This & That

My car need some fluids changed -- Oil, transmission, differential... We have a free oil change coming to us so the rest will be around $150. Haven't made the appointment yet but am thinking sometime this month or next.

Month end time again. I did end up making extra in July, to the tune of $753.59. So far this year my extra has totalled $8408.05. Selling stuff account is at $4445. Really grateful for both. Where did it all go? Mostly "life" expenses and debt repayment. We are one payment away from maxing out the prepayment for the ski condo.

We recently used most of our last travel credit on flights out west in December. There is enough left over to pay for one of us to come home (to which I said to D -- Great! You get to come home and I'll stay!). As I do need to come home too, I will be using my credit card points. So no expenditure of money on these line items. I love it!

Traditionally, these flights are our most expensive domestic ones because of Christmas. This year, we are test driving something new. By heading out a week earlier, we get to take advantage of the pre-Xmas sale and by coming home after New Years, we save then too. No more paying $850 per flight! The savings are in the 50% range so very significant.

Extending Christmas holidays will impact the amount of time D has off the rest of the year. It makes it tough for him to take a couple of weeks off in the summer. Skiing is a priority for him so we'll see if it works. He won't get another week off for 7 years. That's really gross, if you ask me. With our mortgage paid off, he will be able to take time off without pay so he will not have to wait too long for that.