Now You See Her, Now You Don't

Did I disappear into a snowdrift? Well, that’s one possibility. We’ve had a lot more snow, at least a couple of inches, and the city hasn’t quite come to a standstill yet but I’m waiting for the weekend when we’re supposed to get even more.

Really, I’ve just been kind of overwhelmed. I’m chronically sleep-deprived, very busy at work, spending most of my recent days driving in bad weather pretty much all day long (what with school, work, dental appointments, etc.) and I’ve been prioritizing sleeping over posting.

I haven’t totally forgotten about my finances over the past few days though.

I paid $114 on my MasterCard this past month and was charged $95.75 in interest, for a net drop in indebtedness of a whopping $18.25! At this rate, it would take about 27 years to pay off the whole card if I never charged anything more. In point of fact, I’m already charging about $415 for my fuel oil delivery but I paid down $415 the other day to allow for doing that, plus added a $13.19 snowflake (a couple of tiny cheques that finally caught up with me).

I had originally intended to pay $66 on December 10th. That was both payday and the due date of my bill. However, the financial situation was such that I wasn’t able to do that and the $114 payment I’d made late in November was the only one. Now I have until January 10th to make a payment but, once again, there is no minimum payment listed. I’ve already figured that I should be paying at least $180 per month. I get paid on both the 24th and January 7th so there are 2 pay periods where I could make a payment. I’d like to try to pay $90 each payday. I think that’s a little easier than trying to do the whole thing all at once. (And do you think I could pop the words, pay, payday or payment in there a few more times? I’d normally stop and edit but I want to go to bed instead.)

Anyway, I’ve taken care of the bounced cheque, paid some of the money back to my daughter (even though she said I didn’t have to do so this quickly) and arranged to pay the fuel bill. I also talked to the sales rep about the lavender plants (although I can’t claim credit there – he called me). Oh yes, and I finally did a load of laundry. No, that’s not financial, just one of those necessary details so life runs more smoothly.

I’m a little panicked that Hanukkah begins on Sunday. I still have a couple of gifts to buy and I’m responsible for both a roast chicken and latkes for our family party next Wednesday. We need to look for the holiday box (a Rubbermaid tub) on Sunday so we’ll have hanukkiot (Hanukkah menorahs) to light that afternoon! And I guess I should buy some candles. But right now it's time for bed.