Crystal G

I’m keeping track of my payments towards the remainder of our interest accruing debt (besides the house) to kinda see the progress as we reach my goal of having this gone by or in February April 2010. So expect these posts monthly! Each month, seeing the progress should hopefully motivate me to stay on track with this.

• Starting Balance of Debt in February 2010: $2712.16
• Total Payments in February 2010: $2259.79
• Total Payments YTD: $11037.22
• Total Card Charges in February 2010: $900.76
• Total Finance Charges For February 2010: $25.75
• Total Finance Charges YTD: $162.41
• Starting Balance for March 2010: $1353.13
• $0 Goal: April 2010

Notes for this month:
Tax return was applied to the debt, and I’m hoping that by opening my dad a checking account and stopping him from using this card that it will help immensely.

See also:
January 2010, December 2009, November 2009, October 2009, September 2009

and My series of paying off dad’s loan in 8 months

Some general updates from lately.

• Put my car in the shop on Friday to get some brake work done. I suspected it needed heavy work, and I was right. But unfortunately they have to keep it till Monday to fix it. It will cost me about $1400 for everything, since I’m essentially redoing the entire brake system. I had intended on getting the work done next month anyway with tax returns, but didn’t want to wait that long. Fortunately with an emergency savings it is taken care of no sweat, and the taxes will still be coming in so it all works out.
• Dad and I had family over last night, from my maternal side. I got to see a relative I haven’t seen in 10 years or more, and his beautiful wife.
• My knee is feeling loads better. I can walk without pain now, but still with a bit of a limp. Sometimes it gets stiff if I’m sitting too long but I’m being careful with it.
• We had to replace the boiler at the Grove recently. Cost us a big chunk of money, but fortunately I’ve been working on a $20k fundraiser for the next year so it will replenish that and then some. I look forward to the day when I have no debt but the house and can donate more regularly myself. At least now this one is more efficient and will save us money in the long run.
• I enjoyed a Table 21 dinner at Volt, home of Top Chef contestant Bryan Voltaggio this past Wednesday as a celebration for my raise. We got 21 tasting courses, which I will write up a detailed blog about hopefully later today.
• I am working on a list of things I want to accomplish this year, and am looking forward to 2010 being as awesome as the last 4 years have been.
• The sweetheart has been especially awesome lately. I’m very blessed to have him as a support and encouragement system. He’s constantly giving me perspective and balance.

I am spending a quiet New Years at home being productive and working on projects. No need to go out and drink, no need to go out and spend money. I like starting the year out right by moving forward with the things I want to accomplish and knock off my to-do list.

What can I say, that’s just how I roll.

• I’ve felt unmotivated to blog lately, but oddly enough have had a lot of different topics I’ve wanted to blog about.
• The doctors said Dad’s leg looks how they expected it to look, course I don’t know what that means, and since I don’t go with him to the doctors visits cause I work, I probably won’t find out. It’s a slow gradual process I guess.
• I’m glad I finally got my juicer replacement, as veggies are starting to come in full force. I don’t have as much of a variety of goods as I wanted, mainly due to not planting everything I wanted, and then not fertilizing the soil because we thought it would be rich fresh soil. Still, it’s a start Next year will be better.
• I have about $550 in side work waiting to come in, which will go towards the shoes I still haven’t gotten, and to give my uncle some money for all the work he did on the deck, despite him saying he doesn’t want any. I can be stubborn too, dammit. And to some work on dad’s truck.
• Had to take my dad’s truck to a dealership to fix something with the computer because the local mechanic didn’t have the right equipment. Will be nice to have that fixed because I want to start cutting firewood again.
• As mentioned on Twitter, I got my points reduced by half for my speeding ticket, and a slight refund. The officer and I had a chat before we even went in and came to that deal. When we went before the judge (in a courtroom behind a Sunoco gas station, btw. Yay rural PA), it took all of 3 minutes. Quickest trial I’ve ever been to. What’s nice is in PA your points drop after a year of a clean record. I hear that some states don’t even have a point system, I’m not sure how they figure out when to suspend licenses without them.
• July did not turn into another “no food” month, in fact I’ve spent more than I should have and will have to make up for it by making August a “no food” month. Especially since August 15th is the day dad’s loan of at least 10 years will be paid off within 8 months.
• I’ve been itching to pick up the guitar again and maybe my mandolin as well. I’ve been neglecting both quite severely.
• I get an odd sense of fulfillment when I send in our mortgage payment a month and a half early. Knowing we’re paid up till September is very relaxing. I dunno why people wait till the last minute to send theirs in, I think it would stress me out. Actually I know it would stress me out, it used to when I lived on the Naval base.
• I think this “letting my dad have a credit card on my account” thing is going to work out nicely. At least it is for July so far, and I just gave it to him a few weeks ago. He can get what he needs and I can keep track of it online. I pay it off immediately, and he doesn’t overdraft his bank account.
• I’ve been horrible about answering emails lately. If you’ve sent one and I haven’t answered, it’s not because I’m ignoring you, I promise!
• A friend died from cancer this morning. I’ve been working on a song (not mine, but slightly re-written) to play at her memorial.
• Thinking about death makes me want to focus on getting my dad a will again. As well as myself.
• I’ve also been focusing on cutting out the toxic people in my sphere of existence. They are unneeded, unwanted, unhealthy, and unnecessary.
• I’m going to be starting up a big fundraiser here soon to support the Grove for some much needed building repairs that we sorta need ASAP. I’m looking to raise about $20,000. If big churches can do it, dammit so can I.
• My uncle will be putting on the tin roof to our deck this weekend. Then I’ll take final before/after pictures and post them.

I’m keeping track of my payments towards my father’s debt reduction to kinda see the progress as we reach my goal of having his loan paid off by September 2009. So expect these posts monthly! Each month, seeing the progress should hopefully motivate me to stay on track with this.

• Starting Balance of Loan in January: $5388.14
• Starting Balance in June 2009: $1509.77
• Total Payments in June : $527.17
• Total Payments YTD: $4481.61
• Total Finance Charges For June 2009: $8.14
• Total Finance Charges YTD: $84.21
• Starting Balance for July: $990.74
• $0 Goal: September 2009

Notes for this month:
Finally got the balance under a grand. I may have it paid off by the end of July if my side work money comes in. I put a little extra on this month because I thought it’d be more motivating for me to see it in the triple digits.

See also: May, April, March, February, January,

Please Ignore

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Back at our old house, we lived in a neighborhood with a lot of elderly people (seems to be somewhat the same here in Gettysburg). Dad was the handyman for everyone. He mowed their laws, fixed their cars, maintained their homes and lawnmowers, helped with their gardens etc.

He still goes down during mowing season to mow, and should be starting that up again soon. However when going to put new lawnmower blades on the old lady across the street’s lawnmower, he found out it was stolen.

That shed is in the far back of the lot, and not really accessible without being seen by the neighbors. I suspect someone from the neighborhood took it, and knew they could get away with it now that we were gone (We were in full view of their property).

This just makes me so angry, to steal from helpless old people like that. I wish I could beat someone senseless for it.

That seems to be the way of things these days though. A friend of my dads told us that in his neighborhood, someone cut the chain off two 4-wheelers and pushed them across the street to load them onto their truck. Not his 4-wheelers, but one of the neighbors.

Of all things though, why steel lawnmowers and 4-wheelers? I guess to sell them?

People are lame. No wonder I hate humanity.

PA, or at least Adams County has been doing a mandatory program, which my township has just adopted, where you have to have your septic tank emptied and cleaned every 2 or 3 years. You’d be surprised at how many people around here apparently have not had theirs emptied or serviced in -decades-. Course I can’t say much, at our old house it hadn’t been serviced in over 29 years, but that wasn’t our responsibility and the landlord didn’t care.

However when we bought this place in September, the septic was emptied and serviced for the sale, so now I have to draft a letter requesting a postponement until the next round of mandatory inspections and figure out where to send it and how to confirm my request has been processed correctly.

Oh the joys of figuring out new fun homeowner responsibilities.

I received my first tax notice for Fiscal 2009 on Friday. I wasn’t sure what it was at first and then realized that in PA you have to forward your property tax bills to your mortgage holder to pay out of your escrow account if you have one, which I do.

Right now my escrow account has like $1600 in it, and this bill is for $503.97 if paid by April 30th, which is a 2% discount. Normal price is $514.26 if you pay by June 30th, and the penalty price is $565.69 if I pay by December 2009. Naturally I want the discount so I mailed this off Monday.

I’m very very new to property taxes and escrow though, being as this is my first time owning property. I’m curious, does the $1600 currently in my escrow account mean that I have over $1,000 overpaid in it? Or should I expect another tax bill soon for some other crazy PA tax that would take over the $1,000. Or do they split property tax bills into several payments throughout the year and this is just the first quarter or something? And even so, I’m still paying into my escrow account every month, so the account is just going to keep getting bigger and bigger, so that wouldn’t make sense.

These may just be questions for my mortgage company, but if anyone has any insight, I’d be all the appreciative for it.

Silly PA taxes.

I’m going to set up a reminder on April 1st to verify the payment was received from my mortgage company because 1. I don’t trust mortgage companies to do anything right, and 2. The tax collector does not send a receipt unless you mail a stamped addressed envelop with the payment, which I can’t because I’m not sending the payment.