I think I may have just possibly negotiated a $1200/mo. raise bringing my take home pay to around $3800/mo. It would require me to work 10-15 more hours per week but I was going to look for a part time job anyways so this is perfect ... I would start mid-November if this actually pans out, will keep everyone posted!

Oh my goodness life is stressful lately. Between buying a home, planning a wedding, and full-time work, I'm finding it hard to keep my head on straight!

DF and I are supposed to close on our house on 11/30 but we aren't holding our breath because financing is so backed up and the construction crews that are building our home can call non-workdays at any point in time. I'm hoping we are closed by mid-December so that we will have time to paint, move-in, build a fence, etc. because we will be in Palm Springs for the holidays.

But it sounds like the first time home buyers tax credit extension is almost inevitable which is AWESOME. We will likely use most of it to pay off DF's car loan and then the only debt we will have is DF's 2.5K LOC and our mortgage! Wait ... I might take that last statement back about being debt free ... I have a couple questions and would like some opinions - the only couch we have had is almost like a loveseat and it only comfortably fits one person. It was also located in DF's bachelor pad (shared with two other guys) before we moved in together. It smells, it looks terrible, and it isn't comfortable. So I would like to look at buying a sectional for our living room. I will use Craigslist, etc. if possible but I want to make sure that it is a quality piece of furniture. I also want to look at getting a tempur-pedic mattress. DF goes to sleep much later than I do and he always wakes me up. I'm a very light sleeper if I'm on a bad mattress. Add on that DF snores and it makes for a horrible night's sleep and I can't function at work. We bought a sleigh bed from DF's uncle for like $175 but the mattress seems like it is going to suck. It's springy and not supportive. I think I would consider a new mattress as an investment in my health and my job. I would prefer to get both the couch and mattress on one of those no interest for a year blah blah blah plans so that we can keep our money working for us as long as possible.

Time to put my nose back to the grindstone - happy November!

Income
$2650 (me)
$2000 (fiance)
$550 (renter)
$400+ (part-time jobs)
Total - $5600

Expenses
$1314 (mortgage)
$250 (prop. taxes)
$36 (HOA dues)
$40 (home ins.)
$300 (car ins.)
$245.03 (car payment)
$150 (ROTH me)
$150 (ROTH fiance)
$175 (fuel)
$250 (utilities)
$250 (dog food, groceries, paper)
$200 (vet, clothes, car repairs)
$100 (my allowance)
$100 (fiance allowance)
$40 (co-pays)
$75 (fiance loan)
$19 (netflix)
$50 (float, household items)
$1855.97 (savings)

Fiance's car loan is at 5.99% with a balance of $12070. His personal loan is at 10.99% with a balance of 3.7K. We will be making payments of about $200 to the principal of the car loan/mo. until Jan. 2010. So his balance should be around 11K by the end of the year. We will then be sending as much as we can to the car loan each month. We also intend to send 7K of the 8K first time homebuyer's credit to his car loan. We expect to have this paid off in March of 2010 to free up that $250/mo. We should be able to pay off his personal loan by June 2010. And then we will start maxing our ROTHs in July! We should have 10K in retirement accounts by the end of 2010 and over 20K in savings! We will be looking for a renter in January 2010 to rent out our extra bedroom. We will also be getting part time jobs to help supplement our savings and just to break up our weeks. Fiance spends so many hours on video games and I work a VERY stressful accounting job so it would be good for both of us to have something enjoyable and to be able to feel un-responsible for a few hours of each week!

So even if we don't find a renter or even get part-time jobs, We will still have about 1K surplus every month. We will also begin making wedding plans after we move into our home. We will be getting married in August or September of 2010. we will be going CHEAP. i actually asked fiance if he wouldn't mind going to the courthouse LOL. our families will both be contributing towards our wedding which I expect to cost us nothing. We will probably end up paying for the majority of the honeymoon but that's okay with me! We are trying to figure out where to go ... Neither of us have taken a vacation in five or more years which is unheard of for our group of peers. So we are thinking about splurging a bit (barring unforeseen circumstances) and going somewhere like Paris, Fiji, etc. There is so much to do over this next year!

I have been gone for far to long but I have been keeping up with everyone's blogs. Too much has happened since my last post. My boyfriend proposed to me on July 4th and of course I said yes! We have also taken the leap into homeownership. We made an executive decision to buy through Quadrant Homes (they build highly-known developments in the Pacific Northwest). They have lowered their prices by 25K, offered us 10K towards closing costs, and we will also (almost positively) close in time to receive the 8K credit. Not to mention my real estate agent was just able to negotiate another 2K from them to use towards our dream refrigerator in the showroom. We have financed at zero down, no PMI, and locked our rate in at 5.375%.

We bought at zero down because we feel ready for homeownership, have the financial flexibility to afford a mortgage, and seriously, who can pass up 45K? They have just poured our foundation and we should be in before Thanksgiving. They have an extremely rigid process of building these homes (exactly 54 business days).

I was talking to one of my colleagues about a month ago and she said that she and her husband went into debt about 15K with each house they bought. I was incredulous. We have basically all of our furniture. We will be buying a 3 y/o used washer and dryer for $200 from my boss' family. We will need to build a fence but fiance does contracting for a living so that will be cheap. the only major thing we really need is a sectional. seriously. the little loveseat thing we have smells like pee, beer, and other bodily fluids. it used to reside in fiance's bachelor house so that HAS TO GO. it is gross. our families will be helping us out with gift cards, etc. to help defray the costs of getting our home up and running.

I have been without health insurance for a couple of months now. I work for a VERY small employer who can't offer health insurance due to the way it would have to be set up. Basically we would have to insure her daughter who incurs half a million dollars in medical bills every year which would increase all of our premiums to around 2K/mo. I'll pass So my employer gave me my raise a few months early which completely covers my premiums for dental, vision, and health. it also leaves me about $8/mo. So now I am making almost 40K. pretty good if you ask me! I am very, very thankful.

Since paying off my car in April I have been diligently working to increase our emergency fund before our first mortgage payment (early January). It is up to 6.5K and we are currently adding 2K/mo. so we should have close to 14K come end of year. I'm going to make a separate post for our projected budget and I would love for some of you to look it over and let me know if it looks realistic.

Glad to be back! I'm hoping to post on a more regular basis now that we are going to be going through ALOT of changes and upheavals!

I paid of my car last Wednesday and my net worth jumped from a couple thousand to 18K!

Hello folks! It's a gorgeous day in WA today, I can't wait to be off work! So you read the title right; I have pulled a little over 6K from savings and I will be paying my car off with that on Wednesday. My savings will be at a paltry $50 or so after that. But by the end of the month I should be able to shovel another $1500 into savings.

Here is my budget for the remainder of the month.

Income :
$1231.43 - Cash already in the bank
$660.00 - BF owes me
$21.00 - BDay money from Gma
$1285.00 - 04/27 paycheck
$6050.00 - $ transferred over from savings

Expenses :
$125.00 - Car insurance
$300.00 - Rent
$90.00 - Utilities
$27.00 - Cable from last month @ apt.
$50.00 - Payment to apt. complex
$913.12 - CC payment in full (gas/food/vet/entertainment)
$6035.00 - Est. car payoff amount
$150.00 - Roth IRA
$1500.00 - Transfer to savings

So you may have noticed a few things on this monthly budget. BF and I moved in with my dad at the beginning of April so that we can pay down debt and save up for a house. We took Bella to the vet to get spayed in March and we also had to pay a month's rent to break our lease early. Because BF was unemployed at the time, I covered those bills. Hence the $660 he owes me. He now has full time work again so he can pay me back this month.

We were also hit with a semi-expected bill this month from our apartment complex, $800 to replace the carpet due to our lovely little puppy going potty before she was potty trained. We negotiated this bill down by about $250.00 and we have set up a payment plan w/the apartment complex.

After I pay off my car and CC this month, I will officially be DEBT FREE! And I will have paid off my 20K car loan more than three years early saving thousands in interest! Now that I have this $1500-$1600 surplus I am unsure what to do with it. I am applying to WSU online program for Fall 2009 to finish up my BA (I have my AA). I estimate the cost to finish my degree to be between 12-15K. I am not sure if I should take out a student loan or pay for school in cash. If I paid for school in cash my savings would be pretty anemic. My degree would be in accounting. I currently make 37K/yr and between savings and retirement, I will be able to save about 20K/yr. A BA in accounting would likely give me a salary boost to around 50K right away. I work at an accounting firm right now and co-own it and at the rate it is growing, my co-owner and I will likely make six figures before we are 30. I'm not counting on it but that would be cool

Anyways, I guess I'm trying to convince myself that taking out a loan for 15K isn't a bad idea. I don't want to get out of school two yrs from now and only have like 5K saved. BF and I will likely be married by then and we will want to buy a house. Disclaimer - please don't tell me that I am too young to put my roots down. I have lived in Seattle my entire life and know that I want to stay here. My family is here, my career is here, everything is here.

I'm also not sure if I should max out my Roth or if I should up my contributions in between what I'm saving now and maxing it out. I'm thinking $300/month which would still give me the ability to save $1300/mo for a house/school/car fund/wedding/etc.

I've just realized this is an extremely long blog LOL. Yay for rambling. Let me know your thoughts on my questions and have a great week!

Well, we paid to break the lease early on our apartment and we will be out at the end of the month. We had to pay a month's rent to break the lease which ends on May 31. So while we basically paid rent for April, we will recoup that money in April and then save about $1200-1500 in May. So we are basically making over 1K to break the lease early. I'm okay with that.

I have projected out through the end of 2009 and as long as my job remains stable we should have over 10K saved by December, and this includes paying my car off from savings in June! My car loan is at 6.6K @ 4.99% currently and my payoff amount come June will be about 4K. I figure it makes more sense to pay my car off that is at 4.99% than leave my money in savings earning a measly 1.65%. That will free up $650/mo (don't worry my payment is only $264 I just pay more) and I will have my car paid off more than 2.5 years early!

With that $650 I will max my Roth contributions (although I'm not sure how to do that from the T. Rowe Price website because they always want like a min. of $1000 and I'm like what? I just want auto withdrawals of about $50 to each mutual fund of my choosing per month to add up to around $416). And $300 will be added to savings. I will use some of the remainder to give myself a cost of living raise because I have been banking all my raises for the past two years.

Ugh, so many things on my mind. This will be quite a regurgitation of thoughts.

BF has very little work right now (he works as a contractor) so we are quite tight every month. He would get about $1400 unemployment every month while I make about $2400 every month. This easily covers our bills. We have 6K in savings. I am feeling very anxious and need some reassurance that we are doing okay.

In June we will have lived at our apartment complex for a year and have tentatively decided on moving in with my father for awhile. If both BF and I are working full time, we would be able to save about 1.5-2K every month. We will, of course, pay rent and utilities to my father but it will be very reduced because we will basically just have my room as living space.

My car loan is currently at 7K. I have managed to pay off 13K of it over the last year and a half. I love this car and plan on driving it into the ground. I was wondering what your thoughts are on the following ... By the time we move out to my dad's we will have roughly 9-10K in savings granted we don't have to pull from it between now and then. I was wondering if it makes sense to to pull out what will be the remainder of my car loan from savings (car loan will probably be around $4800 if I continue to pay the $650 p/mo. that I am paying now) because we will be in a much better position to pay our obligations once we move in with my dad. And my savings is at 1.85% while my car loan is at 4.99%. This will also free up $650 p/mo. which I could throw toward my Roth which is currently getting $150 p/mo.

Also, my company does not currently offer a 401K so can I get a 401K? Or are my only options for retirement individual stocks/Roth IRA/Traditional IRA? I'm more comfortable not managing individual stocks, I like mutual funds because they don't have to be monitored so closely.

And one more question ... I am looking in to Bachelor programs online through WSU (Washington State University). I currently have my AA. My BA will likely cost between 12K-15K. I am wondering if I should take out a student loan and just continue to sock away 1.5K+ p/mo. (considering I have paid off my car 1K if I haven't) towards a future home purchase, hopefully to be bought in the next couple of years. Or should I pay for school out of savings and have no student loans but no savings? Moving in with my dad should enable BF to pay off most of his car and minimal credit line so when we get married we should basically have no debt. Would it be acceptable then to take on that student loan since we will have no debt when deferment ends? IDK!!! Ahhh!!!

Took Bella to the vet today, $80. Finally paid her pet deposit for the apartment, $200. And she is getting spayed in a couple of weeks, another $140 estimated. I'm having so much anxiety over money because I try to consider that 6K as untouchable.

That feels much better. Let me know your thoughts!

Haven't written in awhile. I made it through the holidays alive but with a little bit of credit card debt. It sucks but I'm not that disappointed with myself. I was able to get my family useful presents for the cheapest I have ever been able to manage around the holidays.

I think I had the reigns a tad too tight in 2008 and that's probably why I splurged at the end of the year. Basketball Boy and I have worked fun money into our budget but in a *healthy* way. For every hour or more that we work out, we earn 5$ to spend however we would like. We cash out our 'workout days' at the end of the month and the money needs to last us until our next cashout. We aren't in bad shape by any means but we would both like to start the year out in a healthy way.

I did set some new goals for the new year. But I want to reflect on 2008 first.

I got myself out of about 3K in CC debt. I paid my car down by about 7K to just over 10K. I started and ING account in June and was able to save 4K towards that. Amazing!

For 2009 my goals are as follows ...

- open a joint checking account with Basketball Boy
- add Basketball Boy as a joint holder to my savings account
- save an additional 6-7K to bring the ING account to 10K
- pay off my car
- up Roth IRA contrib. from $150 to $200/mo.

I started on these goals by firstly changing my withholdings on my W-4. I should now see an additional $175ish per month and owe/get back very little on 2009's tax return. I will be getting back around $2500 for 2008's tax return which has been earmarked as follows ...

2K to car loan
$250 to savings
$250 to spend!

I bumped up my monthly auto deposit to savings from $150 to $250 and attempted to up my Roth IRA contrib. from $150 to $200 but couldn't figure out how.

There's my quick update, ttfn and I hope everyone has a wonderful new year!

... was very spendy. Basketball Boy and I spent about $225 @ Costco. We have a food budget of $250/mo so we have $25 left. Granted, we haven't been shopping in about three weeks so the Costco run should def last us through the month.

I've never really tried any frugal hacks before and I'm not sure if this is frugal or just evil. I went to American Eagle a week ago and spent about $300 with a 40% off coupon. I ended up taking about $100 worth of the clothes back but said I didn't have my receipt so I got store credit for the amount without the 40% off so I got $200 back for only spending $100! That was pretty freaking sweet. I also spent $45 @ Victoria's Secret for two pairs of these super comfy sweat pants that I just LOVE!

I'm not going to lie though, my credit card is now over $800. I have faithfully paid off my balance in full every month for about a year now and I don't think I will be able to this month. I guess I could but I don't want to pull from my $4,000 EF because I feel so much more secure with that money there.

From my checking account to my ING account of $900! That brings me just shy of my $4,000 goal to be reached by the end of December which will be surpassed by my auto transfer of $150 in early December. Woo hoo!

I have been keeping up with everyone's blogs but haven't posted one of my own in awhile. BB and I are doing well. We got a puppy at the end of October and we are enjoying raising her. Other than that nothing too eventful has happened recently. I got my hair chopped off over the weekend and it looks great! I also dropped a nice chunk of change on shopping but to be fair I really haven't bought anything for myself in about a year. And I have managed to save 3K in about five months. So I'm glad I splurged!

Anyways ... a net worth update I suppose.

Assets
Roth IRA - around $800
Emergency Fund - $1762.99
Puppy Fund - $200.20
House Fund - $1002.92
Checking - $272.39

Liabilities
Credit Card - around $700 (that includes the month's groceries and gas) this will be paid down to $200ish
Car Loan - $11011.25

Estimated Net Worth - $7672.75

Dang, that's a big change from a few months ago!