2024 Women in Red Savers!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Going to quote serious' preamble to get us started again!

2024!!!

Watcha gonna do?? ?? ??

Dec 30, 2021 13:28:28 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

WHO ARE THE WIRS?



Hello and welcome to the Women in Red Savers (WIRS) group! We are a supportive community group that celebrates reaching the personal savings goals of the WIRS members, whether we are women or men, currently “in the red” or “in the black.” This thread will give you basic information what our group is about, so please read all of the information provided below and then start posting!



The purpose of the Savers group is to empower our members to take financial control of their lives by setting, tracking and achieving savings goals. If you're interested in a community of support, motivation, and inspiration, then this is the place for you.



As one part of the Women In Red, the Savers focus on encouraging members to save, no matter what your level of savings knowledge is. You may be starting on your first Emergency Fund or maxing out your retirement. It doesn’t matter to us, as long as you keep doing it. We feel that positive encouragement and motivation will help all of us to learn better savings habits, and accomplish those savings goals.



A key part of saving is learning to incorporate savings into your daily routine – many of our members are also members of the No Spend threads or the Women In Red Racers. Savings is an integral part of paying off debt and changing your lifestyle, so no matter where you are in the process, this is the right place for you to be!



The WIRS - Women in Red Savers group is a SMALL sub-group of the larger Women in Red community because we are seeking the common WIR goal: Taking Total Financial Control! The same support, encouragement, motivation…and yes, sometimes “tough love” provided by the WIR is applied towards savings goals as well! And because the support and encouragement from a group with similar goals also serves to provide a sense of accountability in meeting our individual goals, what better way to approach this than promoting our own Savers group!!



THIS IS THE RIGHT PLACE FOR YOU TO BE!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Dec 30, 2021 13:29:29 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

HOW DO YOU JOIN?

First, establish some sort of a goal. Then report your progress periodically by updating your numbers.


PLEASE use a tag line. In order to be able to keep track and post updates please make sure and include the start & goal such as:

Username / Update date / Current amount saved/you may follow that with your goal in parenthesis in any manner you wish.

Some suggestions are:

UserName 5/3/22 $8,500 ($0 1/1/22 / Goal=$16,000)

UserName 5/3/22 $8,500 (Start=$0 / Goal=$16,000)

There are some Savers that prefer to have massive multi-year goals that don't have an annual goal in mind so they could just do the basics like this, if they wanted to (not logging ★ progress).

UserName 5/3/22 $38,572 (Start=$24,369)

You can use a tag line only, or put your savings into a chart with totals, and the tagline below. To make a chart, you start to post a message and will see a line of icons above the big white box. The grid-looking thing is an empty chart where you can indicate the number of columns and rows you like, and if you want to have a border (if so, click on that box), then click "insert table."This is what you get if you select 2 columns, two rows. You can add or delete rows by choosing the cell nearest the place you want to add, and right click your mouse to see the options.

Row 1 column 1	Row 1 column 2
Row 2 column 1	Row 2 column 2

Then just highlight the contents in the first cell, and replace with whatever text or number you need.

Emergency Fund $1,000
Property Tax $2,000

And the tag line goes underneath (or at the top, anyplace as long as we can find it).

_<redacted>

We hope that your participation helps you to achieve a more prosperous <2024>! Please join us!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Dec 30, 2021 13:30:25 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

CHALLENGES AND TRICKS FOR SAVING

In the past, we have kicked around some ideas for ways to save. Some people are very methodical, and others need tricks and motivation. Some of us like both.

See replies #339, #348, #353, #358, and $360 in the Savers 2014 thread.

First, there is the weekly savings challenge. The idea is that for the first week of the year, you save $1, second week you save $2, then the third week you save $3, and so on up to $52 on the last week of the year. You end up with $1,378. This is a great way to build up an EF.

Variations:
Reverse weekly challenge: Start with $52 on the first week, $51 on the second week, $50 on the third week, and so on. You end up with the same $1,378, but it builds more quickly.

Bump-up weekly challenge: Instead of starting with $1 on the first week, start with a few dollars more than that, and increase by $1 each week. So maybe start with $5 the first week, $6 the second week, $7 the third week, and so on.

Maximum-tackle weekly challenge (forwardwego's idea): Make a list of weeks from 1 to 52. Each week, select an amount from $1 to $52 that you can manage that week. If it's $1, cross that off the list, and put it in savings. If it's $52, cross that off and put it in savings. Once it's crossed off, it's done and you have to select from the other amounts in future weeks. This gives you more flexibility during the more challenging weeks of the year.

Another idea (chiver78 's idea) Is to use a deck of cards of which there are 52 (how convenient!). Pull a card out of the deck, and put that amount in weekly savings. An ace can be $1 or $11. Kings, Queens, and Jacks can be $10, or any other amount you assign to them. Thanks, chiver, for this idea.

Plateau weekly challenge: Start with the straight weekly challenge ($1, $2, $3...) and if it becomes too much to put in an ever-increasing amount, STOP increasing but continue to put in the last amount you were able to make. So if you had to stop at week 20, with $20, continue to put in $20 for the rest of the year.

There are a few non-weekly challenges we've been discussing.

Random cash challenge: If you find cash in pockets, floating around in your purse, in your laundry room, and basically any place other than your wallet, it goes into a pot to be added to your savings.

Specific denomination challenge: Choose a denomination that you want to save. It could be $10, $5, $1, quarters, dimes, all coins, etc. You get the idea. At the end of each day, if you have any of that denomination in your purse, wallet, backpack, or wherever you keep your money, it goes into a pot to be added to your savings.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Ok - not sure where I will go or what all may happen as my finances are a bit in flux right now. For a starting point:

* 30,500 to max 401k with catchup
* 5,150 to max HSA with catchup
* 10,000 Ibonds
*  4,500? to SEP-IRA¹

Total ~50,150

¹ need to do taxes to get the figure

This seems challenging enough right now given where my finances have been the past few months, although I feel I should be saving more this....will play it by ear for a while anyway! May need to lower expectation here, but maybe some luck will go in my favor and I can get more ambitious again!

Once piece of good news, accounting for anticipated bonus similar to last year and evening out the 401k across the year my contributions will be about $45 less per pay period than now. I did not adjust at the start of last year - waiting to see what bonus and raise was and then had to contribute a noticeable amount more for the second half of the year. Hopefully lowering a bit will help me make it through to May and then if I get the usual annual raise, it will be a boost to take home rather than needing to up the 401k.

Also hoping that the revised tax rates will give a bit more take home as well! We will see!

[debthaven]

Name	Goal	Saved	Spent
General Savings	10,000	0	0
Couch	2,000	0	0
Travel	4,000	0	0
Garden	1,000	0	0
TOTAL	17,000	0	0

I'm putting this here for now, but I know it's not realistic. It's more than I saved last year, and I'll be working about 25% less. I can always readjust my numbers later. 

[azucena]

Just finished 2023 budget, savings, and net worth spreadsheets and made YM updates in those places.

My savings goal in 2024 will remain at $65,000 with the wild card being my bonus in 2023. Sounds like it will be good, but the calculation is increasingly complicated with more international components that I don't have direct line of sight to. May adjust goal once bonus is paid.

[mollyc]

Ongoing $2,000 (stretch to have by April to cover property insurance and City utilities)
Fortis $300 (Natural gas)
BC Hydro $400 (Electricity)

I won't bother with the auto for now because DH needs his car fixed and I doubt he will have the cash to do it.  I'm annoyed about this because when he tried to book an appointment to get the front light's wiring checked, they said Jan 8/24 was the next appointment.  He didn't take it.  I dread the thought of how long he is going to have to wait when he calls this week.  He hates my SUV so he isn't gentle when he has to take it.  He doesn't understand that in our changing world and health, I need it to keep going to Jan 1/31 when I'm retired.

[mollyc]

Also, the next time DD and I are in the same town, we are going to open a joint savings account.  I'll try to get it to $500.00 per year.  These funds are for her to help her father out if I die first.  This way she doesn't have to lend him grocery money while he's waiting for my life insurance.

It's also to help her out if our dogs out live us both.  At a minimum, she is going to have to take them home or try to rehome them.  It is possible that if she can't take Stevie, that she will have to have her put down.  She's a skittish girl and would need time to warm up to new owners.  Unlike her son, who loves all humans (other animals, not so much).

[debthaven]

Name	Goal	Saved	Spent
General Savings	10,000	1,000	0
Couch	2,000	0	0
Travel	4,000	0	0
Garden	1,000	0	0
TOTAL	17,000	0	0

Most of this is the interest that posted yesterday. I'll update again after I get my main pension.

[azucena]

Jan 1, 2024 21:49:11 GMT -5 mollyc said:

Also, the next time DD and I are in the same town, we are going to open a joint savings account.  I'll try to get it to $500.00 per year.  These funds are for her to help her father out if I die first.  This way she doesn't have to lend him grocery money while he's waiting for my life insurance.

It's also to help her out if our dogs out live us both.  At a minimum, she is going to have to take them home or try to rehome them.  It is possible that if she can't take Stevie, that she will have to have her put down.  She's a skittish girl and would need time to warm up to new owners.  Unlike her son, who loves all humans (other animals, not so much).

Molly - do you have any debts? Fully funded emergency fund? Please take of yourself first before worrying about your daughter and her father.

[steph08]

Alright, I'm rejoining the Savers thread this year - for at least this year, we are trying to refocus on general savings and not just retirement. Here are my goals for the year: 


UPDATE: steph08 $0.00 1/1/2024 Goal $41,300.00

Savings	Start	Previous	Current	Difference	Goal	Percentage Saved
General Savings	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$15,000.00	0.00%
Christmas Savings	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$1,800.00	0.00%
Mattress Savings	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$1,500.00	0.00%
DD1 Savings	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$500.00	0.00%
DD2 Savings	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$500.00	0.00%
401K	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$8,500.00	0.00%
TSP	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$7,500.00	0.00%
DD1 529	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$3,000.00	0.00%
DD2 529	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$3,000.00	0.00%
TOTAL	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$41,300.00	0.00%

[mollyc]

azucena, it is taking care of me.

DH will be 69 in May.  I was 60 in December.  DH & I have been together almost 32 years.  He has proven that he can't be trusted to keep any money in a joint account.  Often it wasn't even that he was wasting money, he was just taking it from the wrong place which usually cost me more money via fees.  When he could no longer work (about 15 years ago or more), I'd give him money in the joint savings account that was his to spend.  When he started receiving CPP and OAS, I dropped that amount down to $10 every 2 weeks.  In theory, it should be accruing $260 every year.  In practice, when he remembers it, he spends it.

In BC, in order for him to gain access to my accounts that have all the money, he has to show up with my death certificate and proof he is my heir.  That will take at least a week for the death certificate.

DD will be 23 in August.  She is working 32 hours a week at a youth home and 4 hours a week at a dance studio to pay for university and living expenses plus attending classes 3 days a week.  She is also saving money for her Master's Degree.  That she has the money to lend her father, doesn't mean she should have to lend it to him.

I know I can trust DD to not spend any money I put into a joint account with her.  If that ever stopped being true, I could just stop putting money in that account and withdraw the balance.  That money could be needed in one year or twenty-five, who can say.

In any case, it's currently immaterial.  DD lives over 800 km & a ferry ride away from me.  Because her account officer dicked around, rule changes mean we have to be at the same branch at the same time to open an account.  That may not happen in 2024.  So the money continues to be locked up in my accounts.

[azucena]

Jan 4, 2024 11:48:09 GMT -5 mollyc said:

azucena , it is taking care of me.

DH will be 69 in May.  I was 60 in December.  DH & I have been together almost 32 years.  He has proven that he can't be trusted to keep any money in a joint account.  Often it wasn't even that he was wasting money, he was just taking it from the wrong place which usually cost me more money via fees.  When he could no longer work (about 15 years ago or more), I'd give him money in the joint savings account that was his to spend.  When he started receiving CPP and OAS, I dropped that amount down to $10 every 2 weeks.  In theory, it should be accruing $260 every year.  In practice, when he remembers it, he spends it.

In BC, in order for him to gain access to my accounts that have all the money, he has to show up with my death certificate and proof he is my heir.  That will take at least a week for the death certificate.

DD will be 23 in August.  She is working 32 hours a week at a youth home and 4 hours a week at a dance studio to pay for university and living expenses plus attending classes 3 days a week.  She is also saving money for her Master's Degree.  That she has the money to lend her father, doesn't mean she should have to lend it to him.

I know I can trust DD to not spend any money I put into a joint account with her.  If that ever stopped being true, I could just stop putting money in that account and withdraw the balance.  That money could be needed in one year or twenty-five, who can say.

In any case, it's currently immaterial.  DD lives over 800 km & a ferry ride away from me.  Because her account officer dicked around, rule changes mean we have to be at the same branch at the same time to open an account.  That may not happen in 2024.  So the money continues to be locked up in my accounts.

I hope it didn't sound like I was picking on you. I think it was the wording 'her father' instead of DH that made me think you were divorced and trying to take care of an ex financially.

[mollyc]

I didn’t think you were picking on me. I obviously was only clear in my head so more info was needed.

[seriousthistime]

Thank you Rukh O'Rorke for starting this thread.  

Good to see familiar faces, a new Saver, and a returning Saver. 

Nice goals, Rukh.  I know you are trying to find your footing after student loan payments restarted.  I think your starting point looks great. 

debthaven, I like your process, putting down goals for now that may change as the year progresses.  You have shown that even in semi-retirement, savings are possible.  Kudos to you!

azucena, I like your flexible savings goals as well.  Setting the goals too low is not really motivating for me, but setting them too high is discouraging.  I like the idea of setting goals and amending them as needed during the year.  In the past, I think you had a goal, and then a stretch goal.  Would that work for you again?

mollyc, good to see you here!  You have some great goals, and it will be interesting to see you make some headway as the year goes on.  Marital finances can be complicated, can't they?

@steph08, welcome back!  I like seeing all your savings categories. It's always interesting to see how some people prefer to have one all-encompassing goal and others like to have separate categories. 

[Sunnyday]

Hi,
Got some big goals 

Listing them here for accountability.

Expense	Amount	Currently saved	Estimated date
3-month emergency fund	12,000	12,000	Completed
Children braces	3,000	800	2024
Big trip with kids	10,000	0	2025
Cosmetic surgery	10,000	0	ASAP
Private school	10,000	0	2025
Dog	10,000	0	2026

[seriousthistime]

Enough thinking about all this, it is time to start doing!

First post of 2024

Name	Start	Goal	Saved	% Saved	Spent	Rose
Travel	$1,289	$6,000	$1,289	21.5%
Property Tax	$1,843	$6,200	$2,303	37.1%
Weekly Savings	$0	$2,600	$50	1.9%
Pet Care	$0	$1,500	$125	8.33%
Total	$3,132	$16,300	$3,767	23.1%

Seriousthistime  $3,767,  1/5/2024 (Goal, $16,300)


Monthly Savings (not tracked above)

January	February	March
April	May	June
July	August	September
October	November	December

The travel category is likely too small, but whatever is needed beyond that I can cash-flow. 

The property tax goal is an educated guess.  My taxes will be going down because this will be my first year getting the senior citizen exemption which should reduce the taxes by ~$400 or so,  So that's TBD, but I think this is a good goal.

For weekly savings I decided to go with a straight $50 per week automatic deposit into that account. 

My dog is young and healthy.  But she does need regular trips to the groomer's at $60+ per visit. Add in vet checks, shots, etc., and her expenses will be well above this, but at least this savings will put a dent in that. 

For the monthly savings, I try to save the full net amount of income from one of my pensions. It's a hefty amount. It goes into my EF which I won't track here because that's not the only thing that goes into the EF account. 

Just for fun, I decided to add the savings goals and monthly goal to see what percentage of my gross income I will try to save.  It's roughly 50%.

Let's see what happens this year! 

[seriousthistime]

Welcome, Sunnyday !  Good to see you here. 

[steph08]

Jan 5, 2024 9:34:04 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

@steph08, welcome back!  I like seeing all your savings categories. It's always interesting to see how some people prefer to have one all-encompassing goal and others like to have separate categories. 

If I put an overall goal of like $20k for savings, then I will feel very terribly if I take any money from there! haha. So, that's why I like to do some smaller categories (sinking funds) like Christmas, mattress, etc., that I know are going to be spent on specific items. 

Everybody is different though! 

[debthaven]

Name	Goal	Saved	Spent
General Savings	10,000	2,500	0
Couch	2,000	0	0
Travel	4,000	0	0
Garden	1,000	0	0
TOTAL	17,000	2,500	0

Debthaven: 9 Jan 2024: 2,500 euros (Total savings goal: 17,000)

This was a good month for savings (partly due to interest). Next month won't be. I was off for two weeks, and the semester starts up slowly. My regular classes class starts next week, but staff classes don't start until mid/late Feb.  

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Dec 23, 2023 13:27:31 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Ok - not sure where I will go or what all may happen as my finances are a bit in flux right now. For a starting point:

* 30,500 to max 401k with catchup
* 5,150 to max HSA with catchup
* 10,000 Ibonds
*  4,500? to SEP-IRA¹

Total ~50,150

¹ need to do taxes to get the figure

This seems challenging enough right now given where my finances have been the past few months, although I feel I should be saving more this....will play it by ear for a while anyway! May need to lower expectation here, but maybe some luck will go in my favor and I can get more ambitious again!

Once piece of good news, accounting for anticipated bonus similar to last year and evening out the 401k across the year my contributions will be about $45 less per pay period than now. I did not adjust at the start of last year - waiting to see what bonus and raise was and then had to contribute a noticeable amount more for the second half of the year. Hopefully lowering a bit will help me make it through to May and then if I get the usual annual raise, it will be a boost to take home rather than needing to up the 401k.

Also hoping that the revised tax rates will give a bit more take home as well! We will see!

Ok, this has been a little frustrating!

If any recall, my paycheck in nov/dec got a little wonky, with my benefit deductions being weird - down and I thought I maybe reached a limit but then up to make up for that lower limit. An unexpectedly lower paycheck was not welcome!! HR never said anything and I just moved on with life.....I got notified by HR this month that my FSA was not deducted from 1st paycheck of the year, will be doubled up to make up for that in the next one - so I have to wait for the third paycheck of the year to find out what my take home is going to be. Since I have a lot going on with trying to figure out my monthly cashflows this is not helping!

I can guestimate, but then I risk being really disappointed!

[Sunnyday]

Jan 5, 2024 10:44:07 GMT -5 Sunnyday said:

Hi,
Got some big goals 

Listing them here for accountability.

Expense	Amount	Currently saved	Estimated date
3-month emergency fund	12,000	12,000	Completed
Children braces	3,000	800	2024
Big trip with kids	10,000	0	2025
Cosmetic surgery	10,000	0	ASAP
Private school	10,000	0	2025
Dog	10,000	0	2026

Here is my updated saving goals with amounts updated. I moved some funds that were just sitting in my checking account as I parked them there to pay the large legal bills. Since that is no longer needed, I've put it away to savings.  Even though I'm new to the term, "sink funds," I already was using the concept. I made the known upcoming expenses as line items and now have a general "sink funds" item line because just in case I'm missing something. I forecast that I should be able to save for surgery in about 6-8 months.  I think that I'll start looking for consults in about 3 months, and I should be good. 

Expense	Amount	Currently saved	Estimated date
3-month emergency fund	12,000	12,000	COMPLETED
March trip (train, food and gifts)	1,000	1,000	COMPLETED
New phone	800	800	COMPLETED
Sink funds - phase 1	1,000	1,000	COMPLETED
Cosmetic	10,000	2,420	ASAP
Private school - Kid 1	6,000	0	2025
Private school - Kid 2	6,000	0	2026
Big trip with kids	10,000	0	2026
Children braces	3,000	0	2025
Dog	10,000	0	2027

I radically reduced my food costs by shopping in the pantry, stopping uber eats.

December, I spent around 1,456 on groceries and eating out.
This month, I'm expecting to spend about 700 total for groceries and eating out. 

Whoo hoo!!  In the future, I'm planning to alway keep it around 800/monthly budget for groceries and eating out. 

[debthaven]

That’s a fabulous update Sunnyday !

[chiver78]

hi! I'm chiming in for some accountability (and to see if I should be locking the 2023 thread, please lmk!) by commenting, I'll see this one on my phone as a thread I've participated in. I'll post when I can

I don't have quantifiable goals at the moment, as a bunch of stuff blew up at the end of the year. I'd like to pay a little more toward that mess (that's currently parked on a 0.99% BT rate)  before I start actively saving more than just my 401k match. 

[debthaven]

I think you can lock the 2023 thread chiver78. Even if people can no longer post on it, they can still copy + paste.

[chiver78]

Jan 15, 2024 18:24:01 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I think you can lock the 2023 thread chiver78. Even if people can no longer post on it, they can still copy + paste.

cheers, will do when I'm back on my laptop.

[debthaven]

Thank you chiver78 

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Even more weirdness on my paycheck!

Both the hsa and fsa contributions are messed up and going to fluctuate for a few pay periods. They know but can’t fix for Friday so again will be 6 weeks from now before I get the usual paycheck to know how to budget!

The one year I go in and get everything set up early enough to have even paychecks all year…

And did not get my RI pay on time! Gave 2 extra days then contacted them, should be by end of the week. Needed to transfer money out of house fund to cover bills this week.

Maybe time to check my astrological chart!

[seriousthistime]

Update

Name	Start	Goal	Saved	% Saved	Spent	Rose
Travel	$1,289	$6,000	$1,289	21.5%
Property Tax	$1,843	$6,200	$2,303	37.1%
Weekly Savings	$0	$2,600	$150	5.8%
Pet Care	$0	$1,500	$125	8.33%
Total	$3,132	$16,300	$3,867	23.7%

Seriousthistime  $3,867,  1/19/2024 (Goal, $16,300)


Monthly Savings (not tracked above)

January	February	March
April	May	June
July	August	September
October	November	December

For the monthly savings, I try to save the full net amount of income from one of my pensions. It's a hefty amount. It goes into my EF which I won't track here (dollar-wise) because that's not the only thing that goes into the EF account. 

Minor changes to the savings chart, and I've saved a bit more than half of the first month of my monthly savings.  I have some mega credit card balances right now due to all the emergency travel I did, but once I get past that, it should be a bit easier. 

[azucena]

Jan 19, 2024 11:13:26 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Update

Name	Start	Goal	Saved	% Saved	Spent	Rose
Travel	$1,289	$6,000	$1,289	21.5%
Property Tax	$1,843	$6,200	$2,303	37.1%
Weekly Savings	$0	$2,600	$150	5.8%
Pet Care	$0	$1,500	$125	8.33%
Total	$3,132	$16,300	$3,867	23.7%

Seriousthistime  $3,767,  1/19/2024 (Goal, $16,300)


Monthly Savings (not tracked above)

January	February	March
April	May	June
July	August	September
October	November	December

For the monthly savings, I try to save the full net amount of income from one of my pensions. It's a hefty amount. It goes into my EF which I won't track here (dollar-wise) because that's not the only thing that goes into the EF account. 

Minor changes to the savings chart, and I've saved a bit more than half of the first month of my monthly savings.  I have some mega credit card balances right now due to all the emergency travel I did, but once I get past that, it should be a bit easier. 

Do you need to build back up your emergency fund? Otherwise curious why you're saving the entire pension esp while carrying cc balances. Feel free to tell me to MYOB.