Slow Progress

Things have been pretty tight lately, and we're not making much headway. Last month I only paid the minimums on my credit cards, so that I could set aside the rest to put towards several upcoming expenses:

We thought we were going to owe $1300 in income taxes to the IRS, due to some errors with our employers withholding too little, but it looks like it'll come out closer to $600 (and we will be getting a refund of close to $500 from state). It will be close to a wash in the end, but we need to front the $600 payment. We still haven't filled out our tax returns, so I don't know the exact amount.

Our car insurance renewals are due, for both vehicles, just shy of $1000 for six months. It's predictable (every April & October), but this time our premiums went up. Nothing we did, but the insurance company said that they've had more claims than usual (with most makes/models), and when that happens it means they adjust premiums upward.

Hubby spent $700 (he has a $2000 annual budget for discretionary 'big-ticket' items, like a computer), and we've got about $500 in normal springtime house expenses (weed killer, pesticide, grass seed, new mulch & topsoil, minor maintenance items).

We also have several smaller expenses over the next few weeks: a new windshield ($300), traffic fines ($125), vet bills ($150), water/sewer ($90), quarterly student loan ($120), wedding gifts ($150), wedding apparel/accessories ($75).

Bad News from work

My boss called me into his office today, telling me that he had some bad news. He didn't shut the office door, so I knew it wasn't going to be too serious...

But he told me that the VP of the company has denied my reimbursement request for the $469 review course I'm taking. It was previously approved by my immediate supervisor (after he double-checked with our Human Resources director about company protocol), and two other supervisors (each with a slightly higher level of authority) - and then when it went to the VP it was denied.

I had been checking the mailbox daily for the $469 check, so now I need to redo our budget and figure out how to cover the shortage. Most likely, I will carry a balance on the credit card that the class was charged, and will hopefully pay it off in late February or March instead.

Car Insurance

Car insurance in Michigan tends to be rather expensive, in large part because it's a no-fault state. 

The "Catastrophic Claims Premium" (a mandatory state-wide fee on all auto insurance policies), which covers unlimited lifetime medical benefits for those seriously injured in car crashes, was increased by $20/vehicle/year.  

And general rates increased as well, for a plethora of unknown reasons (insurance risk score, credit score, regional score, etc). My 6-month premium, which had been about $450, increased to just shy of $500. 

I've also been thinking about adding underinsured motorist coverage to our policy, so that if we're injured by someone else who just carries the minimum, we would be entitled to recoup damages from our own policy. I'm not sure how much that will cost, but since so many people in the area have cut back the liability limits on their policies to save money (or cancelled insurance altogether, albeit illegally), it worries me that we could get into a serious accident and then only be able to recoup the equivalent of a few months' salary... 

Upcoming Expenses

The next six weeks are going to have a few major expenses. I've known about some for awhile, and I've tried to budget for them, but I suspect there will be a few indulgent purchases too.

The boring stuff: 

There's an insurance bill sitting on the kitchen table, waiting to be paid, for almost $200. I think we have another two weeks before it's technically due, but I really ought to write a check and send it out. 

And we have a home repair that needs to be taken care of. It's been an issue for the past year, and I've pushed it off about as long as I can. I had a few estimates done last fall, and it was going to run about $1000. I'm not sure if it'll still be that much, if we'll be able to get a discounted rate because of the economy, or if it'll cost more because it's the "peak" season. I'm going to call around after the 4th of July to get updated estimates, and then we'll hopefully get it taken care of later next month. 

And now for the fun stuff: 

The latest Apple iPhone 3GS comes out tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure that we're going to upgrade and get one. It'll be a couple hundred dollars up front ($199 + tax + AT&T activation fee), plus our monthly cell phone bill will go up. And of course there will be the requisite accessory purchases - a new cell phone case, a clear screen protector, some spiffy applications from the iTunes store. 

I'm taking a mini-vacation next month with some friends, and it'll be at least $100. I haven't decided whether to drive or take public transit, and I'm sure we'll try to keep it cheap for dining and entertainment, but the absolute bare-bones cost would be $100.