Money Matters
formerlyjessica490
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.
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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
1. How MM was your weekend?
2. Any progress towards goals?
3. With 2 months left in the year....do you have any goals (financial/personal), house projects, or anything else that you want to accomplish?
Re: Monday Accountability
1. Pretty good! $25 Gas, $84 groceries, $12 more mums, $41 Sushi
2. Nothing, we get paid this week
3.
House projects- Replace outlets in bathroom from beige to white, print and frame picture to finalize bathroom décor, find a shade/curtain for our kitchen window.
Personal- Just keep going to the gym 2-3 days per week, keep eating in check
Financial- Finish saving up for our Sandals trip in May, start saving back to our e-fund, and push to add to our ROTH's biweekly, and maybe make 1 straight principal payment towards our mortgage
The trip was good and I enjoyed seeing the sights of Australia. The animals are awesome! It felt a lot like being in the US though and I wouldn't put it in my list of favorite countries....I've just been to too many that I like better such as New Zealand, Morocco, etc. It was good to get away though!
H and I spent $30 Sunday on breakfast and a movie.
2. We are boarding a German PHD student for the month of November through the Global Exchange program. It will only be $450 which is way less than we make on Air BnB but it will be some extra money and we enjoy the cultural exchange. H is also picking up some OT this month including putting in a few hours on Sunday.
3. Honestly, I think I am kind of giving up and not feeling ambitious. The year seems practically over now and I feel like relaxing for the rest of it.
We wanted to get our backyard landscaped but that kind of fell through. But I suppose I can work to get it set up for Spring. Maybe we will also get a couple small house projects done.
I do intend to increase my exercising.
And we will continue to stay the course with lower spending the next couple of months.
1. How MM was your weekend?
Really good. $2 on a Redbox, and $35 at the grocery store.
2. Any progress towards goals?
Nothing until the end of the month.
3. With 2 months left in the year....do you have any goals (financial/personal), house projects, or anything else that you want to accomplish?
Our goal is to have everything we need for Hawaii saved by the end of the year. We're right on track to get that.
Then the first of the year will begin stock piling cash for baby.
House wise, I would like to paint our front door and repaint our bedroom. Half the battle is deciding on a paint color, and that's turning out to me harder than I expected.
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? Was average- groceries ($178), thai food ($22), target ($67), new britax booster for DD#2 ($184).
2. Any progress towards goals? We bought an umbrella policy a few weeks ago.
3. With 2 months left in the year....do you have any goals (financial/personal), house projects, or anything else that you want to accomplish?
Financial: get $6,000 total added to Roths
Personal: keep up with weight loss. Down 7 lbs and would like to lose 5-10 more. 5 would be what I weighed when I got married, 10 would be what I weighed in college. 5 will be manageable, 10 will take some serious dedication.
House: Wrap up the bathroom. The roof vent was installed on Friday so we're getting there.
1. How MM was your weekend?
$23 take-out (multiple meals), $64 Wal-mart, $52 Wal-mart pharmacy, $52 breakfast mystery shop on Sat. But $50 of it will be reimbursed back to me.
2. Any progress towards goals?
$400 to HD card, $1200 to HELOC. Paid off my BofA and Capital One card, but I'm being sneaky. I have special checks to take the money right back out at 0% interest until August of 2017. Going to take advantage of that to pay my HELOC down this week.
Ordered new windows for the duplex we're rehabbing. $4,880. Cash flowed the $880. Applied for and was approved for their credit card for the rest and it is 0% financing for 6 months. Planning to pay $800/month to pay it off before the 6 months are up. Gulp!
I need to replace the HVAC for another rental. We had quotes in the $5500-$6800 range. For a small 14 SEER, 2-ton unit! Argh! Finally got a $4,000 quote. We're pulling the trigger on that today. Plan to cash-flow what I can and use my HELOC for the rest.
On the good news side, I thought I had to replace a roof for another rental for a venting/safety concern. But apparently my H fixed the safety problem a while back. Still need to replace the roof at some point, but the need is no longer as immediate. I'm hoping it hangs on until I am done with my current rehab (crossing fingers!).
I feel like my "weekly progress" reports always sound like an episode from "This Old House", lol.
3. With 2 months left in the year....do you have any goals (financial/personal), house projects, or anything else that you want to accomplish?
My biggest goal is to have my duplex rehab finished by early Nov. and tenants moved in by Dec. 1st. Then do a cash-out refi for a SERIOUS pay down of my HELOC. Hope to have that last part done in January 2017.
My other goal is also financially related. I recently purchased materials and software for textbook arbitrage on Amazon. I finished my first run through of all the materials over the weekend and played with the software. My goal is to get the hang of this system, at least to the point where I can SET a reasonable weekly/monthly profit target.
My personal goal is to continue and amp up my cooking healthy meals at home. Cheaper, better and more nutritious for my H and I. I also want to get back in the swing of checking my blood sugar 2-4x/day (I have Type I Diabetes). I recently had lab work done and my 3-month average was one of the highest it has ever been
. In an okay range overall, but sucky for me personally.
1. How MM was your weekend? It was average. $175 at Costco, $20 for fuel, and $16 for fancy coffee for my mom, my sister, and me on Saturday.
2. Any progress towards goals? No. I just want to be through the end of the year at this point.
3. With 2 months left in the year....do you have any goals (financial/personal), house projects, or anything else that you want to accomplish?
Financial no, other than always trying to work on my spending habits every month.
Personal, I just started the C25k running program again after a very very long hiatus. I should finish it before the Hot Chocolate 5k in January.
House goals - We still need to finish putting up the new railing on our front porch. We got the main front section done but not the two sides. We just ran out of steam and we really need to get back to it. Otherwise my only other goal before the end of the year is to paint the basement.
I'm glad you enjoyed Australia. I know it was for work, but how fun!
They were advertising for a program like that in my area on Craig's List yesterday. The students they are trying to house are from China. They were paying $1200-$1500/month!! I was shocked how high that was. Though the student being hosted does need to be provided with all meals.
I WISH I had an independent bedroom in my personal home I could offer up. I think it would be so interesting and definitely worth the money. Oh well.
Once again, AirBnB is just so much easier, more profitable most months, and adds up to less days with people actually in our house.
2 - not this week
3 - We just had our 3 trees planted last week which was awesome. I would love to also get the rock wall in the front of our house but only if it comes out in our budget. We won't do the planting now but in the spring. I know I have zero control over this but it would be great to get pregnant anytime now. I'm starting to worry about it and I don't like the mind frame its getting me into. I did start charting this month and got my CHs this morning so it feels good to know I am ovulating.
1. How MM was your weekend?
Quite poor. H's grandmother passed away on Wednesday morning. The immediate family didn't have the money to cremate her, so we pitched in for that. Not a lot of money, but still unexpected. Due to everyone's allergies, it's always easier to eat out when MIL is in town, so that also got expensive.
2. Any progress towards goals?
I originally put $600 in savings, but my desk was delivered on Saturday, and they wouldn't take my credit card for payment, so I took it right back out.
3. With 2 months left in the year....do you have any goals (financial/personal), house projects, or anything else that you want to accomplish?
H and I are wanting to paint two rooms while we're on vacation the first week of November. We're both so focused on the gym and eating clean, my goal is another 15 pounds by EOY.
1. Good! Just $30 at the farmer's market. H bought some beer too.
2. It's not a paycheck week but we're close to meeting some big ones, so I'm getting excited for that.
3. House-get nursery ready to go, plant Tulip bulbs
Financial-set up new savings plan for my Roth, add $1000 to baby medical fund, cash flow Christmas
Personal-Keep up with walking and yoga
Other than that, we spent $25 on groceries last night just to get us through the week. We may need to supplement mid-week though, we will see.
2) We survived Vegas relatively unscathed. Other than that, no major progress toward goals.
3) House - clean out basement and donate stuff that's stored down there before 2016 ends. Finance - get a savings fund set up for TTC/baby, and we will probably trade in my car at the end of the year. Personal - need to lose some weight!
1. How MM was your weekend? Not bad because I didn't do much. Friday - $0. Saturday - $30 for breakfast, Target - $30. Sunday - $6 to pick up stuff at the store to take to a friend's for football, $7 at Wawa for a sub and drink. I feel like I spent more, but I don't know where? That's terrible, I know.
2. Any progress towards goals? Not a pay week so no. Just chugging along on the usual stuff.
3. With 2 months left in the year....do you have any goals (financial/personal), house projects, or anything else that you want to accomplish?
Financial - Just keep plugging away with my SL. Working to pay off a 0% credit card that should be gone before Christmas. Stick to my budget of $400 for Christmas. Should be easy since I've decided not to buy for many people. I'll probably donate the rest. I'd also like to get better control of my spending... always a goal, but somehow never a reality.
Personal - Get back on track in the gym. I go in spurts and right now I'm just lazy. And be more diligent about meal prepping. Ultimately both of these things are for weight loss.
House Projects - There are a TON of things I'd love to do, but they don't aren't "needs" and don't fit in the budget so nothing in this area.
1. How MM was your weekend?
$80 on groceries Saturday, $25 on gas, $15 on wine/a craft beer
2. Any progress towards goals?
Well we probably lost a little bit of money because H didnt work saturday for the first time in 6 months, but he won't get paid for having not worked (his weekend was wed/thur, then he had saturday off too). Oh well, it was worth having a day together.
3. With 2 months left in the year....do you have any goals (financial/personal), house projects, or anything else that you want to accomplish?
financial - stay the course, I am taking an unpaid week next week between jobs so we won't be meeting any crazy benchmarks
Personal - I'm starting small group personal training because I need to get back in shape. When I start my new job I'm taking it as a fresh start to start a new routine for regular sleep& exercise. My hours will be more manageable.
House projects - I have been waiting for doors to be installed for months, but it literally took 6 weeks to get the order placed the store was so awful. They are being delivered wednesday and hopefully installed soon after. Otherwise we are just doing little things, one room at a time replacing the blinds, sewing some curtains etc. We just moved in the spring so we have done a couple big projects, now we will work on the little ones before another big one in the summer likely.
1. How MM was your weekend?
Good. We went out of town for a wedding and to see family. Not sure how much gas was. My parents watched the kiddos so no $ for a babysitter. I ordered a personalized wedding gift a couple months ago so there was no cost this month for the gift. We ate out 1x - $20.
2. Any progress towards goals?
Just saving, saving, saving.
3. With 2 months left in the year....do you have any goals (financial/personal), house projects, or anything else that you want to accomplish?
I've been eyeing up some things for the house. Nothing big - some new rugs, towels for the kitchen, etc. I'm holding off until the holidays so I can get some deals. We will be looking for a new fridge soon. Our current on is about 14 years old? The previous owners bought all new appliances when they gutted the house. H has looked at it a few times, he's really good at fixing things but thinks it'll be easier to get a new one. We have the money marked for it. We're hoping to pop in a few places this week/weekend to pick a couple out. That way when it goes up, we're prepared.
1. How MM was your weekend? I was down for the count yesterday after my IVF egg retrieval so I'm a day late! This weekend was pretty good money wise - $10 on parking at the fertility clinic for my final monitoring appointment, $45 at Target for some makeup, random dollar spot items, and a starbucks gift card (for myself - with the Red Card I save 5% on the giftcard!), $30 on flowers for my best friend after her cat was snatched by some coyotes, and $55 on groceries (which was mostly spent on ice cream for my recovery lol).
2. Any progress towards goals? Financially nothing new, but we had the egg retrieval yesterday and got 17 eggs, 14 were mature, and 11 made it to fertilization! We go back for the embryo transfer this Saturday. It's hard to believe that after 2 years this is our first actual real shot at getting pregnant.
3. With 2 months left in the year....do you have any goals (financial/personal), house projects, or anything else that you want to accomplish? I have some internal trim painting I want to do before the end of the year. If we get pregnant this weekend I'll also have to start converting the guest room into a nursery - which will primarily involve throwing out the old futon, relocating the TV and video games, and putting in a crib and some new art. I already like the dresser, rug, paint color, and window treatments so that will save me a lot of money and effort.
There are usually HUGE appliance sales on Black Friday. Often pretty good ones around other holidays like Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day.
Also, if you don't mind "scratch and dent" or "outdated" models, you can usually get 30-50% off appliances at stores like Home Depot and Lowe's. They have exactly the same warranties as the "perfect" ones. And by "outdated", that just means a new version of that model has come out, not that it is out of style.
I bought both my fridge and my stove that way. The stove I was just lucky on and they happened to have one I liked when I needed one. Normally $650, on sale for $350.
For fridges, I had one that was getting me by. But I wanted one that was at least 25 cu. ft. I stalked clearance fridges for 6 months. Then I found a white, 25 cu. ft. side by side. Normally $1300, on sale for $625 (after my 10% off coupon). Bingo. It had a few long, but not very noticeable, scratches on one side and a couple shorter scratches on the front. It was also missing one of the interior drawers, but the sales guy ordered one (no charge) for me to pick up later.