Struggling to be debt free

Saving for retirement is so hard!  I often find myself jealous of all of the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) people younger than me that already have close to half a million dollars saved.  I can't help but think that I went wrong somewhere! Anyways, in January of this year I checked in on my retirement accounts and found that I had finally reached a total of over $50,000!!  My 2020 Retirement contributions so far are as follows: 1/3/20 $100 1/4/20 $100 1/15/20 $1,000 1/31/20 $100 Only $4,700 more to go to max out my Roth for the year. On to the car savings fund.  So far I have $28,996 saved for my new car (this includes the value of my trade in too).  I have so much anxiety about purchasing a car.  I would like a car that will last 14 years, just like this one has.  The car I am hoping to buy will be around $40,000, out the door.  The vehicle I currently drive was ~$38,000 when I bought it 14 years ago. I've thought an...

My second stop during my car shopping adventures was Honda.  I went there on December 30, 2019.  I had researched the vehicles online and was ready to see the Pilot and the Passport. However, I did find this blue CR-V to be quite striking.  The CR-V is a bit too small for me. Unfortunately, I travel for work and can be gone for several days to a week or 2 at a time. I need something that has sufficient space for a couple of suitcases, work bags, etc.  Also, I want something big enough to easily get my mom's wheelchair into the back. Unfortunately, the Honda dealership did not have any Passports on the lot.  So I looked into the Pilots. I thought the Pilots were a little too large and van-like for me.  The picture below is a "Black Edition" Honda Pilot with a price tag of $50,000.  It's pretty, but too expensive for my taste.  The Pilot came with a lifetime powertrain warranty and 2 years of oil changes included with the price of the car....

I wanted to document my car shopping process.  By way of background, I have 13 year and 3 month old toyota 4runner.  To date I have a little over $22,000 saved for a down payment (this includes $5,000 from my EF). I have looked up the KBB and carfax trade in values for my car.  It is worth about $6,100. I have done extensive research about multiple cars including, reliability ratings, complaints, repair costs, etc.  Spoiler Alert: I have not yet purchased a car. My car shopping adventures began on December 30, 2019. My first stop was the Acura Dealership.  The sales guy was super nice.  Nicest and the most well informed of all.  We test drove an Acura MDX.  It was a nice car.  I don't like the body style and the brakes were mushy.  However, Acura is the luxury version of Honda, so I thought it might be worth a shot. It was a nice car with lots of options and all the safety features. Lane departure assist, collision avoidance...

Here are my 2020 goals: 1. Blog more and more consistently. My goal is going to be 2 posts a month.  I'm not very interesting or exciting. I am also very cheap.  That means that I do not have a lot to write about for this mostly financial blog.  Unless you want to hear stories about my cats, sitting on the couch or long car rides. 2. Eat healthier.  I travel a good bit for work.  (I currently have $1,600 in outstanding travel reimbursements.) I tend to eat fast food on the road because it's fast.  I don't want to spend 40 minutes at a restaurant when I just want to get back home before 7:30p.m.  I tend to eat burgers and fries because I can't hold a fork and eat a salad when I drive. I need to spend more time taking care of myself.  Sometimes I will have to stop and eat a salad in a restaurant rather than race home. I hope this will lead to consistent weight loss. 3. Contribute a minimum of $11,000 to retirement with the goal of having $65...

I have a car that is 13 to 14 years old.  It is starting to have some issues here and there so I am thinking about replacing it.  Since I have kept my car for so long, I plan to buy a brand new car, again (I can hear the gasps from the personal finance community, but I don't care.) I was hoping to take advantage of some of the year end deals, but nothing is interesting to me.  I have researched and researched and I cannot find a car that I WANT to buy.  I have test driven an Acura MDX, a Honda Pilot and a Volvo XC60.  I am thinking about  test driving a mazda CX9.  Everything is expensive and nothing appeals to me. Also, why are cars so expensive? The Honda Pilot looks like a van now. It's weird. I did like the Honda Passport, but no Passports were on the lot.  The MDX is pretty expensive with no real added features.  I can get a fully loaded Honda for the same price without paying for the Acura name.  The XC60 is expensi...

I got a Holiday bonus check at work yesterday!!! I was totally shocked and so excited!!  I plan to write a super nice thank card to both of the partners and send it out today. I think this is the largest bonus I have ever received, I grossed almost $5,200 and I am taking home almost $4,000 ($3900 and some change). I plan to give some to my mom and sister, put some in my car replacement fund, put some into my retirement fund, give some to charity and finish replacing the EF used to purchase the new HVAC. I am incredibly thankful for the bonus and I want to pay it forward!

Where did November go?  I kept trying to get online and post, but time kept eluding me.  End result? There were absolutely no posts for November.  Anyways, it is Winter now and it has been pretty chilly in Florida (in the 30s).  I don't have time for a long post because my time management skills suck.  I just wanted to update that I will make my charitable donations goal for the year!  My goal is $400 and I am at $383 for the year.  I will make a donation to a Christmas charity and be done for the year.  Next year that goal will go up to $500.  I have been reading blogs, but have not been able to comment.  Everyone PLEASE congratulate Double Debt Single Woman for paying off her debt!! She is debt free!!!!   Also, please congratulate Lucy at A Dime At A Time as she is debt free as well!!  Congratulations to both of these hardworking women! (You can find the links to these blogs in my blog list to the right).