Women in Red Savers 2015

[seriousthistime]

Mar 27, 2015 9:47:26 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

So, I pretty much have all my March income in and am ready to post my update numbers a few days early.  I got paid for my PT job (only get that ever few months) and got a small bonus check at work so I was able to knock off a couple of the smaller goals.

Fund	2015 Goal	Current	Needed	% Complete
Roth	$5500	$5500	$0	100.00%
Replacement Car	$3600	$2900	$700	80.56%
College	$2400	$800	$1600	33.33%
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%

So help me out here, please.  The tag line is:

minnesotapaintlady, 3/27/15, $14,600 (Goal $17,900)  

Correct?

[Deleted]

Yep. :-)

[PauletteG]

PauletteG, 4/3/15, $3,610 (Goal $9000)

Fund	Goal	Current	Needed	% Complete
Car Payoff	$7000	$2800	$4200	40.00%
Island Trip	1800	800	1000	44.44%
Furniture 1	200	10	190	5% 5

These are arbitrary figures. My car loan balance is greater than the car payoff goal, but I don't expect to pay it all off before July; the balance at the beginning of July'll be $7000 at the most. The islands trip I will take before it is paid in full, but my credit card statement will be due 5-6 weeks after I take the trip, and there'll be three pay periods in between.

[seriousthistime]

HOUSEKEEPING MATTER

I am about to start updating the smilies and shoutouts.  

I have not had any updates for two months from DVM gone riding, sealy, and tobinikui.  You'll be moved to the inactive list, but your info is in the master list just awaiting the time you post another update.  

Two others, dogmom and coffeegirl, have either posted goals and amounts per paycheck to save but have not posted an update, or have only posted that they intended to join the group but never posted any info.  Off to the inactive list with you, too!

bankergurl and runmarathons haven't posted this month.  (I imagine they have other things preoccupying their time.)  You'll be on the smilies this month, but if you don't update in April, you'll be moved to the inactive list.  

To reiterate:  if you're placed on the inactive list, your information is kept and any time you post an update you'll be back on the active list.  

[seriousthistime]

Smilies updated!
 

	Stars	Name	Amt Saved	Goal	% Saved	Roses	Smilies
1		acemom	$1,745	$7,000	25.0%
2		auburnsky	$1,311	$9,600	13.7%
3		azucena	$31,300	$39,300	79.6%
4		bankergurl	$28,228	$30,880	91.4%
5		forwardwego	$3,385	$11,378	29.8%
6		megaptera	$3,900	$15,000	25.2%
7		Minnesotagirl7	$20,000	$26,400	75.8%
8		minnesota paintlady	$14,600	$17,900	81.6%
9		Ombud	$24,000	$30,000	80.0%
10		PauletteG	$3,610	$9,000	40.1%
11		runmarathons	$16,774	$30,000	55.9%
12		Saving4Norway	$20,200	$27,000	75%
13		scrgrl47	$7,822	$19,820	39.5%
14		seriousthistime	$3,064	$14,498	21.1%
15		shanendoah	$6,812	$15,500	44.0%
16		snapdragon	$4,365	$6,500	67.2%
17		speechchick71	$1,005	$20,005	5.0%
18		steph08	$3,057	$6,478	47.2%
19		Sugilite	$1,463	$9,000	16.3%
20		teachermom	$1,940	$5,500	35.3%

We have three new members this month.  Welcome, auburnsky, Minnesotagirl7, and PauletteG!  


At the end of March, 25% of the year is gone.  It's amazing we have so many members who have saved at least 25% of their goal.  

Members who have saved at least 25% are acemom, forwardwego, megaptera, PauletteG, scrgrl47, shanendoah, steph08, and teachermom.  

Members who have saved at least 50% are runmarathons and snapdragon.  

Members who have saved at least 75% are azucena, bankergurl, Minnesotagirl7, minnesotapaintlady, Ombud, and Saving4Norway. 

Some people are saving up toward a multi-year goal and though they may be on track toward that goal, it will not necessarily be at 25% right now.

Remember, those of you who post tag lines only (i.e., no charts, just the totals) need to add their own roses to the tag line; otherwise, I won't know if you've earned any roses.  

GREAT JOB EVERYONE!  

[seriousthistime]

Shoutouts!

shanendoah, looking forward to seeing your updated post to include the tax refund.  Or was it all eaten up with unexpected expenses?  The vacation fund is for Disney, right?  Yay!!! on selling the Reno condo.  

teachermom, it's so nice to see you on the board with something saved, and with such an excellent first savings post!  I know you have a lot of financial challenges, but you're doing great!

auburnsky, your format looks great!  I also have my savings at CapitalOne 360, and love having separate savings accounts for each goal.  Saving4Norway, I'm with you -- having lots of subgroups is a motivator.

minnesotapaintlady, I couldn't agree more about the role emotions play in our finances.  As I was doing the smilie updates, I was thinking about how on this thread and the WIR Racers, people have said the smilies are a big motivator.  They are not for me, personally, but what does motivate me is seeing the savings numbers go up, and over at the Racers, they have subgroups for different debt ranges.  I like seeing my numbers drop within one of the subgroups, and moving out of that one and into a different subgroup.  

acemom, what did you decide to do with your tax refund?

scrgrl47, I love how you keep track of your savings to the penny!  You started the year with $42 and four cents . . . It's a great reminder that every penny counts. 

forwardwego, congrats on your first  , and thank you for all your shoutouts to members of the group.  It truly is a balancing act paying off debt and saving at the same time.  Not sure what you mean about there being more in your paycheck this year, but every year the federal government indexes the income tax brackets to account for inflation.  If you earn this year exactly the same as what you earned last year, the income tax due this year will be slightly less.

speechchick, I think the real numbers have already begun , but I'm looking forward to seeing your acceleration  !  Yes, the money is saved to be spent.  All money we save will be spent eventually, whether next week or in 30 years.  Any luck on the job front? 

megaptera, how was the Emerald City Comicon? 

azucena, great job putting your windfalls toward your savings goals!  If you're going to revise your goal, I suggest you do it once you've reached your current goal.  I am dying to give someone a "dancing banana."

steph08, I predict you are going to make your stretch goal before you know it.  Great job!

Ombud, woohoo!  You are tearing through your goals!  Alaska, Ireland, and Israel, all in one year? I'm envious.

Saving4Norway, yes, I hate it when the month lasts longer than the money.  You're an inspiration as always!  Look at how many goals you've reached so far.  Very nice job. 

Minnesotagirl7, nice way to jump into the WIR Savers.  You made a very nice splash into the pool!

Sugilite, that bank of yours is a moving target, isn't it?  Is there another bank that doesn't charge fees for a lower amount on deposit?  If so, I'd seriously consider transferring savings to that bank.  You're really moving along (sorry, pun intended) on the moving fund!

snapdragon, you're getting very close to one rose.  Can't wait to put it on the smilies! 

PauletteG, where are you going on your island trip?  Exciting, to have something so exotic planned!

--------------

Here's a challenge for all of you this month.  What expense did you avoid, and what did you do with the money you saved?  I have gotten into the habit of going to Culver's on the weekend, or getting a pizza from Pizza Hut, or buying a bottle of wine to enjoy at home.  Any one of those expenses is easily avoided and better for my waistline as well.  My goal is to not do those things this month.  Any of those purchases would run around $10.  At the end of the month, I should have $40 in cash saved.  Let's see what I do with it....

[megaptera]

seriousthistime - thanks for the shoutouts and smilie updates! I'm only saving for one item currently, so no roses for me until the very end!

ComicCon was a lot of fun, it was DH's and my first time to one. Attended a couple of panels, enjoyed watching the cosplayers, etc. We only went one day since it was the same weekend as the Supernatural Convention, which we also went to. DH and I were probably some of the oldest ones there, LOL (I'm a wee bit too old to be a fangirl  ), but we had a great time.

Happy Easter to everyone!

[sealy]

Thanks for the reminder. I'm going to stick to my last update for now. My problem is I'm trying to save for three things:

Son's graduation present: tradition is to give the amount of the year they graduate (started by me with DS #1) so I want to continue it. ($2,015)

Need $2,310.65 for mortgage payment since during summer I may be low on funds.

Need an EF I want to have at least $2,000 in it.

I have one last debt to get rid of CC #1.

So far I have $2,002.80 saved.

May as well go ahead and do this correctly

Sealy 4/5/2015 2,002.80 (Goal $6,325.65) 32% achieved.

[PauletteG]

seriousthistime said

PauletteG, where are you going on your island trip? Exciting, to have something so exotic planned!

The island trip sounds exotic, until I reveal my position as fewer than sixty miles away from a couple of British Columbia islands to which we'll be ferrying, not flying. No palm trees but plenty of evergreens. I'm saving in two currencies, but I have the dollar advantage as long as I don't go nuts buying butter, milk or car fuel in Canada.

Here's a challenge for all of you this month. What expense did you avoid, and what did you do with the money you saved?

I'm going to save on a cat-sitter expense and just make the getaway four days and three nights. Half the money saved ($30) will be directed to tickets for a school-organized optional major league baseball night. Considering also preparing some sweet snacks for ferry rides.

Good work to everyone who moved forward, and hugs to everyone who's at work at moving forward.

[Saving4Norway]

Paulette - I BC! I'm near Mt. Rainier, not too far away. One of my savings categories is for a Harley trip to Vancouver Island this summer. About every other year we go with a small group of friends to ride around BC for a week. I hope you have a wonderful trip!

[steph08]

UPDATE: steph0808 4/8/2015 $3,291.00 3/11/2015 $3,057.00 Goal: $6,478 Stretch Goal: $7,630

	Previous	Added	Current	% Toward Goal	% Toward Stretch Goal
Disney	2,700.00	200.00	2,900.00	72.5%	58.0%
52 week challenge	55.00	36.00	91.00	6.6%	6.4%
College Fund	134.00	0.00	300.00	27.3%	25.0%
	2,889.00	236.00	3,291.00	50.8%	43.1%

Saved this update $236.00
Total Saved $3,291.00
Percentage Saved Toward Goals 50.80%



Goal Stretch Goal
Disney 4000 5000
52 Week Challenge 1378 1430 Stretch goal - $1 more/week
College Fund 1100 1200

$6,478.00 $7,630.00


50% of the way there with only a little over 25% of the year gone! Woo!

[PauletteG]

I'm near Mt. Rainier, not too far away. One of my savings categories is for a Harley trip to Vancouver Island this summer.

Saving4Norway It's almost a coincidence that I went on a riding trip with a Harley crew to Mt. Rainier some summers ago. My ride is not a Harley, but they were cool with that, as long as I could keep up and brake for the deer that dashed in front of me.

[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

[auburnsky]

So exciting to see the smiley updates. Thanks seriousthistime!
I have a nice update today since I used most of my tax return for savings. First time ever using it for something other than cc debt. Feels so good! Even though I'll be turtling along the rest of the year, I'm almost 50% there.

Auburnsky 4/10/15: $4,070 (3/4/15 $1,029, goal $9,600)
Start Last Current Goal
EF $1000 $1200 $2750 $5000
Prop taxes $0 $0 $1200 $3600
52 wk challenge $29 $111 $120 $1000

[seriousthistime]

	4/10/2015	Goal	% Saved	Roses
Deferred purchases	$926	$2,075	44.6%
CC paydown	$100	$8,500	1.2%
EF	$900	$1,000	90.0%
Gifts	$953	$2,600	36.7%
Utilities	$80	$280	28.6%
Weekly Savings	$429	$1,378	31.1%
Total	$3,388	$14,498	23.4%

Serious this time, 4/10/15, $3,388 (Goal $14,498)

Just got paid today, so I haven't had a chance to figure out how much to put in the CC paydown account.  There may be another update in a few days.  


Very close to earning my first  .

[Ombud]

Apr 5, 2015 11:03:19 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

What expense did you avoid, and what did you do with the money you saved?

Truth be told, with so much overtime at work, I haven't had time to spend anything ... some days not even time for lunch. But that'll change Wednesday & then it'll be slow going.

So in the middle of all that, I'm going to be lending a significant amount of money to my son to buy a house without selling his townhouse. That puts me below my comfort zone in my retirement / brokerage accounts that can be used for retirement. So I am soon going to have another goal. I don't know if I should count the 40k as a one annual goal, a multi-year goal, or how I'm going to deal with it as I will include interest in the increased value of the savings. I know that I am overwhelmed right now with this

EDIT @ 8am:
Plus the fact that my boss told me today (my day off) I made three errors last week. Not really errors but something was done in the prior year that I did not continue to do. By my estimation, it should not have been done that way in past years but she wants it done that way. So I've been called into work tomorrow so that she can discuss them with me.

2nd edit:
Then she just texted me to tell me that on a primary case (350 pgs) that has to go out by April 15th I did it perfectly and it was extremely complex. I didnt do it like the past returns, I did it the same way as the 3 she didn't like. I'm so confused

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 4/11/2015 $3569 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	600	5000	12	4400
homestead EF	1200	2000	60	800
vehicle EF	730	1000	73	270
tree removal	350	1200	29	850
truck tires	100	800	12	700
52 week challenge*	589	1378	42	789
totals	3569	11378	29	7809

*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

52+51+26+21+40+50+49+24+47 +48+46+14+32+45+44=589

Keep up the good work savers


My sister's husband died unexpectedly last Saturday. He was a good brother-in-law. I am so sad for my sister, myself and everyone. I flew to Ohio on Saturday, and got back to FL yesterday. I guess I'm on autopilot. I was able to be supportive to my sister, their 4 kids & 7 grandkids. And now that I'm home I need a really good cry. Thankful for my WIRfriends because I know I can let it out here. And glad I'm a WIR because I was financially fit enough to handle the expense. 

[seriousthistime]

So very sorry for your loss, forwardwego.  Sounds like a heart attack or stroke?  I know it doesn't change the fact that your sister's husband is gone, but sometimes knowing the cause of sudden death is important to the family in case it is something hereditary, something they need to be alert to.  

I'm glad you are financially fit enough to take the trip. 

Of course you can let it out here.  We're good listeners and we hardly ever interrupt.  

[Ombud]

Hugs   forwardwego 

[Saving4Norway]

Forward, my condolences to you and your extended family.

[Jaguar]

My condolences on your loss.

[PauletteG]

My condolences to you, your sister's family, and her in-laws, forwardwego. Wishing you strength, comfort and sympathy from near and dear ones.

[forwardwego]

Thank you friends   You are a comfort to me.

[speechchick71]

Oh Forward....I can't even imagine losing my brothers-in-law as I'm almost closer to them than I am my own brother.  Just reading your post brought tears to my eyes not only for you but imagining how I would be feeling in that same situation.  Virtual hugs to your and your sister and family!

[forwardwego]

Yes it's hard to imagine my sis Suz losing her husband Dick. They each had an ex-spouse who had found someone else. Together they raised his daughter, her two daughters, and adopted & raised their grandson born to one of the daughters. Suz was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease about 2 years ago and he had been the best support. She is 58. He was 71., and was pretty healthy, but had used a machine for his sleep apnea for the past 10-15 years. He had a Dr appointment Tues Mar 31, raising no concerns. On Fri night he told her he loved her and always had, kissed her goodnight and was gone before 7am Sat when she woke. The coroner left it to the family whether to do autopsy, and Suzi and the kids said no. I hadn't realized how close I felt to that son of a gun.  His ex-wife, ex-son-in-law, and former father-in-law were all at the funeral. Safe to say he had no enemies. I am so happy for the love they had. Unfortunately their finances were weak, but you can fix debt a lot more easily than fixing the guilt that comes from not being kind enough. The goal of course would be to find the balance. So getting the finances straight is great, but second to having healthy relationships.

[snapdragon]

forwardwego -    

[speechchick71]

UPDATE: speechchick71 4/17/15 $1635 (goal=$20,005, started 1/1/2015)

	22-Mar	17-Apr	Goal	How much to go	% Met
Weekly Challenge	$780.00	$1,360.00	$13,780.00	$12,420.00	10%
$25/week	$225.00	$275.00	$725.00	$450.00	38%
Roth 2015	$0.00	$0.00	$5,500.00	$5,500.00	0%
	-	-	-	-
Totals	$1,005.00	$1,635.00	$20,005.00	$18,370.00	8%

[sealy]

Hugs to you forward.

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 4/18/2015 $3680 (goal $11378)

fund 2015	present	goal	% met	$$ needed
rental EF	600	5000	12	4400
homestead EF	1220	2000	61	780
vehicle EF	730	1000	73	270
tree removal	400	1200	33	800
truck tires	100	800	12	700
52 week challenge*	630	1378	45	748
totals	3680	11378	32	7698

*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

52+51+26+21+40+50+49+24+47 +48+46+14+32+45+44+41=630

Keep up the good work savers

[seriousthistime]

Wow,forwardwego, you are doing a GREAT job with the 52-week challenge!  

How is your sister doing?  I think about her... feel so sorry for her and her family.