Friday, November 23, 2007

What to do with $125?

My wife talked to her mom this week and found out that we were mailed back in September a check for $250 for our birthdays (we're 12 hrs apart). We totally missed the check, we just opened the cards sent in the same envelope. The check is now recycled by the city and probably part of the insulation I put in last weekend. I suspect she's going to mail us a replacement one, so here's my quandary:
  • My wife bought me what I wanted for Christmas (extra hard drive for our computer).
  • I have enough clothes to last me until 2010 at least.
  • There's nothing really pressing right now that I need.
Here's the options I'm mulling over:
  1. Pay off debt - Probably not the best use of a gift and it would only be a portion of a debt.
  2. Garden fund - In the spring we'll be needing more sturdy supports for our tomatoes, a handle at least for a broken shovel, a few more seeds, maybe a dwarf fruit tree if I talk to the city about planting one near the street.
  3. Fireplace fund - This year it wasn't an option with trying to get out of debt, but we're planning on next year lining our chimney and getting a fireplace put in.
  4. Investing - I've been doing a small amount of investing with some of my fun money on Prosper, mainly to learn more about debt and investing. I could always pump it into there. Other option is to finally open an IRA for us (planning on next year as a minimum).
  5. Stained Glass fund - I haven't worked on this for a couple of years now (because it's not a cheap hobby like gardening), but I have most of the tools, just need some more supplies to continue working on it.

No comments: