Struggling to be debt free

I did not win the Mega Millions Jackpot.  I did spend the $2 to purchase a ticket.  If I did win I would have paid off my house. I also would have opened a series of savings accounts with $100,000 balances.  I would have put a few million into investments.  I would have purchased some long term  CDs.  I would do everything in my power to ensure that I have enough money to last for the rest of my life. I think I would also build a custom home with lots of security features so that I would not have to worry that someone would break in and try to steal my lottery winnings.  I don't want a big house, but I would like an acre or 2 of land.  I would give some money to my mother and sisters.  I would also donate money to charity (disaster relief, St. Jude's, my law school, legal services, etc). I would quit my job and set up a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.  I think I would devote it to provide assistance to struggling families....

Just a quick update.  We are still recovering from Hurricane Michael, but everyday the roads get clearer and less people are suffering from the power outages.  There are more and more donations centers for the less fortunate.  I need to buy some supplies to donate and find a convenient donation center.  I have a bag of clothes that I can donate too. Additionally, I only spent about $200 for the hurricane preparation (some bags of ice, bottled water, snacks and gas for the generator,etc.).  I did manage to add another $60 to my retirement account, that means I am $160 over my goal for the year! I hope I am able to add even more money next month. I can't wait until I am saving $15,000 a year without batting an eye.  I was able to add $450 to my emergency fund.  I m getting closer to my goal of $18,500 for the year. I was able to add $750 to my furniture fund.  I can't wait to replace this 15 year old mattress and frame!! Work has been t...

Hurricane Michael was a major hurricane, but I am happy to report that my family and friends seem to have come through the storm without any loss of life or major damage. There are power lines and trees down all over town.  There are still many without power in my small town.  Our electricity went out about 2:00p.m. on Wednesday afternoon and did not come back in until about 2:00a.m Friday morning. The winds and rain were so bad that we did not get the generator started until Thursday morning.  It was nice to have ice and cold water from the fridge.  We charged our devices and rain a fan.  We did have some bottled water, beer and wine in an iced down cooler, so we had access to cold drinks.  We also had several bags of ice in the freezer to keep the food cold until we could get the generator up and running.  We grilled out for dinner and it was fun, but by Thursday it was pretty hot out.  We were ecstatic to have the power come on early Fri...

At the beginning of the year, I set some goals for myself.  Let's see how I am doing. 1. Add $10,500 to retirement savings with the goal of having $35,000 saved for retirement by the end of the year.  $5,500 will go into my roth ira and $5,000 will go into a taxable account. Come on stock market growth and no recession! Last year I contributed $9,500 so this will be an  increase of $1,000.  PASS.  I am done with this goal!  I have contributed $10,600 to retirement this year.  I plan to continue contributing throughout the year. 2.Increase EF to $18,500. I am slowly adding money to this goal.  My total emergency savings are about $16,800.  I hope to increase this over the next 3 months to meet this goal.  However, that might change based on what happens with hurricane Michael. 3. Pay an extra $290/month toward principal on the mortgage.  My easily reachable goal is to have the mortgage paid down to $200,000 by the end...

I have a few October goals, but first, let's see how I did on my September Goals.  My September goals were as follows: 1.  Finish out retirement contributions. Only $1,332 to go!--PASS.  I actually added an additional $100 to that amount. 2. Exercise 4 days a week, for at least 60 minutes. - DONE ISH.  I did this for about 2.5 weeks out of the month. 3. Get rid of 20 items. DONE- ISH.  I have a bag full of clothing items to donate.  They are sitting in my room and I need to take them to Goodwill. 4. Get the Fall Decorations down and put up around the house. FAIL- I did get the fall wreath out of the front closet.  The other decorations are still in the attic. 5. Finish 2 books. - FAIL. I did not finish any. 6. Donate money to charity. PASS- I did donate $25 to my law school. My October goals are as follows: 1. Contribute another $50 to retirement. This is just because I can and I need to pump as much money as possible into m...

Here's where the numbers stand. Savings- $11,816 Emergency Fund  $12,838 Online Savings Account/$7,617 of that amount is for my Car Replacement Fund  $27,095 Retirement- Roth IRA   $7,369 Taxable Brokerage (Retirement) $1,221 Travel Fund (Work) $753 pet fund  $5 medical fund $2,291 furniture fund $80 Slush fund Home- $298,990-per zillow               Total (not including home): $63,468               Total (including home): $362,458 Liabilities- Mortgage $201,262                                  Total (not including mortgage): 0                     Total (including mortgage): -$201,262           Total Net Worth(not including mortgage): $63,468      ...