International Region, Women in Red Racers

[mollyc]

update Aug 1/14 $12,000.00 (June 13/13 $18,975.00 IU, 53)

[speechchick71]

Hi all, popping in from the South board to post this. I though it might be interesting for those who want to learn more about planning their finances:

I don't know if any of you know about this but there are free college courses you can take for information purposes only (not credit although I think you can get some sort of certificate). If you google "coursera" you'll get the website and see all of the courses available but I thought this might be a good topic for those of us on these boards. It's being offered from University of Florida and, again, it's FREE. You don't need to apply or anything and you're not considered a student. This course is on personal and family financial planning. It doesn't start until Aug 20 and I think it's 7 weeks long. You create an account and then log in for the readings/homework/presentation. I did (part of) one on Thomas Jefferson and it was really interesting. You don't need to do the homework although in this case it might be a good idea.

Here is the link to the class: www.coursera.org/course/uffinancialplanning but again, if you just go to coursera.org and do a search, you might find other courses that are interesting to you!


I'd imagine you international people can join this too being that you only need an email address to participate.

[mollyc]

update Aug 15/14 $11,760.00 (June 13/13 $18,975.00 IU, 53)

[mollyc]

update Aug 29/14 $11,520.00 (June 13/13 $18,975.00 IU, 53)

[ldawngirl]

ldawngirl: 8/31/14 $4,684 (11/15/2013 $7,560, IU55)

VISA - $4,684
Car loan - $0

$2,876 (38%) paid off

It's been awhile since my last update. We had a VERY busy summer. And subsequently, it was very expensive. We had two weddings, which both involved travel, plus I had two business trips that turned into personal trips (one where a couple girlfriends met me out in Vancouver and we had a girls weekend in Seattle, and the other DH came along with me). So while my portion of those trips was mostly paid for, I still had to pay for hotel and spending money for our girls weekend and we paid for DH's portion of the second trip. Thankfully though his portion was quite cheap because the hotel, rental car, etc. were covered by my work. It has been a great summer though!

We did pay off our car, which is a great feeling! But with the busy and expensive summer, we also managed to go up on the Visa. We have a quiet September coming up though, so I'm hoping we can make a dent in that. We are going on another trip in October (this one is just for fun), so I'd like to get the Visa down a bit and have enough money saved to not go any further in the hole while we're away. (The hotels, flights and rental car are already paid for though, so that makes things easier - just have to worry about food, gas and spending money.)

How's everyone else doing? This board is so quiet these days!

[mollyc]

update Sept 12/14 $11,280.00 (June 13/13 $18,975.00 IU, 53)

The Teachers' strike continues out here in BC so DD is still free and easy all day during the week.  Dance classes have started so hopefully she will start getting back into a routine.

I've been giving her things to do but she is working like DS1 during the first few years of her marriage.  Goof around until an hour or so before the worker comes and just be finishing up what needs to be done as they are walking in the door.

Overall things are not great but if I don't stay positive, I'll never find a solution.  You miss too much when you are looking down.

[Minnesotagirl7]

Shoutouts!

Molly- You continue to make great progress - you've paid off almost $8000, way to go! That must be frustrating about the strike. I love your comment about missing too much when you're looking down!!  
IDawnGirl- That's too bad about the increase on your Visa. Hopefully you post another update soon and things head back down. The board is quiet; I still hope to consolidate all the regions, and I'm sure that will lead to more chatter and more motivation for everyone!  

[Minnesotagirl7]

Smiley update!!!

=$100, =$500, =$1,000, =$5,000, = $10,000, =$25,000, = $75,000, -kiss- = $100,000, =$200,000, = Location Needed

Idawngirl[3]: 8/31/14 $4,684 (11/16/2013 $7,560 IPT55)
mollyc: 9/13/14 $11,280 (6/13/2013 $18,975 IPT53)

[Minnesotagirl7]

All-

We still plan to consolidate the regions. I’m hoping we can have it done within a month or two. I’m working with the other captains to get this done. The tentative plan is to have one thread for chatting and questions, and another thread for the smiley updates. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks!  

[seriousthistime]

Dear Racers,

I am trying to drum up a few more members and/or regular posters for the Women in Red Savers 2014 thread (and hopefully for 2015).

For the longest time I didn't join them because I was focused on paying off debt. Then I started to realize that some of the Savers are also as focused on debt as I am. But we try to set money aside, at least for those semi-annual or annual, but predictable, expenses (like car insurance, property taxes, and so on). It's fine to track your savings that you know will be spent within a certain period of time (a/k/a sinking funds, where you need only track your money deposited; forget about the withdrawals). It could be something fun (vacations!), or something completely boring but necessary (EF, anyone?).

Some Savers set an annual goal and restart at zero each January. Others set a goal and keep chipping away at it regardless of the number of years it takes to save up (for example, a house downpayment often requires savings over multiple years). Some people track retirement contributions. Other people don't. Some only track extra money they can set aside, and others track automatic deposits into savings accounts. Whatever is your style, it works for us.

We all have a little bit of the Saver instinct in us. Please read a few of the Saver pages and see if it interests you. You'll see all sorts of saving styles and goals. If you're interested in trying it out, see the first few posts in the Savers 2014, and get started!

[mollyc]

update Oct 16/14 $10,800.00 (June 13/13 $18,975.00 IU, 53)

[Minnesotagirl7]

WIRR consolidated thread to launch in the next couple of weeks

Within the next couple of weeks, I will be locking the threads for the individual regions and going live with the consolidated threads. There will be two new threads: one for discussion, posting updates, asking questions, etc.; and a separate thread where the captains will be posting the smiley updates. The captains for the consolidated boards are: Minnesotagirl7, jdnstl, LaramiK, speechchick71, urdoingit, and idlechatter.

Please be patient with us for the first few weeks after we launch the new threads. Let us know if we miss anything or if you have suggestions for improvement.

While it’s a bit of a bummer that our numbers have dropped and we’re going back to being one big happy WIRR family, this is also a great opportunity to get to know other racers, learn new tips & tricks, and maybe even get a new perspective on your race.

Happy racing everyone!  

[mollyc]

update Oct 26/14 $10,560.00 (June 13/13 $18,975.00 IU, 53)

[Minnesotagirl7]

All-

I plan to launch the consolidated threads this Sunday, 11/9. It will happen sometime that morning. I hope you’re all as excited as I am!