Women in Red Savers 2015

[megaptera]

UPDATE

megaptera: 9/30/2015 $11,150.00 [1/1/2015 $0.00 / Goal: $15,000.00]

Savings may have to slow a bit. DH's car is about doomed (it's about 20 years old, and has a bazillion miles), the fridge will need to be replaced VERY soon (it's also about 20 years old), and various other house stuff decided to break or stop working. I do love how all this stuff happens at the same time, just right around the start of the holidays.

[Jaguar]

Onward and upward creeping along, new apartment here I come, I'm still looking for one though.

Saving Funds	Goals	Current	% Saved	Woo Hoo
Moving Fund	$1,400	$1,400	100%
Gateway Voyage	$4,600	$416	9%	?
Mattress Fund	$2,300	$0	0%	?
GRAND TOTAL	$8,300	$1,816	21.9%	?

Sugilite - 9/30/2015 - $1,816 - [NEW GOAL - $8,300] =

[seriousthistime]

Sept 30, 2015 12:06:38 GMT -5 Jaguar said:

Onward and upward creeping along, new apartment here I come, I'm still looking for one though.

Saving Funds	Goals	Current	% Saved	Woo Hoo
Moving Fund	$1,400	$1,400	100%
Gateway Voyage	$4,600	$416	9%	?
Mattress Fund	$2,300	$0	0%	?
GRAND TOTAL	$8,300	$1,816	21.9%	?

Sugilite - 9/30/2015 - $1,816 - [NEW GOAL - $8,300] =

You go, girl!  Moving is a hassle but in your case it will be worth it.

[sealy]

I am chugging away at this lil savings of mine.  
I will have my EF in place by next week.

I plan to switch accounts so I can keep
my 52 week challenge separate from my
EF.

[snapdragon]

Update - snapdragon 10/1/15 ( $4642 / Goal $ 6500 )

Travel Fund - $ 4500 (currently $ 3082)

EF - $1500 (currently $ 1060)

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

A small step back. I used travel money to pay for some things when I went to assist my mom last month. So the money was used in traveling but not the way I really wanted to use it. 

[Saving4Norway]

Fund	2015 Goals	Last Month	This Month	% Met	Roses
Iceland Flight	5000	4000	4000	80%
Vehicles	1000	1000	1000	100%	Sept
Sturgis 2016	2000	2000	2000	100%	Sept
Gifts&Donations	250	250	250	100%	Sept
Palm Springs	2000	2000	2000	100%	Sept
Vacay Prop	500	250	500	100%	Oct
Christmas	250	0	250	100%	Oct
Olympic Club - Nov	500	500	500	100%	Sept
Sisu (& sister?)	500	250	500	100%	Oct
Home Improvement	2500	250	1500	60%
TOTAL	14500	10500	12500	86%

Saving4Norway 10/2/15 $12,500 (Goal $14,500)

[sealy]

*52 week challenge summary


01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 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+1=10+6=16
16+5+7+8+9+10=55+18+40=113
113+50+32=195

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 10/2/2015 $6463(goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	2100	5000	42	2900
homestead EF	925	2000	46	1075
vehicle EF	400	1000	40	600
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	1038	1378	75	340
totals	6463	11378	56	4915

*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+40 +45+44+43+42+41+39+38 +33+37+36=$1038

Another TTU (teeny tiny update) 

Keep up the good work fellow savers!

[movinonup]

movinonup 10/1/2015 $1,100.76 (Goal $4045.95)

	Saved	Goal	% Saved	Periods Completed
Weekly Challenge	$943.00	$1378.00	68.433%	23/52
Daily Challenge	$157.76	$667.95	23.619%	49/365
Skiing	$0.00	$2000.00	0%

I'm happy to be making good progress again.  I'm hoping to finish both the 52 Week and Daily Challenges in the next month.  My primary focus is still to take chunks out of my debt,, which I did successfully in the last month.
-movinonup

[Ombud]

movinonup, what's:

Daily Challenge

$157.76

$667.95

23.619%

49/365

[movinonup]

Oct 6, 2015 13:44:28 GMT -5 Ombud said:

movinonup, what's:

Daily Challenge

$157.76

$667.95

23.619%

49/365

Ombud It's the same concept as the weekly challenge.  Instead of starting with $1 and increasing it by $1 each week, I start at 1 cent and increase it by 1 cent each day.  I figured it was a way to have a slightly higher savings goal without having to identify something specific that I want to purchase.  

-movinonup

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 10/11/2015 $6523(goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	2100	5000	42	2900
homestead EF	950	2000	47	1050
vehicle EF	400	1000	40	600
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	1073	1378	77	305
totals	6523	11378	57	4855

*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+40 +45+44+43+42+41+39+38 +33+37+36+35=$1073

YET Another TTU (teeny tiny update) 

Keep up the good work fellow savers!

Just gotta say to any savers who haven't done the 52 week challenge, it really works for me. Consider giving it a try in 2016. I love building money that isn't designated.

Since it's October and less than 12 weeks til 2016, I've been thinking of plans for 2016 savings goals. 


ETA: 2016 could be challenging. DD is dating a very nice man...maybe a wedding on the horizon 

[Saving4Norway]

Forward, I'm thinking about 2016, too. The predominant theme seems to be too many vacation ideas, not enough time off for DH.

[seriousthistime]

Sorry, SAVERS, for not posting smilies and shoutouts yet.  It's been a crazy month, and life got in the way.

Smilies and shoutouts will be posted today.  Last chance to get in an update...

Again, sorry sorry sorry for the delay.

[seriousthistime]

Update

Category	10/12/2015	Goal	% Saved	Roses
Deferred purchases	$1,708	$2,075	82.3%
CC paydown	$1,200	$8,500	14.1%
EF	$2,200	$1,000	220.0%
Gifts	$2,253	$2,600	86.6%
Utilities	$210	$280	75.0%
Weekly Savings	$1,119	$1,378	81.2%
Total	$8,690	$14,498	59.9%

Serious this time, 10/12/15, $8,690 (Goal $14,498)

Things are improving in the CC paydown category.   Now that I am out from the crunch of insurance and property taxes, the budget is a lot easier to stick to. 

 

   

[seriousthistime]

Update!

	Stars	Name	Amt Saved	Goal	% Saved	Roses	Smilies
1		forwardwego	$6,523	$11,378	57.3%
2		megaptera	$11,150	$15,000	74.3%
3		minnesota paintlady	$19,300	$20,400	95.6%
4		movinonup	$1,101	$4,046	27.2%
5		nalto	$2,503	$10,000	25.0%
6		Ombud	$28,500	$30,000	95%
7		PauletteG	$7,510	$9,000	83.4%
8		Saving4Norway	$12,500	$14,500	86.2%
9		scrgrl47	$15,968	$19,080	83.7%
10		sealy	$195	$1,378	14.2%
11		seriousthistime	$8,690	$14,498	59.9%
12		snapdragon	$4,642	$6,500	71.4%
13		speechchick71	$10,860	$20,005	54.2%
14		steph08	$4,456	$5,200	85.7%
15		Sugi_Witch	$1,816	$8,300	21.9%

Nice progress this month, Savers!

Remember, in addition to the above, we have several Dancing Banana winners:  

  Minnesotagirl7

                 and
  minnesotapaintlady (who met her goal and then revised it upward, now rounding the corner toward her second Dancing Banana).

We have several folks who are at or above 85% of the way to meeting their goals.  Way to go, minnesotapaintlady (again), Ombud, Saving4Norway, and steph08!  PauletteG and scrgrl47 are very close behind, too!

As I do these updates, I am reminded how this group is proof that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to saving. Some Savers have one overall goal.  Others break it down into multiple savings categories.  Some are attempting to meet a goal for 2015.  Some have set goals that roll over from one year to the next.  For some, saving is easier than for others.  But we are all trying like crazy to reach our goals, and maybe more importantly, to keep those goals in mind when temptation strikes.  

forwardwego posed a question, and Saving4Norway responded, but let me ask you all this question...  What are your goals for 2016?  Will you change things for 2016?  How has your 2015 savings changed things -- or will it change things? Will you add or remove categories?

It is not too early to start thinking about 2016. 

[seriousthistime]

Shoutouts!

forwardwego, sounds like your property tax issue will be much more predictable in the year ahead.  Fingers crossed that it is.  I hate unpleasant financial surprises.  A wedding is NOT an unpleasant financial surprise!

minnesotapaintlady, I wish my state refunded a portion of property taxes.  Well, let me rephrase -- in a way, it does, because we get to take 5% of property taxes paid on our principal residence as a credit on our state income tax return.  Our property taxes are sky-high here.

megaptera, I don't reduce my savings totals to reflect money withdrawn when it is saved for a particular purpose and then is spent on that purpose. I agree with the way you are doing things.  But there are a lot of different ways to do things, and any way people want to track savings is valid.  Cars and appliances are doomed to quit just when you hope they don't.  It's not always around Christmas but it is usually right when you need it least.  Isn't that one of Murphy's laws?  

scrgrl47, sometime I'd like to hear about your savings categories.  Is your retirement in a 401(k) or similar, or in a Roth or traditional IRA?  Tell us about rowing.  Do you do rowing vacations? "Bizarre and awesome experience, actually "saving" something!"  Feels a lot like freedom, I bet.

Saving4Norway, glad to see you back!  Are the vehicles in good operating order now?

speechchick71, you are doing a fantastic job with your savings!  Can the end of the semester get here soon enough for you?

Sugi_Witch, do you have to move on exactly December 31?  Can you move a day or two before?  If it has to be on the 31st, then the answer to your question "who the bloody hell moves on New Years Eve" is "anyone who wants a new beginning on January 1!"  And I want that for you, Sugi!  Any luck finding a new apartment?

Ombud, I see you're talking about budgeting for DGS1's tuition in 2016.  How does he like college life?

sealy, you are doing so well at the 52-week challenge.  Kudos to forwardwego for showing us yet another way of doing that challenge.  It seems to work fine for you!

snapdragon, I hear you on having to use vacation savings when you went to deal with your mom's situation.  It was used for travel, but not the sort of travel you were saving for.  But think how much more stressful the situation would have been if you hadn't had the money saved in the first place.  You will soon build up that savings account, and I hope you have a wonderful trip in mind for those funds.

movinonup, with your daily challenge, do you accumulate the cash and deposit it once a week, or more often? Or is the cash put into a savings bucket in your house?  I'm curious about the logistics.  I may try it in 2016.

For those of you battling rodents in your living space, I know it's hard to be grateful.  I haven't gotten them in my living space, but I do tend to get mice in my attic in the winter.  Haven't heard them this year yet... Fingers crossed.  However, my DD, who lives in AZ, is getting scorpions in her house. I don't know about you, but given the choice I would go head to head with a mouse any day!

 

[forwardwego]

yep those Minnesota ladies are saving rock stars   

Thanks seriousthistime for the updates and shoutouts. Another benefit of the 52 week savings is that it makes savings a weekly habit. And I love the method I'm using...I think you dubbed it the maximum punch, or something very similar. It's very flexible. It gave me a way to help my sis when her husband died unexpectedly, and then pick back up and keep rolling. Such a blessing at a grievous time. In 2016 I hope to win my debt race in the first half of the year so will probably start out picking off the lower $ amounts, and then graduate upward. Next year I don't need a tire or tree removal fund, but will have a vacation expense line, and wedding line. No engagement yet, but she's bringing him from Oregon to Florida in Feb to meet us. Seems solid. 

Thanks so much for the work you do to keep us motivated and united. 

[Jaguar]

Oct 12, 2015 13:53:29 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Shoutouts!

Sugi_Witch, do you have to move on exactly December 31?  Can you move a day or two before?  If it has to be on the 31st, then the answer to your question "who the bloody hell moves on New Years Eve" is "anyone who wants a new beginning on January 1!"  And I want that for you, Sugi!  Any luck finding a new apartment?

No I don't have to move exactly on Dec. 31st, I can move when ever I find a place. That was just the hospital social worker being well plain useless. No luck yet, but I've increased my rent budget and I know where I want to live.

Thank you for the well wishes, that means a lot to me.

[movinonup]

Oct 12, 2015 13:53:29 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

movinonup, with your daily challenge, do you accumulate the cash and deposit it once a week, or more often? Or is the cash put into a savings bucket in your house?  I'm curious about the logistics.  I may try it in 2016.

Since I started this in the middle of the year, I am making it up as I go along.  I keep a spreadsheet to track my weekly and daily challenges.  I haven't been saving on a daily/weekly basis for either.  I make a transfer when I have some money and fill in amounts saved.  Below is how I set it up.  The total will just add the column.  There is also a little table off to the side that keepsthe totals and a count of entries in the Saved columns so I know how many of the days/weeks I have already saved.  I am thinking of keeping jars next year and placing coins/bills in each day/week and making electronic transfers each month to reflect what I have placed in the jars.   

Daily Challenge	Saved	Date	Weekly Challenge	Saved	Date
$0.01			$1.00
$0.02			$2.00
$0.03			$3.00	$3.00	06/03/2015
$0.04	$0.04	10/01/2015	$4.00
...	...	...	...	...	...
$3.63	$3.63	07/14/2015	$50.00
$3.64	$3.64	07/14/2014	$51.00	$51.00	05/28/2015
$3.65	$3.65	05/28/2015	$52.00	$52.00	05/28/2015
Total	$10.96	10/01/2015	Total	$106.00	10/01/2015

-movinonup

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 10/16/2015 $7007 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	2500	5000	50	2500
homestead EF	1000	2000	50	1000
vehicle EF	400	1000	40	600
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	1107	1378	80	271
totals	7007	11378	61	4371

*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+40 +45+44+43+42+41+39+38 +33+37+36+35+34=$1107

My next challenge is to get a rose on the vehicle EF. 

Keep up the good work fellow savers!

[Deleted]

Blech.  Car repairs might derail me for the rest of the year.  I really need to focus on my sinking fund for that next year...it was seriously underfunded.

[Jaguar]

Oct 18, 2015 10:30:19 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Blech.  Car repairs might derail me for the rest of the year.  I really need to focus on my sinking fund for that next year...it was seriously underfunded.

Sorry.

[Ombud]

I should be getting my last good paycheck for the year -- pay period closed 10/15/15. My thoughts are:
500 to EF
219 to car loan
Balance to daily expenses creep

I'd finish off the year with 4 months to go on the car + 3500 EF

WWYD?

[tobinikui]

Hi all -
Tobinikui here. Back again after several months in the wind. We are chugging along. Life is nuts. Haven't been making the best financial choices lately. Took on some debt, and now I'm ticked at myself! So, here I am.

First off, the good news - we are expecting Baby #2 in late April, 2016.

Now, the not-great news.
1) In an attempt to build up maternity leave time, my salary has dropped 30%. Ouch. I cut out Deferred Comp savings too, in order to get it to that point. Double ouch. I know I'll have to greatly increase my contributions once my pay goes back to 100%.
2) In a fit of who-knows-what... I agreed to two items I wish I could take back this summer.
New furniture for our dining room & bedroom - 0% interest financing (will be paid off in less than 36 months, over a year before the term runs out).
3) And signed a contract for new siding on the house, requiring a HEL to finance 2/3rds of it, at 3.01% for 5 years.

Not my smartest moves, especially when we're already missing 30% of my salary from now until probably December 2016. I am not proud, by any means. Our ER fund is down to $5,000, which makes me very uncomfortable, even though I know our income is very secure. Now, I'm just doing my best to figure the quickest way out of the hole I put us in! All told, we went from $0 non-mortgage debt, to about $14,500, with monthly paymemts of approximately $315.

My new goal to rectify this, is to cut back in all areas, and to make debt repayment the #1 priority after my salary goes back up next fall. There isn't too much I can do until my salary returns.

I had originally wanted to stay out 5 months on maternity leave, but I may go back to work sooner (as my salary will only jump back up to normal when I return to work).

I don't like this feeling one bit.

I have to go back in time to find my original tagline, but for now, let's just say I'm starting at the bottom & working back up on this emergency fund. I will be joining WIRR later today or tomorrow, once I get the current numbers from the respective websites.

*sigh*

Tobinikui ER Fund: $5,000.00 (Start $0, Goal $25,000) Current: 20%

[Ombud]

Oct 18, 2015 21:14:58 GMT -5 Ombud said:

I should be getting my last good paycheck for the year -- pay period closed 10/15/15. My thoughts are:
500 to EF
219 to car loan
Balance to daily expenses creep

I'd finish off the year with 4 months to go on the car + 3500 EF

WWYD?

Did I call it or did I call it? Boss called me in for a talk today. Apparently she's a little strapped on cash after my predecessor left her in a rather bad way. Although we picked up a number of clients, it's not enough to stay full time or even 1/2 time. I suggested that I go to only two days a week with a maximum 14 hours until tax season ramps up again in January. I'm actually okay with 10+ hours a week; I just don't want to go that low. So I will be saving a miniscule amount between now and the end of the year. Glad I made the extra savings deposit yesterday

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 10/23/2015 $7089 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	2500	5000	50	2500
homestead EF	1000	2000	50	1000
vehicle EF	450	1000	45	550
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	1139	1378	82	239
totals	7089	11378	62	4289

*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+40 +45+44+43+42+41+39+38 +33+37+36+35+34+32=$1139

My next challenge is to get a rose on the vehicle EF. 

Keep up the good work fellow savers!

I'm thinking I might accelerate the 52 week challenge. Next week will tackle $31. Then in November will try to tackle 2 numbers each week: 30+22, 29+23, 28+24, 27+25. Striving for $52 each Friday in November. Then in Dec I can surpass the original goal, or devote more $$ to one of the EF's.

[movinonup]

movinonup 10/25/2015 $2,123.35 (Goal $4045.95)

	Saved	Goal	% Saved	Periods Completed
Weekly Challenge	$1,378.00	$1378.00	100%	52/52
Daily Challenge	$667.95	$667.95	100%	365/365
Skiing	$77.40	$2000.00	3.870%

I'm posting a little early.  I met my goal of finishing my Weekly and Daily Challenges early.  Murphy paid a visit.  My water heater failed and flooded my basement.  It's a good thing that I have been saving some cash.  I won't have to touch the account that contains my WIRS cash, but I will probably take some cash from my EF bank account to pay my daily use CC.

-movinonup

[shanendoah]

shanendoah 10/26/2015 $14,847.62 (Start: $5,051.10 / Goal: $15,500)

Fund	Current Balance	Starting Balance	Goal Amount	% Saved
Pop Tart College	$2,541.62	$1,061.10	$2,500.00	101.66%
Vacation	$2306.00	$3,000.00	$3,000.00	76.87%
House	$10,000	$990.00	$10,000.00	100%
Total	$14,847.62	$5,051.10	$15,500.00	95.79%

I am back in the saddle! The house sold, so I no longer need the house funding. EF has been fully replenished, and I just went ahead and transferred the money to fully meet the savings goal for Pop Tart's launch fund today (and then I don't have to think about it again until January). There is also $5,500 set aside for a ROTH for C, but that wasn't in my original plans, so not adding it now. I think I will add that to my goal for next year, though, to keep that going.

The only number that is subject to change is the vacation fund. We took our big vacation in April and spent that down, but I want to replenish for a possible week long cruise as the end of next August. (That will likely cost more than $1k/person.) But what I have in it now is assuming I spend exactly what I budgeted on the other big purchases we want to make. It could go up a bit, it could go down, but this is where it stands right now.

[Ombud]

Ombud $29,250 (6k on 1/1/15, Goal 30k) = 97.5%

Just another $750 to EF then onto 2016 which has been modified thanks to another late scholarship ... he just has to maintain a 3.0 so re-evaluating those goals:

♤ Solo trip (Brussels or Scotland?) 2000
♡ Roth 6500
◇ Family Trip
♧ Starting Pt: 8500

Added: I'm trying to figure out if I work my A$$ off during Feb - April, October can I work just 1/2 time rest of year?