It has been a busy few weeks. We did a refi at the bank for 80% at 6.875%. Then we did a home equity fixed rate loan for 15000.00 more at our credit union at a rate of 8.50%. Then 2 days later our next door neighbor told us he wanted to buy our house, so we will be closing on it next month. I took the money we had borrowed and paid off everything we owe except a no interest bill from the hospital. When we get our new loan for the house we are going to buy, we won't have any debt except that. Hopefully, we will be able to keep it that way.

The home refi we are getting has part of it as a small home equity loan. Yesterday, when I opened a letter the bank mailed me, I noticed that the closing costs on the equity part was another $790.00. They are already getting $3800.00 for the main loan closing. They are charging me $350.00 on each loan for the home appraisal. I don't understand that! If it was just done and it's the same bank, why can't they just make a copy. My interest rate on the main loan is 6.875% and the equity loan is 10.50%. I checked the paperwork on the home equity loan that we had at our credit union before this refi and it was at 8.50% and we didn't have to pay for another appraisal, they just used the one from the main mortage at the other bank since it was pretty current. Sounds like I'm getting ripped off. I'm going to check with the credit union first thing in the morning and if they have a better offer, I'm going to turn down the bank. I guess I should have shopped aroung a little more.

Hopefully this is my last payday to be broke. We close on our debt consolidation refi on Tuesday. The bills for the month are $2320.00 and we needed $1200.00 to pay what was due this week. With $350.00 bring home pay for me and nothing for my husband, we are at the end of the rope. I put what I could on credit cards and my daughter loaned me $600.00 until we close. Our new monthly bills will be around $1200.00. That will be a lot easier to pay. I am determined not to get into the credit card mess again. If we don’t have the cash to pay for it, we don’t need it. I am praying that my husband will find a full-time job.

4th of July and sales

Happy 4th of July!!! I'm off work today, so I am at home, spending time with my new granddaughter (2 months old) instead of out spending money. I find that if I stay out of stores unless I really need something, I won't be tempted to buy more stuff I don't need. Summer clothes are on clearance now, but if it's just going to hang in the closet, it's not a deal no matter how little you paid for it. I noticed that school supplies are on the store shelves now. Soon the back-to-school sales will start and that is good time to stock up on enough supplies to get your kids through the school year or to buy stuff that you need for your home office. I try to buy only what I know I will use or that will wind up sitting in the closet too.

Use Saint Joseph to sell a house?

A friend of mine called me today to tell me that they sold their house. It had been on the market about 8 months. She had heard that if you buried a Saint Joseph statue in the yard, your house would sell quickly. She buried it Saturday June 23, had a buyer on Friday the 29th and closed on it today. 9 days. Wow, that's awesome. Maybe I need to bury one in our yard so we can sell quicker.

I want to be debt-free

We have been almost debt-free several times. But, just when I thought we were there, something happened. Twice it was because of an accident and surgery and once it was the loss of my husband's job. It is so easy to get into a lot of credit card debt. You think, okay I'll pay it off when the bill comes, but then you can only pay the minimum. The interest kills you. We have to use them to pay the bills because my husband has been out of work for nearly three years. We bought a rollback wrecker so he would have a job he could do, but the insurance and expenses put us a lot deeper into debt. More payments we couldn't make. The bills weren't really paid, the debt was just moved to a credit card. We have decided to sell our large house and get a smaller, cheaper one. It has been on the market for 4 months. We will be getting a debt consolidation loan next week, to put all the bills into one payment with a lot lower interest rate. When we sell the house, everything will be paid off and we will still have enough for a good down payment on the cheaper house. But until then, we'll just keep on track and not put anything else on the credit cards!