Women in Red Savers 2018

[Blonde Granny]

Jan 19, 2018 16:12:53 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I've been a month ahead for years and it has been absolutely liberating.  No more worrying about a late or short paycheck.  Every dollar I need for the month is available on the first.  I don't have to time bills to paydays and can pay absolutely everything right away and get it done with.  This is what I usually do and why I post my savings contributions the last couple days of the month.  I know exactly what I have going into all these buckets before the month begins.

Yea YNAB!!!  MPL, you are definitely the poster child that proves that program can work wonders.

[chiver78]

oops, totally forgot to post last week.

Card	Spades (1x)	Diamonds (2x)	Hearts (3x)	Clubs (4x)
A		2	3	4
2	2	4	6	8
3	3	6	9	12
4	4	8	12	16
5	5	10	15
6	6	12	18	24
7	7	14	21	28
8	8	16	24	32
9	9	18	27	36
10	10		30	40
Jack (11)	11	22	33	44
Queen (12)	12	24	36	48
King (13)	13	26	39	52

total for 2018 = $910

right now, I'm at $41.

[snapdragon]

Well things are coming to an end on Mom's estate. I just signed the paperwork and am waiting to hear from the court if they will accept it. Once that is done or adjusted all I need to do is write several checks and hold onto the paperwork for a year plus and than I can just put it in a folder somewhere in case I ever need it. I was really fortunate in that Mom did not have to owe the IRS for the past several years. That was the big one for me. It has been a little over 6 months and it feels like a lifetime and absolutely no time at all.  

So in the next month or so I really hope that things get steadier.

[plugginaway22]

I will post my first month numbers next week, but will say that this has kept me accountable during some online and in-store shopping excursions.  It is also a month of bills from the very crazy month of December, so definitely focused on getting rid of all those expenses. 

January always seems like the longest month of the year!  Ready for a new month.

[trimatty471]

Jan 5, 2018 13:37:20 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

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

My ultimate goal is to eliminate my mortgage.   I am however, still weighing my options.  I'm trying to decide whether to keep investing in my taxable or withdraw half the money in the account and pay off the mortgage.   Or should I pay extra toward my principal.

This is my ultimate goal too.  I won't put anything extra towards my mortgage until I can just write a check and do it all in one transaction.  

How much is the mortgage balance and what do you have in taxable accounts?  Would the increased cash flow from no monthly payment be significant for you?  In my case, the payment is $1300/month.  35% of my take home and a third of my take home is child support that is going away in a couple years.  Getting rid of the mortgage is really important to me one way or another (might sell).  But if it was a $400/month payment and my income wasn't as insecure I would probably keep it the entire term and never pay extra. 

Mortgage balance is $52K; taxable $55k.  No, it would not be that significant but I just want to be prepared for anything (Ex:  job loss).  

[trimatty471]

Jan 5, 2018 12:29:26 GMT -5 snapdragon said:

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

Trimatty 01/05/2018:  $236.49 (Goal = $17,300)

2018	Goal	Current	Need	Complete %
Roth IRA	1,200.00	0.00	1,200.00	0.00%
Countdown to debt payoff	10,000.00	0.00	10,000.00	0.00%
Vacation	2,400.00	210.00	2,190.00	8.75%
Replace	1,200.00	0.00	1,200.00	0.00%
Home Maintenance	1,000.00	26.49	973.51	2.65%
Holiday	1,500.00	0.00	1,500.00	0.00%
Total	$17,300.00	$236.49	$17,063.51	1.37%

This is my after tax goal for 2018.  Last year with threats of layoff, I focused on repairs around my house and re-building my emergency fund.  Those threats of layoff has been removed...for now. In the meantime, until I reach my goal for my taxable account (my FU or Freedom fund), I am depositing  minimal into my Roth.  This year, I name last year's "Freedom" goal my "Countdown to debt payoff" goal.  My ultimate goal is to eliminate my mortgage.   I am however, still weighing my options.  I'm trying to decide whether to keep investing in my taxable or withdraw half the money in the account and pay off the mortgage.   Or should I pay extra toward my principal.

Obstacles:

Job situation (these things can change at any time)
More car and house issues (such as I had last year to the tune of $10,693)

I am starting off the year with No Spend/Low Spend challenge for the month of January to kick off my goals.

Before paying down a large chunk of your mortgage -- how liquid are you right now? What I mean is if the company you work for decided to fire everyone and close it's doors tomorrow do you have enough money to cover expenses without going to a credit card? Especially if you had just paid a chunk on your mortgage. Unemployment can be very slow sometimes and you possibly wouldn't get a check for 6 weeks to 2 months. Could you bridge that time frame or do you need to think about squirreling extra money for that possibility? I don't even think you need to have it in the market or in retirement accounts. You could just have it in a regular savings account.

Just something to add to the pile for dwelling over. 

Because I am a single income household, I have 9 mos expenses in cash saved.

[shanendoah]

shanendoah: 25-Jan 2018 $100 (Goal: $2,500/stretch $5,000)

[snapdragon]

I am happy to report that my 401K is now over the 200K mark. I can't touch it but it is really nice to know that the money is there for when I get older. Peace of mind is a great thing. 

Now if only our savings interest rate would also increase. That would be awesome.

[seriousthistime]

Update

	Goal	Amt. Saved 1/26/18	% Saved	Roses
Survival fund	$6,000	$601	10.0%
Property tax	$5,000	$761	15.2%
Household Exp.	$1,000	$150	15.0%
Weekly Savings	$1,898	$221	11.6%
Gifts	$2,600	$309	11.9%
EF increase	$2,600	$200	7.7%
Pet care	$600	$102	17.5%
Misc. Exp.	$800	$93	11.6%
Total	$20,498	$2,437	11.9%

Seriousthistime, 1/26/18, $2,437 (Goal $20,498)


Weekly Savings chart:

$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
$39	$40	$41	$42	$43	$44	$45
$46	$47	$48	$49	$50	$51	$52
$53	$54	$55	$56	$57	$58	$59

[chiver78]

seriousthistime, do we have 53 weekends this year? or are you measuring weeks by a day other than Saturday? I thought I'd counted 52. 


I'm going to post again tomorrow for the next two weeks' worth of playing cards, since I leave for vacation on Sunday and don't come home til the following Monday. I'm likely going to snag a pair of super light numbers, in order to have more cash on hand to have fun while I'm away. I'm determined to use only cash or debit this week, save for the onboard account which is just logistically easier to use a CC. but my charges on that are the mandatory gratuities (known $#) and whatever I want to spend in the casino (minimal, I'll let myself have one night to see if I can turn around my luck on this boat). I have a line item in the budget to pay off this value within a couple weeks of coming home. 

[seriousthistime]

chiver78, yes, it's 52 weeks.  My chart is 7 columns x 7 rows, plus 3 on the next row.  I know, it looks strange because you expect to see only 2 on the last row.

[chiver78]

ah, cheers. I didn't look that closely, just knew something didn't look right.

[finnime]

Savings Goal

Weekly Penny/Dime/Dollars Savings

Week	Goal	Total saved	Percent of Weekly Goal	Goal Met
1	1.81	2.00	110.50%	Y
2	4.00	7.05	176.25%	Y
3	6.19	9.20	148.63%	Y
4	18.38	20.00	108.81%	Y
Annual	3,778.06	38.25	1.01%

Finnime 1/27/2018: $38.25 (Goal $3,775)

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


Spending Goals Q1 2018

Category	Goal	Amount	Spent
Sinking	pay attorney	10000
	car	2500
	dog	500
	dentistry	2000
	mortgage	7000
	taxes	11000
	mattress	2000
	debt repay	8500
	house	3000
	Phone	500
Survival	EF	2500
Security	nest egg	500
Totals		50,000

 
 

[chiver78]

posting now for the next two weeks. I'll still be on a boat next Saturday

Card	Spades (1x)	Diamonds (2x)	Hearts (3x)	Clubs (4x)
A		2	3	4
2	2	4	6
3	3	6	9
4	4	8	12	16
5	5	10	15
6	6	12	18	24
7	7	14	21	28
8	8	16	24	32
9	9	18	27	36
10	10		30	40
Jack (11)	11	22	33	44
Queen (12)	12	24	36	48
King (13)	13	26	39	52

total for 2018 = $910

chiver78 $61

[Deleted]

All income is in for January, so here's my update.  Crawling along.

Fund	2018 Goal	Current	Needed	% Complete
Survival Fund	$6000	$0	$6000	0.00%
2019 Roth	$5500	$400	$5100	7.27%
House Maint	$3000	$50	$2950	1.67%
College	$2400	$400	$2000	16.67%
Replacement Car	$2000	$0	$2000	0.00%
Pr. High School	$1000	$400	$600	40.00%
Vacation	$1000	$0	$1000	0.00%
Christmas	$600	$60	$540	10.00%
Total	$21,500	$1310	$20,190	6.09%

minnesotapaintlady, $1310.00 1/02/18 (goal $21,500)

[teachermom]

Final update for Jan. Made a little more progress....slowly but surely!

Savings 2018
Fund	Goals	Previous Bal	Jan 2018	YTD	Spent	End Bal	% Met
Emergency Fund - Minor	$1,000.00	$1,000.00	$0.53	$1,000.53	$0.00	$1,000.53	100.05%
Emergency Fund - Major	$20,000.00	$24.40	$13.11	$37.51	$0.00	$37.51	0.19%
Insurance - Deductible	$1,250.00	$300.01	$0.16	$300.17	$0.00	$300.17	24.01%
Home Maintenance	$5,000.00	$15.06	$0.01	$15.07	$0.00	$15.07	0.30%
Roof	$4,000.00	$32.44	$0.03	$32.47	$0.00	$32.47	0.81%
Plumbing Updates	$3,000.00	$5.10	$0.00	$5.10	$0.00	$5.10	0.17%
Appliances	$3,000.00	$5.05	$0.00	$5.05	$0.00	$5.05	0.17%
Hardwood Floors	$3,000.00	$5.04	$0.00	$5.04	$0.00	$5.04	0.17%
Tires	$800.00	$342.60	$0.28	$342.88	$0.00	$342.88	42.86%
Car Maintenace	$1,000.00	$0.75	$0.00	$0.75	$0.00	$0.75	0.08%
Car Replacement	$30,000.00	$26.48	$500.86	$527.34	$0.00	$527.34	1.76%
Gifts	$1,500.00	$204.12	$100.16	$304.28	$0.00	$304.28	20.29%
Spring Break Trip 2018	$500.00	$0.00	$500.00	$500.00	$0.00	$500.00	100.00%
Summer Trip 2018	$500.00	$500.00	$0.00	$500.00	$0.00	$500.00	100.00%
MN trip 2018	$1,000.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	0.00%
Student Loan Payoff	$10,000.00	$303.89	$300.81	$604.70	$0.00	$604.70	6.05%
Training Classes	$4,450.00	$3.05	$0.00	$3.05	$0.00	$3.05	0.07%
Future home/moving	$10,000.00	$0.03	$0.00	$0.03	$0.00	$0.03	0.00%
Total Savings	$100,000.00	$2,768.02	$1,415.95	$4,183.97	$0.00	$4,183.97	4.18%

Teachermom 1/28/2018 $4183.97 (1/1/2018 $2768.02, Goal $100,000)

[plugginaway22]

Account	Start- 1/1/18	2/1/18	SAVED	2018 Goals
EF- Online	2330	2495	165	5000
EF- BrickBank	4000	4200	200	7000
Tax Escrow	2000	2400	400	4800
Totals:	8330	9095	765	16,800

plugginaway22:  2/1/18 $9095 (goal $16,800)

This has been a good motivator for the first month.  It was also a month I was paying off December bills and putting deposits on an upcoming trip.  Hope to increase my monthly savings going forward, because the bulk of what I saved in January will go to property taxes due in the Spring.

[seriousthistime]

Good job, everyone!

The end of the month is rapidly approaching.  I'll be doing the smilies on Saturday morning, February 3, so please get all your updates posted before then.

[nikiz628]

Jan 3, 2018 10:25:56 GMT -5 nikiz628 said:

UPDATE: 

    

2018	START	CURRENT	GOAL	STILL NEED
E.F.	$760.00	$920.88	$2000.00	$1079.12
DS 1 SAVINGS	$1528.06	$1528.06	$1750.00	$221.94
DS 2 SAVINGS	$425.33	$425.33	$550.00	$124.67
DISNEY FUND	$1895.47	$1,891.59	$5000.00	$3108.41
TOTALS	$4608.86	$4765.86	$9300.00	$4534.14

NikiZ628 1/29/18 $4,765.86 (Goal $9,300 WIRS1)

Our "No Spend January" went really well! We managed to make it 26 days without ordering food out. The streak was broken Saturday when our dinner plans fell through (had a gc to go out, but I am still sick so we cancelled). We ordered pizza instead. I am really proud of that streak though, because we usually eat out 1-2 times a week! We may continue the challenge into February! H even commented "I don't really miss the junk food." Nice! 

[Saving4Norway]

January Posting:

Fund	2017 Goals	Last Month	This Month	% Met	Roses
Saving for 2019	1	0	0	0%
Denmark 2018	1000	0	1000	100%	Jan
Deductibles	500	0	0	0%
Gifts&Donations	1500	0	0	0%
Palm Springs 2018	500	0	0	0%
Motorcycle Trips 2018	1500	0	0	0%
Home Improvement	5000	0	0	0%
Cultural	2000	0	0	0%
Vacay Prop	1000	0	0	0%
Hockey Season Tickets	1000	0	0	0%
Christmas	500	0	0	0%
Adventures	2000	0	500	25%
TOTAL	16501	0	1500	9%

Saving4Norway 1/29/18 $1,500 (Goal $16,500)

[Saving4Norway]

To re-introduce myself... I have enjoyed so much success at planning and executing significant savings here on the Savers thread over the years that I want to be on board for this year, as well.

A little about me, I'm a 26-year veteran teacher in the Pacific NorthWet. DH and I are DINKs, who recently lost our dear fur baby. The only debt that we have is our mortgage. I first started with the Savers to save $1000 for a basic Emergency Fund. Once I got that rose, I raised it to $7,500 (3 months expenses). That's been so long ago that that fund's value is now over $25,000! I automatically fund my retirement, investments, and maximize my Roth contributions so I don't track them here. That's why you might notice that my savings categories are mostly "fun" things.

Happy Savings to all, new and old friends!

[tobinikui]

My numbers are going to be nutty for a while, I feel. After another long discussion with DH, we are going to try the (sortof) Dave R. approach. We have an emergency fund of $2,000 set aside. And now, I'm putting everything extra towards our credit card bills. We had one 0% card with a balance of about $1,800 - furniture and items for our bathroom renovation, that I paid off completely earlier this month. And then our main credit card was well used this month too (ugh) - legal fees, plane ticket for my SS, and a $915 car repair bill, on top of all of our regular spending. My first goal for the year is to GET AHEAD on our bills, as minnesotapaintlady is, and I assume others here are as well. I used to be, and then, well, life. 

I already put a big chunk to this month's credit card bill. Then when DH's check comes tomorrow, I'll put another big chunk, and then when my check comes next week, I'm hoping to pay it off entirely for the month.

That will be Step #1 - and I'll be paying off the credit card bill (which closes on the 1st or 2nd of the month), with my 1st biweekly pay check for each month.

Step #2 - is that I've created a budget for us (no lie - an actual budget, putting our dollars where they need to go, for the first time ever!!) Steps #2a-2z will be finessing that budget and reigning in our extraneous spending. We'll make the most difference by focusing on our food, restaurant, and kid-related expenses. As well as our Amazon spending. Wish me luck!

Step 3 will be walking back our spending so that we have the $$ at the end of the month to pay bills in advance. i.e., using the paychecks from February to pay the bills that come due any time after March 1st. Right now, we're so close to spending exactly what we make, that it may take us until June or July to make this happen. I haven't done our taxes yet, but I'm assuming we'll get a refund of some size, and I'll put that directly towards this endeavor as well. 

Step 4 - once we're paying next month's bills with this month's money, then we're going to pay down our minivan as quickly as possible. But, we'll go back to saving into all of our usual sinking funds accounts. I'm not stopping all of them, but I am going to repurpose our tax funds to this endeavor (since we don't need that money until September).  I am just thanking my lucky stars that I started a car maintenance fund last summer. It didn't quite cover our big repairs earlier this month, but it covered about 80%. I don't know very many people who could cash flow a surprise $1000 bill without blinking an eye!

The upheaval of the next few months is going to make me a little crazy. It makes sense to do, and will only benefit us in the long run. But, in a surprise to no one - patience is hard! Ha.

I will post my monthly numbers in the next few days, but they won't be very impressive. One step at a time.

[finnime]

I like your approach, tobinikui. It looks very doable.

My problem in the recent past has been life crashing after life crashes - so the EF went, then more life sucked out other reserves, then more life... Hoping to get ahead of this curve very soon.

[Deleted]

tobinikui - I'm a YNAB junkie for budgeting, the new version is subscription based, which is kind of sucky, but Dave Ramsey's Every Dollar is free and I think he pretty much copied YNAB for a lot of it.  I don't know if you're familiar with it, but might be worth checking out for your new budget.  I budgeted for many years, but never got a paper one to work.  Software that tracks where I am and the app to enter as I went were the keys for me to finally make it work.

[teachermom]

minnesotapaintlady tobinikui - FYI....everydollar.com isn't exactly like YNAB. What is does is helps you budget the money that you have for the month and use every dollar.....not a month ahead. Although if you had all the money saved already going into the month, then you could do that. For me it works as I basically pay next months bills with this months income because as a teacher, I am paid the last business day of the month. Then on the first, I pay all my bills. Also, the free version of Everydollar.com doesn't sync with your account so transactions would have to be manually entered. Easy to do from your phone app. Also, multiple people can access it and do that so it is convenient.

What I like about being paid 1x a month is I pay all my bills on the first using online bill pay. Then what is left, I withdraw and put in my envelopes or transfer to my Capitalone360 account for my sinking funds. I have a separate savings for each one and a checking with a debit card attached. When I need to spend the money from one of the sinking funds, I can transfer to my checking via my phone and pay the bill. I love it and it works for me because I am good at not using money saved for one thing for another thing (unless it is a huge thing like last year and I had to replace my furnace/AC). I then pay cash for everything during the month and keep the receipt in my envelope to use for budgeting for next month. It is working well this way. My boyfriend, however, thinks it is way too complicated.

Find what works for you!
Teachermom

[snapdragon]

Snapdragon 2/01/18 --- $ 11,980.60 / $ 18,350 -- Update

Car/House $ 2301.33 / $3500

Savings $ 4004.80 / $4000

Travel $ 3735.44 / $4500

Property Taxes $ 1589.02 / $1850

Lasik $ 350.01 / $ 4500


New Totals $ 11,980.60 / $18,350

[seriousthistime]

Jan 30, 2018 6:07:38 GMT -5 tobinikui said:

My numbers are going to be nutty for a while, I feel. After another long discussion with DH, we are going to try the (sortof) Dave R. approach. We have an emergency fund of $2,000 set aside. And now, I'm putting everything extra towards our credit card bills. We had one 0% card with a balance of about $1,800 - furniture and items for our bathroom renovation, that I paid off completely earlier this month. And then our main credit card was well used this month too (ugh) - legal fees, plane ticket for my SS, and a $915 car repair bill, on top of all of our regular spending. My first goal for the year is to GET AHEAD on our bills, as minnesotapaintlady is, and I assume others here are as well. I used to be, and then, well, life. 

I already put a big chunk to this month's credit card bill. Then when DH's check comes tomorrow, I'll put another big chunk, and then when my check comes next week, I'm hoping to pay it off entirely for the month.

That will be Step #1 - and I'll be paying off the credit card bill (which closes on the 1st or 2nd of the month), with my 1st biweekly pay check for each month.

Step #2 - is that I've created a budget for us (no lie - an actual budget, putting our dollars where they need to go, for the first time ever!!) Steps #2a-2z will be finessing that budget and reigning in our extraneous spending. We'll make the most difference by focusing on our food, restaurant, and kid-related expenses. As well as our Amazon spending. Wish me luck!

Step 3 will be walking back our spending so that we have the $$ at the end of the month to pay bills in advance. i.e., using the paychecks from February to pay the bills that come due any time after March 1st. Right now, we're so close to spending exactly what we make, that it may take us until June or July to make this happen. I haven't done our taxes yet, but I'm assuming we'll get a refund of some size, and I'll put that directly towards this endeavor as well. 

Step 4 - once we're paying next month's bills with this month's money, then we're going to pay down our minivan as quickly as possible. But, we'll go back to saving into all of our usual sinking funds accounts. I'm not stopping all of them, but I am going to repurpose our tax funds to this endeavor (since we don't need that money until September).  I am just thanking my lucky stars that I started a car maintenance fund last summer. It didn't quite cover our big repairs earlier this month, but it covered about 80%. I don't know very many people who could cash flow a surprise $1000 bill without blinking an eye!

The upheaval of the next few months is going to make me a little crazy. It makes sense to do, and will only benefit us in the long run. But, in a surprise to no one - patience is hard! Ha.

I will post my monthly numbers in the next few days, but they won't be very impressive. One step at a time.

With some slight variations, I'm right there with you, tobinikui.  

My Step 1 is paying off the consumer debt.

My Step 2 is paying off the 401(k) loan.

My Step 3 is finessing the budget. I have a list of recurring expenses on a spreadsheet, and as each one is paid each month, I change the color of the amount from black to something more interesting (for now, blue). They are in consecutive order according to due date.  I'm paid every two weeks, so at the beginning of each month I go through and put a spacer line to show what will be paid from each paycheck.  This month I put a spacer line between the payments due on the 10th and the ones due on the 14th.  March will be the same.  April will be a space between the 14th and the 16th. And so on.  So I can look at it at any given time and see what's coming out of that paycheck, and how much I have left over.  But I haven't budgeted the leftover funds for my discretionary spending.  I need to figure that out.

My Step 4 is to work on longer-range financial plans, especially regarding retirement. This will include long-term savings beyond the 401(k).  

At this point, I'm seriously thinking of just letting the car payment ride and paying it off on schedule.  It's at 0.9% for about 3.5 more years.  Not only is the interest ridiculously low, it's a "Rule of 78" loan where the interest is front-loaded into the payments, so paying it off early would rid me of a payment but wouldn't save me interest, really. Within my Step 4, I hope to save enough to be able to pay it off if needed, or have enough set aside to draw on to make the payments per the payment schedule.   

This is the "plan" but as we all know, life is what happens when we are busy making other plans.

[trimatty471]

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

2018	Goal	Current	Need	Complete %
Roth IRA	1,200.00	0.00	1,200.00	0.00%
Countdown to debt payoff	10,000.00	300.00	9,700.00	3.00%
Vacation	2,400.00	279.33	2,120.67	11.64%
Replace	1,200.00	0.00	1,200.00	0.00%
Home Maintenance	1,000.00	100.00	900.00	10.00%
Holiday	1,500.00	0.00	1,500.00	0.00%
Total	$17,300.00	$679.33	$16,620.67	3.93%

[azucena]

Jan 12, 2018 8:48:02 GMT -5 azucena said:

Jan 2, 2018 9:30:02 GMT -5 azucena said:

1/12/18 payday for both DH and me

Azucena $1,715 of $25,000 (stretch $35,000)

No update for the last couple of paychecks of the month.  New kittens needed shots and check-up $250, termite bait stations and annual fee $400, $300 down payment for spring break trip to Destin which is desperately needed for my mental health.

Also have managed to skip allowance for the past two weeks.  Will pay them today, but I no back pay since they didn't even remind me.  And handing it to them all at once kinda negates the savings principles that I'm trying to help them learn.

2/2/18 Azucena $1,715 of $25,000 (stretch $35,000)

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 2/2/2018 $6780 (begin 6780, goal 30000)

2018	PRESENT	GOAL	% MET	$$ TO GO
Veh Exp	160	1800	1	1640
Med Exp	700	1200	58	500
Home EF	2240	10000	22	7760
Rental Margin	1720	10000	17	8280
SL Payoff	100	2000	1	1900
Rusty Boxer Pt 3	1760	3600	48	1840
Weekly Challenge	100	1400	7	1300
TOTAL	6780	30000	22	23220