Women in Red Savers 2015

[Deleted]

Fund	2015 Goal	Current	Needed	% Complete
Roth	$5500	$5500	$0	100.00%
Replacement Car	$3600	$3600	$0	100.00%
2016 Roth	$2500	$1000	$700	80.00%
College	$2400	$1600	$400	91.67%
Vacation	$2000	$2000	$0	100.00%
Washer & Dryer	$1500	$1500	$0	100.00%
Pr. High School	$1000	$1000	$0	100.00%
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	$20400	$19700	$700	96.57%

Last paycheck of October is in.  Ready to move onto the November budget.  I took $500 out of the EF to cover the car repairs in October which were over what I had set aside and managed to squeeze out a little for the November goals, but it's going to be a lean month.  I didn't fund a lot of the non-essential categories in the budget.   Technically, I went backwards, but since I'm not tracking the EF on here....

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 10/30/2015 $7150 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	2500	5000	50	2500
homestead EF	1000	2000	50	1000
vehicle EF	480	1000	48	520
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	1170	1378	85	208
totals	7150	11378	62	4228

*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+31 =$1170

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

Keep up the good work fellow savers!

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.

[seriousthistime]

Hi Savers,

I will be doing the smilies and shoutouts this weekend.  

Please get your updates in by Saturday night.  

[megaptera]

UPDATE

megaptera: 10/30/2015 $12,750.00 [1/1/2015 $0.00 / Goal: $15,000.00]

I'm currently only tracking our "Land Fund" here (permitting fees, engineering, survey fees, etc.), but I may track our other categories starting next year. I just paid our property tax on said land with what we've been saving for that. I've also been saving and tracking for Christmas and DH's biking stuff. I've recently added a couple more: a car repair/replacement fund and a "house repair" category. I've mentioned our fridge is going to need to be replaced very soon, and the other day we woke up to a broken water heater and flooded garage.  Our current house needs a lot of work before we can sell it, so this is a much needed savings category.

Happy Halloween everyone!

[Jaguar]

Onward and upward creeping along, New Apartment here I come, someday soon.

Saving Funds	Goals	Current	% Saved	Woo Hoo
Moving Fund	$1,400	$1,400	100%
Gateway Voyage	$4,600	$262	6%	?
Mattress Fund	$2,300	$0	0%	?
GRAND TOTAL	$8,300	$1,662	20%	?

Sugilite - 10/30/2015 - $1,662 - [NEW GOAL - $8,300] =


The news is good, for the foreseeable future I do not have to move, the deal fell through. But this just gives me more time to look for something much better.

[seriousthistime]

Update

Category	10/26/2015	Goal	% Saved	Roses
Deferred purchases	$1,768	$2,075	85.2%
CC paydown	$1,500	$8,500	17.7%
EF	$2,300	$1,000	230.0%
Gifts	$2,353	$2,600	90.5%
Utilities	$227	$280	81.0%
Weekly Savings	$1,172	$1,378	85.0%
Total	$9,320	$14,498	64.3%

Serious this time, 10/26/15, $9,320 (Goal $14,498)

Looks like I will meet all of my goals except for CC paydown.  That should improve in 2016. 

I've been hit with unexpected expenses, like my dog's broken tooth and dental extraction.  I have a pet care savings category which I'm not tracking, but the recent vet bill exceeded the amount saved and had to be worked into the budget. Good thing she's worth it! 


 

   

[seriousthistime]

Updates 

	Stars	Name	Amt Saved	Goal	% Saved	Roses	Smilies
1		forwardwego	$7,150	$11,378	62.8%
2		megaptera	$12,750	$15,000	85.0%
3		minnesota paintlady	$19,700	$20,400	96.6%
4		movinonup	$2,123	$4,046	52.4%
5		Ombud	$29,250	$30,000	97.5%
6		PauletteG	$7,510	$9,000	83.4%
7		Saving4Norway	$12,500	$14,500	86.2%
8		scrgrl47	$15,968	$19,080	83.7%
9		sealy	$195	$1,378	14.2%
10		seriousthistime	$9,320	$14,498	64.3%
11		shanendoah	$14,848	$15,500	95.8%
12		snapdragon	$4,642	$6,500	71.4%
13		speechchick	$10,860	$20,005	54.2%
14		Sugilite	$1,662	$8,300	20.0%
15		tobinikui	$5,000	$25,000	20.0%

Hello Savers,

We have quite a few members this month who are very close to achieving their goals!  Remember that both minnesotapaintlady and Ombud achieved their goals and then revised the upward and are working on their new goals now.  And Minnesotagirl7 has also achieved her goal here too.

Welcome back to shanendoah, with numbers that look very nice indeed!  

In the next month before the holidays are in full swing and before we are caught up in all the festivities, please spend a few moments considering your progress this year.  First, give yourself a pat on the back!  Regardless of whether you will meet your goals, you have SAVED money this year, which is probably more than you would have done had you not had a goal to work toward.  Then, reflect on this year's progress.  What worked for you?  What didn't? Were there areas for which you would have liked to have a specific subcategory (vacations, weddings, car repairs, etc.)?  Did a certain expense seem to arise from nowhere (a/k/a a visit from Murphy) without corresponding savings earmarked for that expense?  Or if you had savings earmarked for a certain category, was it enough/too much/just right? It is time to think about whether you will do things differently in 2016, or if you will stick to the same categories and amounts as in 2015.  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but sometimes a little tweak doesn't hurt.

Also, please think about savings strategies that might help others who are looking for new approaches.  What worked for you this year?  What didn't?  Who is in for the weekly challenge?  What is your plan for that? forwardwego has a very creative approach that has already helped sealy toward her goal. Or is anyone in for movinonup's daily challenge?

I will be doing two more updates for 2015. The next update will be done on the weekend of December 5-6.  The final wrap-up for 2015 will be done on January 3.  After the smilies and shoutouts for 2015 are complete, the thread will be locked and a new one will be started.

Anyone want to take over the smilies and updates for 2016?  I'd be happy to hand over the reins to someone new!  

[seriousthistime]

Shoutouts!

forwardwego, I like your strategy for the 52-week challenge, but I worry that I wouldn't have the discipline.  I like depositing the same amount ($53 every two weeks).  That's the first week and the last week of the year ($1 plus $52) then the second week and the second-to-last week of the year ($2 plus $51), and so on.  Same amount every paycheck.  Fingers crossed that your DD has found "the one" for her!  2016 could be a very exciting year for you!

Sugilite, I'm glad the pressure is off about moving.  And now you know what your budget will be and the area you will be looking in.  Just because the pressure is off, doesn't mean that you can't move if the perfect place comes along, right?

movinonup, if I do a daily challenge next year, I will have jars and buckets for the change and paper money. That's as far as I've gotten in my thinking for 2016, but the method intrigues me.  So sorry about the visit from Murphy.  Flooded basement: ugh.

minnesotapaintlady, stupid car repairs!  I hate when that happens.  I hope you're set for a while now.  Even if you were tracking your EF on here, it's okay to just track money in and not money out.  That's the whole purpose of saving up for known or eventual expenses.  All savings will be spent someday.

Ombud, yep, you sure did call it!  Next time, think something good will happen instead, and see if that works. I would love to work full time for some of the year and then go down to part time. I hope it works out for you. 

tobinikui, congratulations on baby #2!  If it helps, your last tag line before this new one is in message #335. Five months maternity leave is a LOT!  Is your employer okay with that?

shanendoah, welcome back!  So glad everything worked out for you this year.  You sold two places, bought a place, and shuffled around some major money!  The money-shuffling is a good thing, but I wish you a 2016 with no buying and selling of houses (i.e., no moving!). 

megaptera, you and movinonup are in good company with the broken water heaters.  Let's hope that particular Murphy visit has made the rounds and will now leave the Savers alone. Do you know when refrigerators go on sale?  Can you shop for one that might have a small scratch or dent on the side that no one will see? 

[Jaguar]

Nov 1, 2015 19:34:39 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Shoutouts!

Sugilite, I'm glad the pressure is off about moving.  And now you know what your budget will be and the area you will be looking in.  Just because the pressure is off, doesn't mean that you can't move if the perfect place comes along, right?

Oh right, when I find my purrfect place I'll be out of here toot sweet, but now it's on my time, so that takes the edge off of it.

[snapdragon]

Update - snapdragon 11/2/15 ( $4744 / Goal $ 6500 )

Travel Fund - $ 4500 (currently $ 3082)

EF - $1500 (currently $ 1162)

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

[Ombud]

Nov 2, 2015 10:55:16 GMT -5 snapdragon said:

Update - snapdragon 11/2/15 ( $4744 / Goal $ 6500 )

Travel Fund - $ 4500 (currently $ 3082)

EF - $1500 (currently $ 1162)

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

Congrats on your rose  for house / car

[Saving4Norway]

Fund	2015 Goals	Last Month	This Month	% Met	Roses
Iceland Flight	5000	4000	5000	100%	Nov
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	500	500	100%	Oct
Christmas	250	250	250	100%	Oct
Olympic Club - Nov	500	500	500	100%	Sept
Sisu (& sister?)	500	250	500	100%	Oct
Home Improvement	2500	1500	1500	60%
TOTAL	14500	12250	14000	93%

Saving4Norway 11/3/15 $14,000 (Goal $14,500)

[azucena]

I've been missing for a couple months - sat for another actuarial exam on 10/27. Hopefully the last one - results mid-Jan. Need to get back on track with spending, I won't tell you what we spent in take out food over the last month in particular. But, hey, long term that time spent studying and not cooking is an investment that will pay off.  Recapping my account:

9/8/15 -2200 for retaining wall   Had to be done though in order to sell this house. $32,432

10/28/15 +718 extra from paycheck $33,150

11/6/15 +650 extra from paycheck and total balance is now $33,800

Keep up the good work ladies!

[tobinikui]

Hi all -

After getting back on board within the last couple of weeks, I've been much more active reading financial articles blogs, etc. And, as a friend recently returned a book I had loaned to her, The Automatic Millionaire, by David Bach, I started reading that again last night. And started feeling even *more* guilty for my not-so-smart choices lately.

So, this morning, the first thing I did was log into my Deferred Comp website & increase my contributions from 0% to 10%. :-)

With my pay already cut 30% right now, that will really make things tight, but I am bound & determined to make this work. I am going over our grocery bills with a fine tooth comb, (no more soda, seltzer, beer, ice cream, frozen pizzas, just because they are *wants*). And I am doing my best to reign in my nonessential spending too. Plus, trying to minimize our restaurant spending as well.

My goal is still to pay off the new debts by mid-2017, but now, I won't be sacrificing our retirement accounts at the same time.

Baby steps, for sure.
It's especially frustrating, because I find that I have more financial dedication when I have a debt to pay off, than when I have money to save. I need to find a way to transfer that energy & focus.

I probably won't track it here, but come 12/1/15, I'll be bulking my my retirement account again!!

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 11/6/2015 $7252 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	2500	5000	50	2500
homestead EF	1000	2000	50	1000
vehicle EF	530	1000	53	470
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	1222	1378	88	156
totals	7252	11378	63	4126

*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+31 +(22+30)=$1222

Feeling happy to have all of my goals at the 50% or higher 

Keep up the good work fellow savers!

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.

[speechchick71]

UPDATE: speechchick71 $14925.00 11/7/15 $ (goal=$20,005, started 1/1/2015)

	21-Sept	7-Nov	Goal	How much to go	% Met
Weekly Challenge	$7,410.00	$9,900.00	$13,780.00	$3,880.00	72%
$25/week	$950.00	$1,025.00	$725.00	-$300.00	141%
Roth 2015	$2,500.00	$4,000.00	$5,500.00	$1,500.00	73%
	-	-	-	-
Totals	$10,860.00	$14,925.00	$20,005.00	$5,080.00	75%

Hi everyone:  sorry I've been MIA.  School and work are keeping me so busy that I hardly have time for fun.  It's going to be tight but I should be able to meet my goals for 2015.  I've already planned out 2016 and like seriousthistime mentioned, I actually do better when the amount to savings remains the same.  Adding $10 to the previous week was tough and has probably been one of the causes of stress in my life.  This year I ended up using some of the money from that savings account to pay for school (which is the intended purpose) but I think next year I might use a different account for that and then keep that account (my weekly challenge account) as strictly savings.  Next year I am going to put in a fixed amount to my weekly challenge fund, put all the money I get for mileage into my car fund (intended for repairs or a new car when I'm ready), fully fund my Roth again, and I just might up my 401k withholding by a percentage or two.  I'm hoping by streamlining things and keeping the numbers a little more even that it'll relieve some stress.  I LOVE BEING DEBT FREE.  I wish my car was paid off so that I was truly debt free without anything from holding me back but even that will likely come sooner than the length of my loan.  What is really cool is that with all my savings, if I wanted to pay off my car in full, I could do it by about May 2016.  I am not racing my car loan because the APR is so low, it's not worth it versus saving to have cash on hand. 

I can hardly believe 2015 is coming to an end.  I don't know if I would have saved as much as I have if it had not been for this board, making the goals, and sticking to them!  The support provided by the group is great. 

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 11/13/2015 $7374 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	2500	5000	50	2500
homestead EF	1000	2000	50	1000
vehicle EF	600	1000	60	400
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	1274	1378	92	104
totals	7374	11378	64	4004

*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+31 +(22+30)+(29+23)=$1274

Keep up the good work fellow savers!

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.


seriousthistime you have a message

[forwardwego]

Jaguar Thank you for your continuous support. I like the emoticons you use of the little girl with pigtails...makes me smile. So glad you have your little financial ducks lined up so you can go when the right housing comes along.


speechchick71 Nice work chick on 75%...it's amazing what you've saved with the weekly challenge. But I agree maybe tweak that to not feel stressful. Your plate is full with work and school. And your savings is getting full too...woo hoo!


tobinikui It's good to see you back. You said it well...getting back to this board has really gotten you back on board   I've had that feeling too that I'm more driven when the mission is pay something off than when it's build savings. I joined WIRR in 2010 but only joined the savers in 2014. When I think about paying something off I feel a burden lift which is great, but the feeling of successfully saving is even better. Good job upping that deferred comp.


azucena $33,800 is great! Congrats on your exams and progress. Eating out can be a hole in our financial bucket, but there are times (like this time for you) when it makes sense. Yea for getting that retaining wall accomplished.


Saving4Norway Just $500 more to reach 100%. You set a good example of saving for fun activities... so good to be able to do things and not end up with "debt hangover".


snapdragon Kudos on your update...a bullseye on the house/car fund, and on target for the EF and travel fund.


seriousthistime Thank you so much for your support and work here. 


ETA: love being in the company of the WIR Savers 

[forwardwego]

Paying down/off  VS  Saving up ...

My "working draft" of 2016 savings goals looks like this:

rental EF          5000  (presently at 2500, carry this goal over from 2015)
homestead EF   2000  (presently at 1000, carry this goal over from 2015)
vehicle EF        1000  (presently at 600, carry this goal over from 2015)
travel fun(d)    1600   
DD wedding?     5000  
SL payoff         5000  (presently have $2100 I could mark for this, but it wasn't a 2015 goal)
WS challenge    1378  (92% there for 2015, going to do this using the maximum tackle method
                               again for 2016)

TOTAL GOAL    20978


Putting together the $2100 (November and May are our "extra check" months)
and the $1378 gives @ $3500 with a variety of options for applying that:

1) My final debt in my debt race is my car with $5400 balance, will be $4400 after my Dec snowball payment. If I applied the $3500 there, the car balance goes to $900 and I'd finish the race in Jan/ Feb. (I have mortgage but won't be racing that.)

2) Mark the $3500 for SL payoff, and be able to reach that goal ($5000) by Feb.

3) Put $2500 in the rental EF and $1000 in the homestead EF, bringing those to 100% of the 2015 goal. This feels "smart" because it helps me "finish" 2015 and start 2016 "fresh". However as tobinikui and I have mentioned it's not as exciting/motivating as eliminating debt.


ETA: Very thankful for this forum. Writing this down so that it would be understandable to my fellow savers has helped me work it out. (As usual it doesn't have to be "all or none".)

I'll put $2500 in the rental EF reaching the goal on that one which feels awesome.
I'll put $400 in the vehicle EF reaching the goal on that one too.
Will continue to grow the homestead EF gradually, maybe make goal by end of 2015.
I'll put $400 (+ a few $$) to bring the car balance down from $5400 into the $4K range.

This allows me the best chance of accomplishing my 2015 saving goals which I had thought unreachable during mid year. By starting 2016 savings with fresh goals (and starting amounts of close to $0) I hope to get a true clear picture of what I can accomplish in savings in 2016.

[PauletteG]

UPDATE

Fund	Goal	Current	Funded	Complete
Car Payoff	7000	7000	0	100%
Island Trip	1800	1800	0	100%
Furniture	200	200	200	100%

I have some new goals, but thinking of launching them in 2016, or I can fund a short-term goal for birthdays and holiday gifts until the end of 2015.

 Goals for next year: replacement mattress, upgrade to a surveillance-enabler smartphone, start saving for low-value car, home maintenance, trip to Central Canada (Hogtown, Bytown, Hochelaga or Ville-Marie) or trip to St. Louis, floor refinishing.

[Jaguar]

I'm on a good buying spree, I'm buying clothes that I need so badly. I'm renewing my wardrobe since I haven't bought clothing since 2000.

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 11/20/2015 $10356 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	5000	5000	100
homestead EF	1030	2000	51	970
vehicle EF	1000	1000	100
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	1326	1378	96	52
totals	10356	11378	91	1022

*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+31 +(22&30)+(29&23)+(24&28) =$1326

In November I am tackling 2 numbers each week: 30+22, 29+23, 28+24, 27+25. 

I chose to use my "extra check" and my weekly challenge money in savings rather than debt reduction. It doesn't give that same "Woo Hoo" feeling that comes from paying off a debt, but I do feel good. Maybe next year my weekly savings challenge money can be for something more exciting. 

Keep up the good work fellow savers! 

[Ombud]

Ombud $30,000 (6k on 1/1/15, Goal 30k) = 100%

Done. Had to do some naked Puts in order to get here as work has slowed to a crawl, only 16 hrs so far this month & doubt I'll get anymore this month. Need 2 more to make December balance

December is light as DD says she wants to cancel gifts and that's not traditionally major in Hannukah anyway

[Jaguar]

I went out and bought more tops, and I got them at 50% off, now I'm really happy. That's the end of buying tops, I can now throw out all my 25 year old ones. WOO HOO !!!

[scrgrl47]

Update! scrgrl47 11/22/2015 $22,138.09 (Start: $42.04 / Goal: $19,080)

Fund	Start	Last Update	Saved Since	Current Balance	Total Saved	Goal
HSA	$0.00	$2,536.46	$542.28	$3,078.74	$3,078.74	$3,300.00
Rowing	$0.00	$840.00	$280.00	$1,120.00	$1,120.00	$1,260.00
Retirement	$0.00	$6,491.17	$1,490.22	$7,981.39	$7,981.39	$7,500.00
Car	$0.00	$2,400.00	$900.00	$3,300.00	$3,300.00	$3,120.00
Vacations	$0.00	$2,200.00	$2,500.00	$4,700.00	$4,700.00	$2,400.00
EF	$42.04	$1,500.00	$500.00	$2,000.00	$1,957.96	$1,500.00
Total	$42.04	$15,967.63	$6,212.50	$22,180.13	$22,138.09	$19,080.00

There are a number of additional savings goals I'd like to meet before the end of 2015...

Fund......Goal......Have

2016 HSA Deductible......$2,000......$2,000
College Niece................$1,200......$100
Mom............................$2,000......$150
Pans and Knives............$2,500.......$0

The pans and knives will only happen if I get the second half of my bonus for this hellacious overseas work assignment and my boss aren't really "getting on" right now, so we'll see what happens. 

Getting excited about 2016!!!

**Edited**

seriousthistime - thank you for asking questions, engaging us in savings discussions, and being the glue that holds this thread together.  Really and truly, thank you!  This may not be the most active thread but it is incredibly important. 

Your shout-out question: 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.

Scrgrl47 answers:
My retirement category here is a 401k that I put just enough in to get the $2.5k/year max match from my employer.  The year, my increased income due to my Brazil assignment means that this is a ~4% contribution.  I'm 36 years old and contributing $8k to retirement doesn't feel like anywhere NEAR enough but I'm hesitant to increase that % because it will tie my $$ up for another ~26 years.   

Right now, my 401k is post-tax because I'm above the Roth threshold but that might change in 2016 as my total income goes down (which I will happily trade for sleeping in a pile of my kitties and weekend trips to visit my family). 

I'm still contemplating how I should save moving forward.  There are some basic categories which I'm saying are musts, like annual HSA deductible, enough 401k to get the full company match, my niece's college fund, and the generic "mom" category which is intended to help provide services like cleaning and outside help as she gets older.  Outside of those, do I fully fund my 401k with a max of $17.5k/year or do I save that cold hard cash I'll use in the next two years for a down payment on a(n eventual) retirement house on a lake somewhere?  I'd love some advice!

Rowing - let's just say that retiring from competitive soccer left a significant void in the middle of my chest.  My heart, my soul....sounds silly but the camaraderie and the competition and the focus that soccer brought to my life was actually a life force even though I didn't identify it as that at the time.  It came to an abrupt end almost 12 years ago.  I've tried so many things to fill that void.  Work.  Boyfriends.  Alcohol.  Boyfriends that were only boyfriends because of alcohol.  When I moved (back) to Boston a few years ago, I thought maybe it would be a fun thing to try rowing.  I live close to the Charles, how could I not row, right?? 

So I tried a Learn to Row class and was TOTALLY hooked.  Rowing fills that void more than anything has in 12 years.  It has also taught me that my expectations of work or friends or men filling that void were a recipe for failure.  I find that void being filled now has actually allowed me to have more functional relationships with those other humans around me because I need less from them. 

That is an extremely long-winded way to say.....rowing is expensive but necessary.  In my boat house, there are 6 sessions through the year, each lasting 6-8 weeks.  If you pay for a full year up front as opposed to 6 individual sessions, you can save ~$400+.  When I return from Brazil, I fully expect to row all next year so saving over time now saves me money when i make March's bulk payment.  After this March's payment is made, I intend to continue to save $70/paycheck to buy a full year in 2017.  

I'm in an insanely fortunate position in that I can now start saving for annual expenses by budgeting them in each paycheck as opposed to scrambling further down the line.  My mental health from six months away may be a 14/100 right now but I'm less than a week from getting THE HECK OUT OF HERE and the financial benefits have been unbelievable. 

Thank you for asking, seriousthistime. 

[forwardwego]

I'm above the Roth threshold but that might change in 2016 as my total income goes down (which I will happily trade for sleeping in a pile of my kitties and weekend trips to visit my family).

Outside of those, do I fully fund my 401k with a max of $17.5k/year or do I save that cold hard cash I'll use in the next two years for a down payment on a(n eventual) retirement house on a lake somewhere?  I'd love some advice!



scrgrl47  How about a separate savings? Then at the end of the year put as much as possible (if possible) into a ROTH, some into the 401K if it warranted at that time, and the rest to your down payment fund?? All 3 of the mentioned goals are retirement based, but the end of the year reveals a better picture of how to divide it up.

I just love kittens too 

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 11/27/2015 $10418 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	5000	5000	100
homestead EF	1040	2000	52	960
vehicle EF	1000	1000	100
tree removal	1750	1750	100
truck tires	250	250	100
52 week challenge*	1378	1378	100
totals	10418	11378	91	960

*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+31 +(22&30)+(29&23)+(24&28) +(27&25)=$1378

Another IBU (itty bitty update) but a good one because now the target is on that final category
Keep up the good work fellow savers! 

[speechchick71]

Two more paychecks this year and saving $2400 is realistic.  I am going to meet this stinkin' goal!  Next year's spreadsheet is already set up and the savings should be even bigger.  I had a sign-on bonus in my paycheck this week which helped to ease up on the amount I had to put toward my bills and goals.  I went to a conference two weeks ago and missed my flight which resulted in me having to pay close to $300 on a plane ticket and $150 for a hotel stay.  I'm still fighting that airline fee but I'm glad to have the money to pay that extra large credit card bill!  Actually, I'm not really going to pay it, I've decided to do a balance transfer on a 0% card.  It's worth it to pay the 2% transfer fee and have the cash on hand as I pay throughout the next year.  Either way, I'm glad that I have the money and credit to have these sorts of offers.  I love getting payed and manipulating my spreadsheet!

UPDATE: speechchick71 $17585.00 11/27/15 (goal=$20,005, started 1/1/2015)

	7-Nov	27-Nov	Goal	How much to go	% Met
Weekly Challenge	$9,900.00	$11,760.00	$13,780.00	$2,020.00	85%
$25/week	$1,025.00	$1,075.00	$725.00	-$350.00	148%
Roth 2015	$4,000.00	$4,750.00	$5,500.00	$750.00	86%
	-	-	-	-
Totals	$14,925.00	$17,585.00	$20,005.00	$2,420.00	88%

[Saving4Norway]

Fund	2015 Goals	Last Month	This Month	% Met	Roses
Iceland Flight	5000	5000	5000	100%	Nov
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	500	500	100%	Oct
Christmas	250	250	750	300%	Oct
Olympic Club - Nov	500	500	500	100%	Sept
Sisu (& sister?)	500	500	500	100%	Oct
Home Improvement	2500	1500	2500	100%	Dec
TOTAL	14500	13500	15000	103%

Saving4Norway 12/2/15 $15,000 (Goal $14,500)

[Saving4Norway]

Not too bad of a finish for 2015 considering I had the unplanned $10,000 engine replacement in June. Could you imagine if I hadn't? $25,000 would have rocked, but oh well. Just not meant to be I guess. I've been doing some planning for 2016. I might post it today but of course, I'll still be tweaking things for quite a while.

Fund	2015 Goals	Last Month	This Month	% Met	Roses
Iceland Flight	7000	0	0	0%	Nov
Vehicles	2000	0	0	0%	Sept
Gifts&Donations	2500	0	0	0%	Sept
MC Trips	5000	0	0	0%	Sept
Santiago 2019	3000	0	0	0%	Sept
Home Improvement	5000	0	0	0%	Oct
Cultural	1000	0	0	0%	Oct
Vacay Prop	1000	0	0	0%	Sept
Sisu	1000	0	0	0%	Oct
Christmas	500	0	0	0%	Dec
Quilting	1000	0	0	0%	Dec
TOTAL	28000	0	0	0%

Saving4Norway 1/2/16 $0 (Goal $28,000)