started - some belt was worn and needed to be replaced - and it also made a nasty noise when we applied the breaks - cost us about $350 today to get it fixed. There goes my health insurance premium rebate to refill the whole in our basic emergency fund. It felt great to pay with cash, not a credit card.
that is an awesome amount for 1 year!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
trekkingirl I hit a pot hole yesterday that blew up my brand new tire, dented my rim, and threw out my suspension. Good news is my insurance is paying for the rental car while my car is in the shop, and my $500 deductible will be paid with cash from the emergency fund............no credit cards.
Oh and still no house. I think I got about 5 more offers rejected since I last updated.
that sucks about the pot hole but great that you had the cash!
i've decided to drop netflix and just rely on DVDs to be able to put that money toward my EF. also, got $100 from my mom for x-mas - will save that for electricity overages this winter. got $100 from ex-h for x-mas - going to use that to build rabbit tractors and expand chicken coop. i also need to remember to buy the little outlet and light switch insulation thingies too!
Follow Mothering