AmbitiousSaver's Personal Finance Blog

Just a little background info, on Saturday I was in the ER with my son who was extremely ill since he had been vomiting/diarrhea since Wednesday.

Well, while there the ER doc warned that its likely it will cycle through the house.

Monday, my first day of work, my daughter threw up at the sitters. But it was only once or so.

Yesterday, my baby was a little better, but had a little bit of diarrhea. So I thought she was getting better, no vomiting since Monday.

Today, after an obviously awkward day yesterday... an hour after I came in, I had to leave to pick up my daughter.

I'm confident my new job is already tired of this. And I'm contemplating just not going in anymore because 1) my daughter will most likely not be better by the end of the week and 2) she is not taking to daycare very well. I'm sure part of that is an adjustment but I'm sure either I'll be next or my older daughters will and I don't know. It just feels like if the universe is saying anything, its that my working at this job is not meant for me cause its so odd how all of this is happening at once. I called my job and told them what was going on & that I'll call them tomorrow to let them know how my baby is feeling to determine if I'll be in Friday. I already know I won't be in on Thursday simply cause the babysitter cannot have her back until she has been clear of vomiting and diarrhea for 24 hours.

So again, clearly I'm not ready to work outside the house. Kids are sick too often and I'm just not ready for this, but on the other hand I'm sure there is no good way to end this before April 15th w/o leaving a sour note with the employer.

I gave my notice to work.

I am allowed to work through lunch but I explained that I was planning to leave after tax season because its just not cost effective for me to work when the kids are out of school. Right now WITH them in school, I'm breaking even by working through my lunch hour.

I've also decided I'm going to scale back my agenda. I'm obviously not ready to return to work on the full scale yet. So why rush graduation?

I'm killing myself taking 3 classes and working and with four kids.

Soooo, I'll just take 1 class from now on and probably graduate in December 2010.

My last day is April 15th, I just hope the job understands that it is purely because of the cost of childcare.

On that note, then my current job can have more of my time & devotion and THAT one is the one that makes sure I have food on the table for my kids.

I don't know if thats the right word/title but thats what I'm calling it.

I start my new job tomorrow and my baby (14 months) starts daycare tomorrow. I feel so nervous, I thought I'd be fine but no. This is the first time I'm EVER leaving my baby this young with a stranger for set hours.

That's when I ask myself, do I really want this? Am I ready?

Then on top of that I am nervous because the daycare provider has a pool. Her fence is on order but told me that the doors are locked & has an alarm on the door if anyone opens it.

Its also just my baby and another little baby. So its a small place, its not like I have to worry about the babysitter being so overwhelmed that mine is forgotten.

I don't know, I called my Mom and told her about my worry. I'm almost at that point of just wanting to call it all off.

My best friend and my mom said to reiterate to the babysitter tomorrow morning about my concerns & to call if I'm nervous/worried. The babysitter did say she also texts pictures to the parents phone.

In fact, the babysitter watched her during my interview and sent me pictures & gave me a picture that the baby drew. Albeit it was from 8-11 am and not 8-2:30 like the hours will be.

I don't know... can I really do this? I spent Saturday in the ER with my son since he's been sick since Thursday... how do women who work outside the home do it?

Gosh, I am soooo nervous. Career-wise, I can't turn down this opportunity. This CPA is willing to mentor me & considering to train me to own day take over her firm... and here I am the night before scared of leaving my baby.

I want to minimize the amount of debt we have BUT the rental needs some necessary improvements.

As I said in a previous post it has Polybutylene pipes, it freezes during the winter & they can burst at any point because the pipes are now illegal.

Cost to replumb - $6634

It needs a new HVAC system that is getting installed on Thursday

A rotted fascia board needs replaced (cost unknown)

And I'd like to get termite protection for the house ($1200)

But currently, after buying the HVAC system we are in $99K in non-mortgage debt (Car, HELOC, CC, and Student loans)

I DO NOT want to go over $100K, but my thoughts are... we've already had one pipe burst in the home... what if another bursts or has a slow leak? It could cost even thousands more!

If we do EVERYTHING, then we'll have $110K total non-mortgage debt. $67K of which is between the car & student loans. The rest is the HELOC and credit cards.

I don't know. I feel like I'm being risky by NOT doing the plumbing because a pipe could very well burst, but I also don't like the idea of being so heavily in debt. In May '08 we were $103K in debt, last month we were $92K...

As I said, I don't know. The right thing to do is to get out of debt AND keep the house in good working order.

DH also made the decision to stay here. Financially its what is best and its also better for both of our careers. I'm not too let down, Hawaii will happen - I'm just taking this as a sign that we have more stuff to finish here before we move on.

I just sold 15 gently used Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers for $113! And I sold it to 3 different people within 48 hours of listing it.

I'm going to go through what else I have and try to list some more stuff.

I have a ton of Nonstick Pampered Chef cookware (Executive series) and since switching to stainless I only need a few non-stick pieces. I can sell the excess.

Need to sell the baby's swing.

DH goes to South America next week and that is $113 per day and he'll be there a week. I usually estimate him bringing home at least half of it cause he does need to eat.

Then he's got a few more trips.

He also made board for Chief. SO that means he passed the test to get promoted. He was the only one out of 4 to pass the test, so then he just needs to submit his package, and then wait to see if the "Board" selects him to be promoted to E7.

If so that would be great.

We are thinking next year, if Hawaii is not available, him switching commands to a SEAL team or another Special Warfare command. He has really enjoyed Special Warfare and contrary to most people's opinions... its done WONDERS for our marriage because he's happy and because he's happy, I'm happy and the whole family is happy.

The other nice part if he were to do that would be an extra $200-$300/mo for Special Duty pay.

But if Hawaii is open and we have a shot at going back, we'd take it because even if we have to pay to go back... we would never move again, its home, its family. Perhaps numbers-wise its an irrational move but in the long run - its our dream, our kids could grow up near grandparents and cousins.

But Hawaii would be the only command where I'd be willing to leave here. As I told DH, we finally have a network here. I still need to pass the CPA exam, get my license, and etc etc.

Anyhow, so the money seems to be coming in from unusual places which is good. I recently just shelled out $108 for my daughter to have 3 teeth pulled and $5823 for a new HVAC system in the rental.

Although I flunked the bookkeeping test.

But she liked me, she saw my GPA, that I came in referred by a well-respected professor and was amazed that at 27, I have four children and will be completing my master's degree.

I think a part of her knew that although my experience was not up to par, if I could do all of the other stuff - there was something there that kept her interested.

She's not sure what to do about salary because she frankly said that my experience doesn't bring me up to that level that my current job is paying me, and she doesn't want to insult me. But I'm considering doing it regardless of the pay level because of the opportunity available.

So I'm thinking about keeping my current job and adjusting the work schedule so that I can put in 25 hours a week at the CPA firm.

Its a small firm of about 3-4 employees, but its family oriented and more relaxed. I think it could be a great opportunity, they offer a retirement plan & offer annual raises. I haven't had a raise with my current job since March of 2007 and there are no benefits aside from medical/dental/vision/PTO.

I talked to my current place of work about working 5-8 in the morning and 3-8 in the evenings. Then while I have school, I can make up the hours on the weekends or even later in the evening. With the majority of the people on the West Coast and me on the East Coast, the time difference and new schedule could work out better. So my boss was VERY open to the suggestion.

School will probably continue to be challenging but I know the semester ends in 6 weeks. This will also help give me a cushion while the tenant's are out.

Maybe I'm insane but I don't plan to work 2 jobs and go to school forever. This is just the transition towards me eventually having my own practice.

Dh is also supposed to pick up some extra trips so the extra money will be great. Hopefully the vacancy from the tenant's won't be bad after all

Let me first preface this by saying, my DH and I do not have a very good track record for keeping pets that annoy us. Any bad behavior, its hard for us to work through.

Fast forward to now, we have a 10 month old golden retriever that we adore & feel is our PERFECT pet. I have absolutely nothing I could complain about of him.

So we are going out of town and thought about having a friend watch him.

DH took him over to the friends' yesterday, but their dog isn't fixed and marks (outside the house). Our dog doesn't do that, we neutered him early and he squats like a girl, no marking whatsoever inside or outside.

I don't think the friends' dog marks inside but I still don't want to give our dog any ideas.

DH was upset with me and saying I'm over-reacting. He doesn't want to spend $180 to board our dog when these people will watch him for free.

So he's upset and we're on opposite ends of the spectrum.

It took us 10 years to find the perfect dog. I don't want to have any chance or opportunity to mess it up, cause again, we don't have a good track record.

Sure our dog could go there for a week and not pick up the behavior and everything will be dandy. But if he does, we are either going to spend the $$ to retrain him or it will become such a headache we re-home our "perfect" dog. All over $180?

I'd rather just go with the safe bet and board him.

Maybe owning our golden has finally made us join that subset that views their pets like their kids. I don't remember ever being this picky before about where our pets stayed. But honestly, now when I look at potential friends to watch him - I want to make sure they have similar values/standards for their pets as I do with mine.

Maybe this is abnormal. But yeah, I don't want to risk it cause the worst case scenario is we could get so frustrated about a bad behavior we rehome him.

I guess this is like my DH's view on the stock market. He just wants to put his money in secured funds - even if that means missing on an eventual rally - I'm on the other end of the spectrum. So I'm not entirely risk averse... just when it comes to emotional aspects of my life.

Seriously, with the economy and everything - sometimes I think I must live in a bubble. How is life so good for us yet when I talk to other people it is all doom and gloom?

I have a friend who is having problems getting a job. Meanwhile, I'm looking at also getting a part-time job for the "experience". DH is going to get 2-3 raises in the next year, if I pick up this part-time job in the mornings - after childcare thats an extra $300-$500/mo.

For a long while I brushed it off and said, it must just be because he's in the military and I'm in accounting. But no, I know an internal auditor who posted on her blog about her fear of losing her job.

I don't know, if I live in a bubble - nobody pop it. But maybe thats why I'm so optimistic even with the current state of affairs.

I called my Mom yesterday and she was in panic mode too (she owns a McDonalds and although they are doing well she was telling me "DON't leave your job, everybody is losing their job")

And that just isn't my reality. Here I am thinking about taking a 2nd job and constantly getting emails from my accounting major list server about job openings. Jobs seem plentiful.

So, I only hope that the opportunities I see carry on to others that need them. In the meantime, I do feel extremely fortunate and am grateful that things are still looking well.

I do sort of hope I get this job, I'll be assisting a local CPA with her practice. Small practice, but its my foot in the door to getting to know the inner functions of a local CPA practice to one day have my own.

But on the same note, if I don't get it I'll be okay. Although to be perfectly honest, in the past 10 years I've gotten a job offer from every job I've interviewed for.

1) Study for my legal midterm on Thursday
2) Pre-format my reports & prep everything to help make next week easy on Christine
3) Pack for 4 kids, clean the house (I hate coming home to a messy house)
4) Well, 4, thankfully DH is doing laundry Friday/Saturday
5) 13 Management letters (working in a team of 4 to put together an audit engagement)
6) Finish my fraud research paper (14 pages left to go)
7) Finish my legal research paper (15-20 pages left to go)
8) Finish my auditing midterm (take home, 10 questions one page each)
9) My controllership master budget & reading Chapter 8 and any associated material

I swear, if I accomplish all this by March 17 - I'll be relieved.

And I thought this was supposed to be my SPRING BREAK!?!?!

I also have to talk to a local CPA here, more or less as a favor towards my prof. I submitted my resume in January as part of an extra credit & had told him that one day I hope to have my own practice/firm and that currently I don't necessarily work in accounting - so the experience requirement for the CPA exam is HUGE for me. I love my job but if I wanted to be an attorney (for example) but I enjoy working at, oh I don't know, Target... as much as I may love my current job, if I really want to go for my dream - there will come a point at which the two paths diverge.

Anyhow, so my prof thinks this CPA could be a good mentor for me. And if we end up staying here for another 8 years or so, I don't know... there are possibilities.

My biggest sticking point is... to be perfectly honest... I'm afraid. Not afraid of a pay cut I'd have to take... monetarily I'd actually be getting a raise but not enough to cover childcare since I'm estimating it'll cost me about $2000/mo for childcare for 4 kids. I might be better off hiring a nanny. And I know that in a few years, the salary growth for a CPA is MUCH greater than at my current position. At my current job it'll likely be a year or more before I can get a raise.

But what I'm afraid about is... I love my job, so when I graduate and get my CPA license... what if I leave and hate it? I read about other people hating their job and junk like that. Thats not me, I can't imagine what its like to wake up and hate what you do.

In fact, I hope that is NEVER me. I don't have the where-with-all, to stay in a job I don't like and feel under-appreciated.

I have two work ethics:

1) I love my job and am always thinking of new ways to do it, apply new things that I'm learning, and challenge myself. I'll think about my job even when I'm not working.

2) I hate my job and I blow it off, I don't take it seriously. Its like night and day.

My grades sort of demonstrate that. Freshman year I didn't feel the whole pre-med vibe so I only went to half of my classes, I got an A in the classes I went to - but suffice it to say I ended up with a 2.0 GPA that year thanks to my F's.

Then I found my passion, actually found a way to LIKE calculus. Blew through my A.S. and B.S. in 2 1/2 years and for the most part it felt effortless.

Grad school now, eh, its okay. But I definitely don't hate it, I love it more so cause I like learning new things. I like my profs, my classmates, getting to talk to people that I don't live with.

But I'm nervous that if I leave my job, I'll join that rat race again. Maybe have an overbearing boss who can't accept my desire for independence and freedom to form my own ideas. Or that TIME thing. I hate tracking my time and when I worked for a firm I remember how billable hours was such a huge thing.

I don't know. That and the stress. Working from home has been wonderful.

Yet at the same time I wonder, how many years will I stay with my current job waiting/hoping that it can count towards my CPA license & refusing to leave because I love the work/life balance and the people. Meanwhile letting my education become obsolete the longer I don't use it. Accounting is always changing, in 2-3 years my degree from 2004 quickly became obsolete with all these new provisions and they are going to be redoing a lot of the standards. I'm sure fraud and whats going on with the economy doesn't help either.

I don't know... but I'm glad this is not a decision I have to make now or even in a few months. But its like knowing you want to get married one day and the guy you're with says he never wants to get married. You can hold out hope one day something will change, but at the same time you know your paths will likely diverge. That's actually something the CFO has been telling me for years, but at the same time I'm glad the company will have me in the meantime. I still strongly believe that I can be of benefit to them & this job is a great one too.

I'm just afraid of one day leaving it to pursue my dream and discovering I may love what I do, but hate it at the same time cause its going back to the rat race of Corporate America. Where people are chasing after titles and a heirarchy only to gain more stress attached to their padded paycheck.

So I wonder somedays, is it worth it?

Ok, so despite everything with the rental - I still feel very blessed. I called my MIL (who can be very doom and gloom) and she couldn't understand why I was so optimistic. Yes, the situation to be frank - sucks - but I know I'm going to do what I need to do to take care of it and I have a plan in place to get it taken care of.

Visiting my family in Hawaii is OUT. No questions. I'm likely not refinancing the house since we were just mailed another assessment that our house value went down. Bonus is, less taxes I need to pay.

So, here is what I've been faced with:

1) Rental needs to be replumbed & a new HVAC system installed. It'd also be a good idea to get a termite protection plan in place (would cover it for 5 years).

2) I need to pay for my tuition and finish my master's degree this year

3) Visit with my family (I know I said Hawaii is out, I didn't say meeting them halfway was)

4) Visiting with DH's family

5) Daughter's braces

And I think that's it.

So ok, I'll probably need to put the rental expenses on DH's CC. I have a plan to have it all paid off within 12 months, the whole situation is not ideal as I said - but I want to get that property back up to my standards, get a good tenant in, and have it be to a point where I don't have to worry about anything going wrong (a pipe bursting, the HVAC system giving out, etc). After this the only thing that COULD go wrong with the house is the roof. Practically everything else has been replaced (floors, windows, water heater, doorknobs, appliances, security system, mailbox).

I will need to do student loans this year for the remaining 3 classes of my master's degree but any surplus I'm going to apply to pay down my CC.

For visiting my Dad, I proposed possibly doing Vegas. DH is supposed to take a few trips in the Summer & get per diem for it. We have plenty of free miles with a certain airline that we could get 2-3 free tickets. Then it would just be a matter of the 3-4 tickets, hotel, food, and MAYBE a rental car (although last time we went to Vegas we didn't use a rental car and just took the shuttles). So that would be MUCH more affordable than Hawaii.

We'll be going to visit DH's family next week. We're driving, the hotel we're staying at has free breakfast, a kitchenette (so we're taking food with us so we don't have to always go out to eat), and we will be paying for the entire trip with cash.

For my daughter's braces, I'm going to be paying for 1/2 with cash and the other is with no-interest monthly installments. Its just partial braces for now & when she is 15 she needs full braces.

I still plan for us to be debt free within 3-4 years. Well, non-mortgage debt. As I said, I plan to be CC free by February of next year. The original plan was this year but thats been pushed back due to the rental.

So why do I feel blessed?

Because we are able to handle all of this in this type of economy. I can face up to a 3 month vacancy with the rental and not worry about it. I know we'll be okay & it'll likely get rented quickly because of the condition. I could even rent it for cheaper than what I currently am and it wouldn't really hurt us too badly or offset my goals.

My other thought is always that once we do get our non-mortgage debt paid off, we could live on just the rental income & DH's pay. He's supposed to get a pay raise in October, likely in January, and if he gets promoted thats another pay raise.

My career is sort of up in the air, I know I could lose my job before I realize it. But with DH's career, reliance on my job is less and less.

So, yes, I acknowledge the situation is not ideal. But life never is, its about taking the curveballs you're thrown and making the best out of them & having the confidence to handle them.

The other nice part was, my property manager has really stepped up in this whole process. I used to always wonder what they did & why I paid her, but now that something like this has come up I am glad I have a big company behind me to make sure that my interests as a landlord are looked out for. I talked to an owner of the management company and I had his full assurance that they will get this taken care of and I have nothing to worry about.

Checked out the rental today, figured I should since the plumber who provided the estimate eluded to the fact the tenant was not a good housekeeper.

I won't even consider renewing the lease with the tenant even if they were interested. I had an estimate today for a new HVAC system (ours is original to the home). And the front yard looks great, but I can't even begin to show the home. It would be an embarrassment to me.

I try to keep in mind the tenant is by herself with 4 kids because her hubby is deployed but the dog chewed up the door jam to the backdoor (small dog, thought it would be okay), the rain vent extenders have been placed up so water is accumulating at the foundation when it rains, the dog has dug holes in the yard, and we LEFT the backyard with grass. However, they put in a trampoline so what used to be grass is now dirt.

I contacted the property manager obviously upset about this. I value this home and was told that these are good tenants, I thought they were taking good care of the property.

In addition, there is dust accumulating on the air vents. The HVAC person today told me its due to a ductwork leak or no air filter, not replacing the air filter strains the current heating and A/C system - necessitating its replacement NOW. He confirmed there are no leaks so despite the tenants SAYING they have been replacing the air filters, evidence points to otherwise.

So the estimates are:

$6634 to replace the pipes (currently Polybutylene is in the home and its a matter of WHEN not if the pipes will eventually corrode and burst or leak causing structural damage)
$6000 for a new Heating & A/C system (we'd replace it with a 14 SEER system so at least thats a better advertising feature and offers a tax credit)

But because I can't even hope to show the place with the tenants in it, we are looking at having a month's vacancy ($1400/mo).

If we don't have the rental income coming in, we'll be in the red $300-$400/mo.

I'm going to plan for at least a 2 month vacancy.

The lease is up June 30th and I'm tempted to just let them go sooner cause I want my house back to original condition and renting out to a newer better tenant.

For the improvements, I'm not sure what to do first. The plumbing is just a matter of time, the HVAC system does need replaced. So I don't know.

Selling is out of the question at this point, the market has tanked even more so what equity I did have is $0 and I would have no way of coming up with money at closing.

All this though, I'm not going to let it get me down. The economy and all else is trying, the best I can do is have a plan in place and do my best to be responsible.

Here are pictures of our home when we left it. I'm so disappointed in the condition its in now. We will never rent to someone with pets again and adopting one will be grounds for eviction.

This has been our first landlord experience, so all I can say is "Live and learn." I will be more aware next time and not make the same mistakes again.

Sometimes I question myself for slowly repurchasing back into the market with our 401K (I had moved it into a secured fund and put 10% additional 2x a month back into the market since our retirement is about 20 years off).

So in October, I had $16,659 in the market and have also continued to purchase shares.

Right now the 401K is $15,257 with 20% of that in safe secure funds. So to make me feel better I calculated what the 401K would be worth had I never pulled the money and slowly put it back, had I just left it there before the market tanked.

It would be worth $11,830 - a difference of $3426.

I need to keep focusing on the long-term goal. I didn't put all the money back in all at once. I started putting it back into the Lifecycle 2040 fund back when the Dow had hit 9500, then kept buying since.

Either way, I'm still $3426 better off than had I done nothing. Just have to keep remembering that.

I find it increasingly challenging to maintain focus on our goals but at the same time, have noticed that my husband and I have a 2 year cycle of spending history.

Going back through the past and where we've gone wrong, it'll start with a purchase. Then we behave, focus on getting out of debt for a 1 year, then the next year we feel like "Ok, we've been good - how can we reward ourselves?"

We've been focused on getting out of debt since June '07, we just had 2 big milestones of paying off his CC and car. So right about now is when we tend to spend.

And I need to keep all this in mind to recognize this pattern so we don't fall back into old traps.

It starts with mild wants, he wants to see his family, get a used motorcycle, I want to see my family, finish my degree, the houses need improvements, kids need clothes... it can quickly spiral.

The good thing is - although the wants have crept up, we haven't spent anything. This time there are so many wants/needs that its impossible to ignore the limited resources and consider the best use for them. The history of buying things on a whim is at least gone. We've at least conquered that although I've been tempted.

So what do we need?

The other house needs an entire redo of the plumbing. Turns out the water heater problem was not the water heater, it was the plumbing. The home has Quest pipes in them and had we not bought the home in the middle of all the hype of 2005 & had a home inspection, we would have known about the pipes.

So it'll cost about $5000 to fix. My saving grace is... you know, we're young. And this was our cheapest home, better to learn 'never buy a home without an inspection' NOW than later on in life when the stakes are higher. And $5000 now will prevent the problems that can arise from these pipes which could result in structural damage to the home.

Aside from that, we are still going to Missouri next month. We're going to try to do it as cheap as possible by having the dog boarded by a friend, driving, staying at a place with a kitchenette that can occupy 6 people so we don't have to purchase 2 rooms, the place also offers free breakfast and we can go to the grocery store and make the rest of the meals in the room.

I can't get away from my tuition, but after this semester I'm 3 classes away from getting my master's degree. So I need to figure out how to come up with an additional $4000.

I also want to pay off my credit card with a balance of $9700 this year.

I've considered taking out student loans to cover the tuition and use whatever extra to pay down the CC.

Then DH gets a bonus in October for the military and that should pay off the credit card.

After graduation we'd owe about $36K on student loans. $13K of that at 2.77% and the rest at 6.8%. So I'm looking at a $300-$400/mo payment after graduation.

Then aside from that we'll have the HELOC and my van. For a total of $1175-$1275 for monthly payments in a year from now. Sounds like a lot but its down from $1700 just a few months ago.

My oldest needs partial braces at the moment, thats $900

I'd love to take advantage of the home improvement credits for 2009 and 2010 by putting new windows, doors, a tankless water heater, and insulation in the home. I'd also love to improve the landscaping in the yard for $2K.

All of this I know is not IMPORTANT or needed, but things I've been thinking about.

Realistically what will probably happen is, we'll...

1) Do an interest rate reduction on our current home. We won't have to pay on our mortgage for 2 months (savings of $5000) and our monthly payment will be approximately $150 to $200 less. Right now its 5.5% fixed and I'm trying to wait till it gets to 4.5% fixed. That $5000 we'll use on the pipes.

2) I'll pay the first half of my daughter's braces with cash, then the rest is $70/mo for 8 months

3) I'll take out student loans to pay for my tuition and use the extra to pay down the Credit Card

4) All else is wait & see because we may have a vacancy in the rental this summer and that is $1400/mo

I swear, its all a balancing act. But the good news is starting in June, my son will not be going to preschool anymore so that is $375/mo more we will have and my husband is set to take more trips so he should get additional per diem.

So yeah, when I lay it all out like this, I know there isn't much room for WANTS yet. Even the needs need careful management. I'd push off visiting DH's family, but really... we haven't seen them since 2005 and we are at least paying for the trip with cash.

Crazy week!

Yesterday eBay suspended my account due to fraudulent activity, I had been assured my account information (Credit cards, banking, etc) had not been compromised but to be on the safe side I changed/closed all/any accounts I had that used that username and put a fraud alert on my credit report.

Today, I got a call bright and early that our water heater in our rental burst. Which is ironic because I bought a BRAND NEW one in March of 2007.

Thankfully it is covered by the manufacturer and the store I bought it from, I also have a homeowner's warrant so the worst I would have to come out of pocket for it would be $85.

Craziness. But I am very thankful that these things were caught early and addressed. eBay even told me I shouldn't have to worry about my banking information being compromised but I decided I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Hopefully these things stop happening and its smooth sailing after this.

The payment to pay off the CC hadn't even CLEARED and DH asked me yesterday if he could get a motorcycle.

I simply said to him "I don't know HOW"

He didn't push it after that. But half an hour later said "You never told me why I couldn't get a motorcycle"

"I don't know how we could. We can't increase our monthly expenses and we don't have the money in the bank to pay for it outright."

He hasn't said much since. Mostly he's been sulking and not his usual happy-go-lucky self.

Usually this is where I give into the temper tantrum. We were supposed to take our son and go looking at Karate programs today but DH wanted to spend all day looking on the computer at motorcycles. I feel bad for my son cause he was really looking forward to it.

I even tallied up our debt after paying off the GTI & the CC. $95K non-mortgage debt, $700K WITH mortgages

On a monthly cash flow basis, because groceries went up we have $300 left over every month that I'm trying to put down to paying off MY credit card.

That doesn't even account for the $2K I put in savings so we can pay for our Missouri trip to see his family next month.

The lease is up on the rental at the end of June so I know I need to put some money aside in case they don't renew the lease and I have to deal with a vacancy.

I have 3 more classes I need to pay for before I have my master's, so I need about $4K for the rest of the year for school.

This doesn't even factor in trying to visit my Dad.

So I KNOW I'm making the right decision, and DH isn't throwing an all-out temper tantrum, but the sulking about it isn't exactly helping things. If I knew we could afford it, FINE. But I hate being treated like the "bad guy". I didn't even say he COULDN'T get it, but I laid it out pretty clearly that I don't know how he plans on paying for it.

Seriously, don't blame me, blame the bank account - its missing a few zeros!

We seem to be on-track with our goals so far.

Paid off the GTI, will pay off DH's credit card in a couple weeks.

So now I need to start thinking of additional goals.

For starters, we are going back to see DH's family next month. I've allocated $1700 for the trip between gas/food/hotel. DH's dad has pretty much decided against getting a pacemaker so this may be the last time we see him.

1) I'd like to save at least 1 month's worth of living expenses this year ($7300)

2) I'd like to also pay off my credit card

3) Visit Hawaii in October so that I can see my Dad and he can see the kids again

4) Graduate with my M.S. in Accounting and have an accounting job lined up so that I can take the CPA exam next year

I'll probably have to take a paycut coming up this year if I switch jobs. Right now I work from home and because I don't have to worry about childcare, its almost like I'm making $57K/year.

If I work outside the home, but in the industry I'm trained, a more likely salary would be around $45K+.

So we'll see. Overall these are my goals for the year.

So I paid off DH's car. That was very liberating to know that I decreased our monthly expenses by $435 by doing so.

Next goal is to pay off his credit card with our tax return. And then if I keep paying $800-$900/mo on my credit card it will be gone by December.

However, there has been an unexpected turn in our lives.

Last Sunday, DH's dad called and said he needs a pace maker or he could go at anytime. The next day I called MY Dad to vent because I was concerned for DH and needed someone to talk to.

My Dad is still recovering from Nasopharyngeal cancer, he was diagnosed in Oct '07, went through chemo & radiation and received an "all clear" in July '08. But he told me on Monday that something came up in his 6 month PET scan showing an abnormality in his lungs. He met with the oncologist on Tuesday and on Thursday did another CT scan.

All of this is just reminding me that our time with our parents is limited. They are both 68, and how this relates to money is - I genuinely feel torn because I can choose to stay on track with our finances but not see our parents despite their failing health... or I could post-pone our financial goal to get out of debt in order to ensure that we can see our parents.

With 4 kids, it makes traveling very expensive. Even just going to Missouri will cost around $1500, and I could maybe get the trip to Hawaii to see my Dad down to $6000. I just don't know. I'm trying to stay wise too... they aren't dying TODAY but they are getting older and these are things I need to think about.

So I'm in a state of limbo with that. I remember when my Dad was diagnosed with cancer the first time, I asked him - cause again I was torn - I could choose to go back to Hawaii for a family vacation or pursue my master's degree. If my Dad was younger and in better health, the answer would be obvious... but when you realize you don't have all the time in the world, its a question I do stop and ask myself.

I wonder if I get my degree but because of it lose the chance to spend what little time I have left with my Dad... will I regret it?

My Dad told me to get my degree, though. That it would make him feel so much better to know that I would be receiving the education I need to ensure security for myself and the grandkids.

Still yet, as you face the unknown with what will happen to your parents - sometimes you do just want to say "Forget my education, I can always get it later... I can never get back this time with my parents."

On top of that, I am also thinking about my career. I graduate in December so the next step is the CPA exam. In order to be a CPA, I also need 1 year of accounting experience and unfortunately my job doesn't qualify for that. But I enjoy my job because it gives me the perfect work/life balance. With DH in the Navy & nobody else to rely on but ourselves, I need to be the main "family" person to respond to sick kids and doctor's appointments. The baby is also still pretty young.

So I'm thinking about taking the CPA exam and taking a part-time bookkeeping job while keeping my current job in order to get the accounting experience. And I guess see where it goes from there, then when the baby is in preschool I can start taking on a more demanding job.

I know what I want to do so clearly, but I wonder sometimes how to get from HERE to THERE. In 20 years from now, I want to be a CPA. I'd like to specialize in taxation and helping others make decisions regarding legal & tax matters. Probably sounds silly, but I'd love to one day help other people become wealthy and stay wealthy in regards to those matters. I'm not so much worried about money for myself cause I know I'll be okay as long as my heart is in the right place.

Anyhow, so thats what has been going on here. In addition, tomorrow DH and I meet with an attorney to sign our wills & all other legal documents. Seems silly we never did this sooner, its been on my to do list for years.

Not only do I have a $534 check in the mail for an escrow over-payment, my mortgage is going down about $20/mo

Fantastic news!

Something just tells me 2009 is going to be a fabulous year!

Well, DH's flight leaves on Friday which coincidentally was also the night we had reservations for dinner for our anniversary & his birthday.

Oh well, nothing stops us from having a fondue night at home on another night instead. And that doesn't change the fact we've been married for 9 years, or that he's turning 30... all that stuff still is. So we don't get to go to dinner on THAT night, it's okay. Our whole marriage isn't wrapped up into one night & this trip is for work.

We have a lot of priorities we have to get out of the way before we can really start celebrating. We'd celebrate earlier but I REALLY have to study for my accounting final.

I feel a little better about it, I've been carrying my books around EVERYWHERE I go and reading as much as I can. Eventually it'll sink in.

I need a 92% to get an A, 81 for an A-, 71 for a B+, and a 51 for a B.

My best friend and her hubby fly in tomorrow. I'm so excited! I've written out a menu for the week and she actually seems excited to cook at home with me.

Oh, and we switched cable companies to Verizon so now we get the David Ramsey show. Can't say I'm hooked. I haven't read his book but I'm not that into the show. I don't have time for many shows to begin with so I think I'll stick with Suze Orman on Saturday nights.

Other than that, I will be sooo glad after Thursday. I'll be bummed DH is gone but my friend's hubby leaves on the 14th and then it'll be like a big slumber party for her and I till the 18th when DH gets back.

No, not financial checks - weight checks.

My baby went to GI today at the Children's hospital here. She's always been small, born at 5 lb 13 oz then she shot up for awhile but then from 6-9 months she didn't gain anything. She's gained a pound since last month, so now she is around 14 lbs at 10 1/2 months.

Dealing with a failure to thrive issue can be such a touchy subject. On one hand you wonder if the docs think you're a bad parent, on the other there comes a point where you just have to swallow your pride and take whatever judgment they may have to get your child help.

So they drew blood today to test for food allergies & we need to do weekly weight checks with our ped for the next four months & we have a follow up appointment in 6 weeks.

A huge part of me is just exhausted. I want to collapse on the bed and sleep for a long time.

My oldest and I are still going to therapy weekly for her social development. She has a hesitancy that the other kids don't, it had gotten to the point where she was not answering the teachers in class because she was afraid of getting the wrong answer. In October, I had received notes that she was having to retake tests, getting C's, D's, etc.

Since going to the therapist (and really it is helping me know how to parent her better) she is now bringing home A's. We were going to do a Sylvan program but couldn't afford it till we realized our healthcare coverage covers mental health therapy.

I'm glad after next week Thursday, I can relax. I only have my Int'l Accounting final left. I turned in my tax paper & final exam a week early, no sense waiting to turn it in when its been done for awhile.

Next semester has me nervous. School on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights. My oldest and I need to fit in therapy sessions once a week, now the stuff going on with my baby. My 2nd child has to have her eyes checked on the 15th of January.

I have a dry erase board keeping this stuff all straight for me.

Plus the stuff going on with work. But I put together a proposal today and am getting feedback on it so that I can make improvements to it and our processes.

Just a lot of stuff. I'm still positive about it all overall, but very exhausted.

I just want to get my master's degree, for my baby to start gaining weight like she should, for my oldest to continue branching out, and yeah then there are the financial goals too.

I guess the good part though is, as long as I am busy - which I always am - I have no reason to spend money cause I'm either busy, working, or sleeping. None involve spending money. LOL

Just after I wrote the earlier blog, DH's unclaimed property check came via certified mail

How is THAT for timing? I hadn't thought about it for weeks and then yesterday ask about it, check on it today, and shortly after I blog about it - here it is

So I decided to look up the status of DH's unclaimed property from Hawaii today to see if it was still showing as available. It wasn't so I'm presuming it is on its way to us right now.

But something nudged me to check and see if there was anything for myself.

Sure enough there was, it was from our old cable company.

I have to just chuckle about it because although the amount is small, I think about all the other times we've received money this year not related to our paycheck and its amazing. It won't seem amazing if I detail it out, but truth is, it is money we weren't expecting.

In March & April, DH got extra pay for trips he had taken.

In May, I received a check for $1700 for an overpayment of our escrow account

In June, DH received about $700 from a trip

In July, I got money as a gift

In August, Dh got more money from traveling

I don't remember if we received anything in September, but my greatest sense of gratitude there is that we pulled our money out of the market & into secured funds at the end of September. If we had, our money would be worth $12K right now vs the $15-$16K it is right now.

October & November I received the reimbursement for my tuition expenses and we were notified of our unclaimed property
In December, DH is taking another trip.

I don't know, I seem to find money when I don't expect it which is nice. I opened my wallet the other day (I don't do that often because I usually use my debit cards and they are in the front) and realized that I not only had money in the main part but also more tucked behind a pocket.

I haven't spent any of it and don't intend to, but as I said, its just nice to find cash around when you don't expect it.

Anyhow, so off I go now to file another unclaimed property form so I can get that money back.

So I got my student loan check for the Fall semester & just put $5000 towards paying down DH's car.

And, as an Xmas present to myself - I just bought $500 worth of clothes online.

I feel no remorse. I know I desperately needed new clothes. But most times I don't get anything cause DH and the kids need stuff.

I have one pair of sneakers that we bought almost 2 years ago. Yes, it is my only pair of sneakers. I have boots & heels, but I wear the sneakers the most and I've worn a hole through the heel since I wear them almost daily.

Most of my bras I've had since 2006, the underwire has now broken through. Other shirts of mine I've had since 2005 and they've started to get holes through them.

I realized I had finally had it when we walked into Target and my kids all said "Mommy, we need new shoes." Umm... no, we bought them shoes last month.

So I took off my shoe and showed them the inner heel & said "We bought you shoes last month. Look at Mommy's shoe, do you need them THIS badly?"

DH has gotten the hint too that I'm frustrated on how much I need of new clothes. We finally agreed, its time I got new clothes & with being Black Friday I figured it would be a great time.

I bought 3 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of jeans, 3 tops, 8 pairs of underwear, and 3 bras from NY&C, JCPenney, and VictoriasSecret for $500.

Everything was on sale and I got free shipping. I even got a free scarf from Victorias Secret. The jeans from NY&C are normally $50/each but they had a buy one get 75% off sale. I saved at least $300-$400

So I feel good knowing I can finally toss out these old shoes & have jeans that really FIT now because for some reason, over time the length on my jeans shrink even though I'm 5'7" and buy talls - they still rise up to my ankles when I sit down after awhile.

So I am getting more of a student loan than I need. I needed some of a student loan in addition to the subsidized one in order to cover my tuition, but I'm getting some in addition.

Essentially what I'm going to be doing with the extra is paying off DH's car. Then we'll pay off one credit card in February with our tax return and it should still leave some left over to pay down our other credit card & finally pay it off in June/July.

So in a little over 6 months we should owe on only 1 car, the HELOC, and my student loan.

How that affects us monthly is, it reduces our monthly payments by $790/mo. And even when I have to start paying on my student loans in January 2010, the total I'll owe is about $28K with half of it at 1.65% and the other at 6.8%. SO I'm estimating my payments around $300 for the student loan which is my undergrad loans AND graduate loans. I don't figure thats too bad to have a Master's Degree in Accounting and only owe $28K

So right now we pay:
$435/month to DH's car
$225/month to DH's CC
$130/month to my CC
$630/month to my van
$255/month to the HELOC
Then in January 2010 around $300/mo to my student loans

All this should help us in today's economy to be less dependent on my income. My goal is to reduce our monthly expense/increase our monthly income to where we no longer have to rely on my income in case I don't have a job.

In addition to all this, in June we won't have to pay my son's preschool anymore ($375/mo) since he'll be starting kindergarten

Here is the first part of my paper. I hope to finish the section on Partnerships later tonight. I'm actually not as bored writing the paper as I originally thought.
..........................
Legal & Tax Considerations in Establishing a Rental Property

Historically, real estate has been considered a safe investment vehicle yet the recent decline in the housing market has begun to challenge this idea.

Many homeowners in the years of subprime lending and easy credit purchased homes with little to no money down based on the notion that real estate would generate a guaranteed profit.

When the markets began to decline, many of those same homeowners found themselves owing more on their mortgage than the house was worth. Homes that were initially purchased as an investment to “flip” began sitting on the market longer and longer. Some homeowners have been forced to relocate due to job constraints. With the inability to make two housing payments many homeowners have decided to rent out their property to help off-set the cost of the mortgage, even if it means operating at a loss to ride out the market. The idea of renting a vacant home out can be a preferred alternative to a homeowner that may otherwise have to come to the closing table with thousands of dollars, foreclosing, or short-selling.

The aforementioned types of homeowners that have found themselves becoming a landlord are a growing trend of accidental landlords. A survey conducted in 2007 from CompleteLandlord.com found that 20% of landlords did not anticipate renting out their property when it was initially purchased .

Many accidental landlords, however, do not understand the complexity that can be involved in establishing themselves as a business. There are legal and tax considerations to evaluate in establishing a rental such as the type of business entity the property will fall under in addition to tax planning. This paper will discuss these different aspects that a prospective landlord should consider before deciding to get into the residential rental property business.

Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietor is a single individual who is responsible for the ownership of the business. This form of entity is the easiest to set up because taxpayer can simply use his or her social security number as their tax ID number. Therefore, no paperwork is required to set up an organization under sole proprietorship. Due to the ease of establishing a sole proprietorship, this form of entity is also among the fastest growing forms of business entities.
Entities established under sole proprietors are not taxable organization.

Income and deductions for a sole proprietor are filed under Schedule C of the owner’s individual 1040 Form when filing. If a sole proprietor owns multiple businesses, a separate Schedule C is required for each business unit.

Income from sole proprietors is subject to self-employment tax which is levied to cover a self-employed individual’s Social Security and Medicare benefits. In 2007, self-employment tax to cover Social Security was 12.4% of self-employment income up to the $97,500 ceiling amount plus another 2.9% of total self-employment income to cover Medicare . This equates to a total self-employment tax of 15.3% on sole proprietors. To help offset taxes to sole proprietorship entities, self-employed individuals can deduct one half of the self employment tax rate from net earnings .

Another consideration that must be taken into account when establishing a sole proprietorship is estimated tax payments. Quarterly payments are required when a self-employed individual has an estimated annual tax that is $1000 or more . The estimated taxes owed must be paid in four installments throughout the year. If a taxpayer under-estimates his or her tax liability a non-deductible penalty may be applied to the amount of tax that was underpaid.

An individual with one rental property may be particularly attracted to sole proprietorship if he or she does not plan to be a landlord for very long or only wishes to have a few properties at most. Many individuals who became accidental landlords in the current housing crisis don’t intend on continuing to be a landlord once the housing market recovers. Instead, they have chosen to rent out their property as a way to off-set mortgage expenses in a down market .

However, this form of entity also has unlimited liability for the sole proprietor. If an individual wishes to sue the business, the personal assets of the sole proprietor can be included in a judgment if the court finds in favor of the plaintiff. This means that the sole proprietor’s personal home, vehicle, and bank accounts can be seized in the event of a lawsuit.

An accidental landlord who is not well versed in landlord tenancy laws for his or her state can find themselves liable for damages if certain laws are not adhered to. For example, under Virginia Code §55-248.23, a landlord must supply heat, water, hot water, and other essential services to a tenant. If a landlord fails to do and respond to the tenant in a timely manner, the tenant can recover damages in terms of the fair rental value of the dwelling or secure substitute housing. The tenant may also be entitled to attorney’s fees if proceeding under that section of the State of Virginia’s Code where a written notice is supplied .

The costs of litigation for a landlord as a result of not being well-versed in state and federal laws regarding residential rental units can be more expensive than an individual realizes. Therefore, an individual interested in establishing a rental property under sole proprietorship must carefully consider his or her risk tolerance and insurance policies when considering this form of entity because of the unlimited liability that accompanies it.

Rental properties can be extremely risky for accidental landlords that do not have the capital necessary to withstand repairs to the property and natural disasters. An accidental landlord can find themselves in a dangerous financial situation not only professionally but also personally if they are not adequately insured and protected with enough equity to cover the rental unit’s operations.

That is the topic I have chosen to write my tax paper on.

My only problem is, aside from referencing the U.S. code and tax law - what other sources should I use (other than my text)?

This is my first tax/legal paper that I've ever had to write and its supposed to cover a topic of interest to business entities or those interested in entering into a business.

I tend to do better writing about what is near and dear to my heart. So, since I have a rental property - I've decided to write about that.

I figure I could cover the different types of ownerships and their advantages & disadvantages regarding liabilities and taxation. Then go into the different tax classifications to consider.

This needs to be 18-20 pages, so I'm hoping to find 18-20 things to discuss and do around a page on each topic.

I don't know though.

I'm in the final stretch of the semester. I got a 98 on my Midterm so I need to do the paper in order to KEEP my 'A', if I don't do it I get a 'B'.

I'm struggling in my International Accounting class... there is something so foreign about derivatives and hedging to me. But I'm studying and have a little less than a month before the final, so hopefully I'll ace it.

I have 3 weeks to do 2 finals (one take home final) and a 20 page paper.

Next semester I have to take 3 classes. I'm not excited about it, but I'd rather endure 3 1/2 months of being a bookworm than the alternative if I don't have my master's degree and DH has to move before I'm done.

After the May things should get much more relaxed. I only have to take 1 more class during the summer and 2 in the Fall and this time next year I'll be getting ready to graduate with my M.S. in Accounting.

I'm doing the budget for December and for our living expenses, we should be in the black that month.

BUT with Christmas, my friend's coming to visit, DH's birthday, our 9th anniversary - you can see it'll be easy to find opportunities to spend.

The silver lining is - DH is taking a trip to Tampa for a convention so he should make a couple hundred dollars from that so we can get some Xmas presents for the kids (but it will be last minute since he won't get back till the 18th and then it takes a couple days to get the money).

We're also still waiting on the tax refund from Hawaii $243

After this month's deficit, we have $900 in our savings account. I shouldn't HAVE to touch that money in December but I also have my tuition due in Dec/Jan so that is about $1000 I'll either need to take out another student loan to cover it or put it on my 0% card.

I'm not sure what to really think of the economy right now. Jim Cramer said that he can see the Dow going down to 6000 if GM fails and while I'm not heavily invested ($6K is in the market/$13K is in Government backed funds) the economy is affecting my job and if my job goes away... everything else would crumble.

But I guess its not all doom and gloom. Just because my job goes away doesn't mean I can't get another. It would be tight, I might not be able to finish my master's degree, and we'd have to start paying childcare... but I am sure if I think about it, there are opportunities. I can always work at DFAS as an accountant or do work auditing.

Hopefully all works out though.

But for things I haven't included in the budget yet are:

1) A dress for my daughter's Christmas performance
2) Double date night with my friend and her hubby
3) Drive on the boardwalk (Cheapest thing so far $7 per car)
4) Christmas... which I'm not sure how we're going to do... we're writing out the list for shopping and we're going to have to lower our expectations or something cause the list is upwards of $1000 because the kids want video games and we don't have the consoles for the ones they want.

Maybe I could check out Craigslist or something. My oldest wants a Nintendo DS, but I think she'll have to suffice for Leapster games since she already has a Leapster. My son, well we're getting him a new bedding set and maybe a SmartCycle game since he already the bike. Not sure what to do for my middle daughter. Maybe get more Vsmile games for her.

I rush and rush till life's no fun...

I think that song must reflect my life, or at least DH's effect on it

The course schedule for Spring 2009 came out and there are four classes being offered (they only offer the courses once a year). So in order for me to graduate by December '09, I need to take 3 courses in the Spring, 1 in the summer, and 2 in the Fall. Plus work full-time, hubby in the Navy, four kids, you know - life

It would be easier on me if I could graduate in May 2010. Then I wouldn't be in a rush, but DH REALLY wants to leave here. He hates this state and is always wanting to go back to the West Coast.

His orders are up here in January 2010 so I'm trying to explain to him that if he can extend at his command till June it would help out a TON! Its also better for us financially the longer we stay here because of both houses.

Anyhow, I hope it all works out. I don't really want to take 3 graduate courses - I feel swamped with just 2 right now and keeping up with life. But I'm not going to leave here without my master's degree.. Not when I'm one semester away.

Sooo if he won't wait for us and I can't graduate by then - well, I guess we'll have to live apart for 5 months while he stays in the barracks or something.

I am nervous about next year. Our tenant's lease is up so I don't know what to do with the rental in regards to the housing market. I plan to put it up for rent or sale and see what happens. And then if we leave here, we'd have to rent this place out cause otherwise we'd have to come up with $50K to sell it. I'm more open to selling the other house and renting out this one because at least if we ever get re-stationed here we can always come back here to live. We'll likely never live in the other house again.

*sigh* Busy busy busy

I hope when I'm in my 30s life slows down. But I'm thinking it may not since by that time I'll have 3 teenagers LOL

One of my best friends recently lost her job and they are currenty facing a deficit. My company is doing pay cuts with some managers taking up to a 34% reduction in pay.

It seems like this news is happening all around. You hear on the news how times are tough and you think it won't be you, and then one day it is.

I woke up this morning and just felt a heaviness on me. That overwhelming sense of fear, anxiety, and the unknown.

In the past, whenever bad things would happen to me I'd ask myself "Who did I piss off?" and think of karma

And as I was getting my kids' cereal this morning, I realized the answer was - MYSELF

No matter what happens in the economy, people have an amazing tenacity to survive because they never give up hope.

My boss asked me if I had any questions regarding the economy and what the company was doing. I just said "No"

I think that puzzled him. Shouldn't everyone be scared right now?

So I elaborated and told him "I know that not even the experts know the answers, so we're just all in this together and all I would want to know is how I can help and what I can do."

I didn't think it would be worthwhile to ask him what is going to happen to the economy or the company or my job. I know I'm a good worker, I work for a great company, the rest is out of my hands.

Its like that saying "God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change and the courage to change the things that I can"

So I turned off the news. I know whats going to be there... my goal now is to continue to find more innovative and creative ways to adapt to the changes in the world. So long as I focus on that, I'll find a way - cause I have hope.

Its when we give up on things and say there are no doors left to open that there is no more hope. But as long as we keep pressing on, no matter what lies ahead or however insurmountable this obstacle we face may be... as long as we have hope, we can find a way.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and I think half of that is because many times we are so caught up with other things on our mind to really see the opportunities at hand are really right in front of us.

I don't know how we'll make it through ourselves, but I'm confident that if I focus on it - I'll find a way.

We just had both cars inspected for their annual safety inspection

It cost us nothing because we went to the dealerships we bought them from

I can't tell you how much of a relief that is especially during an already financially tight month