Struggling to be debt free

It's almost Fall!! I am looking forward to the cooler temperatures, but not the shorter days that will be here soon. I need to take advantage of the longer days, while we have them, and walk after work. I hope everyone is taking some time to relax over this Labor Day weekend.  Saturday just flew by. I'm not sure when Sunday got here.  The positive it that, at least I don't have the Sunday scaries! And...next week will only have 4 work days!  I figured I should make some goals for September, so here they are: 1.  Finish out retirement contributions. Only $1,332 to go! 2. Exercise 4 days a week, for at least 60 minutes. 3. Get rid of 20 items. 4. Get the Fall Decorations down and put up around the house. 5. Finish 2 books.  6. Donate money to charity. I am so looking forward to finishing off my retirement contributions for the year.  Next I will work on adding more money to my E-fund.  I want to get the E-fund to $18,500 by the end of the...

Yesterday I made my first contribution to my Roth for 2018.  It always feels good to put money away for retirement.  This first contribution totaled $1,390, so only $4,110 to go to fully fund my Roth for the year.  I try to blog about each contribution because I like to track how much I contribute (And when).  Also, this is a watershed year because this is the first time I have not had to finish funding my Roth from the previous year prior to the April deadline.  After I fully fund my Roth I will add $5,000 into my taxable account for the year.  I am considering putting any tax return towards my Roth this year.  (Any tax return could go towards my Roth, car replacement fund or furniture fund.  I just can't decide whether to do all 3 or just 1.) Yesterday, I made a $50 contribution to St. Jude's Children's Hospital to jump start my charitable giving goal.  It really felt good to start working towards my yearly goals in January.  I love ...

I included in my 2018 goals a that I wanted to increase my charitable giving to $300.  I almost didn't want to include my charitable giving goals in such a publicly available forum because I felt ashamed.  My charitable giving goal last year was only $200 and this year only $300.  I make over $80,000 a year and I am debt free (except for my mortgage).  There are people who make substantially less than me, but give 10X what give.  It's shameful and embarrassing to admit my low giving percentage.   So why did I share my number?  One, I wanted to make sure that I track how much I am giving financially.  The only way I can improve the number is to add to it every year.  This blog will keep me accountable.  Two, I want to be honest and truthful on this blog.  I have a low charitable giving rate and it needs to improve, drastically.  Three, I want to relate to other people in this situation who are also ashamed.  It is our civ...

I have been working on my financial goals for 2018 and I plan on increasing (as I do every year) my charitable contributions.  I generally give to a legal aid charity and my law school.  This year I also donated to the victims of Hurricane Harvey through the American Bar Association.  I also often donate clothes and household items to Goodwill.   Looking forward to 2018 I think I would like to add the American Cancer Society and St. Jude's to my list.  I also want to donate my time to help others.  Do you have any favorite charities that you like to donate to every year?  Are there any charities that I should stay away from? 

Today is the last day of August, boy time does fly when you get older.  It seemed like it was just the beginning of the year and now we are almost in the last quarter. I feel the need to get motivated and get started on some goals. I have some goals for September: 1. Finish out my retirement contributions for the year- just $1,305 more to go 2. Read a book- any book, maybe 2 3. Exercise every week- 3 times a week 4. Review my budget, long term goals and short term goals. As for labor day, I plan to spend the weekend with family.  Nothing special, maybe some bbq, walks and naps.  Anyone else doing anything fun or exciting? As for the money front there is nothing exciting going on- had a dentist appointment earlier this week and that will cost be about $42 out of pocket after insurance and a credit I had on my account.  I should have just enough in my medical sinking fund to cover this expense once I get the bill.  I'm kind of excited to see how big I ca...

1. Increase emergency fund from $15,000 to $17,500.-IN PROGRESS I have $15,905 in my EF currently.  6 months to get this where it should be. 2. Add $9,500 to my retirement with an overall goal of having $20,000 in retirement savings by the end of the year.--IN PROGRESS I have contributed $5,004 to retirement this year. I believe my ROTH is at approximately $15,300.  3. Pay an extra $100 a month on the mortgage, with an end goal of having the balance under $210,000 by the end of the year.- SO FAR SO GOOD. I have paid at least $100 extra on each mortgage payment so far this year. This goal may change- more on this later. 4. Save an additional $2,500 into car replacement fund with the end goal of having $5,000 in the car replacement fund by the end of the year. IN PROGRESS I have over $3,747 saved towards a new car. 5. Pay off furniture I bought before expiration of 0% financing period. --DONE I paid this off in approximately 2 months- no interest paid!!! 6. Rea...

On my journey to building wealth and getting control of my finances I have learned that giving is an important factor.  Being single with no prospects, at 34, I am beginning to think that most if not all of the wealth that I will accumulate will end up going to a charitable organization upon my death. So I have started making giving more of a priority, I'm starting off small.  I made a $50 donation to my alma mater.   I sent my pregnant friend (actually she had the baby-but I'm really late!) a $50 gift card to celebrate the new addition. I'm also trying to think of other ways to give, small ways.  Not just to my family, but to my friends and community.  I think I will be on the look out for more community events so that I can volunteer and then not all of my giving will have to be monetary. I don't want to be ostentatious, I just feel compelled to give and help.  It seems these days the world is terrible and harsh.  I want to find a way to mak...