Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Quick Update
Sorry I haven't been around much lately. Seems as if one thing just keeps leading to another. My youngest sister (only 39) has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. We are now waiting for the biopsy results. Please forgive me if I am absent for a bit, this is extremely hard for me to deal with. She is more like my daughter than a sister and I am feeling so helpless right now.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Economics Lesson
After I read what I posted yesterday about our financial situation I realized that some may have gotten the wrong impression so I will attempt to clarify.
The repairs to the Lexus I paid for with money that my folks had given to us at Christmas time as an advance on my inheritance. Not sure why they felt that it was necessary but was glad for the assistance at a time when it was needed.
Puppy surgery went on the credit card till we can get the bike sold. So even if I have to make a few payments it will be covered shortly.
The $50,000 lost on the real estate development was my pension money from my government service so basically what I never had I can't miss. I probably will once I decide to retire but for the moment I am just chalking it up to a bad investment.
Now for the new vehicle portion. This one gets a little complicated but I will try. My 2007 Lexus was totally paid for so the trade in value was all towards the new vehicle. New price minus trade in was a little over $11000 financed over 66 months at $190/month = $12540. By doing this and getting bumper to bumper warranty for 8 years I get rid of the headache of worrying about how many more repairs I have to put on the Lexus.
Sometimes things don't make a whole lot of sense when you read or just think about them but when you do the math it works. The Lexus is very expensive to maintain and uses premium gas. The new one gets free services, uses regular gas and I get .30 cents a litre off my gas till 2013. The amount I will save in gas alone each month will most likely make the payments for the next year. Also, the mileage per litre of gas will most likely double as the new vehicle is only half the weight of the Lexus.
Believe me I will have to do a little more budget crunching and pray that we don't have any more major expenses but I am up for the challenge and if need be I can get a second job. I just cannot afford to keep the Lexus and worry each day what may or may not go wrong with it. Luxury vehicles are nice but once the warranty is off of them they become a big liability. We bought the Lexus in 2007 at a really good price and I got almost what I paid for it on trade in value. If I wait another year to trade it in then I run the risk of doing more repairs and will lose on the trade in value as once they hit 5 years old they go down hill fast.
Some may not agree that I did the right thing but when I sat down and discussed it with hubby and son it was the best alternative at this time.
In the meantime we plod along and pray that Canada Pension approves hubby's disability application and that the lawyer can get a good settlement from the insurance company.
I pray you all have a fantastic day tomorrow and a wonderful weekend (don't tell anyone but they are forcasting snow for us this weekend).
The repairs to the Lexus I paid for with money that my folks had given to us at Christmas time as an advance on my inheritance. Not sure why they felt that it was necessary but was glad for the assistance at a time when it was needed.
Puppy surgery went on the credit card till we can get the bike sold. So even if I have to make a few payments it will be covered shortly.
The $50,000 lost on the real estate development was my pension money from my government service so basically what I never had I can't miss. I probably will once I decide to retire but for the moment I am just chalking it up to a bad investment.
Now for the new vehicle portion. This one gets a little complicated but I will try. My 2007 Lexus was totally paid for so the trade in value was all towards the new vehicle. New price minus trade in was a little over $11000 financed over 66 months at $190/month = $12540. By doing this and getting bumper to bumper warranty for 8 years I get rid of the headache of worrying about how many more repairs I have to put on the Lexus.
Sometimes things don't make a whole lot of sense when you read or just think about them but when you do the math it works. The Lexus is very expensive to maintain and uses premium gas. The new one gets free services, uses regular gas and I get .30 cents a litre off my gas till 2013. The amount I will save in gas alone each month will most likely make the payments for the next year. Also, the mileage per litre of gas will most likely double as the new vehicle is only half the weight of the Lexus.
Believe me I will have to do a little more budget crunching and pray that we don't have any more major expenses but I am up for the challenge and if need be I can get a second job. I just cannot afford to keep the Lexus and worry each day what may or may not go wrong with it. Luxury vehicles are nice but once the warranty is off of them they become a big liability. We bought the Lexus in 2007 at a really good price and I got almost what I paid for it on trade in value. If I wait another year to trade it in then I run the risk of doing more repairs and will lose on the trade in value as once they hit 5 years old they go down hill fast.
Some may not agree that I did the right thing but when I sat down and discussed it with hubby and son it was the best alternative at this time.
In the meantime we plod along and pray that Canada Pension approves hubby's disability application and that the lawyer can get a good settlement from the insurance company.
I pray you all have a fantastic day tomorrow and a wonderful weekend (don't tell anyone but they are forcasting snow for us this weekend).
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Where have I been???
Wow, I looked at the date of my last post and realized it's been over a month since I was here. So many things have happened in that month I don't know where to begin.
I am certain that God is testing my strength and understanding cuz I keep threatening to give up and he just keeps throwing more stuff my way.
The water pump went in my SUV and when I took it to the shop they told me it would be $2500+ to fix it. And as you know with hubby being sick and not getting any disability payments that just about crushed me right there. I left it at the shop and came home to figure out how in heaven's name I was going to come up with that kind of money to fix it. I finally decided that I would start taking public transportation back and forth to work and let the SUV sit as there was no way I could afford to fix it.
Of course my wonderful hubby and son have clearer heads that prevail and told me to call the dealer and get a quote from them. So reluctantly I called and just about had a coronary when they told me $692. I had to ask it he wasn't missing a 2 in from of that. He laughed and said no but could put one there if it would make me feel better.
So we had it towed to the dealership (thank goodness for AMA) and even though it was a little more than expected we still managed.
Right after that our youngest pug got sick. Now for all of you that have pets I know you will understand that they are like a family member and actually have a calming effect for those of us that have a tendancy to be high strung.
It appears that she was predisposed from birth with bladder stones. One day she was outside and we noticed blood in her urine. So we watched her till the next morning and as it continued we took her to the vet. She was scheduled for emergency surgery the following day. Another $1200 that was not to be found. So we put it on the credit card and hope and pray that hubby can sell a bike he has sitting in the garage as he can't ride anymore. In the meantime I'll make payments on it.
She was too young to put down and there is no way to explain how you fight to keep them with you no matter what.
A week ago we lost my ex-mother in law. This woman was like a mother to me and no matter how many times my ex married she refused to acknowledge any of them as her daughter in law. Today we laid her to rest. My heart hurt for my sons and my grandsons as she was a wonderful lady and will be always missed and forever loved.
And to end this day hubby just returned from a land investment meeting that we had sunk $50,000 into 5 years ago only to have them tell us that they have lost the investment and we won't be getting it back. Never rains but it pours.
If my faith was not strong I could very easily blame God for all of this but He never promised to make life easy for us just that He would be there for us to lean on.
One good thing that is about to happen is that I am picking up my new crossover on Friday. After the water pump went in the other one we decided that we should probably trade it off while there was still good value in it and get something that had warranty on it. So my son and I went shopping yesterday and I must say he certainly knows how to wheel and deal with these guys. I got a 2012 Hyundai Tuscon with bumper to bumper warranty for 8 years and $0.30/litre fuel discount till 2013 for $190/month. It meant giving up my Lexus that I truly loved but it is the smartest plan of all. That I can afford, even if it means tightening our belts a little bit and doing without. I already have the first 3 months payments from doing income tax returns for folks.
So that is my month in a nutshell. I am sure there is lots more that I should have written about but can't remember it right now so it obviously was not earth shattering. Take care everyone and have a wonderful day tomorrow!!
I am certain that God is testing my strength and understanding cuz I keep threatening to give up and he just keeps throwing more stuff my way.
The water pump went in my SUV and when I took it to the shop they told me it would be $2500+ to fix it. And as you know with hubby being sick and not getting any disability payments that just about crushed me right there. I left it at the shop and came home to figure out how in heaven's name I was going to come up with that kind of money to fix it. I finally decided that I would start taking public transportation back and forth to work and let the SUV sit as there was no way I could afford to fix it.
Of course my wonderful hubby and son have clearer heads that prevail and told me to call the dealer and get a quote from them. So reluctantly I called and just about had a coronary when they told me $692. I had to ask it he wasn't missing a 2 in from of that. He laughed and said no but could put one there if it would make me feel better.
So we had it towed to the dealership (thank goodness for AMA) and even though it was a little more than expected we still managed.
Right after that our youngest pug got sick. Now for all of you that have pets I know you will understand that they are like a family member and actually have a calming effect for those of us that have a tendancy to be high strung.
It appears that she was predisposed from birth with bladder stones. One day she was outside and we noticed blood in her urine. So we watched her till the next morning and as it continued we took her to the vet. She was scheduled for emergency surgery the following day. Another $1200 that was not to be found. So we put it on the credit card and hope and pray that hubby can sell a bike he has sitting in the garage as he can't ride anymore. In the meantime I'll make payments on it.
She was too young to put down and there is no way to explain how you fight to keep them with you no matter what.
A week ago we lost my ex-mother in law. This woman was like a mother to me and no matter how many times my ex married she refused to acknowledge any of them as her daughter in law. Today we laid her to rest. My heart hurt for my sons and my grandsons as she was a wonderful lady and will be always missed and forever loved.
And to end this day hubby just returned from a land investment meeting that we had sunk $50,000 into 5 years ago only to have them tell us that they have lost the investment and we won't be getting it back. Never rains but it pours.
If my faith was not strong I could very easily blame God for all of this but He never promised to make life easy for us just that He would be there for us to lean on.
One good thing that is about to happen is that I am picking up my new crossover on Friday. After the water pump went in the other one we decided that we should probably trade it off while there was still good value in it and get something that had warranty on it. So my son and I went shopping yesterday and I must say he certainly knows how to wheel and deal with these guys. I got a 2012 Hyundai Tuscon with bumper to bumper warranty for 8 years and $0.30/litre fuel discount till 2013 for $190/month. It meant giving up my Lexus that I truly loved but it is the smartest plan of all. That I can afford, even if it means tightening our belts a little bit and doing without. I already have the first 3 months payments from doing income tax returns for folks.
So that is my month in a nutshell. I am sure there is lots more that I should have written about but can't remember it right now so it obviously was not earth shattering. Take care everyone and have a wonderful day tomorrow!!
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