Bloom Where You Are Planted

Just for giggles, I took a moment to read a junk e-mail I received today. What a sales pitch! The title of the e-mail is "How to SKIP a mortgage payment for no cost!" and begins by lamenting that the holidays will soon be upon us, along with all the stress of how to pay for them. Thankfully, these self-titled "longtime mortgage advisers and consumer advocates" have a "strategic option that could PAY FOR YOUR HOLIDAY SEASON - without increasing your credit card debt!"

Isn't that wonderful? Here is their solution, direct cut and paste:

Example:

Current Mortgage:
Two years ago you financed $250,000 at 4.25%
Principal & Interest (PI) = $1230
Taxes & Insurance = $400
Monthly Payment = $1630
Current Escrow Balance ~ $1600
Estimated remaining balance $241,388

You could net approximately $1230 + $1600 = $2830 during the holidays with no closing costs !

Refinance at 4.25% (choose a rate to allow lender to pay all your closing costs)
New Loan is $241,388 plus new escrow account plus one months interest to allow you to skip a month. $241,388 + $1600 (escrows) + $853 (30 days interest) = $243,850 new loan amount

Yeah, I believe I will NOT be taking advantage of their helpful strategy, even though they are "consumer advocates".

My eleventh scheduled car payment has posted. Still no point in updating the spreadsheet.

This month extra principal payments included $180 from my part-time job and $62.81 from credit card rewards. I am realizing I have not had a payment from HauserNet in several months. I will have to check on that. They aren't large sums, but I am of the opinion that ANY chip is a good chip.

Next month the balance will break 10k, so I am looking forward to that.

Seventeen payments have now been eliminated from the end, leaving 44 payments to go.

We decided to join a CSA and get a box of organic fruits and veggies each week.

I was torn between a small very local one and a slightly more expensive larger one. I decided to give the larger one a try first as you do have the ability to customize your box and exclude things you just don't want.

The CSA we are trying is called "Farm Fresh To You".

They will not deliver to my home (no deliveries in the area) but will deliver to my office. My office is close to the freeway, so I assume that is why.

Our first box will be delivered this Wednesday and will contain:

3 Bartlett pears
1 butternut squash
2 Fuji apples
1 lb green beans
1 lettuce (either green or red leaf)
1 bunch Nantes carrots
1 bunch red kale
1 lb. white potatoes

The base price is $26 but this box is $28.19. When you substitute, they charge by the lb. Our box was supposed to contain red radishes and kiwi. We took them out and put in green beans, pears, and potatoes.

This is the smallest box, they also have 3 larger sizes. We will see how we like the service and quality, then decide if we want a bigger box.

The more local CSA is a bit lower priced, but charge a fee if you have your box delivered to your door, which would make it slightly more. Alternatively, you can pick up your box at a drop off point. There is one just a few blocks from my office, so that would be convenient.

With the more local CSA, you choose either a full share of veggies for $22 or a half share for $17. The full share is supposed to feed 4-5 people for a week, the half share 1-3 people for a week. Then they have a fruit box which is $16 for a full share and $8 for a half share. I have a friend who gets a half share veggie box each week and she says the produce is excellent.

We have agreed that we will do our best to not let any of the expensive organic produce to go to waste.

This has been Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. But for the second time, the house is in escrow. The agreed upon price is 950k.

I have been very surprised by some of the people who have been interested. One man submitted an offer with no financial information. BF told him, via his realtor, that he would not consider any offer at any price without documentation showing the buyer is able to purchase. The gentleman said oh, of course, he would send that right over. After 3 weeks, without ever having submitted any documentation, he withdrew his offer.

Another woman made a "cash" offer. She claimed she had had over 2m in cash in various bank accounts. But alas, she had been the victim of identity theft. Someone had been doing business under her SSN and when she failed to report the revenue, her bank accounts were seized by the IRS. But this horrible fraud was all straightened out now, and happily she has a letter stating her money will be returned to her on a specific date in October. When asked to show that letter, she did produce one. However, it states she has a hearing on that date. You notice how a hearing is not the same as cash? Yeah, I noticed that too. The matter is not resolved at all.

There was another written offer which was too low, so BF declined it. There was no negotiating as the couple had offered the absolute pinnacle of what their lender said they could afford. They are fortunate BF said no. As we all know, spending every last cent the lender will allow is a recipe for disaster.

Hopefully, this time the sale will close without a hiccup. Oh please, oh please, oh please.

I have made my scheduled mortgage payment, along with an extra $3.98. I received another $25 credit from WF Home Rewards Visa. My new balance is $167,950.00.

Chips to date: $1,787.56

Interest savings this month: $6.41

Interest savings to date: $112.91

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $3,828.01, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full. Which I won't.

I did not update my "My Mortgage Amortization" page, since the pics won't upload anyway.

Next month should see another $25 chip from credit card rewards.

Cash is up.
Debt is down.
Investments are down.
Home value estimate is down.

My tenth scheduled car payment has posted. I have not updated my spreadsheet as there is no point.

This month extra principal payments included $180 from my part-time job and $.58 from credit card rewards. Not much of a haul on those reward redemptions this month, but next month should be more fruitful.

Sixteen payments have now been eliminated from the end, leaving 46 payments to go.

I just returned home from Reno a few hours ago. BF and I went for a few days just to get away and to scope out various neighborhoods. We stayed at Harrah's as I was able to book a room for $36.84 per night through hotels.com. It was fun and relaxing, but I am glad to be home. I won't be going back to work until Monday, so I'm just going to get some things done around the house.

BF received an offer yesterday, but has not entered into a contract. The offer did not include a pre-qualification letter, and that is a MUST before going any further.

The offer was for 945k and the buyer wants ALL of the furnishings in the house. Not all of the furnishings belong to BF, so he is checking to see how much the true owners would accept to sell. The dining room set is from an actual consignment store, but the other pieces and several decorative items belong to BF's realtor, who had no intention of selling them, she placed them strictly for staging. BF asked if I was against selling his furniture; in truth, I don't care. If it makes the buyer happy, whatever.

This offer is lower than the previous two offers, but BF has gotten himself into quite a pickle and is in no position to pass up any reasonable offer.

So, fingers crossed that this deal will go through. This entire process has been so unbelievably stressful for me, I just want it to be over.

I have made my scheduled mortgage payment, along with an extra $5.01. My new balance is $168,250.00.

Chips to date: $1,758.58

Interest savings this month: $6.37

Interest savings to date: $106.50

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $3,820.28, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full. Which I won't.

I did not update my "My Mortgage Amortization" page, since the pics won't upload anyway.

Cash is up.
Debt is down.
Investments are down.
Home value estimate is up.

Assets:
Cash Accounts 9,767.42
Roth IRA 26,852.48
Traditional IRAs 184,453.13
House 232,000.00
Car 12,800.00
Total Assets 465,873.03

Liabilities:
Mortgage 168,550.00
Car Loan 11,076.32
Total Liabilities 179,626.32

Net Worth 286,246.71

My ninth scheduled car payment has posted. I have updated the spreadsheet on my "My Car Note" page, but you won't be able to see it unless/until the loading picture problem is fixed.

This month extra principal payments included $180 from my part-time job, and $31.13 from credit card rewards.

Fifteen payments have now been eliminated from the end, leaving 48 payments to go.

This was my lowest extra principal month so far, which is a real drag. But still I did manage to eliminate a payment. If I can keep up this pace, I will be done with the loan in 2 more years. I actually hope it will be paid in full sooner.

I like my neighborhood so much better now!

I think they must have moved out last weekend when I was in Redding. Today painters are painting the interior of the house, so I Googled and yep, escrow closed this past Wednesday. Yay!

I have made my scheduled mortgage payment, along with an extra $6.04. My new balance is $168,550.00.

Chips to date: $1,753.57

Interest savings this month: $6.33

Interest savings to date: $100.13

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $3,810.60, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full. Which I won't.

I decided to add a page for my mortgage amortization. I didn't post the entire thing, just my progress from the beginning and then the very end. The cells highlighted in green mean those payments have already happened. The cells highlighted in pink at the end mean those payments will never happen, they have been eliminated. I so enjoy highlighting cells in pink.

Cash is up.
Debt is down.
Investments are up.
Home value estimate is down.

My eighth scheduled car payment has posted. I have updated the spreadsheet on my "My Car Note" page, if you care to take a peek.

This month extra principal payments included $160 from my part-time job, and $56.44 from credit card rewards.

Fourteen payments have now been eliminated from the end, leaving 50 payments to go.

I have made my scheduled mortgage payment, along with an extra $7.07. I enjoyed another $25 credit from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Visa. My new balance is $168,850.00.

Chips to date: $1,747.53

Interest savings this month: $6.29

Interest savings to date: $93.80

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $3,798.50, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full. Which I won't.

Gosh, these entries are boring. I want something more exciting to happen.

Cash is down.
Debt is down.
Investments are down.
Home value estimate is down.

Well, BF and the interested buyer have agreed on a price and entered into a contract. The escrow is supposed to be 30 days. So, we will see.

MrsM180 and I had a fabulous time in Seattle. We spent one night with my dear friend from childhood, two nights at my aunt & uncle's house, and spent the last day with my niece and her boyfriend. My birth mother lives near her sister and we spent time with her too. We had great visits with everyone and enjoyed some of the local sites. So good to re-connect with loved ones. Vashon Island is certainly lovely. Here is a pic I snapped standing at a window in the guest bedroom at my aunt's place.



And oh happy day, what joyous news! Our creepy neighbor has a "for sale" sign in the yard! Yay!!! Does life get any better than that? Oh please, someone, make an offer.

BF received an offer on his house yesterday for 1.02m. He slept on it and decided today to counter with 1.1m. The signed counter offer will be sent to the buyer's realtor tomorrow.

Keep your fingers crossed.

My seventh scheduled car payment has posted. I have updated the spreadsheet on my "My Car Note" page, if you care to take a peek.

This month extra principal payments included $160 from my part-time job, $61.44 from credit card rewards, $25.00 from a wallet sweep, and $.75 from HauserNet.

Thirteen payments have now been eliminated from the end, leaving 52 payments to go.

And I have reached an exciting milestone. The loan started at 16,099.00. So the one-fourth point is reached when the balance slips under 12,074.25. That point is now in the rear view mirror.

I did a little CC rewards audit, to check that every penny redeemed thus far in 2015 has been applied to debt. They all have, all 30,851 of them. Some automatically to my mortgage, the rest to my car loan.

This past weekend went by in a blur, but it was such fun.

On Friday, BF and I went to a concert. Brian Setzer (of Stray Cats fame) opened for George Thorogood. What a fun show! It was outdoors and the temperature was definitely warmer than I would have liked, but still so fun. Everyone in the crowd was dancing and having a great time. George Thorogood is lithe like a cat, he moves like Mick Jagger. And at age 65, he still has that deep, gravelly, booming voice. BF bought these tickets. After, we spent the night at BF's Davis house (concert was in Lincoln, in Sacramento area). BF bought dinner, too.

Saturday morning we had a nice breakfast at our favorite breakfast spot in Davis (I paid), then headed home. We spent a leisurely afternoon watching Netflix, walking the dogs, puttering in the yard a bit.

Sunday, I got up early, picked up my mom, and we headed to the Alameda County Fair. We met relatives there and just had a great day. Didn't spend too much, we all bring a picnic lunch. Still, $10 to park and $12 to walk in the gates. One of my cousins has a new baby, about 9 months old. What a cutie-pie! I just love when I get to hold and cuddle a baby. It was late by the time I got home.

This week I want to get a pedicure so my toes look cute, and get my eyebrows threaded. MrsM180 and I are heading to Seattle this Friday afternoon.

I dipped into EF and paid my credit card bill in full this month. Even though the interest rate is currently 0%, the very idea of carrying credit card debt again makes me feel ill. I just don't wanna.

My budget is getting leaner. Child support has ended (good-bye $433 per month). My PITI payment has jumped to $1194.16, an increase of $113.52.

I am still paying J's car expenses for now. He had a job interview last week but did not get the job. He is still looking.

BF is accruing rent, but not actually paying it yet. No offers on the house yet either. BF did decide that we need lawn service as he doesn't have time to fiddle with it, and he is paying for that.

So, I have no choice but to re-jigger (is that a word?) my numbers.

I've gotten a bit lax about tracking my spending. I know it's been over, (waaaay over) and I just don't want to look! But as of June 1, I am back to tracking each dollar.

I'm not going to be able to pay my credit card bill in full this month. There have just been too many big expenses in the past few months. Big dental bills for both J and I (I have no dental insurance, J's new dental insurance is not accepted at our dentist), prom, senior trip, big car repair, and ouch-y high car insurance, all on top of everything else. They have ganged up and made a formidable enemy! I will be able to get away with paying no interest, which is a small comfort.

So, how am I adjusting my budget? Much as I hate to do it, I have eliminated the $50 extra car loan principal payment. I have trimmed CurveBall to $300, which is not enough. Further, I'm going to have to use it for credit card debt repayment for a bit.

I have trimmed my grocery budget from $550 to $500, which I'm not entirely certain I can do. That's groceries for me, J, two dogs, and general household supplies. MrsM180 and hubby buy their own groceries, and BF picks up some groceries. However, we really don't have a hands-off policy on general items. We tend to make enough dinner for everyone, regardless of who bought the groceries. And when it comes to milk, salad dressing, bread, we just share. When it comes to specialty items, we tend to ask the purchaser if it is OK to have some, but people mostly say "yes". I'm not going to tell someone who is hungry that they can't have my granola bar, or whatever.

So in short, I'm not real tickled, but it is what it is. For now, this is what it is.

I have made my scheduled mortgage payment, along with an extra $8.13. My new balance is $169,175.00.

Chips to date: $1,715.46

Interest savings this month: $6.15

Interest savings to date: $87.51

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $3,734.69, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full. Which I won't.

Cash is up.
Debt is down.
Investments are up.
Home value estimate is up.

At long, long last...there is an open house tomorrow at BF's house! I thought this day would never come.

Here's a video the realtor commissioned. It's on YouTube.

My sixth scheduled car payment has posted. I have updated the spreadsheet on my "My Car Note" page, if you care to take a peek.

This month extra principal payments included $300 from my part-time job, $67.11 from credit card rewards, $50.00 from re-directed E fund deposit, and $22.00 from two wallet sweeps.

Twelve payments have now been eliminated from the end, leaving 54 payments to go.

Here is my son, heading out to pick up his prom date.



I've been having a spendy month already. Between prom, bad news from the dentist, and another expensive repair for J's car, I am trying to pinch my remaining pennies. This month I received what I expect is my last child support check. My car insurance premium is due June 2, to the tune of $1587 (6 months). So lots of dollars lining up to leave my wallet as quickly as they can. I believe I will make it through with no debt, but CurveBall is going to be back to square one. Again. These expenses are what CurveBall is for, but I still hate to see it happen. Of course I put them all on a rewards card, but will rely on CurveBall to pay the bill.

I have decided to stop my $50 monthly contribution to E Fund and send it to my car loan instead. E Fund is fat enough for now, I want out from under that car loan.

At long last, BF's house is about to hit the market! A drone will be making a video this week, as soon as the link is live I will share it so you can take a tour, if you like. There is an open house this coming Sunday. I am told the asking price is 1.2m. Should I make an offer?

So last weekend as I was enjoying my last naked hot tub weekend in that beautiful pool room, BF was saying that what he would really like for his next house is to recreate that one, on a smaller and more modest scale. Instead of the pool room being in the house, it could be a covered patio. Instead of a pool and hot tub, just a hot tub with perhaps a water feature. Lots of plants, big clear windows on the house so that the view can be enjoyed from the living spaces. I thought about it briefly, and realized, I would just love that. So we talked about if we found an older home with a large lot and the house was shaped and laid out right, we could make it happen.

BF says he can't believe the day is finally here. You and me both pal, I thought. Goodness, it has been a long time coming.

I have made my scheduled mortgage payment, along with an extra $9.28. I have received yet another $25.00 credit from WFHM Rewards Visa. My new balance is $169,475.00.

Chips to date: $1,707.33

Interest savings this month: $6.10

Interest savings to date: $81.36

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $3,718.54, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full. Which I won't. :P

Cash is up.
Debt is down.
Investments are up.
Home value estimate is up.

That's what we like to see.