Women in Red Savers 2015

[shanendoah]

Hey gang, still no $ updates from me because things have been changing so quickly I just really haven't had a chance to get it all written down.
We put in an offer on a house last night. They countered; we accepted. We will be closing on the new house in June.
But I still will have a house savings goal, because we need to fix up the current house before we sell it.

However, now that I am not spending my evenings searching for a new house online, maybe I'll actually be able to get my numbers sorted out for now and get a real update in here.

And seriousthistime, thanks for keeping me on the list, even if I'm not actually giving updates.

[forwardwego]

Saving4Norway congrats on your update...$21900 of $27000 and it's only May!! It's motivating to see you saving for trips and such. I look forward to when I am saving for that category instead of "tree removal" and "truck tires" lol 


movinonup Welcome to the savers! You are gonna be so glad you joined 


snapdragon Nice update. Looks like some roses in your near future 


seriousthistime Thank you for the updates and the dedication you bring to the savers' board. Congratulations on your first rose this year 


Jaguar Congrats on your update $2K is straight ahead 


steph08 Sometimes I feel like I am trudging/turtling along too. Nice work cash flowing your vacation.

PauletteG I'm glad your vacation went well. And nice work being at almost 50% on 2 of your goals!!


Random: Since joining WIR and hearing and using the word "turtling" I feel more fondness for turtles. Today I stopped and helped one get across the road faster. He hissed his thanks   


acemom Hearty congratulations on your new job!!!
Thank you for your condolences. I hope to see my BIL again someday. I sure do miss him. Sis and I have the funeral home bill whittled down from $3K to $1200. In a way it makes me think of pall bearers. This is one of the last things I can do to honor him. It isn't easy but I'm honored to be able to do it for him and my sister. 


auburnsky Congratulations on your update and your progress!! Small updates are important because they eventually lead to bigger updates. 

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 5/8/2015 $4360 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	700	5000	14	4300
homestead EF	1000	2000	50	1000
vehicle EF	600	1000	60	400
tree removal	1620	1750	92	130
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	190	1378	13	1188
totals	4360	11378	38	7018

*52 week challenge summary

1   2   3  4   5  6   7   8  9  10   11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19  20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

sum of 1-17= $153 153+18+19=$190

The bad/expensive news: the tree estimates are in and it's $1750 instead of $1200.
The good news: DH worked a barter deal with the guy at the car shop and the tires are $250 instead of $800.
Net result: it balances   .

Also we will get $50 savings for paying tree co with a check instead of CC. So we only need $80 more to be fully funded in the tree acct. And that is budgeted in for next week. 


Keep up the good work fellow savers!

[azucena]

Azucena: 1/9/15 $19,300 goal $39,300 Downpayment for a new house Spring of 2016
1/14/15 +755 last 2014 daycare reimbursement $20,055
1/30/15 +1202 third paycheck of the month so no deductions $21,257
2/27/15 +633 last 2014 healthcare reimbursement $21,890
3/10/15 +2075 tax refund $23,965
3/27/15 +7348 bonus $31,300
4/10/15 +439 "extra" from paycheck $31,739
5/08/15  -619 deductible for new roof after hail damage $31,120

Really disappointed by the backslide but it could have been worse because it's netted against what I was able to save for the last month.  Also have been getting bids for replacing our rotted railroad tie retaining wall which will be about $2000.  Trying to convince my husband to save up for it separately over the course of a few months but he just wants it over and done.  And I know it has to be done before we try to sell the house.  Just hate spending money on something that provides no real value.

[Ombud]

♡ 12K Alaska
♡ 2K Ireland
♡ 3k Horn
♡ 6.5k Roth
Still working on EF: 6000 - 1000 as of today

Ombud $25,000 (6k on 1/1/15, Goal 30k) = 83%

So the problem is everything is coming up over budget.
■ Alaska looking like over 12k
■ Horn was another 490
■ Ireland was up just a tad.
So far those were handled out of monthly income

[shanendoah]

shanendoah 5/13/2015 $9,034.72 (Start: $5,051.10 / Goal: $15,500)

Fund	Current Balance	Starting Balance	Goal Amount	% Saved
Pop Tart College	$1,501.11	$1,061.10	$2,500.00	60.04%
Vacation	$0	$3,000.00	$3,000.00	0%
House	$7,533.61	$990.00	$10,000.00	75.34%
Total	$9,034.72	$5,051.10	$15,500.00	58.29%

In addition to these numbers, I once again have a fully funded EF at $10k, and a down payment on the the new house of $50,500.
We took our vacation, so for the moment, I have 0ed out that savings line. My goal is to be back up to $3,000 by the end of the year, but for now, that is my lowest priority.
I still have a house line of $10,000 because we need to be able to do some work fixing up the old house before we sell or rent it. (We had been leaning sell, but a possible opportunity to rent has come up and we're considering it). Unlike the vacation savings which are ongoing, my goal is not to refill that pot once it is spent. Obviously we'll still save some money toward house maintenance with the new place, but not the $10k I am budgeting for now.

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 5/15/2015 $4480 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	700	5000	14	4300
homestead EF	1020	2000	51	980
vehicle EF	600	1000	60	400
tree removal	1700	1750	97	50
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	210	1378	15	1168
totals	4480	11378	39	6898

*52 week challenge summary

1   2   3  4   5  6   7   8  9  10   11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

sum of 1-17= $153 153+18+19+20=$210

We will get $50 savings for paying tree co with a check instead of CC. (I'll show that last $50 when the transaction is complete.)

Keep up the good work fellow savers!

[speechchick71]

UPDATE: speechchick71 5/15/15 $2425 (goal=$20,005, started 1/1/2015)

	17-Apr	15-May	Goal	How much to go	% Met
Weekly Challenge	$1,360.00	$2,100.00	$13,780.00	$11,680.00	15%
$25/week	$275.00	$325.00	$725.00	$400.00	45%
Roth 2015	$0.00	$0.00	$5,500.00	$5,500.00	0%
	-	-	-	-
Totals	$1,635.00	$2,425.00	$20,005.00	$17,580.00	12%

I'm feeling pretty good about my progress.  I am now 100% paid off for my racing debt and the only thing I have left in the IOU column is my car.  I have saved $2425 on this board but I also have about $3600 in other savings for a total of just around $6k saved for the whole year as of yet.  I'm really excited to see the numbers go up again.  The other savings accounts are more for "emergencies".  I think these accounts that I'm racing here are more to prove that I can...and I"m doing it!  My weekly challenge on steroids is starting to ramp up...the next two paychecks are $430 and $470, then I start in the $500s and up.  I can do this!

I'm so inspired by all of you and I hope I'm inspiring someone else in return.  This is a great group.

[Jaguar]

Well the grand amount has changed, cause I'm getting closer and getting the amounts all set up. It's only 13 months till I do The Gateway Voyage Program, do you know how exciting that is for me, MEGA HUGE !!!

[teachermom]

Update:

Life has been totally crazy here!!! So much to do at the end of a school year! Plugging away!!

Been concentrating on losing weight and going through rooms to simplify my life at home. Slowly making progress!! I am now down 85 pounds....been a journey!! Still want to lose 25 more before my 50th birthday this summer!!!! Even if I don't make that, I am the healthiest I have been in my adult life!!

Savings went up a little....hasn't been the focus as I am still working on paying down debt but making progress there as well.

Saving 2014
Fund	Goals	Beg Bal	May 2015	YTD	Spent	End Bal	% Met
Savings
Emergency Fund - Minor	$1,500.00	$1,000.00	$0.27	$1,000.27	$0.00	$1,000.27	66.68%
Insurance - Deductible	$200.00	$200.05	$0.21	$200.26	$0.00	$200.26	100.13%
Roof	$500.00	$0.05	$300.00	$300.05	$0.00	$300.05	60.01%
New Tires	$400.00	$202.34	$7.21	$209.55	$0.00	$209.55	52.39%
Car Maintenance	$500.00	$0.05	$0.00	$0.05	$0.00	$0.05	0.01%
Plumbing updates	$400.00	$0.10	$0.00	$0.10	$0.00	$0.10	0.03%
Gifts	$500.00	$0.05	$0.00	$0.05	$0.00	$0.05	0.01%
Thailand Trip	$1,500.00	$536.36	$0.28	$536.64	$0.00	$536.64	35.78%
Total Savings	$5,500	$1,939.00	$307.97	$2,246.97	$0.00	$2,246.97	40.85%

Teachermom 5/19/15 $2246.97 (1/1/2015 $1000.00, goal $5500.00)

Teachermom

[nalto]

Nalto 5/20/15 $3727.21 ($3727.21 5/20/15 Goal=$10,000)

Hello fellow savers! I know it's been quite some time, but I'm back! Life has been super busy for me in the last year or so...changed academic paths/career goals (to accounting now), moved into my own place, got a "new" used car (a tree fell on my last one in the middle of a beautiful summer day), got engaged...all sorts of exciting stuff.

So, here I am! I need to start saving for our wedding (or at least some of it) in eleven months, as well as getting some good cash built up for life as a married man. I put my goal at $10,000 because I figure that between her savings, my savings and any family help, that number should cover it as well as getting to a good spot cash wise for anything after the wedding.

Happy saving everyone!

[Saving4Norway]

Nalto!!! Welcome back! Congrats on all the new and exciting changes in your life! 

[Ombud]

nalto, still docking away in the retirement account? Dn see that (missed ya on IBB). & Congrats

[nalto]

Thanks for the well wishes! Ombud, I'm still plugging away at it. Had to decrease my 403 b contributions, but maxed out Roth for 2015, and talking with soon-to-be Mrs. Alto about our goals and future plans, and seems like making out our Roths is a priority for the future! Had to also start factoring in our new HDHP HSA at work, so that hits me a bit too. Oh well. I'm gonna jump on IBB soon and check in, but I feel like my money used to be so focused on one or two things; now, what with wedding, retirement, health coverage, school, future security and everything else, I guess I'm officially an adult...

[nalto]

Nalto 5/21/15 $3579.27 ($3727.21 5/20/15 Goal=$10,000)

The thing about being engaged, I'm learning, is that costs are always creeping in and up...

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 5/22/2015 $4552 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	700	5000	14	4300
homestead EF	1040	2000	52	960
vehicle EF	600	1000	60	400
tree removal	1700	1750	97	50
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	262	1378	19	1116
totals	4552	11378	40	6826

*52 week challenge summary

1   2   3  4   5  6   7   8  9  10   11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

sum of 1-17= $153 153+18+19+20+52=$262

Another IBU (itty bitty update) but happy to knock down the 52 in the weekly savings 

Keep up the good work fellow savers!

[scrgrl47]

Update! scrgrl47 5/23/2015 $10,570.45 (Start: $42.04 / Goal: $19,080)

My mom and I went to the RUSH CONCERT OMG in Austin last weekend - I paid for both of us, although I used airline miles for the flights and we stayed with my cousin and his wife so those parts were 'free'.  I made sure to cover all food and drinks to thank my cousin for his hospitality so between that and the actual tickets (#supersplurge), most of the vacation fund was used.  Oh well, that's what it's there for! #rushfangirl

Fund	Start	Last Update	Saved Since	Current Balance	Total Saved	Goal
HSA	$0.00	$1,723.04	$180.76	$1,903.80	$1,903.80	$3,300.00
Rowing	$0.00	$70.00	$140.00	$210.00	$210.00	$1,260.00
Retirement	$0.00	$3,879.73	$576.92	$4,456.65	$4,456.65	$7,500.00
Car	$0.00	$1,080.00	$270.00	$1,350.00	$1,350.00	$3,120.00
Vacations	$0.00	$900.00	$250.00	$1,150.00	$1,150.00	$2,400.00
EF	$42.04	$1,500.00	$0	$1,500.00	$1,457.96	$1,500.00
Total	$42.04	$9,152.77	$1,417.68	$10,570.45	$10,528.41	$19,080.00

[Jaguar]

My June or July budget will take one step backward, but then the month after that I'll be back on track again. I got a supplement order and a Amazon order to pay for.

[snapdragon]

Update - snapdragon 5/27/15 ( $4592 / Goal $ 6500 )

Travel Fund - $ 4500 (currently $ 3332)

EF - $1500 (currently $ 760)

House/car - $ 500 ( currently $ 500)  !!!





I couldn't wait any longer and had to update. I have reached 1 milestone and I will be working on the other two.    

[PauletteG]

UPDATE:   PauletteG 5/27/2015 $4895 ($9000, from 4/1/2015)

Fund	Goal	Current	Needed	% Complete
Car Payoff	7000	3085	3915	44.07%
Island Trip	1800	1800	0	100%
Furniture	200	10	190	5.00%

Island trip unofficially paid off weeks ago, officially paid off the closing date of present credit card statement.

The furniture fund is ridiculously low, and stagnated. I see other savings goals "standing in the wings" so to speak, like a new shed, new laptop, new shredder, new dining room set, replacement phone to port to our next cellular services carrier, but I'll bring them in one by one as my present goals are completed.

[nalto]

Nalto 5/27/15 $2472.22 ($3727.21 5/20/15 Goal=$10,000)

Had to buy some suits for future BIL's wedding this summer/my wedding and got a pretty good deal actually...but still. Ouch.

I'm starting to feel like my goal is a bit too lofty. It's probable that I won't hit it, or really even come close, considering that money will be leaving to pay for stuff. So, I've decided to keep my goal where it is, and when I hit it I can add another goal, even if it's months after the wedding. Knowing how much money will be leaving my pocket over the next year or two stings a bit (though it'll be worth it!), but I know it'll be that much sweeter once I hit that goal.

I've forgotten how motivating you all are. I'm sure it's partially the accountability that comes along with posting, but it really is nice to have a community that rejoices in being able to tuck away a few dollars each day/week/month/year. People look at me like I'm nuts when I save my loose change or put away any one or five dollar bills I have on me, but not you guys! Thanks for that.

I'm fortunate in that the lady is on board with saving; she just never did it before as she had no reason to. Trouble is, she's used to her pre-saving days, and has a tough time coming up with ideas that cost little/nothing. Not blaming her, I'm fairly useless at it too, as most of my cheap things to do were for a single guy. If anyone had any date/activity/hobby ideas (I'm in the Seattle area), I'd appreciate it and love to hear them!

Keep on saving!

[seriousthistime]

nalto, if I understand your post, you are tracking current balances in your savings, and not your deposits into savings.  If you re-read the first few posts on the first page of the Savers 2015 thread, you'll see that some/most of us track money in, but don't worry about the money going out.  ALL savings will be spent eventually. We are all saving for certain goals, or just for a comfortable amount in savings so we can weather the storms that come our way (and those storms almost certainly WILL come our way).  I save for taxes, and emergencies, and gifts, and so on.  All that money will be spent eventually.  If I considered that I'd never reach my goal for, say, taxes, because I have to take money out to pay my property taxes twice a year, then I'd feel like I was never gaining any ground.  

So if seeing the numbers go down is getting you down, you might want to rethink your tracking strategy.

[nalto]

Thanks seriousthistime.

I had thought about changing my tracking strategy, but I decided that, at least with this goal, I wanted to have the $10k in savings. The expectation is that I will use whatever savings I have there to pay for upcoming expenses, so the actual numbers themselves will be a bit of a roller coaster. In the end, I'll have saved well over my goal, but I think tracking my progress to $10k is my target. Who knows? That number may change into a bigger one for a house down payment, or it could split into a few different goals, like the ones you mentioned. For the time being, since there are some unknowns for my future, tracking the balance rather than deposits might be the way to go for me.

[shanendoah]

What kinds of things do you and the fiance like to do nalto? There's a ton of stuff in and around Seattle that's free or inexpensive. I got married at the Kubota Japanese Gardens in Renton. While having a wedding there isn't free, admission to wander around the lovely park is, as it's a city park. There's Golden Gardens with a park and beach up north, Gasworks, Olympic Sculpture Park, the Gihuly Glass display at Seattle Center (the Museum of Glass in Tacoma is also pretty cool, though not free), first Thursdays of the month the SAM is free admission.
If you like board games there are a few places around town where you can go, eat some food (the food costs money), and play their board games for free. You don't actually have to buy food at some of them either.

There really is a ton of stuff going on. Here's the Seattle parks guide to summer events. A lot are free.

[Ombud]

Another month's rolled by with very little progress:
♡ 12K Alaska
♡ 2K Ireland
♡ 3k Horn
♡ 6.5k Roth

Ombud $24,510 (6k on 1/1/15, Goal 30k) - 81.7%

[Deleted]

June budget is done and I moved the needle a bit.

Fund	2015 Goal	Current	Needed	% Complete
Roth	$5500	$5500	$0	100.00%
Replacement Car	$3600	$2950	$350	90.28%
College	$2400	$1000	$1200	50.00%
Vacation	$2000	$2000	$0	100.00%
Washer & Dryer	$1500	$1500	$0	100.00%
Pr. High School	$1000	$0	$1000	0.00%
Carpet	$500	$500	$0	100.00%
Sea Base	$500	$500	$0	100.00%
Christmas	$500	$500	$0	100.00%
Y Membership	$400	$400	$0	100.00%
Total	$17900	$15350	$2550	85.75%

[Jaguar]

Well onward and upward, I'm still doing the savers crawl.

Saving Funds	Goals	Current	% Saved	Woo Hoo
TV Fund	$510	$510	100%
Moving Fund	$1,300	$1,125.85	86.6%	?
Gateway Voyage	$4,590	$0	0%	?
Mattress Fund	$2,300	$0	0%	?
GRAND TOTAL	$8,700	$1,635.85	18.8%	?

Sugilite Update - 5/30/2015 - $1,635.85 - [NEW GOAL - $8,700] =

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 5/31/2015 $4743 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	800	5000	16	4200
homestead EF	1060	2000	53	940
vehicle EF	600	1000	60	400
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	283	1378	20	1095
totals	4743	11378	41	6635

*52 week challenge summary

1   2   3  4   5  6   7   8  9  10   11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

sum of 1-17= $153 153+18+19+20+52+21=$283

thank goodness the big dead tree is gone, the only damage was the sprinkler system when the stump was ground. DH can fix that.

Would really love to enter the $5K range soon soon soon!

Keep up the good work fellow savers!

[seriousthistime]

Hey Savers, where did the month of May go

I'll be doing smilies on Wednesday, so please get your updates in by then.  (Saving4Norway, I hope this works for you.) 

[shanendoah]

shanendoah 5/13/2015 $11,735.99 (Start: $5,051.10 / Goal: $15,500)

Fund	Current Balance	Starting Balance	Goal Amount	% Saved
Pop Tart College	$1,628.48	$1,061.10	$2,500.00	65.14%
Vacation	$107.51	$3,000.00	$3,000.00	3.58%
House	$10,000	$990.00	$10,000.00	100%
Total	$11,735.99	$5,051.10	$15,500.00	75.72%

The tax return finally arrived, I got a small raise, etc. I was actually really surprised when I ran the numbers this morning and subtracted out the rest of the house down payment (due on Friday) and the $10k emergency fund, and realized I was at the $10k goal for house spending, so extra got to hop back into the vacation fund.

But that's good, because I am looking at a couple of months of double mortgage, so our ability to save will go down for the summer.