Fri Sep 15 check-in

 Welp, the apartment I was lusting after is no longer available. And the move-in date wasn't until November! Oh well, it was the only one I'd identified as good return-on-hassle. I guess I will keep suffering here in the doggy den. 

And my last day with Katie Therapist is Monday.

So then I'll be really alone with my smelly, hairy apartment. And a $30k car bill.

Luckily, after accounting for my charity giving, my medical bill, and paying off my birthday trip, I still have 10k as a downpayment for the car. Wheee! But there goes any big December plans.

But I think for now, I'm just going to start a Car Fund account and shuffle money there. I'd like to have at least 1 year's payment in that account. It does make me feel more tied to my job, though, which I don't like. 

My sinusitis has traveled down to my throat, so I'm sure a cough is coming. Freaking humans. They ruin everything!

I had some pretty snazzy events planned for this week, but I guess it's another taking it easy week. 

Luckily, last night I was able to map out my work over 3 days next week, so that should be very manageable, given I'm not too tired to work. But I hope it'll be okay. 

As for the car, once I get confirmation that it was structurally damaged, I'm leaning toward prioritizing safety. And part of me will eventually be okay that at least new car will be taken care off before retirement. I'm not sure how a $30k bill would have landed after retirement. So this is fine. 

I'm still figuring out my plan for paying it down. I'm trying not to think of it as a $30k hit. If I focus on the $36k/yr plan for the next 3 years, I should still be able to hit millionaire status in the next 3-5 years. 

Anyway, I initially thought of doing a $10k downpayment, that way I'm only financing $20k. That somehow seemed easy to swallow. Easier, anyway. But now I'm thinking, just funnel that $10k in a separate fund to pay off the car for the next year, and maybe even insurance, if it's astronomical. That might help with the psychology of feeling tied to my job. 

As for interest rate, ideally, it'd be less than or equal to current savings rate, so under 4%. If that's the case, then I'd feel less inclined to pay it off next March. There is a part of me that wants to keep my LTI as long as possible. So maybe this year, I'll load the $10k. And next year, I'll earmark $10k of my bonus for the 2nd year payments. 

I have 3 accounts that are above 4% savings rate, so if I can get a loan rate less than that, that would make my plan go down better. 

Let's say, I'm a lot more on board with a new $30k car loan than I was on Sunday when the accident happened. 

Plus, not paying a big chunk helps me keep my cash and morale. I want to be at 65% of target at year's end. 

So yeah, that's where we are.

The apartment I wanted is gone. So of course, I want it more now. But it also means, I'm more likely to stay here for the duration of my lease.

My therapist likes to remind me that this is only a short term solution (this applies to many things). So with modern medicine and technology, I can 'make it work.' I just wanted to be done with the making it work part of my life is all.

Oh well, that's where I'm at. Money problems, health problems, work problems. And the wheel keeps turning.