Debt Free Kid

We have been in the house less than three weeks and we are ecstatic. Bean's new favourite word is "Newhouse." On the weekend I noticed the tray under the hot water tank is full of water, and slowly starting to leak onto the concrete basement floor. I put newspapers around it, and they dried, and Baxter (the kitten) decided to take them skating around. The basement seems to be his domain, because his litter box is down there. I called the utilities company, and they are sending a plumber this afternoon to replace the tank. Before the old one is removed, I will have to sign a five-year contract for the new tank. I balked at the commitment. The rental is $12.35 (10.93 + HST) per month on my hydro bill. In five years the cost of the rental will be over $3200, if the price does not increase. I could probably have three tanks purchased and installed for that price, but then I would be on the hook for all the repairs. I spoke to the plumber, and he assured me that rentin...

Well I finally opened an ING savings account, and it took me a few months, but I finally remembered to send a cheque in to get things rolling. The good part is that I got a $25 referral bonus (and I can't remember whose Orange Key I used to get it) and the bad part is that the account is still not linked to my other online bank account. I guess I have to send them another cheque, marked VOID. What a pain. I'll get around to it eventually. So now I have two Savings progress bars, one for my old account, and one for my new. ING just started offering a chequing account so I opened one today. I am going have my government incentive cheques (GST, HST, PST) deposited there so that I won't be tempted to spend them. I am also going to send VOID cheques to the companies I use for RESP savings and life insurance to have both withdrawn from the ING account. The focus of this shift to ING is Bean, and keeping "his" finances separate from the others (rent, food, househo...

More like one fantastic, two greats and an ugh. The Greats: - The university has an agreement with Dell for computer purchases. I got the brainy idea to contact our sales rep and get quote on a Mini. He quoted me $297 taxes, etc in, and that includes a six-cell battery. I am going to wait until July to order it because when the HST comes into effect the university will apply an institutional rebate of 78% (meaning I will save another $15 on the price). - HST rebate cheque direct deposited yesterday. $200 immediately goes on the debt, bringing it down to $8000 even, and the other bit I am saving for another pair of orthopedic shoes (bringing me up to three pairs: sandals, clogs, and then shoes!) The Ugh: - I signed up for this challenge and on the first day wrote a few hundred words, which I promptly lost when my Word decided to go bunk on me. I started again yesterday but it's just not flowing like it was the day before. Haven't lost all hope yet, but I'm clearl...