A crummy day.

[jackofallgeeks]

Today's kind of a crummy day.

I slept reasonably well last night, which is more than I can say for the
last two nights -- it's been hot and my AC is still busted, and I really
don't deal well with heat. Last night it was cooler, but whever it is that
drops of the paper in the morning woke me up at about 5:30, as he often
does. The guy comes flying through the neighborhood with his stero too loud
making lots of noise opening and closing his door. It may be that I'm just
extraordinarily sensitive to sound that close to my usual waking time (I get
up at 6am), but it's still irritating.

As per my last update, I did the math and found that I'm spending an extra
$90/mo than I really ought to be. I need to call Verizon and find out what
the details of my contract are, specifically when it expires and how much
I'd pay for early termination. But seriously? I wouldn't even notice if my
phone and TV service stopped today. My DVR/set-top box isn't even hooked up
to my TV because my Wii and PS2/DVD-player take up all the inputs.

I had a little bit of a panic attack when I was checking my Verizon account
and it looked like I botched my bill, not paying it when I should have and
with the deadline just around the corner. That affected me because I get
really down on myself whenever I'm less-than-perfect at taking care of
myself (or, more accurately, fulfilling my obligations). Thankfully, on
closer inspection, the account page was just unnecessarily difficult to
read, and I had in fact paid my bill properly. It still has mer feeling
kind of bad...

Plus, my personal finances are a little bit off. I pay my mortgage
tomorrow, but don't get my paycheck until Friday, which means I need to dip
into savings to cover my bills for the 24-hour lapse. The off-by-one
problem plagues all computer scientists. It's not a big thing, my accounts
will be back in order again before the weekend, but it's irritating. It's
also a little concerning because before I get paid again I have my trip to
Florida for Nifer's wedding, and at least will need a rental car, two nights
at a hotel, and food.

And then there's whatever's going on with Meghan...

I just want to go home. With about two hours left in the day and no real
work to do, I have half a mind to tell my boss I'm sick and just head out
early. But I won't.

Comments

[amazonmink.livejournal.com]

{sorry about that earlier- forgot to log out of game LJ}

Anywho, Matt and I had all of our billing dates shifted so that we don't have that happen. You may want to contact your mortgage company and see if you can do the same.

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

{No problem, I don't know any Tonks but you. -smirk-}

Not sure what would work for me. When and how do you get paid? My mortgage comes out on the 10th of every month, but my paycheck comes in every two weeks. My bills are fixed but my paycheck rolls.

[elizardaa.livejournal.com]

re: mortgage

I think most people have this issue occasionally. I intentionally (try to) keep extra money in linked a ING savings account for this purpose. That way I have a bit of a cushion when things don't quite work out timing-wise. With your bi-weekly paycheck/ monthly billing system the only way to totally get around it is if your mortgage company will change your billing cycle to coincide with your pay cycle, though my experience is they often charge you for that service.

re: vacation spending

While many of my friends have had horrible experiences with credit cards, this is one situation where I think they are the perfect solution. Not to mention they are good to have in an emergency, and build your credit history to boot. If you don't have one I'd look into it. I have a few, use them for things like groceries and gas, and then pay them off totally at the end of the month.

re: Meghan

Meghan? My gossip senses are tingling! Did I miss something?

[jackofallgeeks.livejournal.com]

Re: Mortgage -- I have "overdraft protection" on my account, which means my bank will cover for me if the funds aren't there right when charges post, rather than bounce the check or charge me an overdraft fee. And I have a reasonable cushion in my Savings that I specifically put away so that I'm not living hand-to-mouth (though I've been bad about saving lately). And usually my account never dips below a few hundred dollars before my next paycheck comes in. So, aside from bad timing, it's not really an issue.

Re: Vacation spending -- Unfortunately I have a non-trivial amount of credit debt, mostly due to living beyond my means in my Senior year of college. The upshot is that I have really great credit, but I've been trying to stick to a cash basis to pay that down. (I do still use my cards for big purchaces, like furniture or that 1/3rd of a computer I helped get my brother for his birthday.) Mostly, it's just bad timing with the off-by-one bit. Now I feel financially jostled right before some big expenditures, and I'm naturally prone to worry.

Me: Meghan -- -smirk- No, you didn't miss anything. Or, rather, there have been developments since I last saw you. That line was an intentional tease, I'll be forthcoming in a later post.