Household Math

Hired a guy to demolish my yard today. It won't really be a complete demolition, but I love the sound of that word. We spend about an hour walking over the yard, deciding what to keep and what to get rid of. He understands this is a multi-year project, and that year one is all about removal. Next year I'll be able to do more of the fun stuff -- plants and paths -- but just getting this much finished will be a weight off my shoulders.

It's going to cost me about $3000. That includes about $1000 in dumpster fees. Now I have to figure out how to pay for all this. I was going to put the payments on my Visa card, but I forgot to double-check that he would accept a credit card. If he does my worries are over (except for paying it off) but if not I have to write a check on my fragile bank account, and then get the balance on a check from my Mom.

Jim from school said something once about how much larger our summer paychecks are. I mentally said "Hm . . . " and didn't ask what he meant, but now I'm hoping the summer checks really are larger now that I'm on a 12-month payout. I'm pretty sure, though, that he's just talking about the additional money from the quickly-finished summer sessions. I'd better not dream too hard.

I hate all this stuff. I thought about getting a home equity loan, since the interest rates would be less than my credit card, but I only have 6K in equity so I don't think anyone would be interested, even though the loan is for less than 80% of my equity, which is supposed to be what banks look for.

And this bought up the whole refinancing thing again. I really really really want to convert to a 15-yr. mortgage (which is what I asked for originally but -- surprise! -- didn't get at closing) but I can't afford all the refinancing fees. Maybe I can get rolled-in refinancing.

This whole yard thing is really a big mistake, but I think pouring more money into a temporary solution would be a worse mistake. And it will feel so good to get out of my car at night and not regret buying the house.