Women in Red SAVERS 2020

[Rukh O'Rorke]

oh- sorry about those hours debthaven !

Hope it turns out ok with the subbing.

[chiver78]

I haven't added to the savings pot today, but my dad brought $150 from having sold a generator for me. I had said earlier that I was going to fund spending money for my vacation in 2w with what I sell now, and save all of the proceeds of selling stuff once I get back. that $150 now means I can spend an evening in the casino for a little bit. yay! (I actually enjoy playing cards....in case that wasnt apparent from my personal savings game. 😉)

[Deleted]

I don't know if I should join this year or not.  The only savings goals I have are for 401K and HSA through payroll deduction which are basically zero effort on my part.  I guess I'll keep contributing to the 529s and would like to put money aside for private school and the Roth as well, but I'm not sure if it's worth killing myself over.   Child support ends in 6 months and I'm going to have to probably be taking from savings just to pay the bills.  That's why I had that "Survival Fund" the past few years. 

[forwardwego]

Jan 15, 2020 9:29:44 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I don't know if I should join this year or not.  The only savings goals I have are for 401K and HSA through payroll deduction which are basically zero effort on my part.  I guess I'll keep contributing to the 529s and would like to put money aside for private school and the Roth as well, but I'm not sure if it's worth killing myself over.   Child support ends in 6 months and I'm going to have to probably be taking from savings just to pay the bills.  That's why I had that "Survival Fund" the past few years. 

Though the 401K and HSA are automatic, you established them and your labor continues to fund them. So I want you to feel good about that. How about posting those, even though the posts will be predictable? When we post updates we often share thoughts, and I think it could be good for you to do that here with the Savers. Then when the child support ends in 6 months, we will be here for you as a sounding board. 

[finnime]

Jan 15, 2020 9:29:44 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I don't know if I should join this year or not.  The only savings goals I have are for 401K and HSA through payroll deduction which are basically zero effort on my part.  I guess I'll keep contributing to the 529s and would like to put money aside for private school and the Roth as well, but I'm not sure if it's worth killing myself over.   Child support ends in 6 months and I'm going to have to probably be taking from savings just to pay the bills.  That's why I had that "Survival Fund" the past few years. 

You have been to me one of the most inspiring savers, to do so much under such constraints as a single mother. I've used your concept of Survival Fund to set up a savings bucket to keep rather than to spend. Whatever you decide, to continue or not, your example is terrific.

The automatic savings are as important to track as the after-tax ones IMHO. They set up the whole cascading mechanism of reducing your AGI, which reduces your taxes, which allows more use of your income.

[debthaven]

MPL I agree, you are an inspiration and I truly hope you continue to post.

Even if you change your goals once DS1 has left for college, it's your amazing diligence that will have given you options.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

I agree with all point said MPL!

As well as savings posting - the conversations and strategies discussed here have both practically help and emotionally motivating.

[paynointerest]

I posted this on the WIRR thread and am posting this on the Savers thread in case any of the members here don't read the WIRR thread.

I'm sharing so none of you make the stupid mistake that I made...

So, I'm embarrassed to admit that fell victim to a Craigslist fraud scheme. The reason why...I did not know the banking regulations for Cashier's checked were relaxed and because of this action, con artists have an easier path to scam people.

I'm sharing this in case some of you do not know this. I grew up in the era that a Cashier's Check was the "secure route" to go to guarantee payment. When I was young, the money was not made available to the person's bank account until the check cleared from the other bank. This is not the case. Our society's desire for convenience and easy access to money gave policy makers reason to deregulate this part of the banking industry. Now money is made available to the person to use before the check has cleared from the bank that issued the check.

I'm sharing this article that I found on Vox that gives an example of a similar situation that happened to me. I wasn't selling a Cello, I was selling a futon. I live in a college town and so when the "buyer" said they lived in CA and they were buying it for their daughter, that did not raise a question in my mind. When they said they were giving me extra $$ to pay the movers in cash, I had an uneasy feeling and actually told them no deal. But they wrote back assuring me that nothing had to be done until the Cashier's check cleared. My lack of understanding of the deregulation by the banking industry was what made me continue with this transaction, and ultimately became a victim of fraud.

I can't get my money back -- the bank won't support it. By law, they don't have to. My hope is that my home owner's policy will cover this and I'll at least get some if not all of the money that I lost back. Please share this with everyone you know so they don't fall victim to the same scheme. It is very distressing to have this happen.

www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/8/19/20808526/cashiers-checks-online-scams

[Rukh O'Rorke]

so did someone come to get the futon and you paid them? And the cashier check bounced? I'm not sure what happened....

[idlechatter]

Hi all!  I decided to rejoin WIRS for 2020 after taking 2019 off and if I remember correctly, fizzling out on 2018. I know I'm starting a bit late, but I don't get confirmation of my compensation for the year until late January, which often makes it difficult to plan earlier.

For those of you who don't know me from WIRR, I just moved to CT (from NY) a few months ago for a promotion.  I'm 37 years old and work in finance/banking. I'm flying solo (no SO, no kids), so all of my debt reduction and planned savings is on a sole income but it also means its only for me.   I've been hunkered down paying off student loans for a REALLY long time and the light is finally at the end of the tunnel - I should be done paying them off in February of next year - but I feel like this is the perfect time to transition back to savings in conjunction with paying down debt.  It will get me back into the habit of tracking what I'm saving, which I will need to be doing better next year once I'm using my student loan payments for savings instead.

Numbers below are very aggressive goals and represent what I'm looking to save in 2020 only.  For example, my EF goal is $4,000 for 2020, but EF already exists at $14,000. The long term goal (to be done in chunks each year) will be an EF of $30,000. I am planning my updates as of the last day of the month because that's when my savings transfers are scheduled for. Vacation fund will be used before the end of the year for two trips (one in March, one in August/September).

Well, off we go!

idlechatter 1/19/20 $2,858.36 (Goal:$30,000), WIRS3

Savings Account	Annual Goal	WIRS Start 1/19/2020	Remainder to Save
Emergency	$4,000.00	$0.00	$4,000.00
Car/Moto Maintenance	$1,500.00	$4.80	$1,495.20
Christmas	$1,200.00	$3.09	$1,196.91
House	$1,000.00	$0.47	$999.53
Car/Moto Purchase	$1,200.00	$0.00	$1,200.00
Dad	$1,000.00	$0.00	$1,000.00
Vacation (slush)	$4,500.00	$2,300.00	$2,200.00
401K	$15,600.00	$550.00	$15,050.00
Total	$30,000.00	$2,858.36	$27,141.64

[paynointerest]

Jan 19, 2020 12:32:41 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

so did someone come to get the futon and you paid them? And the cashier check bounced? I'm not sure what happened....

No, I still have the futon. The whole story was fake. The cashier's check was fake.  The example in the web article I shared is exactly what happened to me only I sent the money to the sender via Zelle to pay the "movers" and after they got their money, the Cashier's check was retracted from my account. I thought that because the money was in my account, it was cleared by the other bank and there was no way they could retract it.  I was wrong.

[Deleted]

So, I couldn't help myself.  I put some small goals in there.  I need to have Christmas money anyhow.  College savings for older son will cut off after July and then it will just be for $100/month for younger from there on out.  I may still fully fund my IRA, but it will be from current savings.  Priority right now is that dang debt from last year.

Fund	2020 Goal	Current	Needed	% Complete
401K	$15,000	$739	$14,261	4.93%
HSA	$7,100	$234	$6,866	3.30%
College	$1,900	$200	$1,700	10.53%
IRA	$500	$200	$300	40.00%
Pr. High School	$500	$0	$500	0.00%
Vacation	$500	$0	$500	0.00%
Christmas	$500	$0	$500	0.00%
Total	$26,000	$1,373	$500	5.28%

MPL 1/20/2020  $1,373 - Goal $26,000

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Jan 19, 2020 18:31:06 GMT -5 paynointerest said:

Jan 19, 2020 12:32:41 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

so did someone come to get the futon and you paid them? And the cashier check bounced? I'm not sure what happened....

No, I still have the futon. The whole story was fake. The cashier's check was fake.  The example in the web article I shared is exactly what happened to me only I sent the money to the sender via Zelle to pay the "movers" and after they got their money, the Cashier's check was retracted from my account. I thought that because the money was in my account, it was cleared by the other bank and there was no way they could retract it.  I was wrong.

oof! Sorry about that!!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Rukh O'Rorke 01/20/2020 $1,388.27 (Start=$0 / Goal=$43,600)


Saving Goals for 2020

Account	Goal	Saved	Percent
401k	$26,000	$1,095.96	4.2%
HSA	$7,600	$  292.31	3.8%
EF:MM	$5,000	0	0%
EF:ETFs	$5,000	0	0%
Total	$43,600	$1,388.27	3.2%

EF Multiyear Goals

Emergency Fund	Goal	Amount	Percent
Money Market and ETFs	$20,000	$1,401.40	7%

Spending Targets

Spending  Categories	Goal	Amount	Percent
Vacation	$3,000	0	0%
Holiday/Gifts	$2,000	0	0%
Rukh Discretionary	$1,000	0	0%
Total	$6,000	0	0%

Not a lot of progress overall - just the 401k and HSA. Plus I pulled 600 from EF to put in checking as I am recovering form unexpected medical expenses right after the holidays - where I cut it to the line.....

I've adjusted my 401k down to just get the match, I'll see what my take home pay is at the level. I may need to pull more out of the EF to cover March student loans. There was also an error in my first paycheck so I should get a little extra when that is correct.

It's going to be tight in the Rukh household until I get my first RI pay of the year - likely around late March. Until then, I will just be doing the HSA, 401k to the match, and waiting for more money.

Work put an immediate 500 into the HSA, but I'm hoping not to touch that right now, although - I may need to. 

[paynointerest]

UPDATE!

Pay-no-interest: $9,000.00 (Goal: $59,000)

	Goal	Saved	% of Goal	Amt Spent
My 403b	$19,500
My 457b	$19,000
Tax Invest Acct	$6,000	$6,000	100%
Property taxes	$4,500	$3,000	67%
DH 403b	$10,000
Total	$59,000	$9,000	15%

I had enough money left over from December that I was able to meet my savings goals for my Taxable Investment account. I'm going to see how January goes with my extra contributions to my 403b.  Since I won't need to save in my taxable account, I may start adding to my 457b while I'm contributing to my 403b.

[seriousthistime]

Update

Account Name	Goal	Start	Amt. Saved 1/24/20	Amt. Saved %	Roses
Gifts	$2,600	$2,300	$2,609	100.0%
Property Tax	$5,500	$0	$440	8.0%
Travel	$4,000	$5	$1,007	25.2%
Car	$3,000	$17	$217	7.2%
Survival Fund	$6,000	$16	$1,018	17.0%
Weekly Savings	$1,378	$13	$167	12.1%
Household/EF	$2,000	$5	$1,709	85.5%
Mortgage	$6,000	$695	$1,995	33.2%
Total	$30,478	$3,051	$9,162	29.3%

Seriousthistime, 1/24/2020, $9,162 (Goal, $30,478)


Weekly Savings Tracker:

$1	$2	$3	$4	$5	$6
$7	$8	$9	$10	$11	$12
$13	$14	$15	$16	$17	$18
$19	$20	$21	$22	$23	$24
$25	$26	$27	$28	$29	$30
$31	$32	$33	$34	$35	$36
$37	$38	$39	$40	$41	$42
$43	$44	$45	$46	$47	$48
$49

Still looking forward to a  in the Household Fund with my next update. Things are tight with this paycheck; I'm trying to cash-flow my airline tickets., and not deplete my travel fund. 

I have another update to do in a week.  That one should look better.  

[shanendoah]

shanendoah [Q1]: $1697.28 1/25/2020 (Goal: $5,040 3/31/2020)
ROTH [Q1]: $500 1/1/2020 (Goal: $1,500 3/31/2020)
Savings [Q1]: $1197.28 1/10/2020 (Goal: $3,540 3/31/2020)

Got C's ROTH set up. For now, I started it as a 2019 ROTH because it looks like we're going to have some extra money to throw at savings this year (this quarter even), and so it would be nice to be able to throw more of it at retirement savings for him, instead of just the $6k planned.

[steph08]

All the transfers won't go through until next week, but here are my updated numbers for January. 


UPDATE: steph08 1/31/2020 $10,915.34 7/31/2019 $6,626.16

Savings	Start	Previous	Current	Difference	Goal	Percentage Saved
Emergency Fund	$3,664.15	$5,490.45	$6,703.34	$1,212.89	$10,000.00	67.03%
DD1 529 Payback	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$2,700.00	0.00%
DD2 529 Payback	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$2,700.00	0.00%
DD1 Savings	$1,766.95	$1,828.91	$1,884.89	$55.98	$3,000.00	62.83%
DD2 Savings	$1,195.06	$1,254.78	$1,310.45	$55.67	$2,000.00	65.52%
401K Savings	$0.00	$0.00	$583.33	$583.33	$7,000.00	8.33%
401k Employer Match	$0.00	$0.00	$233.33	$233.33	$2,800.00	8.33%
DD1 529 2020	$0.00	$0.00	$100.00	$100.00	$1,200.00	8.33%
DD2 529 2020	$0.00	$0.00	$100.00	$100.00	$1,200.00	8.33%
TOTAL	$6,626.16	$8,574.14	$10,915.34	$2,341.20	$32,600.00	25.41%

[speechchick71]

Update

	Goal	End Of Jan 2020	% Saved	Roses
403b	17,000	1388	8.16%
Roth IRA	5,500	0	0%
Car expenses	4,000	400	10%
General Savings	2,000	500	25%
Total	28,500	2288	8.03%

Speechchick, 1/24/2020, $2288 (Goal $28,500)

I have a sleeping cat in my arms so I'll have to post a blurb later. 

.... Is anyone else like me with not wanting to disturb a sleeping pet? I pasted my chart, he crawled into my arms and I had to peck out that last line. After talking to my friend, who is my financial adviser, I realized that my goals were somewhat skewed because I didn't realize that the minimums rose so much!  I have a cd that is going to mature before the April 15 deadline and she advised me to use some of the money to fully fund 2019 and 2020 Roth. So that goal will be met and surpassed. I'm only going to count the 2020 contribution on my chart though. I don't know why I put such a little amount on my general savings and feel like that will be far surpassed too. Because I cut back on my hours (just 4 hours/week), my take home, obviously, is less. I have been working a little more each day, like 30-45 min which is giving me a few extra $$ and a little more room to breathe.

Over the past few years, ever since becoming debt free (not including mortgage and car), I haven't been keeping my savings spreadsheet and I think that's why I have become so lax with not only money but eating and how I spend my time. I have put on weight over the past 7 years...over 40lbs! Now that I have something in black and white, I feel more in control of my life. I've been working out more, eating healthier, and have even lost a few pounds. Have any of you experienced the same?

[resolution]

Update: Resolution 01/31/20 $2400 (Goal: $35,000)

I came close to derailing my plan because we put in an offer on a fixer upper house, but unfortunately it sold to someone else. So I am still on track unless another interesting opportunity shows up.

In the mean time, I have increased the withholding for the 457 plan to $400 bi-weekly, but it is taking a lot longer than I expected to go into effect.

Account	Goal	Saved	% of Goal
IRA 1	7,000	500	7%
IRA 2	6,000	500	8%
457 plan	10,000	900	9%
Brokerage	12,000	500	4%
Total	35,000	2400	7%

[nikiz628]

Jan 3, 2020 0:18:35 GMT -5 nikiz628 said:

UPDATE 1/27/2020

2020 Savings	START	CURRENT	GOAL	STILL NEED
Emergency Fund	$1,000.00	$1,222.08	$2,000.00	$777.92
DS1's Savings	$1,960.29	$1,960.29	$2,200.00	239.71
DS2's Savings	$734.55	$734.55	$850.00	115.45
TOTALS	3,694.84	$3,916.92	5,050.00	1,133.08

NikiZ628 1/27/20 $3,916.92 (Goal $7,300 WIRS2)

[forwardwego]

1/28/2020 $4700 (begin $4100; goal $20,000)

  

GOAL	AMOUNT	STARTING	$$ TO DATE	% OF GOAL	$$ TO GO
JPPCU CUSHION	1000	100	100	10	900
RENTAL MARGIN	12000	3000	3000	25	9000
PERIODIC EXPENSE	6000	1000	1600	26	4400
CASH STASH	1000	0	0	0	1000
TOTALS	20000	4100	4700	23	15300

Edited, and note to seriousthistime :
changing my goal amount, removing the weekly challenge for now.

[shanendoah]

I did "super-adulting" this morning.
We are refinancing our house. We won't have a Feb 1 mortgage payment, so I decided to put that $3k in C's 2019 ROTH. And then I realized that if I put $1k in in Feb and March, and another $500 in on April 10, we can max his 2019 ROTH. And then go back to $500 per month (as originally planned, starting April 25) in the 2020 ROTH, we'll be in a good place to max the 2020 ROTH as well. So, I went in and scheduled the automatic transfers this morning and updated my cashflow worksheet to reflect this.
This will push back some of the other savings goals a little bit, but not that much, and I feel a lot better knowing that he'll have more in retirement savings.

[teachermom]

Update:

Not a ton more progress but a little bit more money earned from UberEats and Instacart shopping when I have time. Right now it is all going to my home improvement fund as that is a priority right now.

Hopefully, this weekend I will get some stuff listed on FB marketplace and start making some money that way as well. We are consolidating houses this year, so trying to go through everything and make piles.....Yard sale, FB marketplace, keep, donate. Slow moving but making some progress. Dang! Why do we buy so much stuff

Savings 2020
Fund	Goals	Beg Bal	Jan 2019	YTD	Spent	End Bal	% Met
Emergency Fund	$25,000.00	$1,000.74	$0.00	$1,000.74	$0.00	$1,000.74	4.00%
Vacations	$10,000.00	$180.05	$135.00	$315.05	$0.00	$315.05	3.15%
Home Improvements	$8,000.00	$8.17	$679.00	$687.17	$0.00	$687.17	8.59%
New Car	$25,000.00	$10.66	$0.00	$10.66	$0.00	$10.66	0.04%
Car Maintenance	$3,000.00	$0.81	$50.00	$50.81	$0.00	$50.81	1.69%
Gifts	$4,000.00	$120.08	$100.00	$220.08	$0.00	$220.08	5.50%
Total Savings	$75,000.00	$1,320.51	$964.00	$2,284.51	$0.00	$2,284.51	3.05%

Teachermom $2284,51 1/28/2020 ($1320.51 1/1/2020, Goal $75,000)

[paynointerest]

UPDATE!

Pay-no-interest: $15,650.00 (Goal: $59,000)

	Goal	Saved	% of Goal	Amt Spent
My 403b	$19,500	$3,700	19%
My 457b	$19,000	$100	1%
Tax Invest Acct	$6,000	$7,000	117%
Property taxes	$4,500	$3,350	74%
DH 403b	$10,000	$1,500	15%
Total	$59,000	$15,650	27%

I just saw my pay stub for January. The changes I made for my contributions to my 403b and 457b are in place.

I'll see how this month goes in terms of paying monthly bills and will make adjustments to my retirement contributions as needed.

[jenpen]

Update

Jenpen, 1/31/2020, $5,702 (Start $895, Goal $52,600)

	Goal	Start 1/1/2020	Saved 1/31/2020	% of goal
403b	24,000	0	2,000	8.3%
457b	12,000	0	1,000	8.3%
Roth IRA	7,000	0	17	0.2%
Taxable investments	2,400	0	185	7.7%
Long-term savings	2,400	0	0	0.0%
Sinking funds	4,800	895.11	2,500	52.1%
Total	52,600	895.11	5,702	10.8%

Sooooo, I'm not too happy with this. This is a 3-paycheck month, with no deductions on the 3rd check (which will post at midnight tonight) other than taxes and mandatory 6% pension contribution. $1600 of tomorrow's check is going to sinking fund, but $1200 of that will be spent in Feb (car registration/tax, and I switched to an annual payment for my Republic Wireless phone, which basically gives me 2 months free) and March (6-mo car insurance, annual home insurance). 

I SHOULD have had at least another $1k to add to savings. The problem is I pay for EVERYTHING with my AmEx card, which I pay off every month. Meaning I paid for December this month, and December was pricey. Like 2x my normal budget. Not because of Christmas (I spent $214 on holiday/travel), but car maintenance, emergency vet visit for The Boy (cat), a large contribution to a fund for my coworkers' sister who, along with her husband and son, has cancer. She and her husband are both terminal, but the teenage son should recover. And now, typing that, I realize I have nothing to be unhappy about (comparatively speaking). So, yay, $4800 increase...I'll take it and keep in mind how lucky I am!

[plugginaway22]

jenpen, I agree!  January is what I call clean up month:  Paying all CCs from Holidays, paying 6 month premium home/auto insurance, paying high gas/electric bills because it is winter, DH's birthday...So my leftovers for savings seem low.  Will add it all up tomorrow and post my sad January totals!  Glad to be starting a new month!

[resolution]

January has been a bit lean for me as well. I went a little overboard in December and left my checking account too low for comfort. So the amount I have available in January is partially going to rebuild the checking account instead of into my long term savings.

[flamingo]

UPDATE

                            Current      Goal      Change

Savings/Efund.    $7,400      $10,000.      0

Vacation Fund.    $0.              $3,000.      0

Total.                   $7,400.      $13,000.     0


I have made ZERO progress. I guess I'm lucky I didn't go backwards. But I had a CC bill due in January that I hadn't really been thinking about (you know, all those extra Christmas expenditures needing paid off, UGH). Well, February is a new month, and at the very least, I spent WAY less in January than I'd been spending, so hopefully that means I'll make some headway here.

Flamingo, 1/31/20, $7,400 (Goal $13,000)

[jenpen]

Jan 24, 2020 20:56:35 GMT -5 speechchick71 said:

I have a sleeping cat in my arms so I'll have to post a blurb later. 

.... Is anyone else like me with not wanting to disturb a sleeping pet? I pasted my chart, he crawled into my arms and I had to peck out that last line.

Oh my gosh, YES!!! My girl will sleep next to me, sort of partially in my lap so I can keep working. She does so infrequently and I hate to disturb her, especially because we've been slow to bond. I've noticed in the past month that, for the first time in the 1.5 years I've had her, she no longer startles when I start to pet her, so that's progress. But the Boy, he'll shove my laptop or bowl of soup out of the way, knead my stomach for 10 minutes and then rather than curling up in my lap, he climbs up my chest and sort of snuggles into my neck/under my chin.  He's not small, so this usually means I have a face full of cat hair. It cracks me up every time and I don't have the heart to make him move.  Thankfully he only stays for about 10-20 minutes because it's impossible for me to do anything but sit there quietly and love the big goofball.