Money Matters
csuave
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.
May/June monthly check-in
May
What were your financial goals for the month and were you able to accomplish them?
June
What are your financial goals for the month and how will you accomplish them?
Status of Ongoing Goals
What are your short, middle and/or long term goals, and what are you doing to accomplish them?
GTKY Bonus: Seasonal
Outdoor activities are in full swing. Have you enjoyed any free outdoor activities recently or have plans for some?
GTKY Bonus: MM-related
Re: May/June monthly check-in
May
What were your financial goals for the month and were you able to accomplish them?
Pay my credit card debt down by least $5K. Yes, accomplished! It was actually paid down $6,300.
June
What are your financial goals for the month and how will you accomplish them?
Pay my credit cards down another $5K.
Status of Ongoing Goals
What are your short, middle and/or long term goals, and what are you doing to accomplish them?
Short term -- Get a cash-out refi for one of my rental properties. I've already talked to some national lenders, but going the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac route is turning out to be tough. Besides it being non-owner occupied and a multi-family, both considered higher risk, the "small" loan size (approx. $85K) also limits lenders.
I have a local private lender I've already spoken to, but that has slightly higher interest rates and I need another 6 weeks to get my 'cc utilization below 30%...and hence raise my credit score a good bit to get his best rate.
Medium term -- Buy another rental property by the end of the year. The (above) cash-out refi will put me in a position to do that.
Long term -- $6K/month rental cash flow. Could "retire" at that point, if I wanted to.
GTKY Bonus: Seasonal
Outdoor activities are in full swing. Have you enjoyed any free outdoor activities recently or have plans for some?
Not something I'm proud of, but I'm not really an outdoors person. I hang out on my deck and play ball with my dog. That's about the extent of it, lol. Quite frankly, living in the South, this is actually becoming the time of year I spend as little time outside as possible. It's already uncomfortably hot and, in about another two weeks, it will be miserably hot.
GTKY Bonus: MM-related
Do you make/craft/build anything or have a skill like sewing that has the potential to save you money? I say potential because DIY isn't always cheaper!
Alas, I have no such skills! Though my H and I have become pretty handy with household repairs and renovations. Him, much more so than me. I kid you not, between our own home and our rentals, that has saved us tens of thousands of dollars.
We built our own large deck. We painted the exterior of our house DIY...though there are still some spots that need to be finished. Completely repainted the interiors of two rentals. Installed three new kitchens. Basic kitchens, but still. And 1,000+ various repairs, lol.
May - What were your financial goals for the month and were you able to accomplish them?
May was a high spending month and the monthly cc bill was high from April. We bought new tires and took a trip to FL which made the bills add up quickly. The goal was to increase savings and we did! We made $700 on AirBnB which was a big help. We also kept expenses down in the "normal" areas.
June - What are your financial goals for the month and how will you accomplish them?
Once again, increase savings. We will keep spending low and we cashed in our credit card cash back to help in another month with a big cc bill (not a balance just our regular bill that we pay in full on time from May's spending).
This goal may be at odd with our goal of making a decision on or hiring a landscaper. Our savings will fund that so it will be an expected dip when we start on that project.
Status of Ongoing Goals
Our monthly savings goals are on track to meet our year end savings goal.
GTKY Bonus: Seasonal - Outdoor activities are in full swing. Have you enjoyed any free outdoor activities recently or have plans for some?
We'll do a lot more outside. Our local park alone will have all of these free activities: movies, concerts, yoga and tai chi. I plan to try tai chi for the first time this month.
GTKY Bonus: - Do you make/craft/build anything or have a skill like sewing that has the potential to save you money? I say potential because DIY isn't always cheaper!MM-related
We are not highly skilled, crafty or good at DIY. We could probably save a lot if we did our landscaping ourselves or knew how to make more things.
We have made beer before and it was fun, but not necessarily MM.
We do, however, like to entertain and make our own food instead of cater. We'll have a hockey watching party on Saturday and I have already planned a menu that we will make ourselves and will be very reasonable cost wise. It will take us two days to shop and prep though so that is the trade off.
@csuave, you often amaze me with your AirBnB income! $700 in a month for renting out a room...and not even for the whole month (I'm assuming) is great!
I wish I had an extra room in my house I could do that with for the occasional big events in NOLA. But my house is a "shotgun layout", which means there are no hallways (except a small one where the bathroom is) and one room just flows into the next. With no doors and sometimes no walls between rooms. Not very private to host vacationers, lol.
May
What were your financial goals for the month and were you able to accomplish them?
Yes. I built up a new budget and we've been mostly tracking in YNAB. We've also generally cut back on spending now that the mad rush for moving supplies and truck rentals are over.
June
What are your financial goals for the month and how will you accomplish them?
Successfully close on both homes. Closing on our house is supposed to be scheduled for Thursday next week and closing on the new place is 2 weeks from today. We'll feel temporarily rich!
Status of Ongoing Goals
What are your short, middle and/or long term goals, and what are you doing to accomplish them?
Short - Close on both homes. Research and pick a term life insurance plan for both of us. Start new savings funds on house projects for the new place.
Middle - Reach $200k in retirement savings.
Long-term - On-going retirement savings, pay off the mortgage early.
GTKY Bonus: Seasonal
Outdoor activities are in full swing. Have you enjoyed any free outdoor activities recently or have plans for some?
I guess this isn't very free but we're planning to go fishing next weekend (had to pay for our license and poles last year). We have a local walking trail that I like to take the dog to but that's about it.
GTKY Bonus: MM-related
Do you make/craft/build anything or have a skill like sewing that has the potential to save you money? I say potential because DIY isn't always cheaper!I have a sewing machine and I've been teaching myself how to sew. It's not much of a money saving hobby though! The fabric has definitely been the most expensive part for when I have a specific project in mind. I think the areas I can and do save the most in are household linens like custom curtains, linen napkins and tablecloths, etc.
DH is extremely handy. One of his hobbies involves woodcrafting (but the start up costs are $$$$). Sometimes the frustrating thing is sure, he can MAKE the things I want to have...but it takes 3 or 4 or 5 times as long (or it never gets done) and probably ends up costing the same as instant gratification at the store.
However, he has saved us a ton of money over the years in all the fixes he's been able to do around the house. He's also capable of most basic car maintenance and repairs so that helps too.
We made the big money off of renting both second floor bedrooms as a way to sleep a party of three, or two in separate beds and rooms. We charge a little more for "the suite" and a little more for a third person, which can be accommodated with the single fold out couch in the office bedroom.
I should deduct $40 from that total profit. We got a new toilet seat after a certain guest left. He was here for a body building competition and put bronzer all over his body. He tried to be neat but it did make a bit of a mess in the bathroom and stained the toilet seat. The seat was 4 years old anyway so not a big deal to replace it. The people we meet doing this!
May
What were your financial goals for the month and were you able to accomplish them?
Save $1,979, keep better track of expenses. We also switched our internet provider ($70 to $40/month!) and dropped cable (we only got 23 channels for $19) completely.
June
What are your financial goals for the month and how will you accomplish them?
Last daycare payment! ($838), save $2,000, finalize outside renovation, watch expenses again.
Status of Ongoing Goals
What are your short, middle and/or long term goals, and what are you doing to accomplish them?
Short: exterior renovation with HELOC, NYC trip. Max retirement
Middle: car loans paid (2019), HELOC (2020), mortgage paid (2021). Max retirement yearly, girls' college, vacations yearly, leave current employer with 20 years/pension (2024) and plan for different work.
Long: retirement
GTKY Bonus: Seasonal
Outdoor activities are in full swing. Have you enjoyed any free outdoor activities recently or have plans for some?
DD#1's school had a really cute art show and food trucks in the bus loop that we walk to. We've been taking a lot walks around the neighborhood. Summer concerts start after school is out in a few weeks.
GTKY Bonus: MM-related
Do you make/craft/build anything or have a skill like sewing that has the potential to save you money? I say potential because DIY isn't always cheaper!Yes- I sew/quilt but once you have something professionally long armed, it becomes $$ (worth it to me though). DH is building himself a workbench for the garage and we have DIY'd house projects.
May
We were able to stay in budget and finish up all of the various projects (replaced front stairs, re-carpeted the main inside stairs, shampoo the bedroom carpet) within their respective budgets. Our yard sale earned us about $250 extra and we got rid of SO much stuff. And yet somehow still have a house full of stuff. At least it's progress lol.
Most importantly we got our vision/dental reimbursement sooner than I expected and were able to shove that back into our savings account so we reached our savings goal ($40k by my due date) 6 WEEKS early! I'm still funneling money into that account, but that's a relief knowing the baby emergency fund is squared away.
June
Square away all the insurance forms I'm going to need after the birth so that I just have to fill out the kid's name and birth date and get them submitted. I figure the more I can do ahead of time the better. Other than that just keep saving and try to take it easy.
Status of Ongoing Goals
Short - nothing really. Baby/emergency fund is in a good spot so we'll just keep saving and trying to minimize our expenses. I keep reminding my husband the less we draw down the account during my unpaid leave the more we'll be able to redirect toward another goal next year!
Middle - estate planning and keep saving up for a few bigger goals we want to accomplish in the next five years.
Long - retirement. It's on autopilot and it's on track.
GTKY Bonus: Seasonal
Hiking! We did a 1 mile, 600ft elevation hike on our babymoon and I was pretty darn proud of that considering I was 33 weeks lol. I've also got a running list of local walking trails that are stroller friendly that I plan on utilizing with the baby and the dog this summer.
GTKY Bonus: MM-related
I just took a sewing class but that's going to be more for fun than money saving, although I did hem a pair of pants myself and saved myself a few bucks there! We did almost all of the painting in our house (except the stairs because I didn't feel like balancing on a ladder on stairs...) which saved THOUSANDS and my husband has learned a lot about plumbing repair with this house. We're willing to give anything a shot except for electrical.What were your financial goals for the month and were you able to accomplish them?
Our last few monthly financially have been crazy. With H starting his own business we had no idea how it would go financially, but it's been a whirlwind. He has more work than he can even do! We didn't really have any specific goals set, but we did end up moving over enough to max out his retirement account.
June
What are your financial goals for the month and how will you accomplish them?
We plan to meet with our CPA to see how H can start paying himself while incurring the lowest tax liability as possible. We're hoping to be able to move $15-$20K over to the mortgage...
Status of Ongoing Goals
What are your short, middle and/or long term goals, and what are you doing to accomplish them?
Short - Pay off our mortgage. I'd love to have it gone in the next 12 months, but have set a realistic goal of 2019.
Medium - Early retirement, by at least 40 if not before.
Long - Enjoy the benefits of compound interest!
GTKY Bonus: Seasonal
Outdoor activities are in full swing. Have you enjoyed any free outdoor activities recently or have plans for some?
We walk a lot, but during the hot summer months, it's best to take our neighborhood strolls in the early morning or late evenings!
GTKY Bonus: MM-related
Do you make/craft/build anything or have a skill like sewing that has the potential to save you money? I say potential because DIY isn't always cheaper!Not really. I can craft, but it's expensive and I'm a perfectionist, so it would bother me to have something hanging in or decorating my home that isn't perfect. And H is far from handy! He always says he went to college to avoid manual labor.