Still Running on Overdrive
It’s still terribly busy in my life, but I can see some lights at the end of the tunnel.
- Taxes will be out of my hair this weekend.
- I can put the flannel sheets back in the attic and bring down the percale.
- My utility bill should be very low this month, as I’m running neither air conditioner or heat.
- I’m not singing in choir at the moment, so I don’t have to worry about rehearsals eating into my time.
- Children’s choir will be over (for the season) in four weeks.
- Handbells will be over (for the season) in three weeks.
- I’ve pulled out of regular teaching in Sunday school for the time being.
- I can see the top of my desk at home, as I’ve been stolidly plugging away at the filing.
- The kids will be at their dad’s this weekend, so I will have more time to work on the filing and taxes.
- I have a huge stack of references for the articles I need to write.
- I finally have an emergency fund … and there’s a story attached to that:
A little background, first. X frequently bounces the supplemental child support checks. (His wages are garnished for the base amount of CS, but he has to pay me directly for all overtime or freelance income.) I got fed up with going to our credit union, trying to cash the checks, and being told that they could not be honoured because he didn’t have enough in the bank to cover them. So I’d spend 30 minutes in travel and time at the bank, only to come away with a handful of worthless checks — and he got off scot-free. The price of gas being what it is, the situation was getting unbearable.
So I opened an account at a bank that is very close to my work, and I started depositing all of his hand-written checks there. That way, if they bounce, he has to pay a fee — maybe now that there are consequences to his irresponsibility, he will straighten up. If not, it won’t affect me because I’m only taking five minutes to go to my bank and deposit the checks. Saves time, gas, and frustration.
Anyway, I decided that everything I put in that account would just be left there. I didn’t figure it would be very much, since his supplemental checks are usually between $5 and $50. But my ex changed jobs in late December and never filed the paperwork to change his wage garnishment. So I didn’t get child support in February or March. He had to write me those checks, so I deposited them in the new account. I also deposited in that account some reimbursement checks from my office — it was easier than driving to my regular bank. Anyway, so even after using some of that money to pay bills, I have almost $1000 in that account. And if I can discipline myself to use that account only for emergencies, I should be able to accumulate a good amount in my emergency fund by the end of the year.
The only drawback to this account is that, because it’s a “free” checking account, it is not interest-bearing. So once I have $2500 in it, I will draw out $2000 and put that in another, interest-bearing savings account that I have with a credit union in another state. It’s harder to get at the money there, since I have to call and request a check when I want to withdraw, but it is currently yielding about 3% interest. When I have $10K in that account, I will pull it and open a money-market account to use as my emergency fund.
What’s amazing about all of this is that just six weeks ago I couldn’t imagine ever even having $1000 as a permanent cushion in the bank. Now I’m plotting what I will do in a few years when I have $10K!