Women in Red Savers 2015

[snapdragon]

Update - snapdragon 7/1/15 ( $4697 / Goal $ 6500 )

Travel Fund - $ 4500 (currently $ 3332)

EF - $1500 (currently $ 865)

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


Everyone have a good 4th. Keep safe.

[auburnsky]

I didn't get a chance to post last month but (very) slowly but surely building up the savings. It's so cool for me because I've really never had anything in savings before. Always paying off debt in the past!

Like I said not a lot of progress because I've had to cash flow some expenses. My 52 week challenge is not a set amount but rather whatever extra money I have so I sold some stuff on Craigslist and added that money there. Not sure I'll make the $1000 goal oh well.

Start Last Current Goal
EF 1000 2900 3000 5000
Prop tax 0 1600 1850 3600
52 wk 29 293 385 1000

Auburnsky 7/1/15 $5235 (3/4/15 $9600)

[Jaguar]

I'm still crawling along saving and I'm happy.

Saving Funds	Goals	Current	% Saved	Woo Hoo
Moving Fund	$1,300	$1,300	100%
Gateway Voyage	$4,600	$46.00	1%	?
Mattress Fund	$2,300	$0	0%	?
GRAND TOTAL	$8,200	$1,346	16.4%	?

Sugilite - 7/1/2015 - $1,346 - [NEW GOAL - $8,200] =

[Ombud]

Jul 1, 2015 11:37:22 GMT -5 snapdragon said:

Update - snapdragon 7/1/15 ( $4697 / Goal $ 6500 )

Travel Fund - $ 4500 (currently $ 3332)

EF - $1500 (currently $ 865)

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


Everyone have a good 4th. Keep safe.

Happy 1st rose for house/car! 

[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
6/18/15 +2176 daycare reimbursement $33,296
7/2/15 +100 daycare reimbursement $33,396
7/2/15 +779 extra from paychecks $34,175

Making some great progress ladies!

I forecasted the rest of July and August and it's looking good.  We paid for summer camp upfront so I'll pick up some savings from not having a tuition payment in July.  Daycare for my youngest when down by $50/month since she moved up a class.  Also looking forward to the last paycheck in July which will be my third paycheck of the month and won't have about $500 in deductions.  Some significant savings to be put away if I can keep my husband and I both from letting our lifestyle creep.

[tobinikui]

Good afternoon all -
Look at me, posting 2 months in a row!!
:-D

Life is chugging away. DH is practically back to 100% post-surgery. SD successfully graduated high school last week. DS turned 1 on Monday (although I still don't understand how that is even possible)!! And I am trying my best to reign in expenses! DS is off formula, which is great, but my paycheck took a 20% hit this week, as I bank time for a potential maternity leave next year. If I don't get pregnant, I'll have a very generous amount of vacation time to use. I'd prefer money to vacation, but if I do get pregnant, which is what I'm hoping for, I'll need the time! It's a tricky balance - at a minimum, I'll be at that 20% reduced pay through the end of the year. Ugh.

DH and I are co-hosting a graduation party for SD later this month, which won't be great for savings. But, we have some savings in cash for her college expenses (on top of a specific 529), so I will cashflow as much as possible, and cover the remainder from that other account. My first priority is that emergency fund! All savings are going to that, and it did take a big jump in the last two months thankfully, but it will definitely slow down now. We made some changes around the house - lowered our internet speed, got rid of our home phone, and all of that is going to savings! Still hoping to hit this goal in 18 months.

In other, exciting news, I ran some numbers, and I think DH and I might be able to pay our house off, entirely, in under 5 years!! Not a whole lot will change for the next two years or so, but it's a GREAT thing to aim for, after that point! DH is totally on board too, which makes it that much better!

Anyway, I am:
Goal: $25,000.00
Start: $0
Current: $14,585.12
Percentage: 58.3% complete

Tobinikui: $14,585.12 (Goal: $25,000, Start: $0)

[Ombud]

♡ 13K Alaska
♡ 2K Ireland
♡ 3k Horn
♡ 6.5k Roth
Still working on EF: 6000 - 1500 as of today

Ombud $26,000 (6k on 1/1/15, Goal 30k) = 86%

No headway bc Alaska, sure enough, is coming in over budget

[seriousthistime]

Update

Category	7/2/2015	Goal	% Saved	Roses
Deferred purchases	$1,288	$2,075	62.0%
CC paydown	$300	$8,500	3.5%
EF	$1,500	$1,000	150.0%
Gifts	$1,553	$2,600	59.7%
Utilities	$140	$280	50.0%
Weekly Savings	$748	$1,378	54.3%
Total	$5,529	$14,498	38.1%

Serious this time, 7/2/15, $5,529 (Goal $14,498)

Obviously slacking in the CC paydown category.   

   

[movinonup]

movinonup 7/1/2015 $296.75 (Goal $4045.95)

	Saved	Goal	% Saved	Periods Completed
Weekly Challenge	$202.00	$1378.00	14.659%	4/52
Daily Challenge	$94.75	$667.95	14.185%	28/365
Skiing	$0.00	$2000.00	0%

I put a small amount away.  I'm not sure how much will be getting saved this month.  I am laying out the money for my MIL's funeral expenses until we deal with all of the legalities with the her estate.  
-movinonup

[seriousthistime]

Update complete!

	Stars	Name	Amt Saved	Goal	% Saved	Roses	Smilies
1		auburnsky	$5,235	$9,600	54.5%
2		azucena	$34,175	$39,300	87.0%
3		forwardwego	$5,010	$11,378	44.0%
4		megaptera	$4,300	$15,000	28.7%
5		Minnesotagirl7	$6,100	$10,000	61.0%
6		minnesota paintlady	$15,550	$17,900	86.9%
7		movinonup	$297	$4,046	7.3%
8		nalto	$2,516	$10,000	25.2%
9		Ombud	$26,000	$30,000	86.0%
10		PauletteG	$4,895	$9,000	54.4%
11		Saving4Norway	$23,400	$27,000	87.0%
12		scrgrl47	$10,570	$19,080	55.4%
13		seriousthistime	$5,529	$14,498	38.1%
14		shanendoah	$11,736	$15,500	75.7%
15		snapdragon	$4,697	$6,500	72.3%
16		speechchick71	$4,160	$20,005	20.8%
17		Sugilite	$1,346	$8,200	16.4%
18		teachermom	$2,247	$5,500	40.9%
19		tobinikui	$14,585	$25,000	58.3%

We have a few additional stars (each   = 25% of goal saved), a new rose or two, and some new smilies on board.  Good job, SAVERS!

This update is through message #338.   Our May 3 update was through message #264.  Therefore, if you haven't updated since message #264, you are not on this list but are still on our master list.  acemom, sealy, steph08, runmarathons, bankergurl, and DVM gone riding, your last updates were before message #264, so you're hanging out on the master list. coffeegirl and dogmom, not sure whether you're still interested in joining us, but we haven't seen you around here since early 2015. 

Some of us are working through some challenging money times. Others are plodding along, others are leapfrogging, and more than a few are more than 75% of the way to this year's goal.  No matter your trials and tribulations, hang in there. 

Shoutouts to follow.

[seriousthistime]

Shoutouts to all for persevering through challenging times and making the best of the good times.

To movinonup and snapdragon, so very sorry for your loss.     

We have a few weddings coming up, though not sure when: DVM gone riding, bankergurl, and nalto.  Anyone else?

We have a few teachers that I know of (and probably a few more who never mentioned they were teachers:  sealy, and teachermom.  How are your summer finances doing?

We have a few people who moved recently: shanendoah, and bankergurl.  And a few who plan to move sometime in the future: bankergurl, and Sugilite.  Bankergurl, did you get all the boxes unpacked before deciding to move again?  And Sugilite, I would probably do the same thing, keep money ready for the eventual move for now and wait until later for the TV.  

Sugilite, needing a safety net is what makes most of us actually save.  And -- dare I say it -- realizing we are that safety net is what makes us adult.

forwardwego, how was your vacation?  

azucena, are you already a homeowner and just saving for a different house, or are you saving for your first house?  Lifestyle creep is always the concern and it does indeed creep up on us if we don't watch out. 

Ombud, great news about DGS's financial aid!  What a huge worry to cross off the list.  What did you decide on the Peets card?  (Some of us here probably don't know about Peets, but they sell the coffee in my grocery store and a friend of mine who lived in Berkeley swears by their coffee; used to order it by mail.)

Saving4Norway, I'm sure the truck repairs are not welcome news, but you are right -- financial stability takes the stress out of such moments. 

nalto, I have to chuckle about your description of Mrs.-to-be Nalto going for walks to pick up change! Frugality rubs off, doesn't it? 

speechchick71, your weekly challenge is breathtaking!  Wow.  How do you find that kind of money to put into savings?  Please share your secrets. 

Rocky Mtn. Saver, thanks for stopping by.  I thought you were reducing your hours to have more time off, but your post makes it seem as if it is a long-term thing, or at least you hope it is.  How do you manage to escape for such a long period of time?  

minnesotapaintlady, how was your vacation?  Sounds like July and August will be great months, money-wise, for you.

megaptera, good to see you back, but sad to hear about DH's job.  It's really hard to get back on track after suffering a job loss, but you seem to be doing it.  Good going, and fingers crossed that he lands the job of his dreams, very soon. 

Minnesotagirl7, it seems you just started your race and you are already at 61%.  Wow.  Amazing!

auburnsky, it doesn't matter to us whether you make your goals or not.  If it's important to you, then try.  If not, then just keep plugging away and see how close you can get.  

tobinikui, you have a lot of good things to look forward to.  You're doing great on your savings and we anxiously await news, when there is news to be had, of the next little bundle. Keep us posted. 

====================

Anyone care to give me a pep talk?  I'm depressed that my CC paydown is going SO slowly. It seems that the minute I get paid, I am already poor. 

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

seriousthistime It's a long-term change that's been a goal for a few years now. At the moment, I'm working full-time seasonally and part-time the rest of the year, which is how I'm out of the country for a few months this summer. I've been working hard at this goal for about 5 years, so it's not a spur-of-the-moment decision. But I won't know how this new plan is working out until the first full year passes. So far, finances are holding out but there's not a lot of wiggle room without raiding my savings cushion. That will change when I get back to the US and pick up some more work. It's a work-in-progress, but so far it's going well. 

[Jaguar]

My move money, plus what more I'll save after The Gateway Voyage has made ME personally so happy. Saving has shown me that I have options, that before I never had and I feel awesome knowing that I'm a saver now.

THANK YOU ALL !!!

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Jul 5, 2015 19:54:59 GMT -5 Jaguar said:

My move money, plus what more I'll save after The Gateway Voyage has made ME personally so happy. Saving has shown me that I have options, that before I never had and I feel awesome knowing that I'm a saver now.

THANK YOU ALL !!!

So true!  

[seriousthistime]

Jul 5, 2015 19:54:59 GMT -5 Jaguar said:

My move money, plus what more I'll save after The Gateway Voyage has made ME personally so happy. Saving has shown me that I have options, that before I never had and I feel awesome knowing that I'm a saver now.

THANK YOU ALL !!!

Not only has it shown you that you have options (you have the money to make a move), but it has also shown you that goals change, you can start to earmark savings for one reason and then decide to earmark it for another.  And that's perfectly fine.  It is another option (changing your goals to suit your needs). 

[shanendoah]

I don't know that you could say we've fully moved yet. We are in the process of moving. Closed on the new house June 5. Movers came and got the furniture/big stuff June 19, so we've been living in the new house since then. This weekend we finally got the upstairs of the old house pretty much emptied, but we still have the basement to clear out. We are also no where near unpacked at the new house. The garage is nearly full of boxes and "stuff".
We're now less than one month away from when we start paying on two mortgages.
We haven't submitted our change of address forms to the post office yet, but I think the postal delivery person is "trying" to be helpful and has stopped delivering mail to the old address (even though we're down there a few times a week). This means we haven't gotten the $400 snowflake check we get from the state. I've got to get those change of addresses submitted and hope our mail gets to us.

I haven't looked at money. The YNAB icon mocks me every time I open up my laptop.
I do know that my last months numbers were wrong. I messed up somewhere and estimated closing costs at about $3k less than they were. (Which is funny, because I think I had closing costs right, and then when I did the math last month, messed them up, which is why I had more than I thought I should. Because I really didn't.)
We had interest from some neighbors about buying the old house as is. We need to follow up on that this week and find out for sure. Otherwise, we need to start getting people in to do the work.

[sealy]

seriousthistime my summer is going ok.  I paid two payments on my house
I won't get a paycheck at the end of this month so when I get paid on Friday,
I'm going to pay extra on my utilities and use it to rent a car to visit my XMIL.
My kids are excited but I'm not sure what to do with our dogs because boarding
is kind of expensive but it's cheaper than other places.

I will get child support that will take care of DD school clothes. 

I will have $1,000 in my EF by Friday.

[azucena]

seriousthistime

We currently have a 3 bedroom home that doesn't fit us anymore.  I have two DDs almost 3 and almost 7 and I swore I'd never have girls share a room like my sister and I did because each needs their own space.  However, the third bedroom in this home is constantly in use as an office - for me when I'm working from home, studying for an actuarial exam, or for my husband playing computer games.  Other areas of the house also feel closed in now that we are a family of four.  So ideally we'd find a 4 bedroom home or 3 with another space for an office.

My salary has almost doubled since 2012 when I came back from my maternity leave.  A combination of promotions and actuarial exam increases.  I expect it to increase further over the next year.  My husband and I both come from very modest backgrounds so figuring out what to do with this 'additional' money has been overwhelming.  A nice problem to have though

[speechchick71]

The reason I can save so much money is that I'm blessed not to have housing expenses right now and I'm debt free.  Basically, my whole paycheck is mine to do what I want.  Recently I've been spending a lot of stupid stuff such as food and drinks but that is going to stop.  I keep telling myself that I'm grounded and to just eat the food that is in the house and so far this week it's worked.  Sometimes I have no self control.  I don't have any plans for any big purchases so hopefully I'll be able to keep a lid on the spending.  I'm starting to fund my Roth with my next paycheck too.  Now the savings will REALLY begin!

[murphath]

Ombud:

Re your GS1: when you say FAFSA $13500, is that another loan or a Pell Grant?

[Ombud]

Jul 9, 2015 10:26:54 GMT -5 murphath said:

Ombud:

Re your GS1: when you say FAFSA $13500, is that another loan or a Pell Grant?

It's his grant. Another coming from the school but that's on hold depending what's left over (audition via utube). Only loans are the 3500 Stafford (?) + 2000 subsidized. Tuition, 1k per semester for books, fees, housing/meal plan accepted at 19k. Happy dance time

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 7/10/2015 $5254 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	900	5000	18	4100
homestead EF	1200	2000	60	800
vehicle EF	600	1000	60	400
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	554	1378	40	824
totals	5254	11378	46	6124

*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+51 +26+50+49+48+47=$554

Back from vacation which was wonderful because we saw our kids. But this WIR is whooped. 3 hour time difference between Oregon and FL. Plus spent too much  . I'll have the money to pay it off when the CC comes in August, but savings and debt paydown will be minimums until September. 


Keep up the good work fellow savers!

[Ombud]

Just looked at the forecast for next week's trip again and it forcasts RAIN!! It was 85° when my sister was there last week & now rainy for me?

[sealy]

*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

total


forwardwego Thank you for helping me.
I was going to put it in my signature line
but I couldn't use the strikethrough there.

[PauletteG]

UPDATE 7/12/2015 $5455 (goal $9000)

Fund	Goal	Current	Needed	% Complete
Car Payoff	7000	3645	3355	52.07%
Island Trip	1800	1800	zip,baby!	100%
Furniture	200	10	190	5%

I've met two of my four criteria for paying off the car loan. To my detriment, summer sees an increase in expenditures such as kiddie amusements, gas, eating out, scooter maintenance, and veterinary expenses. One otherwise trouble-free animal has been treated with antibiotics for the eye as he has allergies, and Saturday morning he came home without a claw. Today his toe smells, probably of infection. He'll probably go to the vet tomorrow. The silver lining is that before his injury and during our heatwave he was hypervocal; now that the temps are below 82F/27C and he's injured, he's thankfully quiet.

How do you treat changes in priorities for savings goals?

[sealy]

Scratch the $1,000 EF.  I will need to use it for our AZ trip.  
I will begin again once summer is over.  so here comes the
52 week challenge.

*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

total 4+3=7+2=9 

 Not mathematically correct but . . . it's just a running total.

[steph08]

I fell off the wagon updating this for the past two months. Here is my latest update.

I decided to stop the 52 week challenge. I just didn't start it like I wanted to. I will try again in 2016.

I updated my goals and stretch goals to reflect that. I decided to go for $1200 as the goal for the college fund and $1800 as the stretch goal. That is more important.

UPDATE: steph0808 7/14/2015 $4,255.78 2/4/2015 $2,500.00 Goal: $5,200 Stretch Goal: $ 6,800

	Previous	Added	Current	% Toward Goal	% Toward Stretch Goal
Disney	3,100.00	400.00	3,500.00	87.5%	70.0%
College Fund	375.00	380.78	755.78	68.7%	63.0%
	3,475.00	780.78	4,255.78	65.7%	55.8%

Saved this update $780.78
Total Saved $4,255.78
Percentage Saved Toward Goals 65.70%



Goal Stretch Goal
Disney 4000 5000
College Fund 1200 1800


$5,200.00 $6,800.00

[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
6/18/15 +2176 daycare reimbursement $33,296
7/2/15 +100 daycare reimbursement $33,396
7/2/15 +779 extra from paychecks $34,175
7/17/15 +457 daycare reimbursement and paycheck savings $34,632

Passed an actuarial exam so $3500 raise coming my way.  Means $70ish net per paycheck -> ~$140/month.  Spending that this month on a hotel room sleepover with my college roommate to celebrate - both of us are looking fwd to 24 hrs kid free   Going to spend a chunk of change updating my work wardrobe - that's long overdue and I need her help to pick the right pieces and spend a little more.

Have upped 401k by 1% to total of 15% = $80/month.  This will put me really close to maxing out 401k for the first time next year - hubby and I are very excited about this goal.

Also signed up to sponsor an 8 yo Mexican girl through Compassion for $38/month.  Signed up on her birthday - made me teary to think about.  This is something I've been wanting to do for the past few years but haven't been able to make myself commit.  Already the conversations I've had with my 7 yo DD about this girl's living situation and helping others have been priceless!

Additional $20ish/month will be spent on babysitting as I study for my next exam

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 7/17/2015 $5440 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	900	5000	18	4100
homestead EF	1240	2000	62	760
vehicle EF	700	1000	70	300
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	600	1378	43	778
totals	5440	11378	47	5938

*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+51 +26+50+49+48+47+46=$600

It's been a very "spendy" summer. Aug and Sept will be "spent" catching up from all the eating out on vacation, and several periodic expenses happening simultaneously: new brakes on the car, annual termite bond, petmeds. I'm very glad to be here on the savers' board, because I feel good about the progress and feel like I'm working for more than merely paying the bills and getting by. 


Keep up the good work fellow savers!

[Ombud]

Demoralizing month. Absolutely no progress
♡ 13K Alaska
♡ 2K Ireland
♡ 3k Horn
♡ 6.5k Roth
No progress on EF: 6000 - 1500

Ombud $26,000 (6k on 1/1/15, Goal 30k) = 86%