Layout:
Home > Archive: May, 2015

Archive for May, 2015

Debt Payments + Getting Financially Organized

May 27th, 2015 at 01:50 pm

My last post was about how crazy it was that it was May already... heh. As you can see, I haven't been writing much this month. Things have been busy (which is good), and now I'm getting more organized.

I got a few checks from clients, so I've sat down and started allocating money. I transferred another $1,000 to A to continue paying him what I owe for taxes. I also made payments on both of my credit cards and student loans. The one company put me in forebearance when my military payments started processing, which is awesome. That's $90 every month I can put toward my higher interest loans.

I also saw that a little over $4k was paid by the government to one of my loan providers. Hopefully there'll be even more coming, but it's exciting to actually see these things being processed! And that's $4k I don't have to worry about paying.

***

I need to make my Q1 estimated tax payment - which will be about $1,600. I'm meeting with an accountant today, so I'm going to hold off until after I talk to her. I'm also heading to the BMV today to get my license and tags renewed - because my birthday is on Friday!

That being said, the weekend is going to be a busy one. Friday we're going out to celebrate. Thankfully, we don't have much in the way of plans on Saturday (rest!), but Sunday I've got a shoot, a client meeting, and I'm helping my future sister in law move... so it'll be tiring. It's good to stay busy, though!

***

I am quite excited to meet with this accountant. I know I'm doing things a bit haphazardly right now. I want to make sure everything is legit and organized well so if - god forbid - I get audited that I'm in a good place to take care of that. I also know that once I get married and combine incomes with A that things need to be separate and well organized.

All that said, it's time to start working! Hope you all had a great month, and have an even better one come June Smile

May is here already!

May 6th, 2015 at 01:50 pm

I seriously can't believe how quickly this year is going by. But I'm happy to be done with April - a busy and rather crazy month gone by. But then again, my busy season for work is starting...

Can't a girl get a break? Wink

These last couple of weeks have been particularly crazy. Several shoots, two weddings, and I assisted a friend with school portraits for two days. Things are still in overdrive, but this weekend I'll have a bit of time to decompress. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to it!

***

In good news, I'm starting to hear from my lenders about my military school loan repayment. Nothing has posted quite yet, but this is the first time the process has come this far, so it's rather exciting. Also, my one lender put my loans in forebearance as a courtesy - which is great, because I can use that money to put toward my higher interest loans.

***

Wedding planning has pretty much been at a standstill for the last 2 months, but we really need to get that on track. We're 4 months and 12 days away (according to my countdown app) and still need to take care of some big things, including:

- Collecting addresses
- Sending out save the dates
- Designing and printing invites
- Finding officiant
- Finding DJ
- Locking down a block of hotel rooms

There are several other things to be done as well, these are just our more immediate concerns. We've been really relaxed through this process, but I know I'm going to get more stressed the closer the time gets, and I should be getting as much done before I'm knee deep in everyone else's weddings.

***

My last bit of news is about A's work situation. He's been rather miserable at his current job, and had let his boss know that he's looking and planned to be elsewhere by June. He's been speaking with his previous boss about heading back to his old job. They wanted a 2 year commitment from him, and discussed the possibility of him working remotely the second year, as we're planning to move.

Yesterday he told me that not only had they formally offered the position to him, but he'll be paid the same (we were expecting a drop in his salary). His current employer is also working on getting someone in right away, so he might be making the change even earlier than expected - which would make him incredibly happy. It's been heartbreaking seeing him so stressed out for so long. He works hard, is a bright guy, and deserves to not loathe going in to the office.

So his situation is about to get better, and that also means that we're in a good place for moving. We don't have to worry about him finding a job once we get there. Things are going to be much more secure. I know that taking his old job wasn't his preferred choice, but he's going to be happy and that gives him a couple of years to figure out what he wants to do next. He knows he's on his way out of the financial industry, but he has no clue where he'd like to be. We've talked about all sorts of different options, but he couldn't pin down even a possibility. I think having the time and the security to check other things out will be great for him. And this new/old position will allow him to do just that.

Now I just have to focus on transitioning my business to that area - something I'll start doing once we're 100% certain that Nashville will be our city.

Exciting stuff!!

The next year is going to be full of so many changes. I can't wait to see what it will all bring Smile

Everyone have a great day!