why won't Victora's Secret show me the backs of their panties? I'm willing to invest in some quality underwear but I don't want to go to the mall!

Yeah, both of my last companies, as things got tight, started enforcing their "we have 60 days to pay an invoice" thing that was in their contracts. Whereas before that they'd usually pay a lot more quickly.

I'm trying to work out my budget for the summer. I've got a decent amount in savings, but I'll be earning close to no money this summer. Savings can cover rent (I always put away enough each month during the year so that I'll have enough for summer rent if I need it), and I signed up with a CSA, so a lot of food is already taken care of -- just add rice and pasta and beans and fruit. Definitely need to cut back on the number of books I'm buying.

Definitely need to cut back on the number of books I'm buying.

I often forget that the library lets me take stuff home and read it for free.

That's great news, Susan.

Well, we still don't quite have the money in our hands. It's just that apparently now it looks like we're around the point where the accountant can start disbursing the bequests. I won't completely believe it until we have it, and I'm itching to diversify our portfolio. Even though the stock in question is doing well now, it just makes me twitchy, especially in such a bad economy, to have what amounts to our entire net worth in one place (except for our 403(b)s, which are tiny in comparison).

Thing is, if it were all mine, I'd just pull out enough to pay for the trip and set it aside as soon as we get it. But it's not, it's ours, and DH is the heir, not me, so we're working together on this. And, really, a down payment on a house and setting up a college fund for Annabel and the hypothetical Edmund-or-Eleanor is much more important. I just really want that trip...

We'll start looking into financial planners. We get one free consultation with a planner apiece per year as UW employees, so we'll probably just start there.

Also, remember Susan, if you pay down your debt and have your other savings goals taken care of, you'll have that much more per month that you can put towards the trip. It's easy to forget that when chunks of your money are flying out the door to pay debt.

I have to keep reminding myself of that as well because, while I really want to get my own place, I just can't afford it right now. But, when my debt is paid off in two years, I'll have at least $850 more per month to spend on whatever.

why won't Victora's Secret show me the backs of their panties?

Probably because it's naughty. But dammit! It's important! That's my ass you're talking about there.

I worked for a company that would play around not only with paying their bills, but also with paying their employees. I do remember once they didn't pay us on the normal payday, saying it didn't matter because it wasn't a banking day. Fuckers--we're open and working! You can cut the damned check!

They never pretended to be anything other than flush. Luckily they'd stopped bouncing paycheques by the time I got there.

Yes -- I keep telling DH that once we have no CC debt we will have a lot more money free. And more than we actually pay to the debt, because we won't have to think about the possibility of an emergency in the same way.

Huh. The University of Botswana is looking for a math lecturer. I don't really want a "lecturer" position, though I'd take one if it were the only thing I was offered. I supposed I'm just keeping in mind that there are a bunch of jobs available outside the US academic world. And I do have good teaching experience and recommendations. Just not so much with the research credentials.

Susan, I think if I were you I would be making spreadsheets of what-if scenarios. Tot up the dream vacation if you could take it today an dthen play with strong/weak currency, inflation, extra things you might tack on and extraneous things that you want to include but won't be heart-broken if you have to cut. Because that would be fun and might even be useful in just getting a ballpark idea of what you might expect.