Welcome to June!

Welcome to June everyone!  I know I'm a bit late, but at least we are only 4 days in.  I ended up earning over $6 on my savings account this month.  Slowly, but surely I am creeping up.  I can't wait until I am earning over $100 a year in interest.

I contemplated opening a CD with some of my EF, but the rates are so low right, I don't think I will bother.  I would get to tie up my money for 91 days to earn approximately $1.  The 1 year and 2 year rates are not much better.  I may reconsider later, as earning something (even just $1) is better than nothing.  I keep hoping that the savings interest rated will rise and make it worth putting money into CDs. 

I ended the month with over $14,300 in my Roth.  That is exciting as I am creeping up on $15,000 in retirement savings.  I should make that in June....well depending on the market.  I should get one of those fancy progress bars for my blog.

I am expecting some big expenses soon: appliances are wearing out and making noises, my car will be 11 years old this year and my laptop seems to be dying (it is about 6 years old). 

I still haven't received my travel reimbursements from March so I will need to follow up with that- it's about $800- tomorrow.  I hate having to involve my boss, but I will not act as a credit card company for the firm.  I am being extremely generous by waiting 2 months for reimbursement.

I paid the mortgage payment right before the long weekend.  I made an extra $150 payment (the usual),  and the balance is down to $213,753.  Houses in my neighborhood have been being listed for $325,000 (I paid around $250,000 4 years ago). If the real estate market stays hot, I may consider selling in a few years.

Mortgage Update and Emergency Fund to the Rescue...Again!

I apologize for my absence, but I have been so busy lately! It's insane, I still have tons of stuff to do (work wise and personally). 

Anyways, I just wanted to announce that my mortgage balance has dropped to $219,998!! I have paid it off from $234,650 to the teens! This month $417 went to principal, $432 to escrow and the rest (over $600 if you did the math) to interest.  I also made an extra $91 principal only payment. Once I get my emergency back up to $15,000, I plan to start directing "found money" towards the mortgage balance.  I really want to get rid of the PMI payments, that will be an extra $115 that can go towards principal once I get the balance down to 80%! 

On to the emergency fund issue.  The A/C broke again this year.  The house is almost 14 years old and the unit is the same age. It looks like I may have to replace it soon.  I will likely wait another year or two before I replace it.  I need time to get my savings account back up to where it needs to be. Anyways, the cost was $275 to have the unit repaired.   Luckily, I had the cash available to pay for the repair.  No outstanding credit card bills for me!

Extra Principal Payment on the Mortgage

Today, for the first time in almost 2.5 years, I made a payment on my mortgage that had an extra $141 towards principal!  I have been wishing and hoping that I could put extra payments on my mortgage for some time now.  It meant more to me than paying off my last student loan.   I have not felt such elation in a long time.  I know it's not much and that I still have a long way to go, but it felt good.