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Archive for August, 2018

August Goals Update

August 31st, 2018 at 06:16 pm

Below are our original goals for the remainder of 2018 along with how we're tracking to meet them. It's a bit misleading as we received a big influx of money from DH's work payment. In September, we'll only receive one and half paychecks for DH, so things will be tougher.

1) Pay off 2 more credit cards (Ashley Furniture balance: $827, Marriott balance: $2500): On track - Paid $544.01 extra to Marriott in addition to current charges and interest payments. Paid $280 to Ashley Furniture.
2) Save 10k in a replacement car fund. ($50): On track - Right now, YNAB says we're on track since we were able to put aside DH's bonus. I know this will fall behind in coming months, but we'll do our best. New balance is $5064.54.
3) Live off last month's income. ($2500): On track - This will fall behind in September since we won't have 2 full paychecks for DH, but right now, we're ahead. Current balance is 2970.34. We need about $5600.
4) Fulfill fireplace fixing and dining room pantry savings goals ($160): On track - Fireplace account has $320/$800 set aside. Home Maintenance (where we'll pull the dining room pantry from) has just over $100. The pantry I'm looking at runs about $200.

So far, we're doing well. September will be tough, but then I think we'll be able to make some headway again in October when DH's schedule should be back to normal.

Just a quick update

August 28th, 2018 at 12:56 pm

I just realized I've been MIA most of August. Things are still chugging along. DH gets back today, and his paycheck will come in tomorrow, so I'll be able to meet all of the goals this month (more to come on that later in the week). I am a little disappointed with myself at the exorbitant amount of eating out that I did ($234.06), but sometimes, life is about survival.

Payday

August 7th, 2018 at 01:42 pm

I love payday...mostly because I get to go in and budget it. I finished off the Costco and Marriott CC sinking funds since both come up this month. I also went into the next month and reset the goals for next year. Since I started midway through this year, they were higher than they normally would be.

I've also started putting more things on autopay. As I get more comfortable with YNAB, it's easier to simplify all the bills to pay themselves.

DH's bonus comes in tomorrow. It's a little less than I thought at $5500ish, but still a big help. The goal is for that to go into the car replacement fund, but I think that I'll have to use some of it temporarily to float us until DH's next paycheck. Maybe if I don't fund the sinking funds until his money comes in, I can swing it, but seeing the orange makes me feel like I came up short.

DH's only paycheck this month will come in Friday. It'll be slightly more than normal due to 4 hrs overtime. There will also be an additional per diem payout for some short term out of town work he did before he left.

More Small Wins

August 6th, 2018 at 04:22 pm

DH left this morning. I'm a big emotional eater, so skipping fast food breakfast was a big deal. I had made a batch of blueberry overnight oats, but those didn't look appetizing. Instead, I just grabbed a yogurt, nutrigrain bar, and bigger lunch.

I was debating adding money to the animal fund to get our dog groomed, but I decided to just try it myself. She's a GSD/Husky mix, so her fur is getting out of control. I'd bought a cheap grooming kit when I was considering cutting DH's hair. However, he's since decided to just embrace the bald look, so I'm going to use that and give it a shot. That'll save $100 if I can get her to a reasonable state.

I've also planned simpler meals since DH is gone. They're so easy that my brother can pitch in and cook more.

Like the last time that he was gone, I've made a list of small house projects that just never seem to get done to tackle while he's away. Today is furminating all the animals, cutting the dog's nails, and using the hair remover block on the couches/chairs. Other things this week include clearing out all of empty the Amazon boxes from our downstairs closets, organizing some of the house decorations, decluttering the kitchen, and deep cleaning the floors.

Projecting August

August 3rd, 2018 at 01:01 pm

It's been up in the air as to whether DH would have to go out of town for 3 weeks again this month, and as of yesterday, it was confirmed. DH leaves on Monday morning to drive to his destination 6 hours away. While there, he won't have to drive and meals are covered. He knows he gets mileage, but we have to check on gas reimbursement. His projected pay for the out of town work will be just over 3k before taxes/deductions to be paid out the week after he returns.

This means, we'll have to do some moving around again this month. Between his one paycheck next week and my two normal paychecks, I think I can cover this month's expenses and next month's mortgage. If we can manage that, then I can use all of that work paycheck when he returns for goals. Our expenses are considerably less when he's away because I keep the temp much higher (75-78 depending on how cold I am), and we eat less/simpler because it's just me and my brother.

Revisiting Goals

August 1st, 2018 at 02:08 pm

I'm going to update on these goals once a month, so here's where they stand today.

1) Pay off 2 more credit cards (Ashley Furniture balance: $827, Marriott balance: $2500)
2) Save 10k in a replacement car fund. ($50)
3) Live off last month's income. ($2500)
4) Fulfill fireplace fixing and dining room pantry savings goals ($160)

I did some more forecasting/YNAB goal setting, and it looks like my goals are going to be really hard to reach. Forecasting what I'd need to accomplish them looks like this:

1) Pay off 2 more credit cards (Ashley Furniture needs $180/mo and the Marriott card needs $520/mo). Capital One is just not going to be possible with the other goals, but if we happen to get some sort of windfall, then maybe.
2) Save 10k in a replacement car fund. 6k of this will come from DH's bonus. We need just under $800/mo for this one.
3) Live off last month's income. Based on the average spending from the few months of YNAB data, we need $1200/mo for this one, but less if I prioritize this over sinking funds and/or roll the BEF into last month's income and use that buffer. Taking out the mortgage payment (which we recently started accounting for next month's in this month's budget) leaves us needing $720/mo.
4) Fulfill fireplace fixing and dining room pantry savings goals (160/mo)

That totals almost 3k/mo going towards these goals. I'm not sure we're going to be able to do this, but I'm going to try. DH and I will have to discuss what's priority. For me, I'd rather accomplish 1,3, and 4, and adjust our car budget to whatever we manage to save. I think he'd prioritize 2 and advocate for skipping 4 this year.

Just typing this out, I've realized that 1 and 3 are my main priorities (and by default, DH's). While I want 4, and I suspect he'll want 2, I think we'll probably end up going with 2 and part of 4 - a safer car is more important than getting the fireplace fixed this year. The pantry is only $150 and would help with kitchen organization. Worse case, I tell him not to get me an Xmas gift, and we use those funds for that.

Revisiting Goals

August 1st, 2018 at 02:06 pm

I'm going to update on these goals once a month, so here's where they stand today.

1) Pay off 2 more credit cards (Ashley Furniture balance: $827, Marriott balance: $2500)
2) Save 10k in a replacement car fund. ($50)
3) Live off last month's income. ($2500)
4) Fulfill fireplace fixing and dining room pantry savings goals ($160)

I did some more forecasting/YNAB goal setting, and it looks like my goals are going to be really hard to reach. Forecasting what I'd need to accomplish them looks like this:

1) Pay off 2 more credit cards (Ashley Furniture needs $180/mo and the Marriott card needs $520/mo). Capital One is just not going to be possible with the other goals, but if we happen to get some sort of windfall, then maybe.
2) Save 10k in a replacement car fund. 6k of this will come from DH's bonus. We need just under $800/mo for this one.
3) Live off last month's income. Based on the average spending from the few months of YNAB data, we need $1200/mo for this one, but less if I prioritize this over sinking funds and/or roll the BEF into last month's income and use that buffer. Taking out the mortgage which already rolls over, we'd need $720/mo.
4) Fulfill fireplace fixing and dining room pantry savings goals (160/mo)

That totals almost 3k/mo going towards these goals. I'm not sure we're going to be able to do this, but I'm going to try. DH and I will have to discuss what's priority. For me, I'd rather accomplish 1,3, and 4, and adjust our car budget to whatever we manage to save. I think he'd prioritize 2 and advocate for skipping 4 this year.

Just typing this out, I've realized that 1 and 3 are my main priorities (and by default, DH's). While I want 4, and I suspect he'll want 2, I think we'll probably end up going with 2 and part of 4 - a safer car is more important than getting the fireplace fixed this year. The pantry is only $150 and would help with kitchen organization. Worse case, I tell him not to get me an Xmas gift, and we use those funds for that.