I originally didn't have any plans for my economic stimulus check. I was just going to send it to my flexible savings account until I decided what to do with it. Unfortunately, now I know where it will be going and it will not be anywhere fun and it won't be stimulating the economy.
I received the escrow analysis for my rental property this weekend. I knew I was going to be short but I didn't realize I was that short. My escrow balance is currently short $1234.84. They gave me the option of paying the shortage up front and my payment will only increase around $70 or I can pay the shortage over 12 months by adding an additional $102.90 to my mortgage payment.
I don't want my monthly payment to increase by almost $150 so I will probably just pay the shortage in full. After emptying out my rental property account for repairs to my rental property back in February, I'd started to slowly rebuild the account. Thanks to referral bonuses from ING and Revolution Money Exchange, I'd built the balance back up to about $600.
The balance in my rental property savings will now be headed back down to zero and I'll need to start all over again. It really sucks that I'll have to use my stimulus money this way but it's still better than having to take on additional debt. I'd much rather borrow from myself and pay myself interest instead of paying bank.
Image Credit: dslrninja
Ah, got to love life's little surprises... notice that they often correspond with unexpected extra income? :^)
I had a similar surprise last month. Our property taxes went up to $2500/yr after being $500 the year before (new construction first year discount). That was a big awakening. Our mortgage payment just went up by a couple hundred a month. Not fun. I feel your pain!