It’s been a few months since I posted my last Money Makeover Challenge update. Not exactly according to plan, but there’s been progress and changes toward our finances since then.
As I mentioned in a previous update, we anticipated a few additional sources of income in February. We received:
- $1,845.93 from StockX for resell of four pairs of “hype” Nike’s on the 12th,
- $312 for our State tax refund on the 15th,
- $1,386.09 for Ashton’s winter work bonus on the 21st,
- and $4,187 for our Federal tax refund also on the 21st.
All of the additional income went toward the credit card as it came in, except for most of the Federal tax refund which went into our emergency fund.
EMERGENCY FUND
I am happy to announce that our starter emergency fund is more than fully funded! By the end of February, we had saved $3,625 with most of our Federal tax refund. By the end of March, we had spent all but about $500 on more necessary vehicle maintenance/repairs. By the end of this month (April), we rebuilt it to $1,580.80!
I’ve mentioned that we’ve struggled with keeping saved money in the emergency fund and using it for trivial expenses that were most definitely not emergencies before. When this happened, I would become so discouraged that I would quit saving temporarily. I recently realized – and it’s so obvious, I know – that I must persevere and keep saving every week.
We decided to continue on to baby step three, which is to save three to six months worth of living expenses. In our case, that’s $10,500 for three months. Also, we added two more savings accounts: an annual sinking fund for Christmas and a sinking fund for our 10th wedding anniversary next year (Tuesday 16 June 2020).
DEBT SNOWBALL
We went from $9,645.18 total in debt between two debts during the first week of January down to one debt with a current balance of $4,405.83! We completely paid off our Chase credit card with $2,401.79 as the final payment on February 21st. If not before, we intend to pay off our final debt, the second 401(k) loan, with next year’s tax refund.
Only one more debt to pay, then we’ll be debt free!!!
MAY GOALS
Savings
Emergency: Continue to save $225 per week ($900 per month), plus any additional income, such as childcare reimbursement.
Christmas: Continue to save $25 per week ($100 per month). We have a current balance of $125. At this rate, we should have at least $825 saved by the end of November/beginning of December.
10th Anniversary: Continue to save $25 per week ($100 per month). We have a current balance of $75. By June of next year, we should have at least $1,475 saved for a memorable 10th anniversary.
Debt Snowball
Remain current on the second 401(k) loan, which is automatically deducted from Ashton’s paycheck at $26.25 per week ($105 total per month).
