Money Matters
jessica490
member
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Monday Accountability Post
1. How MM was your weekend?
2. Any progress towards goals?
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities?
Re: Monday Accountability Post
1. Friday- $43 Sushi, $8 Walmart
Saturday- $34 Gas, $180 Kohls/Old Navy (Used coupons+ birthday/consignment $ to cover)
Sunday- $16 CVS
2. I started my part-time job on Saturday (paid training), so I will start getting a paycheck in about 2 weeks! Not sure how many hours I will be working yet. But all the $ we save from our regular jobs will go straight to the mortgage principle, while my extra checks will go to our house DP and e-fund account.
After the 3rd try of attempting to buzz H's hair with a clipper set we had bought, I FINALLY got it right!! It's about 95% to perfection, and I wasn't scared this time, haha! This will save us $20 every 3-4 weeks!
3. I love fairs! We have the Big E fair that just started and I'm taking off a Tuesday to go with H for the morning/afternoon. It's pretty big! We may skip our on the other smaller fairs to save $, we need to tighten up on our fun spending. I also love fall décor like pumpkins and scarecrows etc. I also love Halloween! My favorite Halloween moves play on TV all the time. I also like to rake leaves believe it or not
1. How MM was your weekend? Not great but we only used money I had received from my birthday last week so we didn't dip into the budget at all.
2. Any progress towards goals? We were able to put $1000 away for student loans this morning!
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities? Apple picking! The orchard we love is over an hour and a half away since we moved but we will make the trip out there in two weeks. I can't wait! I love being in Maine in the fall.
Love: March 2010 Marriage: July 2013 Debt Free: October 2014 TTC: May 2015
No progress. We will have our first mortgage payment in October and should hopefully start getting regular utility bills.
There is a really nice pumpkin patch pretty close that you can buy a season pass to. I think I will be doing that with C because he's getting old enough to enjoy it. I love the change in the weather!
1. How MM was your weekend? Not bad, we took H's parents out to dinner for helping us with our current basement project. Soon the carpet should be in and we'll be done with that project (thank god).
2. Any progress towards goals? Relooked at my budget for the rest of the year and made adjustments. I will have my savings repaid (took money out to pay off debt) by the end of Oct.
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities? I love football mostly, and I'm just generally excited for Halloween! Decorations, having trick or treaters at the house, and going to the really cheesy haunted houses.
1. How MM was your weekend?
Not great, but all with-in budget:
Friday $19.98-TJMaxx, we needed a new shower caddy as the hook on our old one broke and our little shower doesn't have any shelves for soap, etc.
Saturday- $90 grocery store
$110-Kohl's, H needed a few nice shirts for all the wedding we have in the next year (6 weddings so far!) We also took advantage of photo frames being 50% off. I had a 30% off coupon and a $10 off mens wear coupon, so i felt good about it.
$9.95-TJMaxx
Sunday- $80 homedepot, still slowly working on changing out outlets around the house, and we're installing some shelving in our bedroom
$39.89-TJMaxx curtains (yes, I ended up at TJMaxx everyday this weekend.)
2. Any progress towards goals?
yes! we put another $100 into our basement renovation fund!
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities?
Fall is here! it was 38 degrees out this morning. We've got busy weekends coming-up, and lots of outdoor prep for winter. My family does a "harvest meal" of Pumpkin stew every October, I'm very much looking forward to that. I have a half-marathon on October 26th and a Giant fundraiser I've been planning on November 1st....so it's going to be a very busy fall!
Okay. Groceries $122, eating out $15, Home Depot $50. We attended a family block party (free!) and our church family picnic (potluck).
2. Any progress towards goals?
Not really. We've been doing some house projects but staying in budget.
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities?
Football, pumpkin everything!
2. Smaller than I'd like extra car payments. I did get the ball rolling on term life for us though, so that was productive!
3. I love all of it! This year I'm excited that Halloween is on a Friday and for the first time in years, I don't have to work. I'm hoping to pass out treats and then that we'll be invited to a party
1. How MM was your weekend?
We did good! Friday, we took some money from the grocery budget and had dinner at Chipotle. Saturday, I went grocery shopping, spent $81. Sunday, someone signed up to rent my car next week, so we'll have some extra money coming in October
2. Any progress towards goals?
We reached our first goal of getting savings up to $1,000. Now we're working on paying down our credit cards. Paid $113 to the credit cards this week.
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities?
This is our first fall in Chicago, so I'm really excited to see the trees changing. My friend also invited us to go pick pumpkins at a pumpkin patch next month, so I'm so excited!! Honestly, my favorite thing about fall is the pumpkin flavored everything. Yum!
1. How MM was your weekend? The usual groceries, gas, and household items. Also went out to eat with my mom after our 14 mile run, so that was $10 I probably didn't need to spend.
2. Any progress towards goals? This weekend/week has been interesting with that. With H's car being in the shop we are likely going to be paying $1,000 for that. So there goes some of the money we were hoping to put aside for baby. Oh well, we still have plenty in there to cover the medical expenses and anything else we need.
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities? What don't I like about fall is probably a better question to ask. I love every single thing about fall. Changing leaves, the scent of fall, pumpkin everything. My parents are farmers, and my favorite thing is taking my camera out and taking pictures throughout harvest.
This one is my favorite from last year. The semi, a freshly picked field, and the sun setting.
TTC since 1/13 DX:PCOS 5/13 (long, anovulatory cycles)
Clomid 50mg 9/13 = BFP! EDD 6/7/14 M/C 5w6d Found 11/4/13
1/14 PCOS / Gluten Free Diet to hopefully regulate my system.
Chemical Pregnancy 03/14
Surprise BFP 6/14, Beta #1: 126 Beta #2: 340 Stick baby, stick! EDD 2/17/15
Riley Elaine born 2/16/15
TTC 2.0 6/15
Chemical Pregnancy 9/15
Chemical Pregnancy 6/16
BFP 9/16 EDD 6/3/17
Beta #1: 145 Beta #2: 376 Beta #3: 2,225 Beta #4: 4,548
www.5yearstonever.blogspot.com
1. How MM was your weekend? Fun weekend (not MM, but it was planned for)! DH and I went to see the Black Keys and my parents watched the girls for us. We usually only get away for 1 night a year, so it was a great treat. Groceries ($75), Hotel + Valet ($280), Dinner ($65), IKEA on the way home ($320), Outlet Mall ($233), gas ($50), Breakfast ($20).
2. Any progress towards goals? We found a wool, oriental rug we love for our bedroom at a local rug store. It's $2K- more than we wanted to spend but it's really amazing and is something we will have forever. We'll see- still thinking about it. Our bed frame came and looks great- we'll probably go mattress shopping in a few weeks. We also bought a small can of paint to test out a few large squares on our walls.
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities? Sweaters, boots, jeans, scarves. Can't wait to go to the pumpkin patch with the girls and enjoy the leaves changing.. it's beautiful here this time of year.
1. How MM was your weekend? Our was bad again... but planned. We found several pieces of living room furniture for $800. It was a bargain for the quality. We also spent $100 on groceries.
2. Any progress towards goals? H got his first paycheck this morning! I seriously shut my door and did a happy dance!
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities? I love fall. My birthday is the week before Halloween, so growing up I always carved pumpkins on my birthday. H has made sure to continue that tradition
I'm also excited to finally be in a real neighborhood for Halloween. Our street has sidewalks, so I think we'll get lots of trick-or-treaters! I can't wait to stock up on candy for that. Also, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I like that it's not affiliated with any one religion, and it isn't affiliated with gifts. Just good food and good company. And I'm not going to lie - I love Black Friday, and I tend to delay large purchases to see if I can get a deal on Black Friday before buying. I know most people hate it, but I love getting a bargain, especially sitting on my couch (that we haven't bought yet... sigh).
1. How MM was your weekend?
Did pretty well, everything was budgeted and didn't go overboard on anything.
2. Any progress towards goals?
I did the "responsible" thing and put my birthday money into savings, instead of blowing it on stuff I don't need. I DID go jewelry shopping more than once before I bit the bullet though. Yay willpower!
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities?
Football and Hoodies! I have plans to go to a couple Football Games with friends, but that's about it!
1. How MM was your weekend? Not too good, took ILs to dinner since they paid for our old fashion steam train ride. That was $140 then this evening I took MW and son to dinner to celebrate my new pay raise.
2. Any progress towards goals? Not yet, will try to pay off my credit card in October so that I can use the extra money in November for Christmas gifts.
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities? End of this month we will go to a local farm since we don't like crowds. I am also planning on taking a longish day trip to try and recharge my batteries. I need to get to the hills of PA every now and again and the fall colors are just awesome. I need to plan a route before I go since I don't really feel like doing a there and back.
1. How MM was your weekend?
Not great, but not terrible?
I needed to pay $110 for a new class card at yoga Friday night, but it will last me for 10 classes.
Saturday my mom and I went for pedicures ($40), and I brought my mom a latte ($8 for the two lattes). Then I went to bed bath and beyond ($70) - I needed quart size ball jars for freezing a bunch of soup I made, a funnel for filling them, and a new coffee mug for H. I did NOT need two pumpkin spice candles, but I have them...
Sunday I ended up spending another $130 on buying a yoga card at a different studio. I rotate through three different studios and it really sucks when they run up at the same time. I budget for it, but I still feel like I was just throwing money around all weekend.
Hopefully next weekend will be better.
2. Any progress towards goals?
I am doing much better with keeping the grocery budget down. So far I have only spent ~$250 on groceries & $70 on "other house stuff" which for me is amazing for only half the month. My initial goal was $800 this month, but I am dropping it down to $600 for groceries & "other stuff" (toiletries, cleaning products etc.) I switched to a cheaper grocery store that I really hate going to but save so much money (I can actually reward myself with starbucks and still come out much much cheaper haha), and I am trying to be more mindful of using what we have. I think we may end up eating out of the freezer a lot the last week of the month in order to save some money, since I froze a ton of veggie burgers and tomato soup. I have been trying this for months, but it is looking like my first successful month will be the month that I finally posted to MM about it.
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities?
I love fall. The only problem with it, is that I have a hard time relaxing and embracing it for what it is because I know the horrible things that await (winter, sunlight for <10hours a day). Fall is coming FAST here in massachusetts!! I am looking forward to burning candles, making soup, and wearing scarves. I'm also looking forward to the farmers market having sweet potatoes & spaghetti squash. I don't think we will apple pick this year, it always ends up being way too many apples to handle at once. But we live a short walk from an orchard and are planning to walk up there Saturday morning for some apple cider donuts & hot spiced cider for breakfast. Yum.
1. How MM was your weekend?
Only groceries and gas. Did some bulk shopping so spent around 150 but we shouldn't need to spend much more then perishables for the next month.
2. Any progress towards goals?
not yet... thats determined at the end of the month.
3. Fall is almost here! What are your favorite things about fall and what are your plans/activities?
Pumpkin everything! We're going to NJ for thanksgiving and for my baby shower. And while we're up there i'm going to have my sister take some maternity photos of us so we don't have to pay for professional shots. Plus NJ has a longer prettier fall then NC so it should work out. Its going to be an expensive trip so we probably wont save a dime that month but its either that or no shower so it should just even out in the long run. I just don't think we'll actually come out ahead. i guess its just for the experience.