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.
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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. Do you feel like you make enough money?
Re: Monday Accountability
2. 10% into retirement resumes with tomorrow's paycheck! Also deposits to e-fund and travel.
3. This is a tough question. Enough-yes! We have a home and a good life. However, I do think I'm capable of making more and have been thinking of ways to up my income lately. My boss recently asked our board to give large raises and responsibility increases (around 20%!) to myself and a colleague. They are torn and haven't made a final decision yet. If the raise goes through I'll be able to see myself making a career at my current employer. If not, I may keep an eye out for new opportunities. My job is very, very stressful and I think the raise would be fair given the grant money I have brought in.
1. How MM was your weekend? Pretty good - groceries ($125), gift for a b-day party DD#1 went to ($15)
2. Any progress towards goals? $500 went to savings this week and we made our final full time/2 kids day care payment! The July/August bill will be for 2 kids/3 days and Sept will be full time/1 kid... very exciting!
3. Do you feel like you make enough money? I do- some months (when our day care bill was for 5 weeks), I feel like my head is going to explode, but we have a lot saved, contribute to retirement, have 529/savings for the girls, and have a good house. DD#1 will be starting kindergarten in September, so we'll have that bill cut in half very soon and we can breathe a little/get DH a new SUV.
2. $500 to H's student loan on Thursday.
In other exciting news, we put $2,700 (20%) down to get started on our bathroom remodel. We worked with the designer this weekend to start picking out the tile and design, shower door, new window and the general room layout. She's going to hunt for a vanity this week and we'll meet her on Thursday to pick out the tub and fixtures!!
3. Yes. We are very, very fortunate. However, I don't love the stress and pressure that accompanies our high paying jobs, which is why we're so dedicated to having zero debt but our mortgage and having good chunk in retirement before kids.
1. This weekend was bad, bad, bad as far as spending. We went to Savannah for the weekend with my family and ended up paying most of the cost for everyone. We were mostly anticipating it though because that's just how my family is.
-$420 for 3 hotel rooms (one for DH and I, one for my dad, and one for my mom and little brother.)
-$68 in gas
-$3 parking
-$165 food (thank goodness we brought the cooler loaded up with snacks, otherwise we would have spent a lot more)
-$16 on pecan pralines and sweet water taffy
-$350 on my birthday gift--My dad bought me a new macbook on Friday (which was very nice of him) but as we were checking out said that I had to cover the costs of the protection plan ($309) and the cover that he insisted I get with it ($45). Those were unexpected costs.
+$300 for some freelance work I did, that helped with all our expenses this week.
2. Any progress towards goals? Managed to save about $150 but that's it.
3. Do you feel like you make enough money? Haha, by myself? Not even close, although compared to many friends my age I'm doing all right. My salary position pays peanuts, but my freelance fee that I charge is decent. If you add in DH's income we're doing pretty great though--he was smart and went in to a trade and not only gets good benefits, but the pay is really good and he has pretty decent job security too.
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
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1. $28 Gas, $78 Dog Supplies $12 Grocery store
2. $3K to house fund
3. I feel like I make enough for my position but $1K increases per year aren't really going to be a big help overall. I feel both H and I need to get to the next level. I'm working on projects with a different dept to get my foot in the door so hopefully a good opportunity will pop up. But sometimes I feel like the whole world makes more money than I do LOL
1. How MM was your weekend? Weekend was pretty good. We went out on Friday night to celebrate my new job but stayed in budget. I don't think we spent any money on Saturday or Sunday.
2. Any progress towards goals? I start my new job on Monday and we have our updated budget figured out and that will go into affect July 1st. Plenty of money now for all of our needs and wants. We will be maxing out two ROTHs and total of 15% to retirement, and saving for vacations, baby fund and general savings.
3. Do you feel like you make enough money? Almost. With this new job I'm getting a $6,000 (pre-tax) raise over my old job, that along with DH's income we are very comfortable, especially when you take into account his annual bonus and our tax refund. If we had another $10-20k after tax that would be perfect. We would be able to do some more needed (wanted) projects on the house and start to pay down the mortgage more aggressively.
1. How MM was your weekend?
$35 on food during weekend trip to parents, $10 to top off gas tank before we left, grocery shopping will happen tonight.
2. Any progress towards goals?
$1223 more towards SLs. We've paid our principal down to $34,386 now. YAY.
3. Do you feel like you make enough money?
When DH and I met, we were both making 25k gross and each living alone. Our expenses have gone down and our incomes have gone up considerably. So I'm still feeling like I make plenty even though most probably wouldn't consider it that way. But with our expenses, we make more than enough. And my benefits are worth probably at least 15k on top of my salary.
In terms of whether I think I'm getting paid appropriately, I think I deserve a bit of a raise based on what I've done to improve the organization in the almost 2 years I've been here. My work, compared to my predecessor, is just way better. And I'm below average for my education and job title in my region. I'm working on doing some free online certifications to bring to the table along with a couple big completed projects and I'm planning to talk to my supervisor/CFO in late July about a raise. That is when I hit the 2 year mark here and the organization budget is developed in August and approved in September.
1. How MM was your weekend?
Not bad - $40 on gas for a RT to Atlanta and about $110 stocking up on groceries.
2. Any progress towards goals?
Yes - one of our goal was to cash flow as much of the kitchen remodel as possible. So far, we've been able to do that and we have just one thing left to order - a light fixture for the breakfast nook. We've managed to do this while sticking to the savings rate I wanted to us to maintain. We also are getting these items removed from the invoice for the kitchen at the end, so we should not be dipping into our savings for all of these smaller bits - backsplash, faucet, pulls, etc.
3. Do you feel like you make enough money?
We do. Of course it's always nice to make more, but once you do you find other things you get your heart set on doing - whether it's remodeling or travel or whatever - and then it feels tight again while you're spending money on that stuff. I mean, I could absolutely spend every penny we made on awesome travel, and H and I have to work to reign that in (though I don't regret making that a priority because travel is experiential, but still... it can get out of hand quickly).... So sure, making more would be good, but we certainly don't need it to live a comfortable life. I read once that surveys show that the vast majority of people say they would be financially comfortable if they made 10% more... regardless of how much they made.
1. Pretty poor but could have been worse. Spent about $100 Friday night between food and drinks and a cab ride home for a work event. Saturday spent about $20 on food and drinks for our trip and picnic in the state park. Luckily we have an annual pass so entry and parking was free. Sunday we spent $50 on brunch and drinks on the beach as our date day. Spendy weekend overall but I had such a blast with my H.
2. We added $2,000 to our DP savings from our mid-month paychecks and got our rent reduced $200 for the month for doing major lawn work over the past two months (planting grass in bare areas, re-doing hedges, etc). I contacted our property manager and sent her receipts and photos as a long shot and we got lucky considering we would have done it regardless of reimbursement.
3. Yes, both H and I are very fortunate with our salaries and job stability. We have pretty regular incremental raises and annual bonuses so financial planning is not too complicated. Of course there's always that desire to make more, but in relation to our peers we're pretty well off. I'm sure that this will change a bit once we buy a home and have a child, but we live comfortably right now (hence my irresponsible $$ blown this weekend in #1 lol).
Good, all budgeted for. $125 Sams Club stock up, $30 gas, $12 takeout, $35 Target.
2. Any progress towards goals?
Not this week. H and I are going to sit down and review the budget more. We are itching to selling our house and buying another sooner than later.
3. Do you feel like you make enough money?
No but yes? I work for a nonprofit. I love my schedule and 401k benefits. I don't have STD and we have no maternity leave benefits. Most of my FMLA approved time off was unpaid because I ran out of sick and vacation time. I took zero vacation time between January and October...
1. How MM was your weekend?
Great. We did a lot of free activities. Had to pay $5 for parking for the free concert we went to. Met friends for a beer and split one between the two of us to keep spending to $6. All meals were eaten at home.
2. Any progress towards goals?
Yes. I was afraid we were going to go over budget for June but we started Air BnB this month and are making the money we need to offset the gap with the new budget. We even accepted a total last minute reservation Friday night to get the extra income. $57 for a guy who came in at 10pm and then left at 7am the next day was some easy extra money.
3. Do you feel like you make enough money?
Yes, I am happy with my salary and I can support both of us if need be (like I am right now). When DH gets a new job I will be much happier with our combined income and getting back to plans for early retirement, more vacations, etc.
1. How MM was your weekend?
Great! No money spent, except for a $7 tip at a brunch buffet...but the two buffets were free.
2. Any progress towards goals?
No money saved anywhere, but I opened an LLC to use for my rental property purchases.
3. Do you feel like you make enough money?
Short answer, no. Long answer, I'm fortunate to have multiple streams of income and a healthy "surplus" income as compared to expenses. But my H as been unemployed a long time and he makes twice what I do when he is working. So we are way under in that respect. I've also had roughly stagnant wages for the last 10 years.
For me, as long as I have to depend on outside companies instead of myself to make a living, then I don't make enough money! Early retirement, at least from the rat race, is my primary goal.
1. How MM was your weekend? Great! We put $20 in the tank and spent $20 at the grocery store. We got to have an amazing weekend with H's brother and girlfriend.
2. Any progress towards goals? We sold the car over a week ago but I was just able to but the cash back into the savings. Hooray for having a fully funded E-Fund again!
3. Do you feel like you make enough money? I think H is underpaid compared to his coworkers which is irritating. I will be working minimum wage for a part time job come fall but the school uses me for many other things unpaid. I wish they would pay me more for the hourly job to make up for it.
On the flipside we make enough to do everything we need, for me to be a SAHM someday, and go to school full time on cash. If we didn't live so frugally we couldn't swing it but we are okay with things as they are. Hopefully I will finish college and get a full time position when we have a school aged child. We would do very well if that happened.
Love: March 2010 Marriage: July 2013 Debt Free: October 2014 TTC: May 2015
2. Any progress towards goals? Non-pay week for both of us, so it was only $75 to my student loan.
3. Do you feel like you make enough money? Yes and no. We're both compensated fairly well (at least what we consider to be) but there's never enough for all the things we want to do. Since I'm looking at houses again, I keep thinking how much happier I'd be with an extra $20k. But we have everything we need and some things we want, so we're good.
2. No $ progress towards goals. But our patio is really progressing. They need to do electrical, gutters and fix whatever they screwed up with our sprinkler system. Then I think they are done which is super exciting!
3. Yes, we make enough money. We live in a good house in a nice neighborhood, we have food and essentials, and we can budget for travel to visit family and whatever else we need. You can always make more $, but it doesn't mean it will add anything to your life. If we made more, we would probably give more.