Women in Red Savers 2017

[finnime]

I'd hold my nose and put up with the Chase cards for now. It seems likely they'd lower limits as you chase them down (ha! I made a pun!) Use the available money to prevent the 20+%'s - I think one will start in August? - and then focus on chasing Chase. It may be less satisfying but you have a plan for controlling the total that will work.

[chiver78]

well, the pair of 20s is already covered, one way or another. one will be paid off completely and the other is the $1800 I'm going to transfer now. after that, the next highest rates are the pair of 14s I listed.

[teachermom]

Transfer the $1800 from the BofA to take care of the 20% card and then as much of the one with $8k as you can, focus on paying off that balance with your snowball to give you one less payment but also to free up some available credit, then attack the Chase. More than likely Chase will continue to lower your limit as you pay it off.

Teachermom

[bankergurl]

May 15, 2017 8:16:56 GMT -5 nikiz628 said:

I was all excited that I made $330 at my yard sale this weekend....and then I see bankergurl 's update and I am like, well crap
I tease, banker, I tease! 

I always love seeing how much you make at your rummage sales- have you done a break down yet for your blog?

LOL!  I assume you saw the pics of how much STUFF we had at the sale??  It's a TON of work, but since I enjoy couponing (and $$$) it works good for me.

If I had gotten rid of $330 of random stuff in my house I would be ecstatic!  The total for the items we sold that weren't couponing items was only $104 for me and MO. So you actually out sold us by 70%!

I am working on the rummage sale breakdown for my blog this week in-between 4 nights of softball for MO and I, getting a new lease signed for a new renter at the property we manage for my parents, getting lawns mowed at 3 different properties in 3 different towns, continuing to build the deck at Rental #2 an hr away, a 6 HR OT training on Saturday from my work, continuing to clean out the garage from the rummage sale, another infertility apt for me an hr away from home, oh and those pesky full time jobs we have!  If we can just make it through June I think we will survive but this month is killing us!  Can't wait till the new renter is in Rental #2 and hopefully then we can relax at least a little and enjoy the summer....but for now it is go, go, go!  I should be able to get the breakdown done on Saturday after my training though, and also hoping to plant my garden that day.  At least the Saturday training I can do from home in my PJs and get OT $$.

My internet was down all morning and I work from home so I couldn't work for about 6 hrs of my shift (but I still get paid! ) so at least I got my laundry all caught up and a grocery list/meal plan done for the week while I waited for the tech guy to come! 

[movinonup]

May 15, 2017 19:57:13 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

I have an empty $7500 Citi card with an available BT offer. I can choose between 0% interest until next March, or 0.99% until next June. both offers reset to 12.74% after the promotional rate, and cost a 5% BT fee. I know that I will be transferring the $1800 from a BofA card that is from a promo that will reset in July to 21.74%. 

my options for the rest of the available balance are:
(1) a $3000 balance on a card that's at 12.65%
(2) taking some off the top of the loaded Chase card that's locked at 14.49% (and who has recently lowered my available limit to just above the current balance. assholes.)
(3) taking some off the top of an $8000 balance that's resetting to 14.74% in June. 
OR,
(4) taking more off the BofA card that's got other promotional offers that expire later or for lower rates. 

What is the rate on the BofA card now?  When does the Citi BT offer expire?  Is the $1800 the highest rate balance on the BofA card now?  Any payment to BofA will probably be applied to whatever balance is currently at the highest rate.  What are the details of the rest of the BofA balance?  

-movinonup

[chiver78]

May 16, 2017 20:23:08 GMT -5 movinonup said:

May 15, 2017 19:57:13 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

I have an empty $7500 Citi card with an available BT offer. I can choose between 0% interest until next March, or 0.99% until next June. both offers reset to 12.74% after the promotional rate, and cost a 5% BT fee. I know that I will be transferring the $1800 from a BofA card that is from a promo that will reset in July to 21.74%. 

my options for the rest of the available balance are:
(1) a $3000 balance on a card that's at 12.65%
(2) taking some off the top of the loaded Chase card that's locked at 14.49% (and who has recently lowered my available limit to just above the current balance. assholes.)
(3) taking some off the top of an $8000 balance that's resetting to 14.74% in June. 
OR,
(4) taking more off the BofA card that's got other promotional offers that expire later or for lower rates. 

What is the rate on the BofA card now?  When does the Citi BT offer expire?  Is the $1800 the highest rate balance on the BofA card now?  Any payment to BofA will probably be applied to whatever balance is currently at the highest rate.  What are the details of the rest of the BofA balance?  

-movinonup

so glad I took a screen shot of this as the pixels were spinning.....no way I could have rewritten correctly. yeesh. hope I transcribe it correctly...

for the second try: 

the Citi offer expires in July. 

right now, I have three separate promotional offers of 0% on the BofA card:

• $1800, resets 10Jul17 to 21.74%
• $3100, resets 10Jul17 to 10.74%
• $8300, resets 10Dec17 to 21.74%

I have both my own notes (with dates and names of operators) as well as a couple chat transcripts, where I have confirmed my sanity check that anything I pay before 10Jul17 will be applied to the $1800 as both the first to reset AND the highest rate at the reset date. Once that balance is gone, all that's remaining are the $3100 and $8300. At that time, the minimum payment will be applied to the $8300 as the lowest rate (0% until Dec) and the remainder of the payment will be applied to the $3100. 

I actually had to go back to one transcript to make sure I have the story right. this is all so ^#$^@&*($#^ confusing to me, and I cannot wait until it's all paid off. just trying to figure out the best way to maximize the effects of my payments. that's why I don't just want to transfer both promotional balances that expire in July, because the 10.74% is lower than the 14.xx% on the other resetting rate - which resets in June, so I may as well just do this now. 

when I first raised the transfer questions, I definitely listed the variety of promotions on this particular card, and the advice at the time was still to chase the highest interest rate..  

[finnime]

chiver78, I agree it makes sense to go ahead and use the new Citi card to buy some time. Given your current status with the various other cards, I'd probably go ahead and pay off the $3000 balance. Then you'll have some room on a card for emergency use.

It looks like the differences between other cards in mid-teen interest rates are not great enough to really push one over another. So go with attacking whichever makes you craziest. Sanity is priceless.

[chiver78]

well, the $3000 is at 12%. but it would wipe the card out completely. that still leaves about $2k in avaliable limit that I could move something else. would you not?

[chiver78]

ooh, and another thing - I have my appointment at the consignment shop to drop things off, this Thursday. all of the shoes are new unworn, one suit has been worn a handful of times (and cleaned since), the other and the spring weight coat still have tags. I should be able to get some $ back for this stuff easily. the shop is a hot spot on Cape Cod. whatever I get is getting tacked onto the payments for whatever balance is being attacked at that moment.

[movinonup]

chiver78 It won't make much difference because of the small balance involved, but if you wait until after you make your next payment on your BofA card, you will save a few dollars on the balance transfer fee. Even if you pay $100 before you make the transfer, you will have an extra $5 in your pocket instead of Citi's. Right now it is nearly 2 full months before your rate reset.  If you transferred the balance and the rate was good for 10 months, you are throwing away nearly 20% of the time that you bought.  How much do you expect to have each month for debt repayment and what are the minimums for each account?

-movinonup

[finnime]

chiver78 ,

You have essentially three choices: one, pay the remaining $2k BT towards the BofA; two, pay it toward one of the Chase's, and 3) just let it be for a while. Does one of these feel better to you? Chasing Chase is probably what I'd do, fully expecting they would f/u by lowering the limit. Unless it seems not possible to close off the remaining $11,400 BofA by December without the $2k. If that's true, then BofA it would be.

ETA: If BofA, then I'd wait until July 1 to do the BT, because the 0 rate is in effect until then.

[teachermom]

chiver78 Can you allocate when you make payments on the BofA after you pay off the first $1800 that is resetting? Want to make sure it is going to the $8300 that is going to reset to the higher rate. Also, the card that you are paying the $3000 on.....does it have a balance transfer option? Maybe you can pay it off and get on another promo there to get more money at 0%?? I know it is a shell game but you can attack it quicker for minimal cost if you can keep money at the 0%. I also agree with the others....make your payments that you can and balance transfer just before the offer expires, as that will save you money too.

Teachermom

[teachermom]

forwardwego Based on bad advice....I consolidated my student loans....so it is one large loan....very large! Also, due to bad choices, single parenthood, etc.....they have been deferred a lot so just growing and growing. Working with them right now to see if I can get on some plan that will make paying them off, someday a reality. You are right.....I would burn out being gazelle intense on them because it would still be many years!

Teachermom

ETA: I also know that retirement isn't a possibility until I get them handled. I have 2 meetings this week at the Union office regarding retirement....how much it will be, when I can retire, what happens if I "retire" early (basically leave teaching) to do something else even if I don't draw on it, etc. First one is tonight with the 403B provider. Tomorrow with the TRS program (Teachers Retirement System). Information is power, right?

[seriousthistime]

teachermom, you could try rewarding yourself for milestones you reach.  Maybe divide the student loan (say, $50,000 total) into $5,000 portions and call them SL1 through SL10 or something like that, and when you pay off $5,000, SL1 is done and you've earned a rose, and you snowball SL2. 

[chiver78]

May 17, 2017 10:28:19 GMT -5 teachermom said:

chiver78 Can you allocate when you make payments on the BofA after you pay off the first $1800 that is resetting? Want to make sure it is going to the $8300 that is going to reset to the higher rate. Also, the card that you are paying the $3000 on.....does it have a balance transfer option? Maybe you can pay it off and get on another promo there to get more money at 0%?? I know it is a shell game but you can attack it quicker for minimal cost if you can keep money at the 0%. I also agree with the others....make your payments that you can and balance transfer just before the offer expires, as that will save you money too.

Teachermom

I can't allocate, but it sounds like what automatically happens is not how I'd want it to be allocated. I think the best bet there is going to be to just pay minimums (rounded up to the next $25 as usual) and attack something else between then and December. I will have an empty shell again in August when the ugly Citi card is paid off, and I could have another one by December if I continue snowballing the whole time. 

right now, I've got everything set to minimum payments rounded to either the next $25 or more if the interest charges look like I need more than that rounding to keep actually paying down balance. on top of that, I've got an additional $250 going to the ugly balance every two weeks immediately after my paycheck hits. so I'll have at least that $500/month to throw at whatever balance I pick after the ugly one is paid off. 

ETA: no, there is no BT offer on the card I'm paying off the $3k for. it's a very basic CU card that I applied for when I opened the CU accounts in order to refinance my car payment when I started working at this company. I'm not a fan, of any part of this CU and will likely close my accounts once the car loan is paid off. 

[teachermom]

chiver78 You have some decisions ahead. It is very difficult for me to figure it out exactly because I get confused going back and forth on what the different loans are, what is resetting when, etc. I guess the thing I would focus on it paying off what you can that is resetting to high interest by either snowballing or balance transfer. This will minimize the amount of interest you are paying. If you can get a card totally paid off that doesn't have a transfer option, then at least that frees up that payment amount and you can snowball it to something else. If what you can pay off, has a balance transfer and you can allocate payment to something higher, I would do it. If you can't, pay it off and snowball everything you can to it. Focus on one thing at a time, meaning all extra money goes there.....that is the fastest way to see progress.

Teachermom

[movinonup]

The order that credit card payments are applied to balances is pretty well defined.  The minimum can be applied to any balance, which means that it is always applied to the lowest rate balance.  Payments above the minimum must be applied to the balance with the highest rate first.  

If there are multiple balances that are under an identical promotional interest rate it seems that the company can apply the payment however they want, but I am not certain abouut this.

-movinonup

[bankergurl]

Just a little update from payday, but we passed $21K!! 

May 12, 2017 = $20,935.00

+$15.00 FB Sales

+$50.00 My Payday to Our Savings (5/19)
+$75.00 My Payday to Mom Loan Savings (5/19)
May 12, 2017 = $21,075.00

Accounts	1/1/17	2/1/17	3/1/17	4/1/17	5/1/17	5/19/17
Local Savings	$2,510	$3,455	$7,025	$8,595	$9,295	$10,460
GC Savings	$2,025	$2,875	$2,900	$2,910	$3,425	$3,435
Cap360 - Us	$1,620	$1,875	$2,135	$2,335	$2,540	$2,695
Cap360 - Mom Loan	$900	$1,105	$1,265	$1,415	$1,570	$1,725
Cap360 - Rental Deposit #1	$1,260	$1,260	$1,260	$1,260	$1,260	$1,260
Cap360 - Rental Deposit #2	-	-	-	-	-	$1,500
Totals	$8,315	$10,570	$14,585	$16,515	$18,090	$21,075

52 Week Challenge
2017 Total = $508.00(We have paid weeks 1-20 and 46-52)

Banker Gurl 5/19/17 $21,075.00 (Start=$8,315/Saved $13,365-Spent $605= $12,760/Goal $22,000/Remaining to Goal $8,635)

Roses Earned: 

Laughlin Trip

[Jaguar]

In June I've decided that I won't be buying any treats, instead I'm saving for a better one. Since the Trillium mess is finished, I want to start saving again. I think I can have $1,000 saved towards my Moving Fund by Dec 1, 2017, and that's a really good thing I think.

[teachermom]

Ugh....paid $1750 in car repairs out of my car maintenance savings account yesterday....killing me! I know....that is what I saved it for but not liking it.

Teachermom

[sealy]

my savings took a small hit.

[azucena]

Going to take a break for a few weeks, moving in 2 weeks and more money is going out of savings than into it - paying for inspections, survey, etc. Will report back and start over when the dust has settled.

[Jaguar]

Yeah my treat buying will be only on July 5 and Oct 5 I think and I did cut down cause I want to have that $1,000 towards my Moving Fund on Dec 10, as a Christmas gift to myself.

[forwardwego]

Update 5/19/2017 $16820 (Start $12165, Goal $27000)

2017 FUND	Present	Goal	% Met	$$ Needed
Veh XF	1100	1500	73	400
Med XF	550	1500	36	950
EF Bridge *	5700	6000	95	300
Rental Margin	2425	10000	24	7575
DD invest/gift	4000	4000	100
Rusty J Boxer Pt2	2000	2000	100
Weekly Challenge	1045	2000	52	955
TOTALS	16820	27000	62	10180

$50 base + (sum of $12 thru $63) = $2000

12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24		26	27	28	29		31
32	33	34	35	36	37	38
		44		46	47	48	49	50	51

*EF/Bridge Goal is adjusted downward from original goal of $10K to $6K. I retired on April 28th and this fund will be steadily going down. The purpose/need of this fund is because my employer runs long in processing time for pensions. But when the paperwork is finalized I will get a retro amount. I need to stretch the fund until then, or tap my HELOC.

[nikiz628]

I think Murphy realized he hadn't visited our home in awhile...so he popped in for a visit yesterday afternoon! I had just picked my son up from school and I needed to run to the pharmacy to drop off my prescription. On the way there, my 2013 Acadia started displaying a bunch of warnings on the dash- "traction control off." "service traction control." "Service stabilitrak". I pulled in and parked at the pharmacy, called my husband to let him know what it was saying. He thought maybe I had bumped the t/c button, which is next to the shifter (and very easy to push on accident). I told him when I left, I would make sure it was on. When I left, I double checked, and the t/c was on. On my way home, I got the same warnings again, but this time a new warning popped up "engine power reduced". I couldn't go over 20 mph! I limped the car to the dealership that my dad is a service manager for. He plugged in the diagnostic scanner, and was baffled. He had never seen the error codes it was displaying on the scanner. Since my car is a GMC and his place is a Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep dealer, he thought perhaps their scanner just wasn't going to pick up all the error codes. So my husband drove the car to the closest GM service center. They did a quick scan and said it was displaying fuel pump codes and that they could get a better idea tomorrow (today). So, H calls me just a little a bit ago after they called him. It's definitely the fuel pump going out. The gentleman at the service center said "We should be able to get a part here today or tomorrow and have it ready to go for you.....for $1100"     Cool story, let me just reach into my magical wallet and take care of that. 

I told my H not to agree to anything, but to call my dad and see what he said. My dad said "umm do not pay that, bring me the car". So, H is going to go pay the $100 for the diagnostic scanning on his lunch and take the car BACK to my dad's work. They want to see where the fuel pump is mounted on the engine to determine how easy it will be to replace. There is a guy at his work that used to work for a GM service center, and he told my dad he could help. So, hopefully we will just be out $100 for the scanning, the $300-$400 for the part, and either free labor (if my dad can do it) or seriously cheaper labor (if his co-worker agrees to replace it on his free time). 

Thank God for the EF....as much as I hate touching it, it's nice that I am not stressing over how to pay to fix our ONLY car. 

[shanendoah]

shanendoah: 5/25/2017 $610 (Goal: $960)

Payday, which means another $25 to savings. Due to credit card cycles, I won't be pulling money out of savings to cover a portion of the work done on our car until next month.

[bankergurl]

Nikiz - UGH! Car repairs stink! My savings is going down this update due to that as well.

We have less then 1 week left till new renter moves into Rental #2, MO hopes to finish the new deck on Friday, then all that is left is to mow the lawn again, and clean out the sawdust covered garage. Plan is to be completely done on Saturday! Once we get rent for June we will be able to reimburse the money we had to take out on this update.

May 19, 2017 = $21,075.00

+$5.00 FB Sales

+$50.00 MO Payday to Our Savings (5/26)
-$650.00 Car Repairs
-$60.00 Rental #2 - Hot Tub Repair
-$140.00 Rental #2 - Cleaning Bill
-$150.00 Rental #2 - Beer and Food for Helpers
May 26, 2017 = $20,130.00

Accounts	1/1/17	2/1/17	3/1/17	4/1/17	5/1/17	5/26/17
Local Savings	$2,510	$3,455	$7,025	$8,595	$9,295	$10,465
GC Savings	$2,025	$2,875	$2,900	$2,910	$3,425	$2,435
Cap360 - Us	$1,620	$1,875	$2,135	$2,335	$2,540	$2,745
Cap360 - Mom Loan	$900	$1,105	$1,265	$1,415	$1,570	$1,725
Cap360 - Rental Deposit #1	$1,260	$1,260	$1,260	$1,260	$1,260	$1,260
Cap360 - Rental Deposit #2	-	-	-	-	-	$1,500
Totals	$8,315	$10,570	$14,585	$16,515	$18,090	$20,130

52 Week Challenge
2017 Total = $508.00(We have paid weeks 1-20 and 46-52)

Banker Gurl 5/26/17 $20,130 (Start=$8,315/Saved $13,420-Spent $1605= $11,815/Goal $22,000/Remaining to Goal $8,580)

Roses Earned: 

Laughlin Trip

[nikiz628]

Thankfully, I managed to save us some money (almost half the original quote!). The dealership my dad works at can replace the fuel pump- $301 for part. $200 for labor! I'll take $501 ($601 if you include the $100 I paid the other place for the diagnostic scan) over the $1100 originally quoted at place #1. I am waiting now to see when I need to take my car back up there today. 

[seriousthistime]

Savers, we are approaching the end of the month.

Please get your May updates posted by the afternoon of June 2. 

Thank you!  

And remember I challenged each of you to invite someone who is not now a Saver to join us?  Have you done that yet?

[regecko]

regecko, 05/02/2017, $11,173.95, Goal = $12,000.00

Saved as of 5/2/17	Overall Saved:	Goal:	Completed:
Dental Appliance	$2,001.50	$2,000.00	100%
Tattoo Money	$750.45	$750.00	100%
Next Vacation	$2,619.94	$2,000.00	130.99%
Tiny House	$1,231.47	$1,500.00	82.10%
New Car	$1,468.96	$1,550.00	94.77%
Small Vacations	$5.56	$?
Gutters	$1,387.97	$1,700.00	81.64%
Car Maintenance	$423.35	$500.00	84.67%
House Maintenance	$1,284.75	$1,500.00	85.65%

D.C. was fun! It definitely wiped out my savings account, though - I also used $200 of that money to go towards a yoga retreat I'm going to in June I'm not worried about it, though - that's what I saved it for! I'm not sure what my new goal will be for that account, so for now, it's a question mark. 

I think the rest of the summer I will mostly be focusing on trying to finish up my Tiny House savings - I can probably accomplish that with some of the checks I'll get from teaching yoga and dance. My birthday is in August, and that's usually when I do a yearly reset and, among other things, try to figure out what my goals will be for the next year financially and how I'll accomplish them. It's easier for me to start that process on my own 'personal new year' than in January like everyone else. That being said, I'm going to allow myself from now until August to not push so hard on the savings. I'll still contribute what I plan to contribute regularly, but for the last 4+ years I have had to use almost all of my extra resources for saving for other goals - it's time to take a break!