After going back in the red in February, we filed our tax return earlier this month which was definitely a boost at getting back on track. Since last month, we are back down $718 which leaves:
$51,323
Typically in previous years we've used at least half of the return to pay off debt and another portion for renovations. This year with the tax return, we allocated just under 1/3 to debt so far and splurged on a new counter and dishwasher for the kitchen (more on that to come).
I actually retained about 1/3 of our tax return this year in my bank account. I'm still working right now but with DH's work being slow and my being off work so imminent, we didn't want to be in a bind and have to potentially use credit to pay bills during April while we wait on my first Employment Insurance payment. It is my hope that some, if not most of it, will still be able to go toward debt and that next month we'll finally be under the $50K threshold!
This weekend, DH worked his first overtime of this year which was a bit of a relief. Looks like work is finally picking back up - and just in time. As I mentioned in my past couple of updates, usually the slowness doesn't last much past January but this year it seriously dragged on. We were okay because I was working and luckily roughly 1/3 of my earnings isn't strictly allocated but it was a wake up call that we should be better planning for things like this that come up and that taking on any additional debt/payments at this point would compromise our ability to cover our living expenses without relying on credit. If anything I guess it was good practice for the baby budget since my earnings will decrease by about 1/3.
2 comments:
$718 is fantastic :) Can't wait to hear more about the kitchen!
Hoping next month will be just as good if not better if I can manage to allocate some of the rest of the tax return back to debt. I think I got great deals on the counter top and dishwasher. Looking forward to sharing soon. They get delivered tomorrow!
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