Really? REALLY?

Around these parts, when it rains it POURS. I'm sure that you're sick to death of hearing me whine about all the super fun vet bills I've been paying for. So, instead of complaining about my dogs I have something new to complain about: my car!

I know that it's not really a new complaint, but last week it decided that it had started for the last time. Well - the last time until I took it to the shop to get it fixed.

According to my dad my car was a textbook case of "dead starter". Which in wallet-speak translates into "an easy $400 bill that you will have to pay. BWA HA HA!". OK, maybe not that last part, but that's sure what it sounded like to me in my head.

Good thing I have an E-Fund that is large enough to help me pay for this bill without incurring any more debt (except that I put it on my credit card for now - I'm going to get some points and make a massive payment from my next paycheck). If you don't have an E-Fund set up yet - DO IT NOW. I cannot tell you the happiness that it has created in my life. When I run out of food and money at the same time? My E-Fund is there for me, holding my hand, telling me that it's all going to be OK.

My BFF Hilda and I worked out a budget together the other day, and while I agreed to cut my car fund savings per month (it was a fairly unreasonable amount anyway) I put my foot down and told her that there was no way I was going to stop putting $200 a month into the general E-Fund and $100 a month into the Dog E-Fund. She was not only impressed that I had an E-Fund, she was also completely impressed that I had set up a fund just for the dogs. But, really, can you blame me? I don't know that I can handle another month like March (it was really expensive, dude!) without any help. Probably I would cry and be forced to move back home with my parents where I would probably cry some more.

But, back to my car. The $400 made my heart skip a beat, until I realized that with a new starter:

1. My car will start up every time I decide that it should. Yay!
2. I can put off buying a new car. Yay!
3. This still might be something I can own:
   

Yay!

It's Raining Dogs and Vet Bills

Boy, around here lately it seems like if it rains, it pours. For me, this means:

1. A never ending line of vet bills that are no less than $100 each (one of which is up around $700)
2. A car that has, officially and for real this time, entered the last stages of its life.

1. The never ending vet bills
You may have read my last post about how dogs are wonderful but can be a little pricey. Well, as Taryn said, "I think pain killers for animals is ok- it just depends on how long they have left to give, and other stuff like that."* and it made me realize that Bing has a lot left to give (he is only about five years old) and that if the pain killers make him act like a normal dog, then that's what he is going to get.

However, this past weekend while I was in Illinois with Armini and my brother** was watching the dogs, Tim got into Bing's meds and ate what was left in the bottle (around 20 days worth of pain medication). SO, to add to the fact that I have come to terms with the fact that I will be purchasing pain killers forever, and the $500 vet bill that still isn't completely paid off (but will be on the 13th!) ... I have Tim's vet bill from the E-Vet ($700)*** and the bill for HIS medications ($128) for his kidneys and his stomach (to make sure he doesn't get an ulcer) plus any bills that I will have to pay when he goes back to the vet in a week to get his kidney function tested.****

* That's right readers! Comment, and I will quote you, give you some link love and add you to my Google reader. (Taryn, I checked out your blog, it's awesome. I will be back)
** Who will forever now be known as That Punk Kid.
*** I don't have to pay for all of this bill though. Only 1/3rd (parents are taking care of a third and That Punk Kid is taking care of the rest), but I do have to pay for any treatments that he is going to need for follow up care, and heaven forbid, any long term treatments he could need.
**** Cue head explosion.

(PS - I haven't ever done the foot note thing before and I apologize for having so many. I got carried away. Please don't stop reading)

2. The car that has officially entered its final stretch
That's right people. The car = done-zo.

For the last month or so it has been a little dodgy on the whole 'starting every time you put the key in the ignition' thing. Sometimes the engine would catch and then die right away. Sometimes it would have to turn over a few times (or 20 or 30 times) before the engine would catch. It would start eventually though, so really I just tried to keep my eye on the prize and stick to my savings plan.

But this morning I had to get to the airport to catch a flight for a business trip (don't fear reader, Armini is taking care of Tim and Bing, not That Punk Kid) and the car would not start. I tried it like 6 times. I gave it some gas. The engine would turn over but not catch. So Armini and I took his truck (thank the Lord he has a car of his own that turns on consistently) and when I called my dad to let him know about the car trouble his response was "Maybe it's time to start looking for another car". My thoughts exactly.

3. The hitch in my giddy-up
I took $1,000 out of my car fund not too long ago to pay off a huge chunk of my credit card which means that I only have $300 in my car fund right now. I haven't been able to save more than $50 from my last few paychecks due to the vet bills that I have had to pay off. As a result of some really bad behavior, the chunk of credit card bill that I paid off is back again, mostly because I don't have any other way to pay for stuff (also, I was being very bad - which will get its own post because it needs to be examined).

So the long and the short of this is: I have some large bills to pay. I might have a car payment a lot sooner than I thought I would. I am not making enough money to take care of all of these things.

Also, I have my heart set on a car that is probably not one that I will be able to afford:

Behold, the Mini Cooper. Car of my dreams.

ACK. I plan on applying for a loan in the next few weeks, as well as developing a plan for some really aggressive savings plan/budget. At this point I am 99% sure that the plan will be something like this:

• Pay bills.
• Save the rest.
• (have no life until I get the super cool car)
• (continue to have no life until super cool car is paid off)

It is going to be awesome.

I'm Not Dead

I know that this blog has fallen into neglect but nothing much has really been happening on the financial front for me in the last few weeks. I've been living at home (despite all my efforts to get out) and saving and paying down my debts like crazy. I have been doing really well with all my money that I even had the ability to buy a plane ticket to New Orleans to visit a high school friend who is there for the summer, and still make my savings goal. Granted, I had a huge graduation gift to help out with it, but I would have been able to do it even if I hadn't received it.

Now, you may have noticed a new little thing on the blog - my money tracker. I made it myself in paint because I couldn't find any blog tools that would give me the HTML to make a spiffy one. I apologize for the smallness, I will try to make it bigger.

If you've been reading this blog at all you know that I have actually paid off some of my debt that is not accounted for in the 'total debt' part of my tracker jiggy. Instead of going back and figuring out exactly how much I owed since the start of the year, I thought that I would just start from today. This is reflected in my savings account totals also. So, as I continue to pay down debt (credit cards and money that I owe my parents) I will update my tracker and you can cheer for me.

Even though I gave myself a year to get all those paid off, I would like to think that it will take me much less time so that all that moo-lah can go into a bank account instead of into someone else's pocket.

Car Update:
While I am waiting to save up some for a car, it's looking like the purchase will be made around the end of the year. Today my driver's window went on strike and is refusing to open. I would love to meet its demands but so far none have been made. Stay tuned for updates.

The car breakdown (hehe, I'm punny)

Well, here's the skinny on my vehicular situation. I have decided to drive the thing for 1-2 more years or until it hits 200,000 miles. Which is only 40,000 miles away. Here's how I am planning to skimp and save to get the money saved up to pay for most (if not all) of my new wheels.

1. I opened a high interest savings account with HSBC Direct. I'm currently getting 3.5% APY.
• When I learn how to do math I will let you know how much I should expect to earn from said account during the year.
  
2. I am planning, starting with my next paycheck, to put $200-300 in this account as a pretend car payment.
• I say $200-300 because that's what I'm hoping would be my car payment if I got a car today and I don't know how much I will be able to put away right now. There is more math that needs to be done.

I still have to sit down and work out a budget. I've been trying, but since I'm living with my parents several notable parts of my current budget disappear. Like: rent, utilities, and my grocery bill. It's making budgeting a little too easy and because of that I feel like I need to be wary. Is there something that I haven't considered? I also may be moving out of my parent's place in the near future (one can only hope) and that may change things too. So, my new monthly budget will be coming soon. Stay tuned!

Conservation - a necessity not a need

Well, Ashley-Michelle had a psychic moment the other day when she posted about conservation being a good way to go with this blog. I may may start doing quite a bit of it in the coming months.

My car, a '96 Ford, has broken down one too many times and I am now seriously considering replacing it. We did find out that the reason it didn't start last night was because due to corrosion around the battery wires, which has been fixed, but it's been in and out of the shop pretty much every other week for the last couple of months.

So with that said, I will be embarking on one of two possible paths with my money. And they are as follows:

1. Take the plunge and replace my car with a used one
2. Deal with a crappy car for two more years or so while I do some serious saving for car payments (there is no way that this car will last long enough for me to save enough to pay for a new car in cash)

I will let you know what I decide to do in the next few days. My mom and I are heading over to Car Max to ask questions and look at some cars that I might be interested in purchasing. I just have to decide how much more I am willing to put up with from my Ford.

I will also be posting with an updated budget based on whatever path I go down. There are obviously some changes that will need to happen. Any input or ideas would be appreciated. But please, lets keep the brand bashing to a minimum.