Friday, January 18, 2019

Mid-month Check In

It's January 18, we are half way through the month!! I figured I would do a mid- month check in on some of my goals. 

I am plugging away at the retirement funds, I added $1,000 to retirement from my 1/15 paycheck and it felt good. Only, $10,000 more to go for the year.   I love putting money away for the future and I know that I am extremely fortunate to be able to do so.  I feel so much for the federal workers who are not getting paid right now, due to the government shutdown. 

I have contributed $100 to charity this year.  I gave $50 to my law school and $50 to St. Jude's.  My goal is to give $400 this year, I am already a quarter of the way there!!  I hope to be able to make a charitable contribution every month. Even if it is only $1.  I should probably try to take some clothes to goodwill every month too.   

My escrow review statement arrived via email this morning and, of course, there is a almost $200 shortage.  The payment is also going up by $11 a month.  Face palm.  Mortgages are the worst. I have read horror stories on the internet about people having thousands of dollar shortages.  I take that as a reminder to be thankful that mine is only $200.  Also, my PMI should drop off this year so that will make my escrow and total mortgage payment drop.  I'm certain it won't be long before my payment creeps back up though. 

Alright, that's all I have time for this morning!  Have a great Friday everyone!



Thursday, January 10, 2019

Net Worth Update - Jan 2019







Here's where the numbers stand.

Savings-
$12,916 Emergency Fund
 $12,487 Online Savings Account/$8,947 of that amount is for my Car Replacement Fund/$5k is for my EF
$1,946 Online Savings Account #2
 $23,585 Retirement- Roth IRA
 $6,666Taxable Brokerage (Retirement)


$788 Travel Fund (Work)
$800 pet fund 
$5 medical fund
$2,096 furniture fund
$73 Slush fund


Home-
$308,598-per zillow

              Total (not including home): $61,362
              Total (including home): $369,960

Liabilities-
Mortgage $198,399
Furniture (0% financing) $4,300

             
                   Total (not including mortgage): -$4,300
                    Total (including mortgage): -$202,699
 


        Total Net Worth(not including mortgage): $57,062                                      
        Total Net Worth(including mortgage): $167,261

Net worth, not including mortgage, decreased by $6,406 from October (last net worth update)
Net worth, including mortgage, increased by $6,065 from October(last net worth update)




I bought my new bedroom furniture, including a new mattress, I owe $4,300.  I have over $2000 in savings to put on the bill.


The value of the my home has increased so that is awesome.


My mortgage has fallen under $200,000, yay!


This was a crappy net worth update mostly because of the stock market.  My net worth has fallen (without including the mortgage) , but it will go up again soon!

Saturday, January 5, 2019

Fourth Quarter Update


 
At the beginning of 2018, I set some goals for myself.  Let's see how I did.

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 contributed $10,760 total.  My balance did not reach $35,000, due to the uncooperative stock market. 

2.Increase EF to $18,500. PASSISH.  My E-Fund ended the year with a total of $17,916

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 of the year.  The ultimate goal is to have the balance paid down to $197,500 by the end of the year so that the PMI will drop off the mortgage. PASS!  I actually added about $400 extra to the mortgage for several months.  The mortgage ended the year at $198,399.  My PMI will drop off when the balance reaches $192,600. 

4. Save an additional $5,000 for my car replacement fund with the goal of having $10,000 in my car replacement fund by the end of the year.  I will be aiming to purchase a new car in 2019.  I hope with a trade in and any money saved in 2019 to have $20,000 to put down for a new car. FAIL. My car replacement fund is at $8,947.  I only added $3,750 to the fund. 


5.  Read 15 books. FAIL- I only read 7 books in 2018. 

6. Lose 20lbs. I plan to try to lose about 3lbs a month which should place me at 36lbs for the year.  However, I know I struggle with weight loss so I think 20lbs is a good goal.  I also want to commit to exercising 30 minutes a day for 4 days a week and eating more vegetables.  FAIL- I exercised more than I thought I would, but I did not lose 20lbs.  Gotta do better this year. 

7. Donate $300 to charity.  This is up $100 from last year, I hope to be able to donate more than $300, but let's see how the year rolls.  I plan to increase this amount each year. PASS.  I donated $338 to charity this year.  I also donated 2 bags full of clothes. 

8. Build medical fund up to $1,000. FAIL- this worked as a sinking fund.  I put the funds in and pulled them out as I needed them. 

9. Continue to build car repair fund up to $1,000. FAIL-this also worked as a sinking fund.  I put the funds in and pulled them out as needed.

10. Get more life insurance. FAIL- I need to lose weight first.

11.  Try to figure out a happy medium for the travel reimbursement fight.  I want them reimbursed in 30 days and the firm will wait 60 -90 days to reimburse me.  I think I will argue for 45 day reimbursement and all outstanding travel vouchers to be paid at year end.   FAIL. 
 
12. Find a new primary care doctor and receive treatment for anxiety and depression. FAIL.

13. Make a decision about my career and job. FAIL- but I did get a raise. 
 
14. Try something new (or outside of my comfort zone) each month (restaurant, activity or social event). PASSISH- I tried a lot of new things last year.  New cities, new restaurants and met new people. 

15. Increase net worth by $25,000. Not sure yet.  I haven't run the numbers for my net worth yet. 

Thursday, January 3, 2019

New Year, New Goals!

Happy New Year Everyone!! I hope you all had a wonderful new year's day.  It's already the third day of the year and I am just getting around to posting my goals.  Here goes:

1. Put a minimum of $11,000 to retirement.  ($6,000 to Roth and $5,000 to taxable). I am loving the increase in contributions to the Roth.  It's $6,000 this year, in case you have not heard!  The $11,000 goal is an increase of $500 from last year.
2. Increase replacement car fund to $12,000.
3. Give a minimum of $400 to charity. This is an increase of $100 from last year.
4. Increase Emergency Fund to $20,000.
5. Pay down mortgage principal so that the PMI can be removed.  I'm so close, only 5 or 6 months to go!
6. Read 12 books
7. Lose 20lbs
8. Increase social activities.
9. Learn coding.
10. Learn more about my family history.
11. Meditate.
12. Be kinder and more patient.
13. Increase FI/FU fund to $1,200.
14. Figure out my purpose in life. 

What are your goals for the new year?  Any special ones that you would like to share?

I hope that my next post is an update on my 2018 goals.  Have a great day everyone!