OK folks, I need a little advice and a little help.

First, the advice. I'm in a financial position to double up on my house payments. Provided the bubble floats into December, I can have my payments made through June.

Most preps are done, so I really won't be using funds I could spend otherwise on necessities. Even if I make the extra payments, I'll still have some money to spend on last-minutes. Should I make the extra payments, or should I get tenth-ouncers, ones, fives and tens and put 'em in the safe? Please, no comments on the usefulness, or lack of, regarding cash and coins.

The answer, In know, depends on your opinion of what's coming. A 1 or a 10. Based on your own feelings, what do you suggest?

Second, there recently was a thread about antibiotics available online through a company that services the aquarium industry. Anyone have a link?

-- Vic (Rdrunner@internetwork.net), July 21, 1999

Answers

First, if you double up on your house payments now, then most likely, the bank will take the extra money and apply it to pay down the priciple on your loan which only take payments off the end of the loan, and you would still owe each payment next year. My advice to to you would be to talk with the mortgage company and ask them where and how to put the funds to issure payment.

What my wife and I are doing is to move one of our IRA's to the bank which holds our mortgage. If for some reason the banking system does not allow our check to go through, then we can go to the bank and transfer money from our IRA to be applied to our mortgage payment, but in reality, if the bank is not about to accept our check from the bank across the street, they will not be foreclosing on our house.

-- chicken farmer (chicken-farmer@ y2k.farm), July 21, 1999.

Make sure that you include your payment coupons with the earlier payments or they may just apply the payment to the princibple and STILL expect your payment next month. Check with your bank to be sure.

Watch six and keep your...

-- eyes_open (best@wishes.net), July 21, 1999.

Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr near Monterey, California

I've been thinking it makes some sense to take the money out of my bank in cashiers checks to the mortgage company, but then not mail them until they are due. If the postal service is down (good possibility), you may be able to convince your bank to take the certified checks back and wire the money, assuming phone lines are still up. Alternatively, in that case you might be able to pacify your mortgatge company by faxing them a scan of the certified checks.

I wouldn't pay anything early. You may find better uses for that money. If the money does go worthless later, you can still use it to pay your mortgage.

-- CashDancr (addy.available@my.webpage.neener.autospammers--regrets.greenspun), July 23, 1999.

Send the extra payments along with instructions to put these in your escrow account (used normally for insurance and property tax payments). Later, if you are unable to get a payment to the bank, they will simple deduct your payment from escrow.

-- Rick (Rgl@aol.com), July 23, 1999.

my bank allows you to set up automatic deduction from a personal account to pay mortgage payments. by september i am going to set up an account for this purpose with i year's worth of payments.

if they can't reach my account, it's no longer my problem, but theirs.

-- Cowardly Lion (cl0001@hotmail.com), July 23, 1999.

Here's the link you are looking for. The Pennicyllin is refrigerated, so consider that before ordering. Everything else is Y2K ready!

Click here

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), July 23, 1999.