What Goes Around Comes Around
Last month, I got a notice that our mortgage payment was going up because our property taxes last year were higher than expected. Well, when we got home from our vacation, sitting in our mailbox was a check from the county auditor for several hundred dollars in property tax refunds. Apparently our state passed a property tax relief act in December and refunded a portion of the taxes we paid this year.
That isn’t going to affect our new higher mortgage payment for the coming year, but it does give us ammunition for a snowflake to the credit card. I also received some significant Christmas money from relatives I wasn’t expecting, and my parents always put some scratch-off lottery tickets in our stockings for fun. This year I won $25 and my spouse won $5. So that is going to the credit card as well. All in all, I’ve gathered up about $1000 in the past week through the magic of Christmas and the property tax refund check (as well as a few survey checks waiting for me when we got back), and before the end of 2007, I will make a payment to my credit card to knock the balance to somewhere in the $200 range.
Just have to wait until my spouse gets home and then off to the bank with my checks I go. He has my car with the carseats because it needed new taillights today, so I can’t go out with the kids until he gets home. Nice to find out your taillights aren’t working on mile 780 of a 800 mile trip by the local law enforcement… I’ll save that story for the trip wrapup post I am working on. Luckily the hazard lights worked and we got home safe and sound. And now my car is fixed.
It is tempting to pay the entire credit card off today and be done with credit card debt in 2007, but that would probably put us in a huge bind for the next few weeks unless I pulled it out the emergency fund. I can wait. I don’t want to wait, but I can. Patience is a virtue, after all. I’ll have the new total tomorrow in a abbreviated Tell All Tuesday post as well as on my current numbers page when I make the deposit and then tally up and make the payment.
My credit card debt is an endangered species.
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December 31st, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Yay for property tax refunds!! That’s awesome that you are almost credit card debt free!! That must be a great feeling!! Congratulations!!
December 31st, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I can imagine it’d be tempting to pay it all off now, but in the long run waiting is probably better - so good for you for being patient!
December 31st, 2007 at 4:40 pm
“My credit card debt is an endangered species”
Darn right! Here’s to wiping it out this year!
December 31st, 2007 at 6:38 pm
The deed is done. Only $175.17 left to go on the credit card debt.
it is very tempting to just smack it down right this second… but the car isn’t actually completely fixed (argh) and the trip…. well… complete budgeting failure as I said so… well, it is best to wait. prudent. Something I need to learn anyway. lol
December 31st, 2007 at 7:23 pm
I didn’t realise you were so close to being free from credit card debt. Hooray, I’m really excited for you. I know that you can do this within the next few weeks. It’s not about doing it as quickly as possible, it’s about doing it sustainably.
January 1st, 2008 at 12:49 am
“My credit card debt is an endangered species.”
That is the best feeling in the world - soon it will be extinct! Congrats…:-)