Women in Red Savers 2016

[seriousthistime]

Update

	Goal	Added	1/30/16	% Saved	Roses
Travel	$1,500	$241	$241	16.0%
Moving fund	$1,500	$0	$75	5.0%
Pet care	$3,120	$120	$240	7.7%
Weekly savings	$2,028	$78	$156	7.7%
Total	$8,148	$273	$712	8.7%

Seriousthistime, $712, 1/30/2016 (Goal $8,148)

I was able to make a nice deposit to the travel fund this time, which is good, because I just bought my first airline ticket.  Since I'm going with a group, I have to coordinate my timeline to theirs, so I couldn't wait and take my chances with the flights.  I borrowed from my EF to pay for it. I'll pay it back from my travel fund once I have enough in there to pay it back in full.  I am tracking money in, not money out, so it will have no impact on the amounts I report here.  My travel fund is meant to be spent. 

Oddly, I feel better tracking fewer categories of savings.  My ING/CapitalOne 360 summary shows so many savings accounts, but these are the accounts that make me feel happiest to see. I am also glad to see that the amounts I'm saving for property taxes and life insurance are right on track.    

[seriousthistime]

It's almost the end of the month.  Please do your updates and post them here.  I know some people are paid on the first of the month.  Looking at my calendar, I believe I will have time to do the smilies on Feb. 3.  Please get your updates posted by the morning of the 3rd.  

Normally I wouldn't do smilies on a weeknight, but thanks to forwardwego doing the shoutouts, I have only half the work to do, easily manageable on a weeknight. 

Happy savings, all!

[scrgrl47]

Update! scrgrl47 1/30/16 $4,703.56 (Goal: $43,050)

I forgot retirement gets taken out of bonus checks too, so there was more than expected from my final Brazil bonus.

Does anybody else use ING (now known as Capital One 360, soon to be known as Capital One, sooner to be known as "not my bank of choice moving forward")?  I had about 14 separate accounts set up for monthly spending, like food, discretionary, household, pets, etc.  It started to feel like all I was doing every month was having to make 14 separate transfers into my checking account every month to pay off my CC. 

Along with my overall life effort right now to simplify, I decided to condense all those accounts into one - Spending.  When I did this, I realized how much I'm actually allowing myself to spend outside mandatory bills like rent every month.  UGH.  Now that it's in one place, maybe I'll be more aware of trying to keep as much of my money as possible?  I donno.  It's worth a try!

Go savers! 

Fund	Last Update	Change	Current Balance	Goal	% Complete
College_1	$100	$0	$100	$1,200	8.3%
Rowing	$70	$50	$120	$1,200
Mom	$63	$63	$125	$1,500	8.3%
'17 Deduct	$75	$75	$150	$2,000	7.5%
Vacations	$100	$100	$200	$2,400	8.3%
HSA	$129	$129	$258	$3,350	7.7%
Car	$225	$225	$450	$5,400	8.3%
Retirement	$311	$678	$989	$7,500	13.2%
LT Savings	$1,065	$1,247	$2,312	$18,500	12.5%
Total	$2,137	$2,567	$4,704	$43,050	10.9%

[scrgrl47]

seriousthistime - it's so funny that we posted about our boatload of Capital One 360 accounts at the same time.  I love the organization of it all, but it can get overwhelming.  Totally agree with you that changes in some accounts are more gratifying than others :-)

forwardwego - you asked "To ALL the savers, AND ALL watchers What is your best benefit of participating in the savers' thread"?  Good question! 

For me, like with WIRR, the board fosters a sense of accountability where there's a public declaration of savings plans.  It's hard (for me) to save.  I've been heavily debt focused for so long that there was limited savings accumulation and now that I have a little bit, I'm kind of antsy with it.  This board brings accountability and camaraderie and a sense of accomplishment that I need to stay focused and that I wouldn't have if I wasn't here.  Even though I may not post often, I read often and when I am having a shit work day (all too often these days), I'll come here and think to myself "well, my stress level is not for nothing". 

This may be a sweeping statement, but this board grounds me and helps me focus on what I want my money to do for me, then follow through. 

What about you?

[Ombud]

It feels great to post somewhere where everyone is so supportive .... I don't get that on some of the other boards like I do in WIRR & WIRS.

seriousthistime, I am definitely less scattered with fewer goals. If I finish these 3 I'll stick in more. It's a work in progress

[forwardwego]

WIR savers board has helped me in a lot of ways that I had anticipated. A couple of things it helps me with which I had not anticipated and I guess I am most grateful for are these:

1) Confidence and optimism, and belief in the power of baby steps. When starting off with a goal of for example $5000.00 and the first few deposits only bring it to @ $50, I used to have a defeated feeling of "Who am I kidding? This is never going to happen." The path and distance from point A to point B seemed insurmountable. I've learned to celebrate that little progress, and share in that with others as we turn our baby steps into something bigger. 

2) I am less fearful. My first race was credit card debt of nearly $10K which i powered through in 13 months. My second/current race is everything else except mortgages. And I think during this second race I may have sabotaged myself from time to time because after this race is won, what next?? I don't feel the desire or passion to race the mortgage, and am comfortable with that. I was afraid of finishing the consumer debt race and then backsliding. Now I know that the savers board is the next step for me to help me build my savings safety net and not backslide.


scrgrl47 I love your strategy of combating a bad work day with the satisfaction of what you are accomplishing here. 


Ombud I agree that the support here is so strengthening.

[Jaguar]

Onward and upward creeping along in my baby steps, New Saving Year, here I come

Saving Funds	Goals	Current	% Saved	Woo Hoo
Moving Fund	$2,100	$245,37	11.7%	?
Gateway Voyage	$4,600	$327,16	7.1%	?
Everything Fund	$2,300	$245,37	10.7%	?
GRAND TOTAL	$9,000	$817,90	9.08%	?

Sugilite - 31/01/2016 - $817,90 - [NEW GOAL - $9,000] =


The best benefit for participating is the knowledge that saving money can be done. The encouragement is a big factor for me as well. namaste.


Oh the mattress fund is gone cause I'm getting a new Tempurpedic mattress from my brother and a new to me all hardwood bedroom set from my nephews MIL. She passed on and my nephew and his wife had households to clean out.

[Saving4Norway]

Fund	2016 Goals	Last Month	This Month	% Met	Roses
Iceland Trip	2000	0	0	0%
Vehicles	1000	0	0	0%
Gifts&Donations	1500	0	0	0%
MC Trips	2750	500	1000	36%
Santiago 2019	2000	0	0	0%
Home Improvement	4000	500	1000	25%
Cultural	500	0	0	0%
Vacay Prop	1000	250	500	50%
Sisu	500	250	500	100%	February
Christmas	250	0	0	0%
Quilting	500	0	0	0%
Seabrook	500	0	0	0%
TOTAL	16500	1500	3000	18%

Saving4Norway 2/2/16 $3,000 (Goal $16,500)

[Saving4Norway]

Hmmmm, my best benefit of participating... I'd have to say the accountability of reporting to the group. I know that never in a million years would anyone on the board criticize me for slacking on meeting my goals, but I like the positive peer pressure to keep up with my goals and the promises I make to myself.

The second-best benefit to me would probably be the recognition thru shout-outs, roses, and smilies. I even have my own mini-poster I keep in my office that I add gold stars to as I save. Little things like that are fun and motivating for me.

[Deleted]

Update for Feb 1st. 

Fund	2016 Goal	Current	Needed	% Comp.
2016 Roth	$5500	$5000	$500	90.91%
2017 Roth	$5500	$200	$5500	3.64%
Replacement Car	$3600	$300	$3300	8.33%
College	$2400	$400	$2200	16.67%
Vacation	$3000	$75	$2950	2.50%
Pr. High School	$1000	$0	$1000	0.00%
Car Maint	$1000	$175	$925	17.50%
Christmas	$1000	$100	$950	10.00%
Sea Base	$500	$100	$450	20.00%
Y Membership	$500	$100	$450	20.00%
Total	$24000	$6450	$17550	26.88%

[TheHaitian]

A few things...

As of January 22 I was terminated from my job and officially on job search mode. I hope to start a new job soon (God willing and fingers crossed).

We are expecting a bigger than normal refund that I will most likely split between the car fund and general savings. So might hit those goals much earlier than expected!

Also I combined the home maintenance with general savings, easier for me.

Eventually we will need to start thinking about ROTH contributions, we will get back to that down the road once I am employed. Maybe I can do $3,000 into each account for 2015 before April at least to start the accounts ($3,000 minimum required by Vanguard). But again... will look into that once I have a job, not a priority now. Also I would prefer all our consumer debt be gone before we start that...

Since my car just cost me about $850 in general maintenance (new tires, battery, wipers), and I will need to spend another 1k within the next 3 months or so (new rare brake pads and struts), I am more driven to keep it another 2-3 years to get my money worth out of it. Probably will not be worth anything by then but will allow me to save up a good down payment for another car, maybe 10k or so. And if we make it 1 year past the time we pay off my wife car that is an extra $500/month that can go towards that... who knows, maybe for the first time I will start a new trend of buying a brand new car CASH!!!

Account	Goal	Balance	Difference	% Saved
Savings	3,500	154.52	3,345.48	4%
Car Fund	2,500	155.00	2,345.00	6%
Total	6,000	309.52	5690.48	5%

[TheHaitian]

minnesotapaintlady  your saving rate is just impressive to say the least!

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2016 12:04:03 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

minnesotapaintlady   your saving rate is just impressive to say the least!

meh..so much of my savings is due to child support and tax credits.  Not sure if there's a lot to be proud of there, but I guess I can say I'm using it wisely. 

[TheHaitian]

Feb 2, 2016 12:32:30 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Feb 2, 2016 12:04:03 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

minnesotapaintlady   your saving rate is just impressive to say the least!

meh..so much of my savings is due to child support and tax credits.  Not sure if there's a lot to be proud of there, but I guess I can say I'm using it wisely. 

You are not giving yourself enough credit!!!

[snapdragon]

Jan 4, 2016 11:32:50 GMT -5 snapdragon said:

Car/House   $ 500.74 / $1500

Savings       $ 1297.80/ $4000  

Travel         $ 3083.25 / $4500     

New Totals   $ 4879.86 / $10,000      

Snapdragon 2/2/15 --- $4881.89 / $10,000  

ETA - forgot about the interest. It's money so it counts.

[bankergurl]

MO and I went to the casino this weekend to celebrate finally having full renters in my old house. We weren't doing too well so decided to just call it a night early. On the way to the room MO saw one more game he wanted to play so we stopped and it let us play for a long time which was nice. It was 10 hand deuces wild, and we got dealt a Natural Royal Flush, betting .25 a hand, which pays $200 a hand! So 10 hands x $200 per hand = $2000! We were so excited!! After that we played a bit more and ended up coming home up $1770! We will put the money in savings for a very short time then use it to pay my property tax bill at my old house (rental #2). (There is a pic of my win on my blog).  Cheers!

Going forward we should be able to put $600 a month from Rental #1, and $400 a month from one of the guys living in our basement into savings. We can pay all of our bills without that income so we will be putting those in savings every month for now.

We also filed our taxes and we are getting back $4600! Hoping to see that in the next few weeks as well!

Current Deposits $1270.00
+$25.00 My Payday to Our Savings
+$25.00 My Payday to Mom Loan Savings
+$18.00 Bball Savings
+$11.00 FB Sales
+$1.00 Even Out Amount
+$5.00 Nielsen Survey
+$600.00 Rental #2
+$400.00 Rent from basement
+$1700.00 Casino Win
+$4.32 Cap360 Interest
+$5.68 Even Out Amount
+$5.00 (Week 5 of 2016 Challenge)

+$52.00 (Week 52 of 2016 Challenge)
Total Deposits for 2016 = $4122.00


Banker Gurl : 1/1/16 $4122.00 (1/1/16 $0, WIRS1) Goal - Contribute $12,000

[seriousthistime]

Updates 

	Stars	Name	Amt. Saved	Goal	% Saved	Roses	Smilies
1		azucena	$35,840	$50,000	71.7%
2		bankergurl	$4,122	$12,000	34.4%
3		chiver	$1	$1,378	0.01%
4		forwardwego	$2,000	$18,000	11.1%
5		gracendignity	$230	$3,000	8.4%
6		minnesotapaintlady	$6,450	$24,000	26.9%
7		movinonup	$102	$24,829	4.1%
8		Ombud	$2,045	$13,000	15.8%
9		PauletteG	$210	$11,160	1.9%
10		Rocky Mtn Saver	$50	$1,000	5%
11		Saving4Norway	$3,000	$16,500	18.2%
12		scrgrl47	$4,704	$43,050	10.9%
13		seriousthistime	$712	$8,148	8.7%
14		shanendoah	$650	$7,250	9.0%
15		snapdragon	$4,882	$10,000	48.8%
16		speechchick	$223	$17,700	1.3%
17		Sugilite	$818	$9,000	9.1%
18		teachermom	$2,175	$12,000	18.1%
19		TheHaitian	$310	$6,000	5.2%
20		tobinikui	$4,134	$5,000	82.7%

Great to see old members returning and new ones joining us.  Welcome, all!

Remember we are not unified on a strategy here.  Some of us roll over amounts saved and goals to strive for from year to year.  Others start at $0 with new goals on January 1.  Some of us are dual income families.  Others are single parents.  We go through layoffs and job promotions and bonuses and pay cuts.  We each do what we can do.  Success is measured by what we achieve, not by what we don't achieve in comparison to others.
For each 25% of the goal you achieve, you get one  .  If you reach 100% you get .

If you have sub-goals instead of one grand goal, you will get one   for each sub-goal met.

Smilies are for total amount saved, as follows: $50 =  ; $100 =  ; $500 =   ; $1,000 =   ; $5,000 =  ; $10,000 =  ; $25,000 =  .

[seriousthistime]

A request for everyone, but especially the newbies.  Please put your totals in a tag line with each of your updates. I'm using snapdragon's as an example:

Snapdragon 2/2/15 --- $4881.89 / $10,000

Something with your name, date, amount saved, and your goal would be great.  It doesn't need to be beautiful. Just needs to help me out so I don't have to reach for my calculator to add up your totals.

Please... and thank you!

[forwardwego]

Shoutouts Part 1 YEA we have 20 savers on the board with their first updates plus more first updates yet to come...plus some participants who are reading sharing & cheering... 

Ombud Kudos on being the first member to log in for the 2016 savers! Good job achieving nearly 50% on your 2015 Roth goal. It's good that you've learned that tracking less goals make it easier for you. There's plenty of time to add goals as the year unfolds. I agree with you that the WIR Savers board stands apart as an extremely supportive place.   

bankergurl You've really hit the ground running. I see some bumped up goals in your future too. You have very diversified sources of income. Congrats on the favorable rental arrangements, and walking away from the casino with the $$ to pay the taxes...crack me up! Looking forward to seeing what you will accomplish with the tax refund.

megaptera Your goal(s) look like a nice bump up from last year. And it will be interesting to see how it goes for you tracking more than a single amount. Four items seem like a doable level.

chiver Good to see you! Congrats on re-establishing the $1000 savings, and getting your foot in the door on the weekly savings! Do you have an account for the weekly savings money or do you stash cash?

PauletteG Nice work getting on the board early! It looks like you have thought out your upcoming needs for 2016 very well. And your next update will be even more fun now that you've learned the update shortcut 

sealy It's nice to see you prepped for the weekly savings challenge. It can be very challenging to balance killing off debt with building up savings...YOU CAN DO IT. (I have struggled with that too as I'm not a multi-task personality) The weekly challenge is a great way to get started   

Saving4Norway  I love your statement of the saver board benefits. The "positive peer pressure" (well said) is anonymous, but nonetheless real. And the recognition does feel warm and satisfying...Hearty Congratulations on earning your Sisu rose  Will Vacay Prop be your next rose?  

TheHaitian Welcome to the savers board. Congrats on your progress. Keeping it simple seems to work for a lot of us. You've laid out some good groundwork. And it will really help to sock that big tax refund away until the next job gets going. What is your line of work? You seem to have a lot of energy and a very positive disposition, I'm sure that must come across well in interviews. 

tobinikui Good job staying focused on the ER fund. There's a lot to think of with your new baby coming in April. You have clearly put a lot of thought into what the priorities are and how they will change as the year progresses. I hope to join you in the goal to be as enthusiastic & energetic in saving as in paying off debt. Luckily your enthusiasm and energy are contagious.

movinonup You're off to a good start with your variety of savings challenges!

snapdragon Nice update...$5K is straight ahead...and that interest sure does count!! It all adds right on up!!!

[forwardwego]

Shoutouts part 2 of 2 

teachermom It seems that you have some good savings momentum building. Congratulations on your 3 roses. So glad you've had one of those months where everything just seems to line up. And with teaching, listing and selling personal items, and refinishing furniture, there's always a little $$ in the pipeline. It's good that you are rooted in reality to know that it may or may not last, but either way the pump is primed and you are working it.

minnesotapaintlady congratulations on having your first star already! Prudent use of your resources is a good quality, and it's okay to take credit for that. Your 2016 Roth is looking great!!

sugilite You are right...the savers board is proof positive that savings can be done, and the support you are getting is certainly a mutual benefit. We can always count on you to acknowledge any progress and effort made. Congrats on being right on target with over 9% accomplished so far. I'm so glad you were in the right place to benefit from your nephew's furniture clean out. I'm sure they are glad to see you have it.

speechchick It's been a while since your last post...does this have anything to do with powerball 
Your 2016 goals seem very doable in light of your 2015 savings...102%
How are you doing? Is there progress with selling your parents house??

azucena The house down payment is really climbing nicely! Have you begun to familiarize yourself with your target housing market? Also I sure hope you have good news about the exam. Please let us know.

Rocky Mtn Saver Nice start on the EF . Thank you also for the many times you offer encouragement and input.

scrgrl47 Yes, The public declaration of a goal is a huge stepping stone in accountability. Having the plan in place helps the money end up where we want it to go instead of slipping through our fingers and leaving that "gee where'd it go?" feeling. I also have taken a while to get past being full tilt debt reduction, and transitioning into savings. Congrats on being at well over 10%!!

shanendoah Nice start with $650!!! Good job planning ahead on the vacation expenses. I'm wondering what is the poptart launch fund? 

seriousthistime Didn't think I'd forget you,did you? So exciting you've bought your first airline ticket, and don't have to wonder how you're going to pay for it. Being a saver is a good stress reducer. Congratulations for being on target plus a smidge, including property taxes and life insurance monies. Where will you be travelling?

I saved a special spot here for gracendignity...We're so glad that after lurking, you have jumped into the water. Congratulations on being right on target with your goals. I love how you chose your screen name. Challenging times call for a well thought out screen name that can serve as a mantra!! Which leads to a question...





Savers What mantra, phrase, or self-talk have you used to keep yourself rolling in a positive direction financially? As an example I'm sure most of us rely on "Is this (potential purchase) a want or a need?"





And a special shoutout to Blonde granny, Lund, Midjd, Cheesecakelady, Shabbona, Lenten Rose, plugginaway22, for their encouragement and contributions.

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 2/5/2016 $2024 (goal $18000)

FUND 2016	Present	Goal	% Met	$$ Needed
SL payoff	90	5000	2	4910
DD wedding	20	5000	1	4980
Homestead EF	1200	2000	58	800
Vehicle XF	500	1500	33	1000
Medical XF	10	1500	1	1490
Travel	10	1000	1	990
Rusty J Boxer	100	600	16	500
Weekly Challenge*	94	1400	6	1306
Totals	2024	18000	11	15976

 


*Weekly challenge/53 Friday 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 22

14+10+22+24+20+4=94


Definitely a TTU (teeny tiny update)

ETA: Here's one of my favorite self talk/reminders: "Keep it simple"

[Saving4Norway]

"Pay yourself, first."

Meaning make your contribution into savings one of the first "bills" you pay at the beginning of the month. I get paid on the last working day of the month. I automatically have $1500 transferred from my checking into my savings on the 2nd of the month. If later in the month I'm spread too thin I'll transfer a little bit back into checking to help me get to the end of the month. Most of the time I'm able to make the remainder of my paycheck stretch so I don't have to borrow back.

[shanendoah]

The Pop Tart Launch Fund

Pop Tart = my daughter (we do not use her real name online for a variety of reasons)
Launch Fund = kind of like a college fund, but recognizing that college might not be the best choice for her right out of high school. The goal is $10k by the time she graduates high school, and the purpose is to help her "launch" - whether it's to a 4 year U, a community college, a tech school, or even just first/last/deposit on an apartment because she could end up being one of those people that needs to work a crap job for a couple of years before she realizes the importance of additional training.


I ask myself "WHY" I am buying something. I have enough money to cover most of my wants, so I don't worry about that, but I do try to know why I am buying something. Because if the answer is "well, I'm at the mall, so I should by something" or "I'm trying to fill some sort of emotional hole", or "this isn't actually what I want, but it's close", I'm pretty good at putting stuff down and walking away.
But if my answer is "I want to have one pair of jeans that fit properly, look nice, and don't come from the thrift store" I allow myself that purchase. Also, if the answer is "It's a Storm Trooper coin purse big enough to use for my regular wallet. And it's in the impulse buy section, and of course I WANT IT" I also allow myself the purchase about 50% of the time. (And yes, the storm trooper coin purse I totally allowed myself - it's the perfect place to keep my Darth Vader credit card. )

[snapdragon]

Savers What mantra, phrase, or self-talk have you used to keep yourself rolling in a positive direction financially? As an example I'm sure most of us rely on "Is this (potential purchase) a want or a need?"


You know my main one which sounds really bad is --- "I DON'T want to live like my Mom when I am older." And another is "If I don't save for my future than I will be screwed because SS is only supposed to help NOT be life sustainable."

[forwardwego]

Love the conversations.

snapdragon I can see how it makes you feel sad to remind yourself you don't want to live like your mom when you are older, but I imagine your mom would not want that for you either. It sounds like a powerful motivator and reminder. My mom used to say she'd have to outlive my stepdad or she'd never be out of debt. She died at 49, before my stepdad. My Sis and I made sure her estate paid off everything with her name on it. She would have been glad. It's sad she didn't get to live debt free. Most of our moms would be very glad to see their daughters achieve the financial stability that may have eluded them. And yessiree SS as a main income would be slim.

Saving4Norway I have often heard the wisdom "pay yourself first" but it really helps to hear your example of how you implement that. I do this to a certain degree with automatic transfers to savings but not to the level I could and probably should. Hearing your method helps.

shanendoah Thanks for the explanation of the "launch fund." That title has a very good vibe to it. Not everyone should go to college, but almost everyone needs to launch. I'm thinking that asking yourself the "Why buy?" question helps prevent having buyer's remorse later. 

Keep up the great work savers!

[TheHaitian]

TheHaitian 2/8/16 --- $7,018.46 / $50,000

Ok just passing by for a quick update... Now that I have a job offer, I can actually breathe and changing everything; thinking more clearly!

What I am changing or adding :
-> Instead of savings/car fund/home maintenance... I collapsed them all into 1 account.
-> I increased the goal for that from $6,000 (for the previous 3 accounts) to $13,500 (yes lofty I know)
-> Decided to track our contributions to retirement. Not our employers matches, just our contributions for the year.
-> Last but not least : I added 2 Roth IRA's for the year... those 2 take my goals from possible to lofty! Before throwing my bonuses to debt I will throw them at the ROTH's; that make it this year I need to make at least 11k net in bonuses.

Am I crazy yet?

Account	Goal	Balance	Difference	% Saved
Saving	13,500.00	6,000.00	7,500.00	44%
Carl Retirement	18,000.00	674.42	17,325.58	4%
DW Retirement	7,500.00	344.04	7,155.96	5%
Carl 2016 ROTH IRA	5,500.00	0.00	5,500.00	0%
DW 2016 ROTH IRA	5,500.00	0.00	5,500.00	0%
TOTAL	50,000.00	7,018.46	42,981.54	0.53%

[seriousthistime]

TheHaitian, not crazy.  Motivated!

[bankergurl]

We had to take the money out of savings for the property taxes on both of our rentals (neither of them is escrowed), but that was planned for and expected, so we are just happy we have the money there to use it when needed.  Plus the bill was actually $2266 for Rental #2, but we are only having to take out $1800 from checking because we had enough in savings to cover the rest!  I am not tracking the money we take out of savings here since that is what it was planned for, so that won't be entered on my tally.

But in fun news, we have all kinds of snowflakes this week!


I worked an arm wrestling tourney for my Dad this week and made $50. 

We also won $ for Super Bowl pools. We did one at our Super Bowl Party, put in $60, won $60 (so I will put the $60 in savings since it was already considered "spent") and MO had one with some friends, put in $20, won $120! Sweet! MO also won $90 more through a bar, but we haven't received that money yet so I won't be adding that until we actually receive it.

Plus FB sales, and Bball money (2 games this week). I love seeing those snowflakes add up!

Current Deposits = $4122.00
+$25.00 MO Payday to Our Savings
+$12.00 Bball Savings
+$5.00 FB Sales
+$60.00 Super Bowl Win (Our House)
+$120.0 Super Bowl Win (MO friends)
+$50.00 Arm Wrestling Work
+$3.00 Even Out Amount
+$6.00 (Week 6 of 2016 Challenge)
Total Deposits for 2016 = $4403.00

We are already a 3rd of the way to our goal! 


Banker Gurl : 2/8/16 $4403.00 (1/1/16 $0, WIRS1) Goal - Contribute $12,000

[teachermom]

Update:

Still plugging away....able to put away a bit more cash.....things will probably slow down from here though.

Saving 2016
Fund	Goals	Beg Bal	Jfeb 2016	YTD	Spent	End Bal	% Met
Savings
Emergency Fund - Minor	$1,000.00	$0.00	$1,000.00	$1,000.00	$0.00	$1,000.00	100.00%
Insurance - Deductible	$200.00	$0.00	$200.00	$200.00	$0.00	$200.00	100.00%
Roof	$2,000.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	0.00%
New Tires	$800.00	$0.00	$200.00	$200.00	$0.00	$200.00	25.00%
Car Maintenance	$300.00	$0.00	$300.00	$300.00	$25.00	$275.00	100.00%
Plumbing updates	$3,000.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	0.00%
Gifts	$1,200.00	$0.00	$100.00	$100.00	$0.00	$100.00	8.33%
Spring break trip	$500.00	$0.00	$500.00	$500.00	$0.00	$500.00	100.00%
Summer trip	$1,000.00	$0.00	$500.00	$500.00	$0.00	$500.00	50.00%
Hawaii trip	$2,000.00	$0.00	$25.00	$25.00	$0.00	$25.00	1.25%
Total Savings	$12,000.00	$0.00	$2,825.00	$2,825.00	$25.00	$2,800.00	23.54%

Teachermom 2/8/2016 $2825.00 (1/1/2016 $0.00, Goal $12,000) Got my 4th rose......

[seriousthistime]

To answer the two questions posed by forwardwego, 

1.  To me, the best benefit of the savers is setting goals, meeting them, and not having to worry about paying a predictable expense.  I have a large insurance payment due March 1.  I'll have enough in the account, plus some, to pay it by Feb. 26. 

2.  My mantra for saving instead of spending is: do I already have something similar to this?  If so, why have another?  You can imagine all sorts of things it's good to have more than one of (forks, shoes, etc.) so then the question becomes: do I have another set/pair similar to this?  I have several pairs of brown shoes but they are different heel heights. I can justify that because they each have their purpose.  But I don't need multiple pairs of brown shoes with the same heel height. Same with purses.  (My only exception is black purses.  I have a small one and a large one.)  I have about five purses in different solid colors.  I'm not tempted when I see a new purse in the store and think of a purse I have at home.    

Over in the Racers thread people have been talking about the Marie Kondo method of decluttering. I was talking to a friend of mine about how very few things I own that make me feel joy.  JOY!  The concept is lost on me, but I am going to give it a try. Nothing more comes into my house unless it is destined to give me joy.