No, I still don’t have any official numbers on where we are with our debt payoff. I completely missed my mid-month update, which was a combination of time getting away from me and honestly, not having much to report. As things stand right now, we are hovering around a $700ish decrease for the month. Certainly not great, but with having to use our sinking funds for our driveway and also taking an impromptu mini-anniversary trip, we are still playing catch-up. I plan to have more solid numbers posted at some point this coming weekend. Looking at some upcoming expenses and wage changes, I’m also feeling the need to do some budget tweaking.
As for wage changes, I’ll be losing a few hours a week at my office job. My previous position was more or less as a girl-Friday. Now that I’m in the office Monday-Friday, we needed an additional person to handle some of the things I used to do. I’m also now handling some tasks from another department, so there was a need for some restructuring. In spite of all of this, the bottom line is that I am still working more hours than I did before taking over for my elderly co-worker.
My Saturday baby-case job may also be changing. The kiddo has made remarkable strides and the daycare provider the family uses for their three-year-old feels she can now take on both children. The baby is still tube-fed and has several meds, but these are things their sitter can learn. Paying to have a nurse for the baby and then someone else for their other kiddo has been understandably costly. What I don’t know yet is whether or not they will want to keep me on for Saturdays as that is the day the father would have both kids while his wife works. Not that he can’t handle it, but I think he enjoys the one-on-one time with the older child. If they decided to keep me on for the Saturdays, I would want to offer the other nurse (the one who got me the job) some of those hours as she will be losing her weekday hours. I should know more in the coming weeks.
Last night I scrutinized our flexible spending account (FSA). I submitted receipts for a blood pressure cuff Hubs had purchased and two meds he paid for out-of-pocket. Not a lot, but about $40 should be coming back to us. Our available balance stands at $800, but we are still waiting on the bill for Hub’s doctor appointment. I also have an upcoming visit which will be more expensive as I am due to have labs drawn. With FSA’s being a use-it-or-lose-it account, I like to stay on top of where we stand. Given that we have until March 15, 2019 to use it, we are looking okay. Aside from the estimated $500+ tax savings, the FSA has made paying for medical expenses a lot easier this past year.
Fall is in the air and with that, comes heating costs. Our temps have been in the 40s during the night. With the rainy, damp weather, I admit to turning our furnace on to take the chill out of the house. It won’t be long before I am firing up the wood stove as that is cheaper than using the furnace.
It sounds like you are on top of things. (As usual!) I’m happy for the family with baby. I’m sure it’s been a very stressful time of life for them, but things are looking up now that the baby is getting stronger.
I’m trying! I’m eager to sit down a take a good long look at our budget and upcoming expenses. I’ve really enjoyed watching the progress the baby has made. It was certainly rough for them as a family but thankfully, things are now getting easier.
Good for you for keeping track of your FSA funds. I had one for two years and lost money BOTH years because I didn’t stay on top of my available balances (they just went away at the end of the year…. argh).
Happy news re: the baby! 🙂
Slow month for us, too. We’ll hopefully see more progress next month?
Ouch. Losing money is never good. I figured if we had an overage, one of us would get new glasses just to spend it down.
I hope September is better for all of us! These slow months hurt. 🙁
That’s great the baby is doing better, but too bad you’ll lose hours. It’s starting to get chilly here overnight, but haven’t needed heat yet. I’m a bit nervous to see how our propane heaters in the shop will work, after dealing with the water heater the past 2 weeks! Made by same company. We have tested it and it works, but will it always turn on, like our water heater has not been……
I have some news about the baby job that I’ll include in my update. I hope you don’t have any issues with your heat, especially with the weather getting cooler.
Wonderful news about the baby. Yes, FSA can be a tricky thing. I can relate to the budget tweaking. Not that mine needs it much, but I know that I have some upcoming changes so it will be tricky.
I’m happy for them. I’m sure this will save them some money.
The best thing is that you are making progress. A year from now the amount will be insignificant. You are really beating down that debt. I’m glad the baby is doing better!
You are so right! No matter what the amount, we are making progress and that is something to focus on!