Finance Gets Personal

As 2008 comes to a close, I’d like to share the progress we’ve made on our goals to get out of debt and change careers.

We started the year with $3,479 in low-interest credit card debt, $6,623 in car loans, $14,401 in student loans, $35,179 on our second mortgage and $139,604 on our first mortgage. Our goal was to pay off everything but the first and second mortgages, and we did! In total, we paid off $26,951 in debt this year with an income of approximately $105,000 before taxes. In 2007, we paid off $22,100 in debt, so that’s a slight increase.

I feel we could have done even better had we not had a multitude of home repairs throughout the year (sump pump replacement: $172, heat pump replacement: $3,467, hot water heater replacement: $647, exterior house painting: $2,992, termite treatment: $650).

Our goal for 2009 is to pay off our second mortgage, which currently has a balance of $34,806. We’re already $1,812 closer to that goal due to the remainder of my $5,000 Christmas bonus that is currently sitting in our emergency fund. Since there’s a possibility my husband will be laid off in the first quarter, we’ll be directing our extra debt payments into savings until the layoffs occur, then transfer that money to our second mortgage once we’re (hopefully) in the clear. While my husband would like a new career, we’d prefer to wait until after our debt is paid off (note to husband’s company: could you please pencil in some fat voluntary separation packages for 2012?)!

We’re also trying to get pregnant this year and limit our baby expenses to what’s available in our current budget. Additionally, my husband has the goal of finishing our basement himself for $3,000-$4,000, which we are budgeting $150 per paycheck toward beginning in January.

On a personal note, I’d like to thank everyone for reading this blog. When I started writing in February, I wasn’t sure anyone would be interested in the thoughts of an anonymous office drone with big dreams, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

Happy New Year.

Yes, it’s already November 10! I suppose my procrastination has something to do with the fact that my net worth is continuing to fall despite my extra debt payments…

Net Worth as of October 3: $67,364
Net Worth as of November 1: $64,030

Here are October’s highlights:

• At the beginning of the month, I discovered the concept of the anti-charity. With that in mind, I decided that I would contribute $25 to the National Rifle Association if I did not maintain a calorie intake of 1679 each day for the month of October (which would put me on track to lose one pound a week). Well, I did very well for the first half of the month, but then I started sliding. And once I knew I’d gone over my limit for two days, I figured there was no point continuing (stomach’s logic, not brain’s). So, did I donate $25 to the NRA? No, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Yes, I know - I’m a bastard. In the future, I think daily rewards/punishment might be more effective (i.e., $5 for every day I go over). Along with greater accountability.
• Fourth grade tackle football turned out to be a big expense, especially since my stepson broke his finger at practice. Luckily, we managed to finish the season without too much more financial damage - other than the pizza party where we got screwed by the whole “split the check” thing and *probably* ended up paying the coaches’ and other parents’ bar tab (never actually got to see the bill because there were so many people - and we drank Coke, people!).
• I was incredibly excited when gas fell below $3 a gallon on October 2, but now it’s down to $1.65. That has definitely helped with the budget!
• October was a three paycheck month, which means that I was able to get a head start on Christmas shopping. However, I’ll be transferring prescriptions for gift cards like crazy for the next two months to supplement our Christmas budget, which has run into a little snag - I forgot about our $588 personal property tax bill that’s due by the end of the year (how do I always forget about that when it happens every year?!?).
• Oh, and there is one other possible reason why our Christmas budget is tight. After spending a lot of money on clothes and home organization, I’m now operating on a cash envelope system again.
• One other reason for the budget shortfall: I think I got ripped off when I had my brakes done. At least, that’s the only logical explanation I can come up with for why it ended up costing nearly three times what my coupon was for.
• Despite all that, my student loan balance is down to $4,280 and will be paid off by the end of the year.

Our retirement accounts are bringing down our net worth, so I’m now going to take this opportunity to remind myself that we paid off $2,754 in debt last month. Yea!

Photo Credit: Good Wine, Bad Economy by MotherPie, used under Creative Commons licensing.

Another month has come and gone…already?

Net Worth as of September 5: $69,091
Net Worth as of October 3: $67,364

Here are this month’s highlights:

• We paid off my husband’s student loan on Friday. I can’t wait to go to Buffalo Wild Wings this week! Now, we’re putting all our efforts toward my student loan, which has about $6,800 left on it. We should be able to get that knocked out by the end of the year without using our Christmas bonuses, which will go toward the $35,000 second mortgage (or, “the idiot’s down payment plan”).
• My work got new computers for everyone and offered to let us buy the old ones. I paid $100 for a Dell that’s much faster than my current 6-year-old Mac (well, actually the $100 is coming out of my next bonus), but I still need to buy a monitor for it. I’m trying to see if I can hold out for Black Friday because LCD monitors are supposedly going to be on sale for $99. I’m a little sad about not getting a new Mac, but it’s really not worth $1,500 to be brand loyal in this case!
• While we don’t do a lot of “back to school” shopping (I try to buy items at the end of each season for the next year), we’ve been bombarded by the fall onslaught of school fundraisers, school pictures, book fairs, charity requests and football costs. What is it about fall that makes everyone think it is the perfect time for raising money?
• I relaunched this blog with my first-ever giveaway, and have a goal of posting at least four times a week this month. Hooray!

Now, can I please recover some of the money my 401k has been losing?

Photo Credit: Suitcase II, Carl Street by heather, used under Creative Commons licensing.

It’s September, and my net worth is increasing slowly but surely despite the stock market’s performance.

Net Worth as of August 1: $66,904
Net Worth as of September 1: $69,091

Here are this month’s highlights:

• My husband received a bonus of $1,750 after taxes, which we put toward his student loan (in addition to our regular debt snowball payments). The balance on that is now $1,873, and we’re hoping to have it paid off by the end of September. Then, it’s on to my student loan, which is currently at $7,716. Our goal is to have that paid off by the end of the year and then begin attacking the second mortgage of about $35K.
• I started playing the “Drugstore Game” at Walgreens in addition to CVS. With all the free after rebate items, it’s been a little bit of an upfront cost, but hopefully I’ll receive my gift card from last month soon so I’ll no longer be paying out of pocket.
• It was my month to host a dinner party with a few friends, and I managed to keep costs down to $35 this time. That’s still way more than I usually spend on dinner, so I’m always looking for ways to bring it down further. I’ll be hosting again in December.
• My husband began working 68-hour weeks at the start of my stepson’s football season, and I slowly began to go crazy between that and my full-time job. His schedule has since been reduced slightly (54 hours - woo hoo!), so I no longer have to attend football practice for four hours a week (tears).
• I scalped a few concert tickets (legal in my state) and felt guilty about it…for a second.
• It was really slow at my work, so I began bargain shopping online. Luckily, I’ve since found a better way to spend my down time: making money as a ChaCha guide.

So, it’s been a bit of a slow month, but it’s great to see our net worth going back up again and our student loans shrinking! Good luck to you with your goals!

Well, July has come and gone (over a week ago - whoops!), and my net worth has taken another hit. This was mostly due to spending the money we’d been saving to have our house painted. But it was something that needed to be done, I guess.

Net Worth as of July 1: $68,815
Net Worth as of August 1 (well, August 7 if you want to be picky): $66,904

Here are this month’s highlights:

• I started selling some items on eBay, like this dress that was rejected from the consignment store. The dress sold for about $15 plus shipping, but I also sold some perfume I won in a contest, a new baseball hat I got for free with a coupon, some diabetes testing kits I got for free with coupons, baseball stadium giveaways and other things I didn’t have to pay for. So far, I’ve made about $60.
• We purchased a new mattress, and I *mostly* resisted the temptation to redecorate my entire bedroom. I managed to stop after the new bed frame, mattress protector and pillow protectors, and haven’t even bought new pillows yet! (although I am very tempted by Linen’s ‘N Things’ going out of business sale!)
• We took a week-long staycation instead of our usual summer vacation, and found it to be fun and relaxing (well, some days were relaxing). We did things like go to the zoo, visit amusement parks, check out museum exhibits, go to plays, etc. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to go to a beach!
• I bought a lot of clothes on clearance for next summer, and am also stockpiling things like gifts, groceries and household items when they go on sale. It will be wonderful to be “ahead” on things and save money in the process!
• My FICO score reached a high of 842, which I find a little CRAZY! We’ll see how long it stays that way now that I don’t have any credit card debt and only use my credit card for things like concert tickets.
• We had our house painted for a cost of $2,992, and had some wood replaced on our deck and another coat of stain put on for about $300. We had been saving up for this for a few months, and it’s nice to have it taken care of.
• Things started getting a little tight toward the end of the month (maybe due to all this spending?), and I reluctantly skipped one of our extra debt payments in order to get us back on track.
• I ended the month with a bang, in the form of a $150 speeding ticket, which will cost about $300 after I have it reduced to a non-moving violation. How come every time I get pulled over, it’s in a town where I don’t know a handful of cops or dispatchers?

Here’s hoping for a prosperous August!

Photo Credit: Lazy Dogs by karolajnat, used under Creative Commons licensing.

Well, my net worth took a hit this month due to fabulous market performance, but oh well. I did manage to pay off my credit cards and finish saving for our house painting.

Net worth as of June 1: $70,247
Net worth as of July 1: $68,814

Here are this month’s highlights:

• We paid off our last $272 of credit card debt! Hooray!
• We hired someone to paint our house the week of July 21 for a total cost of $2,992 (a little higher than most of the other bids, but the company gets great reviews and I’ve got a good feeling about the guy). We might also hire them to put another coat of stain on our deck for $120.
• We had our first ever garage sale, which was quite a success, and sold a lot of books on Amazon.com. Our new mattress fund is now up to $595, and the mattress we’ve decided on is on sale for $899 until July 5 (originally $1900). We might wait until Labor Day sales, or “borrow” some money from our special 30th birthday vacation fund to go ahead and get it tonight.
• My high school reunion came and went without too much drama. The whole original $50 per person event was canceled due to low response, and a $30 per person event was planned for Saturday night at an Italian buffet restaurant that normally costs $15 per person. I didn’t go to that event due to all the drama surrounding it, but I went to a Friday night event at a bar hosted by a friend that about 50 classmates showed up for, and then went out with some other friends from high school on Saturday. Some of the people who went to the reunion met us up later. Of course, we probably ended up spending more than we would have if we would have RSVP’d for $100 in the first place. Sigh.
• I received an 8% raise despite our “raise freeze” and perhaps due to my “complaining” (see “where’s my money?”) about company spending.
• I didn’t spend too much time or effort on my snowflaking business or weight loss goals, mainly due to the garage sale, Amazon sales and my new CVS addiction, which has now spread to getting the best possible deals at grocery stores.
• Getting to work on time has been easier lately due to the fact that my stepson’s summer school starts 45 minutes earlier than regular school, and being late to work means he is late to school. However, now that summer school is over, I’ve got to put in a renewed effort. I’ve found what helps me the most is setting my bedside lamp on a timer to turn on about an hour before I need to get up.

I’m excited about July because of our staycation and because the house will be painted soon. I’m hoping to make a lot of progress on paying off my husband’s student loan, and also to post here more frequently!

Photo Credit: Smoke on the water by PetroleumJelliffe, used under Creative Commons licensing

Nearly 10 years after getting my first credit card as a freshman in college, I’ve paid off my last balance.

Although I had my Citibank card locked in at 2.99% for life, it is still a great feeling to be done with it!

Last night we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate. Now, it’s on to the student loans!

In other news, I got a 8% raise today (yea!)

Photo Credit: Buffalo Wild Wings by Keegan Jones, used under Creative Commons licensing

Last month, I expected that my net worth would take a hit in May due to home repairs, but I’m happy to report that it went up anyway!

Net worth as of May 1: $67,943
Net worth as of June 1: $70,247

Here are this month’s highlights:

• We spent about $105 on Mother’s Day presents, including baseball tickets for me (yea!)
• My mom’s birthday ended up costing us a bundle, even though not all of the costs were incurred in May. She wanted to go to a play that cost us $100 for our two tickets, we went out to dinner ($30), bought her a present ($30) and paid for parking ($7).
• We got a bid for painting our house and it was only $2,600, so we decided that we’ll hire someone else to do it instead of painting it ourselves. Since then, I’ve gotten another bid for $2,100, and am trying to get some more bids, but painters apparently don’t like returning phone calls. We’ll probably have the house painted late summer/early fall, and will be taking a vacation in our own city (staycation!) instead of going out of town.
• We received our $1,500 economic stimulus payment and $213 state tax refund, which went toward replacing our heat pump ($3,467) and hot water heater ($674).
• I started snowflaking toward my credit card about halfway through the month, and paid an extra $171 through snowflaking techniques such as selling things on Craigslist, spending less on gifts, matching spending on indulgences, etc. I also created a website for graphic design to get some additional income from a snowflaking business.
• I began playing “The Drugstore Game” and it’s been pretty successful. Before too long, I’m going to have a year’s supply of razors, shampoo and toilet paper!
• My husband got a bonus of $885 and about $200 extra in his paycheck (due to having three paychecks in May - they don’t take insurance out of the third one or something), which went toward the credit card.
• I’ve been putting more effort into getting to work on time, and I’m getting closer to “on time,” though I’m still not quite there.
• I have been trying to lose weight, and lost five pounds last month, but I’ve been slacking off lately. I’ve only managed to maintain my weight loss from last month, but I think I’ll be able to get back on track if I start tracking my calories online again.

  Welcome to June, the fifth month of Finance Gets Personal!

Yippee!

We got our first bid for house painting today and it’s only (ha!) $2,600! I was expecting something more in the neighborhood of $5,000.

Needless to say, we will not be taking a week’s vacation later this month to paint the house.

Yeah, I know, I shouldn’t just use the first company that quotes a good price, and I don’t plan to. But this at least gives us confidence that we’re making the right decision. I’ll be getting more quotes and checking references in the next few weeks, and we might not actually have it painted until summer/early fall.

Part of our “deal” for hiring someone else to paint is that we’re not going to go on vacation this year. That makes me sad, because we were planning to go to Minneapolis. I had the iteniary all planned out - Twins game (I’m trying to visit all the ballparks), Walker Museum of Art, play at the Guthrie, shopping trip to IKEA, riding the escalator with our shopping cart at Target, dinner at the German restaurant…sigh. But we really couldn’t afford it anyway.

So, we’re taking a vacation in our own city, and our house will be the hotel. Basically, we’ll be doing all the things tourists do that we’ve never done (or haven’t done in a while).

I’m just SO happy I’m not going to be spending the whole summer scraping and painting on a huge ladder!

(This post was included in the Carnival of Money Stories, hosted by Money Walks.)

Photo Credit: Cheerleader by Hometown Invasion Tour, used under Creative Commons licensing

While my net worth improved this month, it will be going down again shortly
due to some much-needed home repairs…

Net worth as of April 1: $63,415
Net worth as of May 1: $67,943

Here are this month’s highlights:

• The cracks in our foundation walls started leaking again, making me question why we ever bought this home. Then, our sump pump failed, causing water to come up through new cracks in the foundation floor.
  We replaced the sump pump and called a structural engineer to assess our foundation. He came out today, and I’m happy to say that our house is structurally sound! We just need to do some regrading under the deck, maintain the slope against the south wall of the house and have the cracks in the wall sealed. Total cost should be under $1,000.
• I received a first quarter bonus of $2,100, which I put in savings along with my suspended debt snowball payments in anticipation of having to pay for expensive foundation work. Fortunately, I don’t need the money for the foundation, but we do have to replace our heat pump for about $3,000 within the next few weeks. Once that and the foundation issues are taken care of, I’ll replenish our regular $1,000 emergency fund and begin paying extra toward our debt again.
• I got a little impatient with this whole “saving” thing last week, and transferred $1,000 of the money I’d saved to our credit card debt, which is now down to $2,300.
• I started a diet on April 9, with a goal of losing one pound per week. So far, I’ve lost five pounds. It hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be, especially since I haven’t incorporated exercise into my plan yet. I’m tracking my calorie consumption, weight and measurements on The Daily Plate, a website I learned about from Get Fit Slowly (the sister blog of Get Rich Slowly)
• Since signing up for My Coke Rewards, my Coke habit has gotten me a free subscription to the Oprah magazine and a free movie ticket.
• I finally finished our taxes after much procrastination, and am eagerly awaiting our refund and $1,500 economic stimulus payment.
• I’d been considering donating plasma to make an extra $60/week, but am even more squeamish about it given the things people have been typing into Google to find my website lately - bruising from donating plasma, sick after donating plasma, donating plasma weight loss - ew. I’m definitely going to try giving blood first, but probably not any time soon.
• I’ve been wanting to have a garage sale so I can replace our pathetic mattress, but don’t think I’ll have the time in May because we’re going to be painting our house. I’ve been collecting items, and will probably do it when the subdivision has its annual garage sale event in June.

Whew! Eventful month.