I told you yesterday about all the money I’m going to spend next month. I’m already collecting coupons and sales fliers to stretch my money as far as I can. C and I are looking beyond April though and are trying to figure out what to do with the extra income each month that I’ll be bringing home due to my promotion and raise.
Right now we’re thinking that we’ll up our church giving budget from $75 to $100 per month. And we’ll increase our Roth IRA savings for C from $50 to $100 per month. And we’ve discussed adding a $50 per month charity contribution line to our budget. C has a deep affection for Heifer International. I have other charities that pull at my heart strings like the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the local battered women’s shelter, the local food bank, March of Dimes and others. What we might do is make a list of charities we want to support and then rotate so each month our $50 goes to one of them.
The rest of the extra money each month will go to the emergency fund. It is still our goal to have that fully funded this year, hopefully in September or October if we can keep Murphy at bay.
Splurges!
After Sharon commented on my promotion post that maybe we should splurge just a little on ourselves it got me thinking. Why don’t we?! I ran the idea past C and he was on board. So I started thinking about what we should splurge on. Then spring started here in Minnesota and suddenly my daughter has limited clothing to wear. And my wardrobe looks old and ratty since I was pregnant this time last year so it's been a while since my spring wardrobe has been updated. And running season is almost here and my running shoes are three years old and wore out. So I talked with C and we decided to splurge on some things for all of us.
I’m putting $225 in the April budget to purchase C and I new running shoes. I’m putting $150 in the budget to purchase new spring clothes, shoes and jackets for the kids. I’m putting $100 in the budget to purchase new spring clothes for myself. I’m putting $100 in the budget for C to spend on whatever he wants. That may be new clothes or a new bike jersey or food processor or anything else that he wants. I’m also going to sign up the kids for a bunch of summer activities. A is going to do soccer and t-ball. J is going to do an intro to sports class since he’s too young for soccer and t-ball yet.
I’m excited to spend some money on ourselves. These may not seem like big splurges. We’d probably spend this money anyway. But I would feel guilty spending so much so more than likely I’d buy a little bit each month and then scrimp on other things to stay within our overall discretionary budget. Now we don’t have to do that!
I think we might splurge in May too…by buying new tires for the car. OK, so that isn’t a splurge but the car does need new tires and in May we’ll definitely be able to cash flow it out of the budget money. It feels so good to know we can cash flow these expensive maintenance or one-time expenses. Our hard work is paying off!
I’m putting $225 in the April budget to purchase C and I new running shoes. I’m putting $150 in the budget to purchase new spring clothes, shoes and jackets for the kids. I’m putting $100 in the budget to purchase new spring clothes for myself. I’m putting $100 in the budget for C to spend on whatever he wants. That may be new clothes or a new bike jersey or food processor or anything else that he wants. I’m also going to sign up the kids for a bunch of summer activities. A is going to do soccer and t-ball. J is going to do an intro to sports class since he’s too young for soccer and t-ball yet.
I’m excited to spend some money on ourselves. These may not seem like big splurges. We’d probably spend this money anyway. But I would feel guilty spending so much so more than likely I’d buy a little bit each month and then scrimp on other things to stay within our overall discretionary budget. Now we don’t have to do that!
I think we might splurge in May too…by buying new tires for the car. OK, so that isn’t a splurge but the car does need new tires and in May we’ll definitely be able to cash flow it out of the budget money. It feels so good to know we can cash flow these expensive maintenance or one-time expenses. Our hard work is paying off!
March Budget Update
I did my weekly budget update and review last night. If you remember, at the beginning of the month we took our dog to the vet and it cost us $160. I’m trying to absorb that into our regular discretionary budget since we have so many other expenses this month, mainly our car insurance payments. We’ve done pretty well so far cutting back on spending in order to make budget. Right now we’re $5 under budget in discretionary and I know of only one more expense this month so we should at least be close on that one. We’re a buck or two over budget on restaurants with one work lunch planned this week so we’ll be slightly over there. But our other budget categories gas and household are way under right now and should more than pick up the slack. If we stay diligent, we should be able to end the month in the black. Also helpful is C brought home about $100 more in income this month than I had estimated. I’m hoping we can snowflake most (all) of that to the emergency fund!
South Dakota Vacation
We have the lodging portion of our summer vacation booked! I had mentioned to C a while ago that maybe South Dakota and the Black Hills area, including Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore might be a nice vacation for us this year. It's within reasonable driving distance from the Twin Cities where we live and the kids have never seen anything bigger than a big hill here in Minnesota. I'd like to show them an actual mountain! It will blow their minds! Anyway, my in-laws had shown interest in going with us and two weekends ago when we were staying with them at their timeshare in northern Minnesota we cruised around the internet looking at accommodations. The kids really want to go camping but I'm just not a camping sort of girl. I'm more of a 4-star hotel kind of girl. Heh. But we managed to find a two bedroom cabin at a campground for a reasonable price of $145/night. Splitting the cost of this with the in-laws will make it an even better deal for us. The kids can even camp (sleep) in the tent outside a night or two (with an adult with them of course). And a bonus for me is that the cabin has indoor plumbing and a kitchen. We can make breakfasts and some lunches and dinners at the cabin to save on money! I'm excited to get away for a week this summer. The kids are excited to swim in the pool, visit the dinosaur museum, see some mountains and buffaloes, etc. I'll also be really happy to have the two extra sets of hands for the week to help with the kids. The grandparents will love it and so will C and I. Maybe C and I can even get away for a quick date while we're on vacation!
As for the rest of the vacation budget, I haven't gone through the rest of the details yet but I'm thinking this will cost us around $1200. I'll have to make up a proper budget and I'll have to make sure I include things like gas to/from, dog-sitting, entrance fees to parks and attractions, food and a few souvenirs. I think that's a pretty reasonable vacation budget for a family of five!
As for the rest of the vacation budget, I haven't gone through the rest of the details yet but I'm thinking this will cost us around $1200. I'll have to make up a proper budget and I'll have to make sure I include things like gas to/from, dog-sitting, entrance fees to parks and attractions, food and a few souvenirs. I think that's a pretty reasonable vacation budget for a family of five!
2010 Taxes Complete
Yesterday C and I finished up and submitted our taxes. We're not getting back as much as I originally thought. We're still getting a sizable refund from the federal government. But then we're going to turn around and give most of it to the state of Minnesota. It turns out while we can split the tax burden of the 401(k) rollover between this year and next year, that is only at the federal level. We have to pay all of the MN state taxes on that money this year. In total, we're getting back $347 which isn't too bad! All of that is going to the emergency fund. We're inching closer to the $10k mark on that account! We can't slow down now!
April is going to be a Really Good Month
Last June, when L was six weeks old, I interviewed at work for a new position. I was told a few weeks later that I was chosen for the position but that I had to wait for the approval process to complete. That approval process took over eight months. I was notified last Friday that the approval was finally granted and my new job will take effect on April 4th. Oh, and I'll get a 15.76% raise on top of the 6.11% raise I just got. My new salary will be on the plus side of six digits. I'm also not an engineer anymore but a manager. It's exciting and anxiety producing all at the same time!
You know that I've been playing with spreadsheets ever since I found out about the big raise, right?
I've also been daydreaming about all the stuff we could buy...all the things on our want list that we could now have...all the clothes I could buy myself and the kids...the new tri bike for C that he's been wanting for years. I have thought in the past about closing up shop here. We're in control of our finances now and making good choices and working towards our goals. It was all good. I think I need this blog now more than ever to help keep my head on straight! I can feel the lifestyle inflation happening right before my eyes! I can't promise that we won't increase some of our budget categories (maybe the restaurant one?) just a touch but for the most part we are going to stay the course. Our emergency fund is still our number one priority.
But, this raise does give us a number of possibilities. We could theoretically have our emergency fund in place in August (August!) if we pour every cent of raise into it. That excites me to no end!
C is going to be starting school hopefully in June. This raise would allow him to quit his job and only have to worry about school. Our budget could handle it. My monthly take home will increase more than what C currently brings home. We could still save more than we are now and have him home. The mind boggles.
Another perk of the new job? I'm now in the corporate bonus structure. An "average" year according to my new boss could result in an $8k-$12k pre-tax bonus in March of every year. I am still dumbstruck by the numbers. (Don't worry - I won't be banking on a bonus of any kind and will treat any bonus as a REALLY BIG snowflake!)
There are decisions C and I will have to make in the future. For now, I'm going to focus on doing my new job the best I can and socking away as much of that raise each month as I can.
You know that I've been playing with spreadsheets ever since I found out about the big raise, right?
I've also been daydreaming about all the stuff we could buy...all the things on our want list that we could now have...all the clothes I could buy myself and the kids...the new tri bike for C that he's been wanting for years. I have thought in the past about closing up shop here. We're in control of our finances now and making good choices and working towards our goals. It was all good. I think I need this blog now more than ever to help keep my head on straight! I can feel the lifestyle inflation happening right before my eyes! I can't promise that we won't increase some of our budget categories (maybe the restaurant one?) just a touch but for the most part we are going to stay the course. Our emergency fund is still our number one priority.
But, this raise does give us a number of possibilities. We could theoretically have our emergency fund in place in August (August!) if we pour every cent of raise into it. That excites me to no end!
C is going to be starting school hopefully in June. This raise would allow him to quit his job and only have to worry about school. Our budget could handle it. My monthly take home will increase more than what C currently brings home. We could still save more than we are now and have him home. The mind boggles.
Another perk of the new job? I'm now in the corporate bonus structure. An "average" year according to my new boss could result in an $8k-$12k pre-tax bonus in March of every year. I am still dumbstruck by the numbers. (Don't worry - I won't be banking on a bonus of any kind and will treat any bonus as a REALLY BIG snowflake!)
There are decisions C and I will have to make in the future. For now, I'm going to focus on doing my new job the best I can and socking away as much of that raise each month as I can.
LIBOR Rate, Part 2
It's about time to start watching that LIBOR rate again. Remember, last year our 5 year ARM reset for the first time. We went from a 5.125% rate down to a 3.375% rate. We've been enjoying a lower mortgage payment for the past six months. And even though we've been paying less each month, more of that payment has gone to principal than in the past. I've really enjoyed watching our mortgage balance fall faster!
We're paying a bit extra on our mortgage right now in an effort to reduce our mortgage balance to a point where we're no longer underwater and could refinance to a fixed rate mortgage. Fixed rate mortgages are in the upper 4%'s right now and if they start to climb, I want to try and get us refinanced. Until then though, I'm going to start keeping an eye on the LIBOR rate. I'm really hoping it stays low so we can have a nice, low interest rate for the next year of our mortgage.
I checked today and the LIBOR rate was 0.7855. Adding that to 2.25 and I get 3.0355. Rounding that to the nearest 0.125 and it would be 3.00%. That would be awesome! Our interest rate could potentially drop even lower! I'll keep watching both the mortgage rates and the LIBOR rate for the next few months (middle of July is the LIBOR rate that matters) and my fingers will stay crossed that this works out for us again!
We're paying a bit extra on our mortgage right now in an effort to reduce our mortgage balance to a point where we're no longer underwater and could refinance to a fixed rate mortgage. Fixed rate mortgages are in the upper 4%'s right now and if they start to climb, I want to try and get us refinanced. Until then though, I'm going to start keeping an eye on the LIBOR rate. I'm really hoping it stays low so we can have a nice, low interest rate for the next year of our mortgage.
I checked today and the LIBOR rate was 0.7855. Adding that to 2.25 and I get 3.0355. Rounding that to the nearest 0.125 and it would be 3.00%. That would be awesome! Our interest rate could potentially drop even lower! I'll keep watching both the mortgage rates and the LIBOR rate for the next few months (middle of July is the LIBOR rate that matters) and my fingers will stay crossed that this works out for us again!
Pets and Vacations are Expensive
We're back from our long weekend. We had a great time and the kids have gills now from all the swimming they did!
But it was not without expenses of course. The kennel costs came to $64.66 for two days. I splurged and signed our dog up for some "doggie daycare" for the full day we were gone so he wasn't just shut in his kennel all day. He could get some play time with the other dogs this way. That was an extra $8. And I bought him a bone at the kennel, another $1.99 gone.
And the vet bill was $160. We've been spoiled in the past because my mother-in-law worked at a vet clinic so we never paid more than $30 for a yearly vet visit and shots. Now that she works at a hospital, we had to go to "pay retail" instead. Ouch! Pets are expensive! Our dog is healthy though and vaccinated for another year. Hopefully we won't have to make another vet visit until this time next year.
As promised, this weekend away was pretty inexpensive for us. Our lodging and meals were provided for us. *spoiled* I did splurge and buy J a sweatshirt from the resort we were staying at. That was $30. He had outgrown his last one and desperately wanted a new one. And it took one full tank of gas to get there and home and thanks to the high gas prices that was about an extra $60. Yikes! I'm not going to complain too much though. Vacations are expensive and I feel really lucky that we were able to get away for so cheap!
But it was not without expenses of course. The kennel costs came to $64.66 for two days. I splurged and signed our dog up for some "doggie daycare" for the full day we were gone so he wasn't just shut in his kennel all day. He could get some play time with the other dogs this way. That was an extra $8. And I bought him a bone at the kennel, another $1.99 gone.
And the vet bill was $160. We've been spoiled in the past because my mother-in-law worked at a vet clinic so we never paid more than $30 for a yearly vet visit and shots. Now that she works at a hospital, we had to go to "pay retail" instead. Ouch! Pets are expensive! Our dog is healthy though and vaccinated for another year. Hopefully we won't have to make another vet visit until this time next year.
As promised, this weekend away was pretty inexpensive for us. Our lodging and meals were provided for us. *spoiled* I did splurge and buy J a sweatshirt from the resort we were staying at. That was $30. He had outgrown his last one and desperately wanted a new one. And it took one full tank of gas to get there and home and thanks to the high gas prices that was about an extra $60. Yikes! I'm not going to complain too much though. Vacations are expensive and I feel really lucky that we were able to get away for so cheap!
March Budget Concerns
I had always expected March to be a low emergency fund contribution month. Instead of paying our car and truck insurance monthly, I was going to switch to paying it semi-annually starting this month. One of our motorcycles also had its insurance due this month. The insurance totals almost $600 for all three vehicles and that was a chunk that we could have sent to the emergency fund but which we’re going to cash flow instead to insurance. This frees up about $95 from our monthly budget that used to go to insurance. This is a good thing in the long run but it hurts this month!
In addition to that we’re taking a quick weekend getaway this weekend. We’re heading to Northern Minnesota with my in-laws to their timeshare. We won’t have to pay for lodging or food as my in-laws will provide that. But we will have to pay for the gas to get up there which at today’s higher prices is going to hurt. I’ve increased our gas budget to account for this.
And then there’s the dog. He’s going to the vet tomorrow to get his shots up to date and then he’s going to the kennel for two nights. Instead of adding these expenses to our bottom line I’m trying to absorb them into our already established budget categories. The vet expenses will go into the discretionary budget. We’ll have to watch our other spending this month if the vet turns out to be expensive. The kennel costs are going to come out of our travel fund. Instead of $75 going into the travel savings this month it will be $75-kennel costs. We should still be able to save something there.
I’m excited to go away for a couple days. The kids will love the indoor pool and waterslide. They’ll love the frozen lake available for ice skating. And they’ll love the extra grandparent time…as will I as it means I’ll be on Mom-duty less!
As for the emergency fund, I’ll have to work those snowflakes this month so the emergency fund can see an increase. So far I have $58.19 in snowflakes. $50 of that is another credit card reward check that should be in the mail. $5.19 is the February budget surplus and $3 is a pending survey payment. Time to go add some more items to Craigslist and Half.com!
In addition to that we’re taking a quick weekend getaway this weekend. We’re heading to Northern Minnesota with my in-laws to their timeshare. We won’t have to pay for lodging or food as my in-laws will provide that. But we will have to pay for the gas to get up there which at today’s higher prices is going to hurt. I’ve increased our gas budget to account for this.
And then there’s the dog. He’s going to the vet tomorrow to get his shots up to date and then he’s going to the kennel for two nights. Instead of adding these expenses to our bottom line I’m trying to absorb them into our already established budget categories. The vet expenses will go into the discretionary budget. We’ll have to watch our other spending this month if the vet turns out to be expensive. The kennel costs are going to come out of our travel fund. Instead of $75 going into the travel savings this month it will be $75-kennel costs. We should still be able to save something there.
I’m excited to go away for a couple days. The kids will love the indoor pool and waterslide. They’ll love the frozen lake available for ice skating. And they’ll love the extra grandparent time…as will I as it means I’ll be on Mom-duty less!
As for the emergency fund, I’ll have to work those snowflakes this month so the emergency fund can see an increase. So far I have $58.19 in snowflakes. $50 of that is another credit card reward check that should be in the mail. $5.19 is the February budget surplus and $3 is a pending survey payment. Time to go add some more items to Craigslist and Half.com!
February 2011 Budget Report
And here are the nitty gritty details of our February Budget:
We did it again! We are under budget by about $80. If you'll notice though, the $75 preschool registration fee hasn't been charged yet. I gave them our registration but they haven't charged our credit card yet. I'm going to charge the Feb budget when that charge comes through so I'm going to leave this money in our account. Basically, I'm going to end this budget at $5.19 and snowflake that to the emergency fund.
Our income was a little less than planned due to fluctuations in C's work hours. We were over in gas thanks to the increase in gas prices! And we were a bit over in discretionary. No biggie really since we were way under in restaurants! I don't know if we've ever had a month that low!
I'm proud of us. That's two months in a row under budget. Now to make it 3/3 in 2011!
We did it again! We are under budget by about $80. If you'll notice though, the $75 preschool registration fee hasn't been charged yet. I gave them our registration but they haven't charged our credit card yet. I'm going to charge the Feb budget when that charge comes through so I'm going to leave this money in our account. Basically, I'm going to end this budget at $5.19 and snowflake that to the emergency fund.
Our income was a little less than planned due to fluctuations in C's work hours. We were over in gas thanks to the increase in gas prices! And we were a bit over in discretionary. No biggie really since we were way under in restaurants! I don't know if we've ever had a month that low!
I'm proud of us. That's two months in a row under budget. Now to make it 3/3 in 2011!
February 2011 Month End
February seemed to go really fast! I guess that's a good thing because we had a lot of special expenses which didn't leave a lot of fun money for us. That should turn around a little bit in March. I'm envisioning a couple new pieces of spring clothing for the kids and I. We'll see if I can squeeze that in or not!
Debts:
Truck Loan: $24,202.75 (-$440.05) - Regular payment made. No extra payments will be made here with a 0% loan!
Savings:
Emergency Fund: $8,911.90 (+123.57) - I wasn't able to bring in that last $4 needed to make my $100 monthly snowflake goal. But I'm very happy I was able to bring in at least that much extra because snowflakes made up most of our emergency fund contribution this month! We had a lot of one-time expenses in February which you'll see tomorrow in my budget report. At least we were still able to save something!
Short Term Savings: $279.71 (+34.08) - I put in $50 as usual into this account but then took out $15 to pay for the new camera. I'm still happy to see this account growing!
Travel Fund: $335.48 (+75.27) - It's exciting to add to this account each month. We're going to take a vacation this summer! Our first in two years!
Christmas Savings: $223.55 (+75.18) - We are well on our way to having Christmas money saved again.
Basement Finishing Fund: $129.72 (+0.11) - The only account that is stagnant right now is this one. If we can get our emergency fund complete this year though then this account will see big gains next year! Let the daydreaming begin!
Tuition Fund: $10,523.34 (+58.65) - C is going to an info session/tour Thursday night for the school he has chosen. Hopefully he can turn in his application then too and start signing up for spring/summer courses soon! It's very reassuring to know that we have this money saved!
NetWorth:
Assets:
Savings: $23.9k (INGDirect plus 529's)
Retirement: $244.8k (my 401k, my pension lump sum, C's company stock, C's Roth IRA)
House & Vehicles: $248.2k (house, truck, car, two motorcycles)
Liabilities:
Mortgage & Truck Loans: $246.6k
Networth = 23.9k + 244.8k + 248.2k - 246.6k = $270.3k = A nice increase in one month of $7.7k!
We had a very successful February I do think. All savings accounts went up even with a lot of expenses. I love being in control of our finances!
Debts:
Truck Loan: $24,202.75 (-$440.05) - Regular payment made. No extra payments will be made here with a 0% loan!
Savings:
Emergency Fund: $8,911.90 (+123.57) - I wasn't able to bring in that last $4 needed to make my $100 monthly snowflake goal. But I'm very happy I was able to bring in at least that much extra because snowflakes made up most of our emergency fund contribution this month! We had a lot of one-time expenses in February which you'll see tomorrow in my budget report. At least we were still able to save something!
Short Term Savings: $279.71 (+34.08) - I put in $50 as usual into this account but then took out $15 to pay for the new camera. I'm still happy to see this account growing!
Travel Fund: $335.48 (+75.27) - It's exciting to add to this account each month. We're going to take a vacation this summer! Our first in two years!
Christmas Savings: $223.55 (+75.18) - We are well on our way to having Christmas money saved again.
Basement Finishing Fund: $129.72 (+0.11) - The only account that is stagnant right now is this one. If we can get our emergency fund complete this year though then this account will see big gains next year! Let the daydreaming begin!
Tuition Fund: $10,523.34 (+58.65) - C is going to an info session/tour Thursday night for the school he has chosen. Hopefully he can turn in his application then too and start signing up for spring/summer courses soon! It's very reassuring to know that we have this money saved!
NetWorth:
Assets:
Savings: $23.9k (INGDirect plus 529's)
Retirement: $244.8k (my 401k, my pension lump sum, C's company stock, C's Roth IRA)
House & Vehicles: $248.2k (house, truck, car, two motorcycles)
Liabilities:
Mortgage & Truck Loans: $246.6k
Networth = 23.9k + 244.8k + 248.2k - 246.6k = $270.3k = A nice increase in one month of $7.7k!
We had a very successful February I do think. All savings accounts went up even with a lot of expenses. I love being in control of our finances!
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