What's Your Sleep Number?

Under the category of "Stuff You May or May Not Know About Wordwhiz":
In addition to being someone who likes to plan WAY in advance, who is insanely enthusiastic about cruise vacations, disco music and Paul, I'm something of a financial conservative. (Some might say "anal".)

I don't consider myself tight with money. I have known people who are REALLY tight with money and I'm not like that. But I really worry about money...maybe too much. If I didn't, I'd have never survived being unemployed for three months. Not eligible for unemployment compensation, I had to live off my savings for three months. Being one of those people who follows practical, financial advice, I had enough in savings to get me through the hard times.

I'm employed again, but at a job that requires a 1.25 hour commute EACH WAY on a dangerous highway requiring me to pay $1.50 in tolls every day. Not the most ideal of circumstances.

While unemployed, I ran up my credit card balance (I only have one card...another financially-conservative practice) and I'm very close to my credit limit. I could raise the limit, but that would only allow me to dig myself in deeper.

As winter approaches, I find myself wondering how I'm going to pay for the propane that fuels my heat. Each fill-up ran me $600-$800 last winter. I don't have that kind of money this year and I have very little left in my savings account to fall back on.

I called my mortgage company yesterday and applied for a home equity loan. I figured up 30 months worth of payments. I will set that amount aside and use the loan to pay for the loan. (I figure by that time, I'll be selling this house and Paul and I will be sharing expenses.) In addition, I'll pay off my credit card bill with a tax-deductible loan.

I get very nervous when my debt exceeds my easily-accessible cash reserves. Someone who is more savvy in math than I am would likely tell me this idea was an enormous mistake. But it will make me FEEL more like I have my arms around my debt and that it is manageable. I really NEED that.

So what sort of FUN thing do I have planned for the balance of the money? I'm buying a new bed. When I bought this house almost four years ago, I intended to buy a new bed. Instead, I took my daughter's full-sized bed - a hand-me-down three times over - and bought her a new twin-sized bed which fit better in her room. "My" bed is probably 30 years old and literally falling apart at the seams. My ex got the Select Comfort bed, because a king-sized bed would not fit in my tiny house.

I went to the mall and checked out the current line of Select Comfort beds. I have arthritis in my back, the result of disk surgery some 10-12 years ago, and my current mattress is not doing my back any favors. The 7000 model is too amazingly comfortable for words, but I'm going with the 5000 model (sort of their mid-level option), because it is $1000 less expensive. I'm going to spring for the really cushy mattress pad, hoping it makes up some of the difference between the 2" and 3" pillow-top plushness.

I'll wait until I have the money in-hand before I take the plunge, but I already know I'm going to get it. It's something I've been planning for nearly four years.

That's another thing about me. I like to really mull over my major purchases...for a few YEARS!


PS: Going from a full-size to a queen-size bed, I have to also get new bedding. This is what I'm considering. It is on sale for a great price at JC Penney. What do you think? Too girly??