January Financial Update

This just in, I think I might go back to actually using proper capitalization. Maybe.

Anyway...

If you divide 100% by 12 months, you get 8.3333333333333333%. I just wanted to get that out there and explain that we're not going to be able to save 8.33% percent each month. Right now, we're in a season of inching. I have a fulltime job that provides for all of our needs but leaves little room for saving. Bryan gives plasma and so far, we've been able to save all of that money. But our goals are quite hefty compared to the small amount of savings we can muster right now. 

That's okay, because the end of school is finally in sight. Bryan will graduate in May, leave for East Asia, get back in August, and (Lord-willing) get a job and we'll be a double income family. Since we quite easily live off of one small income right now, we should have no problem dominating our goals come August. At least that's the plan. 

For now, we'd like to be diligent stewards of what God has given us and save as much as we can, even if it's very little. 

Because we were on the ball in November and December, we're actually not so far behind this month. Which is always encouraging! 

Here's the update:

2012 Financial Goals:

1. Fill all of our essential dump funds as fast as possible. these dump funds include:
• Auto Insurance
• Home Insurance
• Auto Tax
• Home Tax
• Pest Control
• Eye Exams
• Eye Glasses
2. Pay off our student loan
3. Fill all of our non-essential dump funds. these dump funds include:
• Christmas
• Clothing
• Vacation
• Birthdays
4. Save and pay cash for a second car
5. Fully fund our emergency fund (6 months of expenses)

Percentage-wise, we're 7.46% completed with our 2012 goals. 

december financial update

you've heard it before, the holidays are expensive. between gifts, postage, traveling, cards, eating out, and the like, one can really break the bank.

i've prided myself on being over-prepared financially and mentally for the holidays months in advance, but even i failed to stick to our budget this year. i'm a little disappointing in myself, but i refuse to beat myself up about it. because we've been extremely blessed and we're doing just fine.

in the midst of overspending, we ended up borrowing a small amount from our savings.

2012 financial goals:

1. fill all of our essential dump funds as fast as possible. these dump funds include:
• auto insurance
• home insurance
• auto tax
• home tax
• pest control
• eye exams
• eye glasses
2. pay off our student loan
3. fill all of our non-essential dump funds. these dump funds include:
• christmas
• clothing
• vacation
• birthdays
4. save and pay cash for a second car
5. fully fund our emergency fund (6 months of expenses)

percentage-wise, we're 6.26% completed with our 2012 goals. 

i think i can be excited about being 6.26% ahead of schedule, so i'm going to be!


happy saving!

november financial update

looking forward to our 2012 budget, we've decided to re-name our normal sinking funds category. mostly because they are not really sinking funds anymore.

as i was running the numbers for next year, and looking at our increased goals, particularly in the "sinking fund" categories like eye exams (bryan hasn't been in a couple years) and vacation (we've never taken a vacation aside from visiting family), i realized something: we don't make enough money to be able to afford all of that.

we do spend less than i make after our giving, bills and cash envelopes. and we do have some extra sources of income like bryan giving plasma and little surveys or odds and ends that i do. and sometimes we're lucky enough to get into car accidents. but because we can't count on plasma or those random extra earnings, we can't count on filling all of our sinking funds little by little each month.

so we're changing our budgeting strategy around and we're affectionately renaming our sinking funds to dump funds.

the dump fund: where we dump as much money as possible, as quickly as possible and fill the fund for the entire year in one fell swoop.  

it's similar to the debt snowball in many ways. the main reason i like it because it gives us momentum on our other goals. if we don't have to save little by little each month for those inevitable expenses, we can put more money towards the goals we're really ambitious about, like paying off our student loan before it accrues any interest.

i don't know if it possible, but i'd love to completely cross off the first goal on our list before 2012 even starts. with that said, here's the update for november!


2012 financial goals:

1. fill all of our essential sinking dump funds as fast as possible. these dump funds include:
• auto insurance
• home insurance
• auto tax
• home tax
• pest control
• eye exams
• eye glasses
2. pay off our student loan
3. fill all of our non-essential sinking dump funds. these dump funds include:
• christmas
• clothing
• vacation
• birthdays
4. save and pay cash for a second car
5. fully fund our emergency fund (6 months of expenses)

percentage-wise, we're 6.97% completed with our 2012 goals.