Same-Sex Households
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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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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
thrifty...friday?
well, we used to do these on the first thursday of the month, which was yesterday--although we've been a bit lax on it lately. so, i figure why not do one to start off the new year. i'll call it first financial friday.
so how about a question: what thing(s) do you feel good about financially from 2008, and are there any goals you'd like to accomplish in 2009?
i suppose that's really two questions in one. what a bargain!
Re: thrifty...friday?
from 2008:
i ran my credit reports and got some things off that shouldn't have been there, opened a high-yield savings account for us, we paid off c's car, did not incur any new debt, and paid for my tuition out of pocket (i get reimbursed later through work). i also figured out what extra principal i need to pay on our balloon mortgage so that we'll have it paid off before the balance even comes due.
for 2009:
i'm going to keep automatically transferring money into both of my savings accounts every paycheck, put my tax returns directly into savings, and i'd like to pay off the furnace that we financed and build up our emergency fund. i'm also going to try to track my spending and expenses more thoroughly--which i've already been doing, but i want to keep it up to see exactly where my money is going--and maybe try to set up an actual budget, which i've really never done before.
what thing(s) do you feel good about financially from 2008, and are there any goals you'd like to accomplish in 2009?
I feel good about the amount of cc debt we paid off in '08. When I think about what we spent it makes me queasy, but we invested in a place to live that we love and bought furniture that we will have for many years (meaning less to buy when we purchase our first house), so I know it was money well-spent. But yes, I feel very good about the amount that we were able to pay off in a short amount of time. Our strict budgeting is paying off!!
For 2009, I am very proud to say that by the end of this month, we will be cc debt free for the first time since we started dating!! So our goal is to save, save, save - to fill up those Baby and House accounts. And now that the cc debt will be gone (I still kind of can't believe it), we are going to put more into paying off our car (a little mazda 3 that we still owe a lot on), because we know we will want something bigger once a baby's in the picture.
sahm ~ toddler breastfeeder ~ cloth diaperer ~ baby wearer
2008:
not much, lol. this was a year of spending, spending and more spending. fortunately it was all planned for (house, wedding, HM, new windows) and aside from babies, we're putting a hold in the spending department for a loooong while. And i'm very glad we got the house for a good price at a good interest rate; lots of $$ in the short term, but a wise financial decision overall.
2009:
loooots of goals. getting finances beefed up and in order is our #1 priority for 2009. here are the specifics in no particular order:
- pay off all CC debt and stop using them
- pay off A's car
- add more to the efund
- get to our "baby fund" goal
- reign in the "extra" spending...less eating out, less buying random stuff for the house, less vacations/travel. i need to remind myself that every penny counts.
Blogs: Our Growing Family - CT Working Moms
Finances, the one thing that is giving me a huge headache right now. Yuck.
We have goals. Simple put we are pulling in the reins, and saving everything we can.
I wasn't really proud of this last year, and I want to feel accomplished this year.
It will be tough w/ J's work being so off and on, but I know we can do it so we are.
We have started using Mint.com, and it's working GREAT!
for 2008, we paid off the CCs, did not go over budget on the wedding, and bought or house!
in 2009, we're going on our honeymoon (and will stay on budget there!) and are starting to save more aggressively for a new car and baby, as well as pay down our loans.
what thing(s) do you feel good about financially from 2008:
Ugh, not much. That's not entirely true. I feel good that we made it through my short unemployment without adding up more cc debt. My credit score is excellent and I continued to pay down my cc debt (but I'm on a 3 year plan). I'm proud of myself for working two jobs and getting a new job that pays $8K more than my last. I'm also happy that our health insurance is now 100% free as that will be an extra $4-5K in hand.
are there any goals you'd like to accomplish in 2009?
I need to refi my mortgage for my house in CA. This has to been done in the next month so it's weighing heavy on my mind right now. I'd also like to pay off one certain cc. It's one that just irks me and if I'm free and clear from it I'll feel much much better. I'd like to stick to the budget I started in 2008, continue cutting coupons, and continue reigning in where/when possible. For example, we've been invited to the inauguration (K's uncle is a state senator) and even though the hotel would be free, and the airfare cheap ($120 each) we'd still spend money on food and drinks. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, but if we can't pay cash we aren't doing it and that makes me happy.
In 2008 we spent a whole lot with the wedding and honeymoon but also did really well with saving and paying off credit card debt. I am happy to say that we will be cc debt free by March. S is really good at budgeting and I get a nice pie chart of where our paychecks go each month. It is quite nice to be doing well with that.
2009 I am sure we will be free of cc debt (just one to go) but we have some big expenses coming. S and I both have leases on our cars which come up. Mine in Nov. and hers in March. So we both need to deal with that. S is now deep into looking at cars. She has a CRV now but we are thinking about getting something bigger. If a baby comes in 2009 it may be a bit tight with a dog and a baby in the back. The Pilot is looking good but we need to crunch the numbers and see what it looks like. The other big ticket will be if we need to buy sperm. I am hoping not, but we used our last vial this round and will need to buy more if I am not pregnant this cycle. That will be a bit of a hit but an necessary. Hope things go well and we don't need to do that. here is to a good finacial 2009!
From 2008:
I'm so glad we paid off my car, and finally paid off our Home Equity Line. Two less bills to worry about each month, and now we have only "good" debt (mortgage and my student loans). Also, we managed to get a good amount in savings.
For 2009:
I want to build up the savings more. Enough so that when the time comes to "upgrade" to a slightly bigger house, we'll have a full down payment in there, plus a little. I don't know if we'll be able to do that completely in 2009, but I'm sure we'll be able to get a good start.
I'd also like to continue working to pay down our mortgage. Plus, Trav will need to get a new vehicle... his 2-door isn't going to cut it when we have a kid and it is seriously on its last legs anyway... so once he does that, I'd like to overpay on that every month to hopefully completely pay it off within 3 years.
Maybe I don't have a heightened sense of smell, but I've never smelled any vagina on my pants. -- TSD
Bloggity Blog - You know you want to...
so how about a question: what thing(s) do you feel good about financially from 2008, and are there any goals you'd like to accomplish in 2009?
2008 was good overall. We got serious about savings and managed to pay off cc debt and keep them to what we can pay off each month as well as save $7200 toward our sperm. Unfortunately, now our savings is depleted minus a small emergency fund, which will be a high priority in 2009.
Like PPs, in 2009 we need to: 1. continue to reign in the "extra" spending, especially on eating out (hopefully this will also help with our getting into better sharp goals) and 2. add to our emergency, "moving" and "baby" funds.
As far as paying off the car probably won't happen, but I will continue to pay more than the amount due. I've been paying the same amount each month, at first it was only $5 more than the amount due, now it's about $75 more each month. The original payoff date is 2012, but the goal is to pay if off before the first baby arrives. I may also look into refinancing it before we move. The current rate is higher than I'd like so I'm going to contact my credit union and see if they can do better.
I have something that shouldn't be on my credit report (as a result of id theft that I couldn't completely resolve) that should be off now. I need to pull my reports and make sure that is corrected.
We'll also do retirement planning with C starting her 503(b) and me an IRA.