Women in Red Savers 2018

[azucena]

Shane - that's a thought and I do read that thread sometimes but I'm better about using the debit card and 80% of the CC purchases are DH's. It might be interesting to talk about the concept of no spend days with him or doing a family challenge.

He's definitely a spender but has gotten way better. I told him we need to watch purchases so we can finish paying for Destin in cash. I'm wondering if he needs specific reasons to curb spending, so it's a bit of an experiment.

[finnime]

I've been following WIR since the MSN forum. Mostly I've lurked. When it was more active I participated in the Grocery Challenge.

At this stage of my life I've encountered some real setbacks. My DH's health has been a serious struggle for years, and I've been fighting major depression. Although for over 30 years I've worked and generally saved, the past few years have wiped us out. I joined this thread last year to put together again an emergency fund. Got halfway through and could not go further as DH's health issues accelerated. Started the saving again this year.

As my income at this point is small and bursty, I have structured a way to save cash throughout the to get to a decent EF/security fund. I will be getting a settlement very soon from a lawsuit that I'll be using to meet a number of goals, as well as saving as much as possible. Still pursuing work opportunities. I do expect to find something, or things, that will pump up our income. DH is retired and receives federal retiree benefits as well as social security.

Without steady employment and income, steady saving is even more critical. I'm determined to not face another year like last one.

[NastyWoman]

Feb 15, 2018 12:21:47 GMT -5 azucena said:

Shane - that's a thought and I do read that thread sometimes but I'm better about using the debit card and 80% of the CC purchases are DH's. It might be interesting to talk about the concept of no spend days with him or doing a family challenge.

He's definitely a spender but has gotten way better. I told him we need to watch purchases so we can finish paying for Destin in cash. I'm wondering if he needs specific reasons to curb spending, so it's a bit of an experiment.

Just be sure that this approach works for you. I got intrigued by it last year and tried it for a little but I noticed that I would not spend money for x weeks/days and then I would just buy whatever I had pend-up in those weeks. Ultimately this does not work for me. I need a longer view. So I have an annual budget broken into monthly chunks that I can adhere to. 

What works or does not for you really depends on your personality.

...and now you all know my finance fail → detailed weekly budgeting/spending. I just can't do it! 

[plugginaway22]

I decided to save the extra in my net paycheck from the new tax withholding.  We have no deductions anymore and always owe at tax time.  So after 2 checks, I saved a total of $160.

[Blonde Granny]

Feb 15, 2018 12:34:41 GMT -5 finnime said:

I've been following WIR since the MSN forum. Mostly I've lurked. When it was more active I participated in the Grocery Challenge.

At this stage of my life I've encountered some real setbacks. My DH's health has been a serious struggle for years, and I've been fighting major depression. Although for over 30 years I've worked and generally saved, the past few years have wiped us out. I joined this thread last year to put together again an emergency fund. Got halfway through and could not go further as DH's health issues accelerated. Started the saving again this year.

As my income at this point is small and bursty, I have structured a way to save cash throughout the to get to a decent EF/security fund. I will be getting a settlement very soon from a lawsuit that I'll be using to meet a number of goals, as well as saving as much as possible. Still pursuing work opportunities. I do expect to find something, or things, that will pump up our income. DH is retired and receives federal retiree benefits as well as social security.

Without steady employment and income, steady saving is even more critical. I'm determined to not face another year like last one.

NW, the planned no spend doesn't make sense to me either.  I know Shane loves it though.  I use YNAB and each month is budgeted separately.  However, every month is usually the same so I don't over spend unless something serious happens (then I don't budget it at all).  Using YNAB I have over 30 categories, and today I took the time to break different items out of the Walmart receipt.  Fertilizer went into Lawn Care, and Colgate Mouthwash went into Personal Products, the rest was actually groceries.

As long as I can stay within the budgeted amount for the month, I don't care if I spend all the grocery money on the 2nd of the month or spread it out over 4 weeks....I just attempt not to go over the monthly budgeted amount.

[shanendoah]

azucena, NastyWoman, Blonde Granny -
Number 1: Always do what works for you. If something isn't working for you, but you like the idea, modify it to work for you.

I'm going to write a post on my history with the NS/CS "challenge", what I've done to make it work better for me, and why it's working for me. But I don't want to hijack the savers thread with that, so it will go on the NS/CS thread, but I'll tag you in that too.

What works for me on saving, at least for now, is the automatic transfer. Paycheck gets deposited into my checking account, money automatically goes into savings. That way I don't have to think about it AND the money isn't in my checking account for me to spend.

[forwardwego]

UPDATE 2/17/2018 $17130 (begin 6780, goal 30000)

2018	PRESENT	GOAL	% MET	$$ TO GO
Veh Exp	800	1800	44	1000
Kids IRAs	1000	2000	50	1000
Home EF	2380	10000	23	7620
Rental Margin	10000	10000	100
SL Payoff	2000	2000	100
Rusty Boxer Pt 3	750	3000	25	2250
Saving Challenge	200	1200	16	1000
TOTAL	17130	30000	57	12870

[finnime]

Savings Goal

Weekly Penny/Dime/Dollars Savings

Month	Week	Goal	Total saved	Percent of Weekly / Monthly Goal	Goal Met
1		30.38	38.25	125.91%	Y
	5	10.57	12.00	113.53%	Y
	6	12.76	14.00	109.72%	Y
	7	14.95	20.00	133.78%	Y
	Annual	3,778.06	84.25	2.23%

Finnime 2/17/2018: $84.25 (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	Saved	Spent
Sinking	pay attorney	10000
	car	2500
	dog	500	300	300
	dentistry	2000		385
	mortgage	7000
	taxes	11000
	mattress	2000
	debt repay	8500
	house	3000
	Phone	500
Survival	EF	2500
Security	nest egg	500
Totals		50,000

 
And another $20 down.

[chiver78]

I stopped at the neighborhood market this morning to pick up a couple things I'd forgotten for brunch, and felt like buying a $10 scratch ticket while I was there. well, that turned out to be a $100 winner. woot! I opted to throw the $100 bill into the jar, taking back whatever for change, and knock out as high a number as possible this week. well, there were no singles in the jar, and I didn't have any either. so I was able to knock out the 10 of clubs for $40. total in the jar is now $105.

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
Jack (11)	11	22	33	44
Queen (12)	12	24	36	48
King (13)	13	26	39	52

total for 2018 = $910

chiver78 $105

[snapdragon]

Just need to vent here for a moment.

I was thinking that my Property Taxes would go up a bit, last year they were $1734 with rounding so I was thinking around $1900 just in case. People have passed levies and things so my property taxes are now $ 2167!!!! For a condo - on the second floor that is less than 1000 sq feet.    

I don't mind paying my share but I have a real issue when schools are about 65% of what my taxes go to. We need decent schools. I get that but man if someone was in a tight situation this could really mess them up. Plus in my state there seems to be a big redundancy of having multiples in mid to higher management. Such as multiple secretaries, more than 2 vice principles and 2 principles - for one school. I seriously think there needs to be audits in several areas. There is just alot of money that is being used or wasted or mis managed in the black hole of education. Streamlining I believe would help. 

[Jaguar]

Okay I know I've been missing from this thread, I'll be back on here in April.

[tobinikui]

Tobinikui: 2/22/2018 $8,384.71  (Goal: $42,093.00, 1/1/2018 Starting Point: $5,533.00)

Account	Goal	Saved	Spent	Remaining	% Saved
Taxes	$7,200.00	$461.49	$139.00	$6,599.51	8.3%
Insurances	$5,933.00	$651.46	$1,072.00	$4,209.54	29.0%
Christmas	$2,000.00	0	0	$2,000.00	0%
Random	$1,460.00	$100.00	$260.00	$1,100.00	24.7%
Car Repair	$1,800.00	$100.04	$700.17	$999.79	44.5%
Vacations	$1,500.00	$400.00	0	$1,100.00	26.7%
ER Fund	$15,000.00	$2,000.55	$1,000.00	$11,999.45	20.0%
Minivan	$7,200.00	$1,500.00	0	$5,700.00	20.8%
Total	$42,093.00	$5,213.54	$3,171.17	$33,708.29	19.9%

Most of these accounts aren't going to see much action any time soon. I am continuing to save the insurance monies, but even the Tax fund is going fo be dormant for a bit. We have decided to do a modified Dave R. attack on our finances, and are building up the balance in our checking account so that we can "pay next month's bills with this month's money". Our primary credit card's billing cycle closes on the 2nd of each month, so it will be awesome to be able to pay it that same day! The rest of this year is going to be spent paying off the minivan as fast as possible. Aside from our house, the minivan is our only debt, and if all goes well, we'll have it paid off by October. 

February 2018 is also the first month we have ever set an actual budget for our spending. Groceries continue to be a huge expense for us, but with 1 week left in the month, we are on track to come out even on our budget. What a huge difference that will make for us if we can continue that momentum. 

March will also be our last month of child support ever. It will be so nice to repurpose that money for our family needs. 

I am hopeful that we will still be able to meet all of these savings goals, with the exception of the Emergency Fund, but that is dependent on us sticking to our new budget!

Baby steps, right?? 😎

[teachermom]

tobinikui Question.....does your table calculate correctly? For example....you have a total goal of $15,000 for the ER and show that you saved $2000.55 and spent $1000.00 and remaining as $11,999.45. To me it looks like your table adds the $2000.55 and the $1000.00 as saved so total of $3000.55, subtract that from $15000.00 and you get $11,999.45. Is that correct? Or did you spend the $1000 from the $2000.55, giving you balance of $1000.55 and remaining to goal would be $12,999.45. Only reason I was checking was if you are doing DR, maybe you should do the $1000 mini ER and throw everything else that isn't for a sinking fund (meaning expenses you know you have to pay out this year, not just saving up for future wants) at  your van and pay it off sooner.

I get modifying the Dave process somewhat though. I am. I have 10+ years to pay off my student loans even dumping everything I can at it....so I am also starting to save my full EF and investing in retirement as I am 52....53 in August. Everything I have read and heard listening to him is if you can be out of debt except your home in 2 to 3 years....then throw everything at it and stop retirement. If not, then don't stop retirement contributions.

Good job sticking to your budget...that is the first step.

Teachermom

[tobinikui]

teachermom, I was adding the $2,000.55 and the $1,000.00 together as saved. Our ER fund was $3,000 at one point, but I took some $$$ from there to get ahead on our bill payments. You are right though, I still want a grand total of $15,000 for our 3 to 6 month ER fund, so I should probably change those calculations. A $1000 ER fund just doesn't quite cut it for me (hence, the $2k in savings that I refuse to use). Thanks!

[tobinikui]

Introduction time! I am a full time state employee in the North East, married, with 2 under 4, and 3 step kiddos. My DH is  a retired, SAHD. We've been married for going on 8 years, together for 10. We are an older couple  to have such young kiddos, and a retired DH, so that poses some unique challenges for us. I am definitely the financial planner, bill payer in the house, but I also tend to be the spender as well. I tend to stock up on things (it's on sale, why not buy 47?), and our grocery & eating out expenditures, and Amazon spending have been our biggest money pits. This month has been our first month ever with a true, zero dollar budget, and while it's still  too early to declare this a success, it has been eye opening for sure.

I always thought I was doing great with money because I never bounced a check in my younger years, but it wasn't until I met my DH and started envisioning an adult, married life, with all of the usual things that entails, that I got serious about saving and planning. I am better at paying off debt than saving, I feel, because it's more targeted, and there's a finite goal. Life has thrown us some curve balls though, and we'd like the ability to face them head on which means a savings buffer in cash, and smarter money management. Our long term goal is to buy our next, final home, in cash. And I am trying to reign our spending in now, to try to make that happen by the time the kiddos hit middle school!

I have been around since the time of the MSN Money Boards, between the racers and savers. We do still have both minivan and mortgage debt, but that's all, thankfully. We actively use a credit card, but pay it off every month in full. Creating, and sticking to our budget, will keep us honest!

Thanks all, for this place to talk and vent and be inspired!! I wish I had more people to have these conversations with in "real" life!

[seriousthistime]

Feb 23, 2018 6:31:29 GMT -5 tobinikui said:

Thanks all, for this place to talk and vent and be inspired!! I wish I had more people to have these conversations with in "real" life!

 I have gotten over wanting someone in "real" life to be able to talk money with.  It's so hard to find someone in roughly the same place you are.  I am very grateful to have someone on this board with whom we can talk about money.  We do it through the private message function and sometimes have long conversations there, and we don't have to spill our guts on the Savers or Racers threads and bore everyone else to death.  We can also share info that's just a little bit more personal without feeling that someone here might identify and "out" us. 

If you think that would be good for you, you might explore that possibility. Send a PM to someone with whom you've sort of felt connected here, and ask them a general or specific question about finances, and maybe you'll get a conversation going and find a virtual money-friendship.

I'm very thankful for my virtual money friend!  It has really helped me to "think out loud" about money and finances.   
 

[seriousthistime]

Feb 20, 2018 11:58:51 GMT -5 snapdragon said:

Just need to vent here for a moment.

I was thinking that my Property Taxes would go up a bit, last year they were $1734 with rounding so I was thinking around $1900 just in case. People have passed levies and things so my property taxes are now $ 2167!!!! For a condo - on the second floor that is less than 1000 sq feet.    

I don't mind paying my share but I have a real issue when schools are about 65% of what my taxes go to. We need decent schools. I get that but man if someone was in a tight situation this could really mess them up. Plus in my state there seems to be a big redundancy of having multiples in mid to higher management. Such as multiple secretaries, more than 2 vice principles and 2 principles - for one school. I seriously think there needs to be audits in several areas. There is just alot of money that is being used or wasted or mis managed in the black hole of education. Streamlining I believe would help. 

First, let me say I don't have any special or first hand knowledge about how schools are run.  I, too, have noticed that there's a big increase in mid-level school management, from elementary to higher education. 

I think part of it is that there are more and more mandates at the state and federal levels, and someone has to meet and manage compliance with those mandates.  No Child Left Behind certainly added to the schools' burden to meet a mandate and show compliance, file reports, etc.  Technology in the schools means more IT people need to be available, when it used to be up to the librarian or the AV club to keep the slide and movie projectors ready to go.  Special education is a big mandate, and very costly.  The costs can be anywhere from a classroom aide to a private boarding school paid by the school district.  Most of these things are good things, but they come at a cost.  

Do you have a state income tax where you are?

[azucena]

Feb 15, 2018 9:00:42 GMT -5 azucena said:

Feb 2, 2018 14:21:47 GMT -5 azucena said:

2/15/18 Azucena $1,715 of $25,000 (stretch $35,000)

2/23/18 Azucena $1,816 of $25,000 (stretch $35,000)

Payday with a bit of savings, also finished paying most of Destin vacation next month.

[teachermom]

Feb 23, 2018 6:16:51 GMT -5 tobinikui said:

teachermom , I was adding the $2,000.55 and the $1,000.00 together as saved. Our ER fund was $3,000 at one point, but I took some $$$ from there to get ahead on our bill payments. You are right though, I still want a grand total of $15,000 for our 3 to 6 month ER fund, so I should probably change those calculations. A $1000 ER fund just doesn't quite cut it for me (hence, the $2k in savings that I refuse to use). Thanks!

I count my spent in my saved too. Maybe just add a column to show total saved then a column for spent and balance. You did save it even if you spent it during the year so definitely take credit for it. Most of my savings for the year gets spent during the year so my ending balance ends up as zero on some but I earn a rose because I saved it for the purpose that year. Does that make sense?

Teachermom

[seriousthistime]

Update

	Goal	Amt. Saved 2/24/18	% Saved	Roses
Survival fund	$6,000	$1,001	16.7%
Property tax	$5,000	$1,162	23.2%
Household Exp.	$1,000	$150	15.0%
Weekly Savings	$1,898	$398	21.0%
Gifts	$2,600	$509	19.6%
EF increase	$2,600	$400	15.4%
Pet care	$600	$202	33.7%
Misc. Exp.	$800	$164	20.5%
Total	$20,498	$3,986	19.4%

Seriousthistime, 2/24/18, $3,986 (Goal $20,498)


Weekly Savings chart:

$11	$12	$13	$14	$15	$16	$17
$18	$19	$20	$21	$22	$23	$24
$25	$26	$27		$29	$30	$31
	$33	$34	$35	$36	$37
$39	$40	$41	$42	$43	$44	$45
$46	$47	$48	$49	$50	$51	$52
$53	$54	$55	$56	$57

I'm a bit ahead of the game.  At this point in the year, with 4 paychecks received out of 26 for the year, I would be at 15.3% of goal if I were saving the same amount each paycheck. 

[seriousthistime]

Attention Savers: 

I will be doing the Smilies next weekend. 

Please get your updates in by the evening of March 2.

[finnime]

Savings Goal

Weekly Penny/Dime/Dollars Savings

Month	Week	Goal	Total saved	Percent of Weekly / Monthly Goal	Goal Met
1		30.38	38.25	125.91%	Y
	5	10.57	12.00	113.53%	Y
	6	12.76	14.00	109.72%	Y
	7	14.95	20.00	133.78%	Y
	8	37.14	42.00	113.09%	Y
	Annual	3,778.06	126.25	3.34%

Finnime 2/24/2018: $126.25 (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	Saved	Spent
Sinking	pay attorney	10000
	car	2500
	dog	500	300	300
	dentistry	2000		385
	mortgage	7000
	taxes	11000
	mattress	2000
	debt repay	8500
	house	3000
	Phone	500
Survival	EF	2500
Security	nest egg	500
Totals		50,000

 

[plugginaway22]

Jan 29, 2018 8:24:23 GMT -5 plugginaway22 said:

Account	Start-1/1/18	2/1/18	3/1/18	SAVED	2018 Goals
EF- Online	2330	2495	2655	160	5000
EF- BrickBank	4000	4200	4500	300	7000
Tax Escrow	2000	2400	2800	400	4800
Totals:	8330	9095	9955	860	16,800

plugginaway22:  3/1/18 $9955 (goal $16,800)

This was a short month with a trip to FL. I thought it would be worse but DH got a small bonus that helped with savings total.

[teachermom]

Update....plugging along. Focusing right now on my roof. Having it replaced on 3/16.....so a bit more savings needed. Won't cost as much as I thought so going to start my hot water heater fund with the balance I thought I needed for the roof.  Hot water heater isn't out but found out it is from 1986 or so. Need to be prepared. Always something when you are a home owner.

Savings 2018
Fund	Goals	Previous Bal	Feb 2018	YTD	Spent	End Bal	% Met
Emergency Fund - Minor	$1,000.00	$1,000.53	$0.85	$1,001.38	$0.00	$1,001.38	100.14%
Emergency Fund - Major	$20,000.00	$37.51	$35.46	$72.97	$0.00	$72.97	0.36%
Insurance - Deductible	$1,250.00	$300.17	$0.25	$300.42	$0.00	$300.42	24.03%
Home Maintenance	$5,000.00	$15.07	$0.01	$15.08	$0.00	$15.08	0.30%
Roof	$3,100.00	$32.47	$2,000.03	$2,032.50	$0.00	$2,032.50	65.56%
Hot Water Heater	$900.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	0.00%
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	$342.88	$0.29	$343.17	$0.00	$343.17	42.90%
Car Maintenace	$1,000.00	$0.75	$377.00	$377.75	$0.00	$377.75	37.78%
Car Replacement	$30,000.00	$527.34	$300.32	$827.66	$0.00	$827.66	2.76%
Gifts	$1,500.00	$304.28	$100.25	$404.53	$0.00	$404.53	26.97%
Spring Break Trip 2018	$500.00	$500.00	$0.00	$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	$140.00	$140.00	$0.00	$140.00	14.00%
Student Loan Payoff	$10,000.00	$604.70	$550.51	$1,155.21	$0.00	$1,155.21	11.55%
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	$5.00	$5.03	$0.00	$5.03	0.05%
Total Savings	$100,000.00	$4,183.97	$3,509.97	$7,693.94	$0.00	$7,693.94	7.69%

Teachermom 2/25/2018 $7693.94 (1/1/2018 $2768.02, Goal $100,000)

[nikiz628]

UPDATE: 

2018 START        CURRENT   GOAL STILL NEED E.F. $760.00 $1381.12 $2000.00 $618.88 DS1's SAVINGS $1528.06 $1628.06 $1750.00 $121.94 DS2's SAVINGS $425.33 $525.33 $550.00 $24.67 DISNEY FUND $1895.47 $3177.44 $5000.00 $1822.56 TOTALS $4608.86        $6711.95         $9300.00        $2588.05

NikiZ628 2/26/18 $6,711.95 (Goal $9,300 WIRS1)

We had a really good month in the savings department, thanks to our tax return! Total savings went up $1946.09! 
We had planned to do another no spend month in February, but it just didn't happen. March is in our sights though for a reduced and controlled spend challenge in our house. 

[chiver78]

forgot to play cards again this weekend, so it fell til today. I need to work on that.    anyway, I cleaned out my wallet this morning, and found nine $1 bills. so the 3 of was knocked out today. keep up the great work, everyone! 

Card	Spades (1x)	Diamonds (2x)	Hearts (3x)	Clubs (4x)
A		2	3	4
2	2	4	6
3	3	6
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
Jack (11)	11	22	33	44
Queen (12)	12	24	36	48
King (13)	13	26	39	52

total for 2018 = $910

chiver78 $114

[snapdragon]

Feb 23, 2018 9:27:29 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Feb 20, 2018 11:58:51 GMT -5 snapdragon said:

Just need to vent here for a moment.

I was thinking that my Property Taxes would go up a bit, last year they were $1734 with rounding so I was thinking around $1900 just in case. People have passed levies and things so my property taxes are now $ 2167!!!! For a condo - on the second floor that is less than 1000 sq feet.    

I don't mind paying my share but I have a real issue when schools are about 65% of what my taxes go to. We need decent schools. I get that but man if someone was in a tight situation this could really mess them up. Plus in my state there seems to be a big redundancy of having multiples in mid to higher management. Such as multiple secretaries, more than 2 vice principles and 2 principles - for one school. I seriously think there needs to be audits in several areas. There is just alot of money that is being used or wasted or mis managed in the black hole of education. Streamlining I believe would help. 

First, let me say I don't have any special or first hand knowledge about how schools are run.  I, too, have noticed that there's a big increase in mid-level school management, from elementary to higher education. 

I think part of it is that there are more and more mandates at the state and federal levels, and someone has to meet and manage compliance with those mandates.  No Child Left Behind certainly added to the schools' burden to meet a mandate and show compliance, file reports, etc.  Technology in the schools means more IT people need to be available, when it used to be up to the librarian or the AV club to keep the slide and movie projectors ready to go.  Special education is a big mandate, and very costly.  The costs can be anywhere from a classroom aide to a private boarding school paid by the school district.  Most of these things are good things, but they come at a cost.  

Do you have a state income tax where you are?

I am sure you are correct on a big part of that Serious. I think what really got me was that the paperwork basically said that I could not dispute the amount I had to pay. I could only dispute the land values and than that wouldn't do much because I am fairly sure they are back to the values from when I first bought the place in 2005.

WA has no state income tax we only do Federal. But we have plenty of other layer of taxes to keep everything topped off. My county has a sales tax of 10%.  

[trimatty471]

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

Trimatty 02/27/2018:  $1,238.05 (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	700.00	9,300.00.00	7.00%
Vacation	2,400.00	331.76	2,068.24	13.82%
Replace	1,200.00	0.00	1,200.00	0.00%
Home Maintenance	1,000.00	100.29	899.71	10.03%
Holiday	1,500.00	106.00	1,394.00	7.07%
Total	$17,300.00	$1,238.05	$16,061.95	7.16%

[teachermom]

snapdragon As a teacher in WA state, I can tell you that the extra layers of principals and secretaries are definitely needed to keep up on things.....discipline, evaluations, federal and state mandates, etc. As far as the amount of taxes though.....part of this is the legislators and what they have done to deceive voters. For example, the lottery was passed on the premise that all the money would go to support education. Ok....great. However, all the money they had been allocated to education from other areas, they took away....do education received no extra money it was a switch and bait game. The constitution of WA state says that our paramount (#1) duty is to provide education to those who live in the boundaries.....but they don't 100% fund education at all. There is a huge lawsuit in WA about this and it has been going since the 90's.....more money wasted instead of doing what they are mandated to do. In fact, they are being fined $1000's per day for noncompliance. Again, more money wasted. At the same time, every time they suck it up and supposedly give education more money, they take it from teachers so it is a wash. For example, they have drastically reduced our medical benefits for the last 10+ years as the cost continues to rise. I only insure me and I used to be able to do that without paying premiums. The last 10+ years, I pay more and more a month and reduced benefits as well as higher copays. They are also attacking our retirement. I am sorry taxpayers are paying more, myself included but it is not due to waste at the schools...but rather cuts in funding so they have to get the money somewhere to operate.

BTW....biggest scam in WA.....when they are "unable" to come to a budget agreement during the regular session it costs us millions in paying for all the legislators to go to extra session, maintain a home in Olympia longer, pay their per diem, etc. We need to push for them to get their job done, right now it benefits them to not get it done....they make lots of extra $$$$!! Politics is a mess....not only at the federal level but also the state levels.

Teachermom

[NastyWoman]

Feb 27, 2018 14:11:05 GMT -5 teachermom said:

snapdragon As a teacher in WA state, I can tell you that the extra layers of principals and secretaries are definitely needed to keep up on things.....discipline, evaluations, federal and state mandates, etc. As far as the amount of taxes though.....part of this is the legislators and what they have done to deceive voters. For example, the lottery was passed on the premise that all the money would go to support education. Ok....great. However, all the money they had been allocated to education from other areas, they took away....do education received no extra money it was a switch and bait game. The constitution of WA state says that our paramount (#1) duty is to provide education to those who live in the boundaries.....but they don't 100% fund education at all. There is a huge lawsuit in WA about this and it has been going since the 90's.....more money wasted instead of doing what they are mandated to do. In fact, they are being fined $1000's per day for noncompliance. Again, more money wasted. At the same time, every time they suck it up and supposedly give education more money, they take it from teachers so it is a wash. For example, they have drastically reduced our medical benefits for the last 10+ years as the cost continues to rise. I only insure me and I used to be able to do that without paying premiums. The last 10+ years, I pay more and more a month and reduced benefits as well as higher copays. They are also attacking our retirement. I am sorry taxpayers are paying more, myself included but it is not due to waste at the schools...but rather cuts in funding so they have to get the money somewhere to operate.

BTW....biggest scam in WA.....when they are "unable" to come to a budget agreement during the regular session it costs us millions in paying for all the legislators to go to extra session, maintain a home in Olympia longer, pay their per diem, etc. We need to push for them to get their job done, right now it benefits them to not get it done....they make lots of extra $$$$!! Politics is a mess....not only at the federal level but also the state levels.

Teachermom

That is unfortunately a shared pain for everyone out there. Very few people still have good and relatively cheap benefits. And free healthcare? That has always just been wishful thinking for most of us. 

Whether raises and bennies are related to taxes or corporate profits, doesn't really matter. Politicians, whether they do it intentionally or not, actually have created/increased the divide and resentment between workers in the private and public sectors through their taxation schemes that benefit the few at the expense of the many.