Lamentations. Irritations. Finances. Etc.

So, these are the things that have happened since my last post --

• Elderly Uncle passed away. For the best really, his pain is no more, I got to say my good-byes, all the comforting cliches; but also, so sad, so much worry for Elderly Aunt, so little clarity about where she's left financially, such a flurry of things that must be attended to at a time when attending to anything feels pointless, endless, and overwhelming: all the negative cliches. Funeral, travel, and lodging costs of $3,160, plus several unpaid days away from work.
• Poor Caterwaul, the feline malign, was diagnosed with cancer, after a series of examinations, blood tests, biopsies, and long waits in veterinary anterooms. (She is not yet feeling the effects, and we will do our best to keep her comfortable as long as possible, but we do not expect her to recover.) Costs to date of $670.
• Recommended testing not covered by our insurance policy was, well, recommended. Out of pocket cost = $570.
• For Brother-in-Law's milestone birthday, Spouse's family decided on a five-day group trip to Disney. Airfare, lodging, restaurants, and park tickets came to $2,195.
• Emergency septic repair and non-emergency chimney repair at rental house, $550.
• School taxes for rental house -- $3,050
• Additional car repairs of $1,015.

If you're playing along at home, your total should now be up to over $10,000. In three months. [Yes, yes, it's been six months. But I wrote all of the above three months ago, and if I stop to update it I won't post it for another three.] And that doesn't include the costs from May to July.

It's not all grim.  Approximately two-thirds of our CC debt is interest-free, so we're paying interest on about $5,800 -- not a beautiful thing, but not an icon of terror, either. (Don't ask about the HELOC.) As of last week, BankAmericard and Citi are paid off, freeing up approximately $700 a month. In February we'll finish off another interest-free offer, putting $475 back into the monthly budget, and another ends in April at $175 -- so in six months we'll have another $1,350 to throw at the debt.

Giant concerns:
1. Taxes taxes taxes oh crikey taxes. No 401K for spouse this year, almost no HSA -- our taxable income is going to be substantially higher than previously, and our additional withholding won't be enough. I'm guesstimating our liability at $6,000 - $10,000. (A moment of silence, please.)
2. Automotive senescence. I want to squeeze another 2-3 years, but Spouse's new job requires much heavier use than previously, and that will impact us.


Here's the breakdown:

Creditor	Interest Rate	Owed
Amazon Store	26.49%	0.00
JetBlue	21.99%	0.00
Chase Visa	21.49%	0.00
Chase Amazon Prime	18.99%	0.00
Barnes and Noble	15.99%	0.00
Chase Slate	13.74%	0.00
Chase Freedom	12.74%	-1,180.50
CU Signature Visa 2	10.49%	0.00
Bank A Signature Visa	10.40%	0.00
CU Signature Visa 1	8.40%	-4,008.31
HELOC	7.50%	-87,919.58
Bank A Balance Transfer	0.00%	-9,800.98
BankAmericard Platinum	0.00%	-161.48
BestBuy	0.00%	-348.20
Citi Diamond Preferred	0.00%	-0.00
CreditFirst (Firestone)	0.00%	-1,221.38
Lowe's	0.00%	-177.48
	Total CC Debt	-16,898.33
	All Debt	-104,817.91

Meanwhile, as the stock market begins its inevitable correction  stumbles over the trade war preparatory to impalement on the rake of unsustainable debt  behaves with all the steadiness and wisdom of the people who lead our economy, my retirement savings are worse than flat. So far in 2018, I've contributed over $20,000 to my retirement accounts, and my balance is -- less than it was in January.