Getting Ready for Afghanistan

Hello All,

Happy Labor Day! Since neither of us have work or classes, we’ve decided to stay home and get ready for Miel’s impending trip to Afghanistan. While we anticipate that the separation will be hard while Miel is in Asia and James remains in DC, we’re doing a few things to be sure that our financial lives remain integrated.

1) We’ve recommitted to joint goals through early 2008. Basically, we plan to pay off our second mortgage. At 8.898% this is our most expensive debt. Since we owe approximately $20,000, this should take some months to pay off. That said, given the current economic uncertainty, any debt pay down would give us an immediate return of 8.898%. This looks like it’d be better than what the stock market is currently giving us.

2) We’ve updated our budget and expenses. With the move to Afghanistan, Miel and I have both updated how much we expect to have coming in and how much we have going out. This is important because we might have to shift whose paying for what during Miel’s absence.

4) We’ve updated our account information. Most of our banking is done on-line. So it’s important to keep are record of where everything is located. In the event that either of has to check accounts or make payments, (or either of us forget passwords – this happens a lot) we’ll have a central file where everything is kept. We had done this a couple of years ago but it was very out of date.

The thing about these points is that they’re good for couples to do even if you aren’t facing an extended absence. Otherwise, we’ll keep you updated regarding our other preparations for Miel’s departure abroad.

Best,

James&Miel