Women in Red Savers 2018

[seriousthistime]

August updates!

Stars	Name	Amt. Saved	Goal	% Saved	Roses	Smilies
	Ava	$2,621	$5,500	47.7%
	azucena	$9,571	$25,000	38.0%
	chiver78	$382	$910	42.0%
	debthaven	$300	$600	50.0%
	finnime	$4,510	$32,000	14.1%
	forwardwego	$35,770	$44,000	81.0%
	idlechatter	$20,224	$28,350	71.3%
	ilovedolphins	$0	$13,000	0.0%
	Jaguar	$303	$4,080	7.4%
	lazysundays	$7,101	$60,000	11.8%
	Maryland Monroe	$18,492	$20,000	92.5%
	megaptera	$0	$6,500	0.0%
	minnesotapaintlady	$15,380	$21,500	71.5%
	nidena	$2,910	$33,280	8.7%
	nikiz628  [1]	$9,218	$9,300	99.1%
	nikiz628 [2]	$2,242	$3,000	74.7%
	plugginaway22	$10,890	$16,800	64.8%
	Poptart
	Saving4Norway	$18,000	$16,500	109%
	sealy	$1,000	$25,000	4%
	seriousthistime	$13,866	$20,498	67.6%
	shanendoah	$2,050	$2,500	82.0%
	snapdragon	$13,240	$18,700	70.8%
	steph08	$6,541	$20,000	32.7%
	teachermom	$15,200	$100,000	15.2%
	tobinikui	$28,680	$50,708	56.6%
	trimatty471	$11,470	$17,300	66.3%

[seriousthistime]

And the Savers have another month under their belts!

Congrats to all.  And I do mean ALL.  You may not realize it as much as forwardwego and I do, but you are all superheroes!  We as women (especially us older women, who grew up before women learned better) were taught to see our flaws and forget about the successes.  Weight up or clothes tight? House neat and clean enough for someone to drop by without us being embarrassed? Garden weeded and tidy?  Delicious/nutritious meals on the table?  Laundry done, folded, put away, or ironed and on hangers in the closet? 

No?  Not at my house either. 

Well, we're not perfect.  And we set the priorities that are important to us.  And sometimes those priorities give way to others that become more important in the moment.  

So if you have to spend part of your hard-saved EF because Murphy dropped by your not-so-perfectly clean house without an advance call,  you can kick that guy to the curb because -- you know what? -- you saved for Murphy's visit, and YOU'VE GOT THIS!  This is why we save.  Stop and think for a minute: where would you be if you hadn't saved for this unexpected emergency?  The EF stands for "emergency fund."  Pat yourself on the back for having seen this was coming and preparing for Murphy's visit. 

Jaguar, do we have an emoji for a superhero? 

[plugginaway22]

I like round numbers, this just made me transfer $110 to savings.

[forwardwego]

Wow, as a group we were just shy of a quarter of a million dollars saved, and now plugginaway22 's $110 not only rounded her up to $11K, it put us over the quarter million dollar mark! Nice work Savers!


Shoutouts part 1 of 2 here:

Saving4Norway   and a dozen roses! Congrats also on your raise!! It looks like you will be saving ahead for 2019. Do you have any dreams or goals for that yet? 

finnime You scored the best smiley poker hand with    . Nice gain of @$800 in August. Have you decided what to do about the washer & dryer? Frustrating for sure, but it sounds like you got a good run out of the old set and your EF is there for just such occasions. 

debthaven Kudos on earning your  for 50% to goal. You may feel that you are not a good saver, but you have climbed into the saver pool and starting is a very important first step. Thank you for being here and supporting your fellow savers. I hope you can sell that apartment soon! And note to any one who is following but hasn't joined yet, now is a perfect time to start. 

Maryland Monroe Nice work with $18492 saved and 92.5% of goal. Where I went to school 92% earned you a nice big A  … wish I could make that A bigger for you! And thank you for this little nutshell wisdom you posted  "If you need something, the great sale is a perfect time to get it. If you're only buying because of the sale, you've lost money." 

nikiz628 I'm looking forward to you earning your dancing banana on your original goal soon! And I like your secondary goals... it's kind of like having an EF for your EF  We actually have quite a nice chunk of 2018 left, maybe there are yet more savings goals for you in 2018? How about a goal that would allow you to kill off your race 3 in a lump? 

Jaguar Congratulations on earning your first rose . And thank you for our superhero emoji and this nutshell wisdom/encouragement: "I'm inching forward bit by bit, it's a wee progress so I'm happy with it." Progress is good even if it's wee. Looking forward to seeing you grow your moving fund.  

shanendoah Nice work breaking into the $2K range! Two grand is too grand!! 


It's time for intermission ( and time for me to finish putting down shelf liner for the last 3 shelves in my kitchen  ). I used to have movinonup as my cliffhanger placeholder, and I sure miss him here as a saver (hint, hint, come back). Part 2 coming soon 

[forwardwego]

Shoutouts part 2 of 2:

trimatty471 Nice work for you with 2 updates of @$1400 each!! 

snapdragon Congrats on your upcoming travels to Budapest, Vienna, & Prague, and on coming home with memories and no lingering debt!! That will be exciting. How nice to have new windows installed too, gaining quiet & peace, and losing some climate control expenses...win/win!

seriousthistime Thanks for the updates and smileys! I just saw your win on the WIRR board, that's fantastic!
6 races totaling nearly $133K, paid in approximately 10 years. That's @$1040 average per month, EVERY month for over 10 years!! I think of all the changes you have made and been impacted by in 10 years... from windfalls to Murphy visits and everything in between. I hope your shoulders are feeling light. Yours is a well deserved victory over debt. AND U R on target for savings as well  Proof positive that ditching debt and building savings can go hand-in-hand.

azucena Nice work with another @$400 saved. Thank you for sharing your strategies on buying & keeping vehicles, and hope others will think of adapting this or a similar method. (I cringe to think of the money down the drain over the years at our house for vehicles.) 

tobinikui Yowza! You have added over $3300 in @ 6 weeks!! Your household seems to be in a phase of having a lot of moving parts which probably makes it hard to pin down what is "usually spent". It seems you are doing a good job of zigging and zagging as needed. Hopefully your DH will find a job soon that complements your family life.

plugginaway22 Well that $110 bump worked wonders for keeping you in the $11K range and pushing the Savers into Quarter Million $$ range. You are still pretty much on target for the year, and it sounds like you had an amazing time on your National Park road trip. Welcome back!!

minnesotapaintlady Good steady progress for you with +$620 for 71.53% to goal. Next month should bring another  for you and possibly sweet 16K?

lazysundays Good job adding $1984 to savings in spite of the back-to-school spending. Good 4U at nearly 12% of your multi-year goal!



ETA: Hi'ya teachermom It's good to see you back! Looking forward to your next update after school levels off. Also am missing and looking forward to hearing from our SaverFriends
Ava  chiver78  idlechatter  ilovedolphins  megaptera  nidena  Poptart  sealy  steph08  

[Jaguar]

seriousthistime, I have do have a superhero -

[trimatty471]

Aug 3, 2018 14:34:59 GMT -5 trimatty471 said:

Jan 5, 2018 8:34:59 GMT -5 trimatty471 said:

Trimatty 07/31/2018:  $12,845.44 (Goal = $17,300)

2018	Goal	Current	Need	Complete %
Roth IRA	1,200.00	1,200.00	0	100.00%
Countdown to debt payoff	10,000.00	6.294.90	3,705.10	62.95%
Vacation	2,400.00	2,050.44	349.56	85.44%
Replace	1,200.00	1,200.00	0	100.00%
Home Maintenance	1,000.00	1,000.00	0	100.00%
Holiday	1,500.00	1,100.00	400.00	73.33%
Total	$17,300.00	$12,845.44	$4,454.66	74.25%

 

 

[teachermom]

Yikes! I am behind on my posts.....where did summer go!! I have been saving and a little spending from it.....but as someone already pointed out....that is what we are saving for. I will try to get to my post this week but if not maybe this weekend (school is back in session and life is once again crazy!) Congrats to all of you on your savings!! You are doing awesome!!

Teachermom

[debthaven]

Thank you so much seriousthistime and forwardwego! You ladies are superheroes! (I tried to copy the emoji! because you two really deserve it!)

[snapdragon]

Aug 29, 2018 18:33:07 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Debthaven 300 euros for 1 Sept 2018 (Goal: 600 euros)

We got a VERY good estimate for the paint and new flooring for the two damaged bedrooms (upstairs and downstairs masters). We have decided to use some of the money from the rental sale to redo the downstairs masters.

We WON'T redo BOTH bedrooms now because of the cost and the disruption, but I am hoping we can redo our bedroom (upstairs masters) at some point next year. 

I have also decided that while I will obviously not liquidate our savings, if we use more than planned, that's life. We have a LOT of deferred maintenance (and several deferred purchases). Things have been SO TIGHT FOR SO LONG. So I'm trying to find a balance. 

We have also put another rental up for sale, as I think I mentioned. Unfortunately we did that just before our renter left for a month, so although people have called, they haven't been able to see the apartment. That was very dumb of me, I should have put it up in Sept instead. But hopefully that apt will eventually sell and allow us to pay off more debt/replenish the coffers/spend some money.

Hey Debt - 

Can I make a suggestion? I really believe that you and your hubby need to prioritize your bedroom and not the one you don't sleep in. Yes your kids visit but you both LIVE in your home. They VISIT.  Why are you putting yourselves last? 

Snap~

[finnime]

I just bought a new washer and dryer pair for $1250 including tax. Put it on my charge card and will pay that bill from my EF. It is a great relief to have the EF to cover this. Now I'll plan on replenishing that account.

In the end I went with the new matching set. The washer works but is the same age as the dryer, plus it's been eating holes in towels. Buying used is just to complicated for me, has no warranty and I don't want to face this problem again. We are planning on selling this house in 2-3 years and will likely convey the washer dryer to the new owner, so I want them to be reasonably attractive and new-looking.

[debthaven]

snapdragon I understand but there are three reasons:

- the downstairs bedroom is much more damaged from the subsidence, and it depresses me to see it.

- I'm back at work and it's too disruptive for me to have our bedroom redone during the school year.

- Since it's bigger and more damaged, it's more expensive. So would rather get that bigger cost out of the way first.

[snapdragon]

Sept 5, 2018 1:52:50 GMT -5 debthaven said:

snapdragon I understand but there are three reasons:

- the downstairs bedroom is much more damaged from the subsidence, and it depresses me to see it.

- I'm back at work and it's too disruptive for me to have our bedroom redone during the school year.

- Since it's bigger and more damaged, it's more expensive. So would rather get that bigger cost out of the way first.

Completely understandable. I hope you will be moving into the finished room when you start working on your main bedroom.

Good luck with your classes!

[snapdragon]

Snapdragon 9/06/18 --- $ 13,579.22 / $ 18,700 -- Update

Car/House $ 2507.64 / $3500

Savings $ 4024.28 / $4000

Travel $ 3246.52 / $4500

Property Taxes $ 2200.11 / $2200

Lasik $ 1600.57 / $ 4500

New Totals $ 13,579.22 / $18,700

A little upward mobility until I need to pay the house insurance for the year later this month and the remainder of my property taxes in October. I still would like to work more on getting the C/H account finished so I can concentrate on the Lasik for possibility 2020. 

[debthaven]

I hope you will be moving into the finished room when you start working on your main bedroom.

That's the plan snapdragon but I'd still rather do it when school is out. Thanks!

[sealy]

I'm hoping I don't get judged for posting this but I feel like I can trust y'all.  I used my BestBuy card to buy a camera for my son's college class.  I didn't have any money due to summer pay issues brought on by me.  I received my September 10th check which is going to be used to pay it off.  It's not a matter of cutting it up.  I already did that.  I just need to stop using it and doing better with my summer pay account.  This year I am going to put money aside so I won't be broke come August 1st.  I still need to pay car insurance so I might wait until all the insurances come out of my account.  I chose the deferred zero interest payment plan.  I have my EF of $1,000

[plugginaway22]

I remember those days, Sealy.  We had 2 kiddos in college and not a dime to spare.  Having that EF will help you through.  Save every $10 that you can.  I kept a secret jar in my bedroom that I stashed every ten dollar bill that came into my wallet.  Helped out many times.

[finnime]

Daily and Weekly Savings Goal

Month	Week	Goal	Total Saved	Percent of Goal Met
1		30.38	38.25	125.91%
2		75.42	88.00	116.68%
3		148.55	168.00	112.21%
4		174.26	182.00	104.44%
5		219.30	228.00	103.97%
6		320.90	336.00	104.71%
7		385.65	416.00	107.87%
8		371.94	397.00	106.74%
9		416.98	437.00	104.80%
10		462.02	485.00	104.97%
11		507.06	527.00	103.93%
	48	104.74	110.00	105.02%
	49	106.93	113.00
Annual		3,778.06	3525.25	93.31%

Basis:

Daily: .01 x day of year + Weekly: (.10 x day of year) + 1.00 x week of year + Monthly: 10.00 x month of year

Category	Goal	Amount	Saved	Spent	Percentage
Sinking	House	10,000	525.25		5.25%
	Car	2,500	130		5.20%
	Dog	500
	Medical	1000
	Gifts,  Miscellaneous	3000
Security	EF	3,500	3,500	-1250	64.29%
Survival	3 Months Expenses	6,000	355.00		5.92%
Future	Nest Egg	500
Fun	Finland Fund	5000
Total		32,000	4510.25		14.09%

Finnime 9/8/2018 $4,510.25 ($32,000)

This period required a draw on my EF to buy a new washer/dryer. Nothing else changed; what I spent elsewhere didn't make it to savings. I added a column for "spent" and will replenish the EF as first priority. The other savings goals are also revolving, really, so tracking what's spent will help me in the long term.

[Maryland Monroe]

sealy, I spent many years with no extra money and no emergency fund. I never really started getting ahead until the kiddos were completely out of the house and on their own. I have some regrets about that, but that attitude won't do me any good.

My work had a 457(b) plan that I have reserved for later. They also offered term life insurance at 1/2 the amount I had while still working, and a burial benefit (enough for a modest funeral). I think I may drop the life insurance after my house is paid off. Does anybody have thoughts about that?

[sealy]

Thank you plugginaway22. I appreciate your support.

[debthaven]

sealy  does your job give you the option of being paid over 12 months? I'm an adjunct so I don't earn earn much.

I work at two universities. One pays the following month for any hours worked. But my main school gives us the option of getting the money spread over 12 months, so at least I get something over the summer months.

And add me to the club of having gone years with no EF and not enough money.

Does your school or community have a summer program where you could work?

 

[plugginaway22]

My annual bonus is paid in September and I am playing with numbers.  How much extra to 401k?  How much to regular savings? Is this the time to buy the mattress?  How much to fun money? Good problem to have, but at my age and with my strong desire to retire, who knows how many more bonuses there will be.

[debthaven]

Pluggin you've been wanting that new mattress for a while. Can you consider it fun money?

[seriousthistime]

	Goal	Amt. Saved 9/8/18	% Saved	Roses
Survival fund	$6,000	$3,011	50.2%
Property tax	$5,000	$3,975	79.5%
Household Exp.	$1,000	$1,000	100.0%
Weekly Savings	$1,898	$1,395	73.5%
Gifts	$2,600	$1,910	73.4%
EF increase	$2,600	$1,906	73.3%
Pet care	$600	$604	100.0%
Misc. Exp.	$800	$665	83.1%
Total	$20,498	$14,466	70.5%

Seriousthistime, 9/8/18, $14,466 (Goal $20,498) 


Weekly Savings chart:

$18	$19		$21		$23	$24
$25		$27		$29		$31
		$34			$37
$39	$40		$42	$43	$44

With my next paycheck I'm going to stretch a bit and see if I can't get to 75% saved.  The most obvious way to do that would be to deposit additional funds into my Survival Fund. 

[azucena]

8/15/18 Azucena $9,571 of $25,000 for 38%

Payday savings $477.  Been quiet for a few weeks, savings was on hold to pay for flights to cruise ($1200).  Will sail away about 70 days from now with only a few things left to pay for with an estimated total of $750 which we should be able to just cashflow in Nov.

9/10/18 Azucena $10,048 of $25,000 for 40%

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 9/10/2018 $36000 (begin 6780, goal 44000)

2018	PRESENT	GOAL	% MET	$$ TO GO
VEH INS Part 1	2000	2000	100
VEH INS Part 2	1400	2000	70	600
DD Starter IRA	3000	3000	100
DDIL IRA	3000	3000	100
Baby STEP 3	13500	18000	74	4500
Pups Med/EF	1100	4000	26	2900
Rental Margin	10000	10000	100
SL Payoff	2000	2000	100
TOTAL	36000	44000	81	8000

inching along

[shanendoah]

shanendoah: 10-September 2018 $2150 (Goal: $2,500/stretch $5,000)


Of course, the actual dollars currently in savings is $630, which is a little depressing. But I knew that was what this year was going to look like. I really need the house to sell, so I can buy a new house, so I can get all the savings and the new monthly budget, and all of that figured out.

[NastyWoman]

Sept 8, 2018 12:27:31 GMT -5 Maryland Monroe said:

sealy , I spent many years with no extra money and no emergency fund. I never really started getting ahead until the kiddos were completely out of the house and on their own. I have some regrets about that, but that attitude won't do me any good.

My work had a 457(b) plan that I have reserved for later. They also offered term life insurance at 1/2 the amount I had while still working, and a burial benefit (enough for a modest funeral). I think I may drop the life insurance after my house is paid off. Does anybody have thoughts about that?

Do you have any dependents who would be in financial trouble if you died and could not help out? If not, I'd cancel in a heartbeat otherwise I would hold on a little longer until the need passes.

Now turning this around a little, is there anyone that would be in financial trouble if you cancelled the insurance now and you died before your house is paid off?  Again, if not I would cancel the insurance now and save that money.

With insurance it is always important to keep in mind why you have/need it in the first place. So someone having to stretch a little to keep him/her going is not necessarily a problem and it makes insurance a "want". Someone in danger of losing (almost) all would make insurance a "need" 

[Maryland Monroe]

Sept 14, 2018 18:33:39 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Sept 8, 2018 12:27:31 GMT -5 Maryland Monroe said:

sealy , I spent many years with no extra money and no emergency fund. I never really started getting ahead until the kiddos were completely out of the house and on their own. I have some regrets about that, but that attitude won't do me any good.

My work had a 457(b) plan that I have reserved for later. They also offered term life insurance at 1/2 the amount I had while still working, and a burial benefit (enough for a modest funeral). I think I may drop the life insurance after my house is paid off. Does anybody have thoughts about that?

Do you have any dependents who would be in financial trouble if you died and could not help out? If not, I'd cancel in a heartbeat otherwise I would hold on a little longer until the need passes.

Now turning this around a little, is there anyone that would be in financial trouble if you cancelled the insurance now and you died before your house is paid off?  Again, if not I would cancel the insurance now and save that money.

With insurance it is always important to keep in mind why you have/need it in the first place. So someone having to stretch a little to keep him/her going is not necessarily a problem and it makes insurance a "want". Someone in danger of losing (almost) all would make insurance a "need" 

My children are adults living on their own, but my elderly mother lives with me. She has a very small pension and Social Security. If the house wasn't paid off, she could not make the payments and other expenses, and would lose her home. That's what keeps me paying that quarterly insurance payment. When the house is paid in around two years, things will be different and I will cancel. There will be no need for it. 

Now, if my mom passed away before the house is paid off, I would cancel the insurance. She's in pretty good health, though, and I hope to have her with me for a long time to come.

[NastyWoman]

That makes perfect sense Maryland Monroe . Now a follow-on question. Will your mom's pension and SS be enough to keep the house up to a standard that it will remain safe for her to live in should you pass before she does (I hope you will both be around for a long time)?

If not you may want to keep your life insurance even after your home is paid off. Again a want/need thing. If she might need the money but you are afraid that someone would con her out of it you might want to have it go to a trust from which she can get whatever is needed, but which she can't touch directly. You would need someone you trust to manage that money though.