Yes, another horse photo! That's Monaco being interested in my friend. She was lovely - she's not really a horse person, has never been around them, but accompanied me on my Oregon volunteer weekend from Vancouver. She really enjoyed herself, learned a lot and we had an awesome time travelling together. So much fun!
I've updated my sidebars to reflect my current state of affairs and while I'm happy to see some of the numbers go up, it's a bit of a shock to see the big drop in others (namely, my RRSP). The fact that I'm using my retirement funds for school is a bit of a balm, but it's still scary, particularly because there's no guarantee that I'll find something better. But at least I'll have a job to return to when I'm finished, which is a very big deal in this economy.
I'm still pondering the debt aspect of things. It would make sense to get rid of what I can, while I'm able to. My MC debt is actually less than HALF of what I posted yesterday (I set up an account online this morning, so I can monitor it), so that will definitely get paid off. A big THANK YOU to Reyna and Karen for their thoughts and input. Much appreciated! I will be spending this weekend thinking and considering, writing out pros and cons, as well as filling out financial aid forms, and searching - again - for bursaries, grants and loans. I'm also going to call my MC company and see about switching cards. I got this particular card probably 10 years ago, when I was drowning in terrible credit and debt, to try to recover my credit rating (it's a secured card). While I was online this morning, I took a little quiz and found several other cards that could work better for me: much lower interest, no fees plus a little reward action. I'm going to call them today to see if I can "exchange" my current card, which has outrageous interest PLUS a $6 per month fee. 21.99% to 9.99% or 5.99%? Yes, please! I have a great credit rating now, and because it costs nothing to ask, I might as well try.
I went for a short bike ride this morning, just one loop of the riverside trail, but the wind made it more difficult. I was going to try for two, but figured I added at least another 1.5km to the ride by taking the long way round to get on the trail, so I headed home again. Tomorrow I'm going to head out earlier and then go to the gym afterwards. It should be quiet early in the morning.
Dinner last night was a lot of fun. It was just me and four Germans, so we spent some time on YouTube afterwards and watched East German, Russian, Czech and German "filler" cartoons, short, two minute ones that filled the spaces in between commercials in the former Soviet bloc. It's all reminiscing for them, but all new to me. All I could share with them was the Friendly Giant! And Jerome! And Rusty! ;)
Have a great weekend everyone!
**Update: I called my MC company and got approved for a new card. I can't "exchange," but I could apply for a new card (5.99% p/a, no annual fee, no rewards), then once I have it, I call and cancel the old card. I'm sure the credit rating will take a bit of a hit, but that's okay. Plus I'll save myself $72 a year in fees. Every little bit helps!
3 comments:
Yay! It's always good when you find you owe less than you thought! =) And wow, yes, call your credit card company to get a better rate. If whoever gets your call won't do it, ask for a supervisor and if they balk, tell them you plan to close the account in favor of a better rate/no fees elsewhere. I have two credit cards, though I only use one and pay it off every two weeks when I get paid. The one I use does have a yearly fee, though it also earns points and allows users to "pay" the annual fee with points earned so it ends up being free. There are good deals out there to be found. =)
Okay, I just noticed the update. Yay! Better to have a closed account than have a ridiculous interest rate. =)
Good to see you exchanged your card - much better to avoid annual fees.
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