Debts

Mortgage -$112,689.16 (-$241.43)
Land Loan -$8,388.33 (-$194.71)
Hospital Bill -$366.41 (-$75)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$29,512 (+$237)
401K +$60,591 (+$1,031)
Emergency Fund +$5,216 (-$1,051)
Animal Fund +$1,039 (+$4)
Car Fund +$260 (+$20)
HSA +$1,419 (-$321)

Overall: +$431.14

I was wrong in my previous check in about our deductible changing. Unfortunately, it still is $3,700. Oh well. 

January was a tough month for us. Lots of expenses and we had to pull from savings again. February so far has been better but we'll see how the month plays out. I have lung and heart procedures this month so going to have lots of medical expenses. Will have to decide again if I am going to take a short-term loan or pay out of savings. The savings are getting lower than I am comfortable though, especially since we keep having to pull from our EF just to cover our basic monthly expenses.

Which leads me to my next news. I got a job! Currently one day a week at the library but with options for more hours if I want. I have been wanting a one day a week job because we need money but I'm already so busy and homeschooling the kids. I was discussing my sadness with a friend that there are no jobs that hire one day a week and then the next day when I took my kids to the library they mentioned to me they were hiring for one day a week and would love to have me. It felt like fate.

I applied and got it. I won't start until it is officially voted on by the city board mid March. But I don't foresee any issues. They also commented on my web design degree on my resume and mentioned they were beginning to look for companies to redo the library website and asked if I would be interested in that job as well! So that make give me a larger income opportunity.

I am a bit nervous about rejoining the workforce but also excited. I LOVE books, and the library seems like a nice quiet, and easy job. I will only make a few hundred dollars a month but it should hopefully cover our budget shortfalls and also allow me to get out of the house every week. 

Debts

Mortgage -$112,930.59 (-$240.85)
Land Loan -$8,583.04 (-$195.08)
Hospital Bill -$441.41 (-$75)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$29,275 (+$1,540)
401K +$59,560 (+$3,554)
Emergency Fund +$6,267 (-$515)
Animal Fund +$1,035 (+$4)
Car Fund +$240 (+$0)
HSA +$1,740 (+$107)

Overall: +$5,200.93

Another big market increase month.

I ended up pulling a little money from the EF to cover a few expenses by the end of the year. I'm hoping in 2024 we can increase our savings instead of continuing to pull from it.

I'm happy that we managed to not take on any new medical debt this year, and it looks like my husband's insurance made a few changes for 2024 which will be in our favor. Previously we had just a family deductible which was $3,700 & OOP was $7,400 I think. Now they have changed it so each individual has a $1,850 and $3,700 OOP max with the total family staying the same as well. This should help us cut costs tremendously since I am the one who usually has the highest medical bills each year. I was worried I would have to upfront $7,400 in February when my next lung & heart surgery is rescheduled for, but now I should only have to pay a max of $3,700. That is a big difference.  

I will make other posts with my year in review and goals for next year. 

Debts

Mortgage -$113,171.44 (-$240.27)
Land Loan -$8,778.12 (-$191.07)
Hospital Bill -$516.41 (-$75)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$27,735 (+$2,448)
401K +$56,006 (+$5,387)
Emergency Fund +$6,782 (-$329)
Animal Fund +$1,031 (+$253)
Car Fund +$240 (+$20)
HSA +$1,633 (+$894)

Overall: +$9,179.34

The numbers seem really skewed from the large market increase.

Overall my cash is down, and I owe some to myself for Christmas presents which thankfully are all pretty much already purchased.

I finally got some good news regarding my health issues. The lung doctor my cardiologist referred me to couldn’t fit me in until late June, and I couldn’t wait that long so they referred me to the only other doctor who knew anything about my rare disease. He wasn’t the first pick but at least he could get me in before February.

Well today the original doctor called me and said he personally reviewed my case and that I was too complicated for anyone else to handle. So he just went ahead and double booked me in for early January!

My surgery is still scheduled for next week, (with my cardiologist and a random pulmonologist) and I am very excited at the prospect of feeling better soon. I am also super nervous about catching an illness before then and getting it cancelled. I have some plans for tomorrow and then after that I think I’m going to try to stay home and lay low to avoid germs.

Debts

Mortgage -$113,411.71 (-$239.70)
Land Loan -$8,969.19 (-$193.70)
Hospital Bill -$591.41 (-$75)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$25,287 (-$1,114)
401K +$50,619 (-$1,884)
Emergency Fund +$7,111 (+$235)
Animal Fund +$778 (+$3)
Car Fund +$220 (+$200)
HSA +$739 (+$51)

Overall: -$2,000.60

Market is down a lot. 

Car battery quit working and had to buy a new one, plus a rock hit my windshield and it will likely have to be replaced (happened on the same day), also need new tires sooner rather than later. Sigh.

Since my post last month about having strep throat (2nd time this year) I caught some sort of virus covid/flu and then I got pneumonia and had to get antibiotics again for the second time this month. Been sick nonstop for months it seems like. I really hope my surgeries will improve my overall health. 

At a financial dilemma with my surgery. I owe $2,700 but if I pay this week they will take off $400. I don’t have the money in my HSA so I would have to pull from savings which is making 4.5%. Or I can get a 0% interest two-year health loan.  Using my own money will cost me a loss of around $200 in interest I would have gotten over two years. So loan cost comes out to around $200 but I also have more reassurance because I won’t have to drain a large chunk from my savings. What would you do? Pay up front for the discount or use the loan for more stability?

Feeling kind of bummed about overall finances. If I budget just off my husband’s base pay without any overtime, or random side income, we barely make enough to cover just our basic mortgage/loans, utilities, and groceries. That is not even considering gas, tithes, or anything else. Thankfully we are averaging above that, but I never wanted to bank on overtime and now it seems we are running a very thin line. 

I really need to find a way to reduce groceries, but prices just continue to climb unfortunately. Considering trying to do a no spend month in November but I don’t see it as possible with the holidays and such. Maybe just an overall “do I really need this” discussion before every purchase. I'm not sure what to do, I just know this isn’t sustainable.  

Debts

Mortgage -$113,651.41 (-$239.13)
Land Loan -$9,162.89 (-$190.71)
Hospital Bill -$666.41 (-$75)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$26,401 (-$507)
401K +$52,503 (-$573)
Emergency Fund +$6,876 (+$378)
Animal Fund +$775 (+$3)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$688 (+$385)

Overall: +$190.84

Market is down but we were able to contribute to savings just a tiny bit. Better than pulling from savings every month!

I got a new puppy and also had some large animal expenses which I was able to offset by selling some goats. 

Finally heard back from the doctor and also had an appointment. I am getting a heart cath and also a minor lung surgery in November. We don't really have any answers as to what is wrong with me but something is so they need to do some more exploring.

I guess I really need to work on my yearly goal of sending $500 more to the HSA. 

Currently sick with strep throat (for the second time this year) but starting to feel better and now I'm in a mood to finish some random projects around the house that have been put off. 

Debts

Mortgage -$113,890.54 (-$238.56)
Land Loan -$9,353.60 (-$189.99)
Hospital Bill -$741.41 (-$75)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$26,908 (-$984)
401K +$53,076 (-$1,235)
Emergency Fund +$6,498 (+$413)
Animal Fund +$772 (+$503)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$303 (-$181)

Overall: -$980.45

Overall down from the market. But this was actually a great month for us. Besides adding to the above funds I paid for a $600 medical bill, $800 lodging for a future vacation, have the loan payment for next month saved, and have cash for a couple upcoming expenses. This is due to husband's bonus and I also finally got some back pay I was owed. 

I should have more side income coming and with September being a 5 paycheck month I hope we can continue to replenish savings. 

I still haven't gotten news about my heart yet. There was some poor communication between medical providers and it's all "not my fault" blame game right now between them and in the mean time I know nothing yet.

Debts

Mortgage −$114,129.10 (-$245.11)
Land Loan -$9,543.59 (-$228.86)
Hospital Bill - $816.41 (-$75)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$27,892 (+$858)
401K +$54,311 (+$2,074)
Emergency Fund +$6,085 (-$906)
Animal Fund +$269 (-$1,095)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$484 (+$385)

Overall: +$1,864.97

Up from the market. All cash accounts are down. On average we are spending over $300 a month more than we make this year. Which is NOT good. Unfortunately there just aren’t a lot of places to cut and husband is pretty much maxed out on overtime. 

My alternator did need to be replaced and it was $600. Had to buy hay which was $1,300. 

Groceries are our biggest climbing expense. We pay pretty much double what we paid before covid which is crazy to me. I do meal plan and don’t buy a lot of extras. I can’t help the price increases. We don’t have any streaming services, or cable, or memberships etc. 

I am still owed money and husband should be getting a bonus and a raise this month. I’m kind of bummed about the raise. He is going to get around $75 a month which we were going to increase retirement .5% and then put the rest towards groceries but just found out our home insurance/escrow is increasing by $45 a month starting this month. So there goes most of the extra. 

The bonus is hopefully going to be used to replenish some of our savings we keep borrowing from. 

I was casually running our taxes and forecasting it looks like we are going to make $3k or less too much to qualify for the earned income credit again this year. So frustrating to me to be so close to poverty line and not get any of the breaks or assistance. Especially since it’s not based on AGI but earned income so I can’t do anything to help. We don’t qualify for anything because we make too much but we also spend more than anyone I know on medical bills every single year (averaging over $12k a year) so we are really making less than it looks like. Sigh. 

On a related note I am having lung and heart issues again and we are discussing me possibly needing heart surgery again… Hoping for something minor like a pacemaker and not open heart surgery again for the third time. Hopefully I will know something soon. I’ve been wearing a heart monitor for a month and will do some more testing next week. Recovery for something like that sounds terrible with two toddlers, but I also feel terrible every day so I just want to be better.

Debts

Mortgage −$114,374.21 (-$244.52)
Land Loan -$9,772.45 (-$151.32)
Hospital Bill - $891.41 (-$75)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$27,034 (+$915)
401K +$52237 (+$2,025)
Emergency Fund +$6,991 (+$27)
Animal Fund +$1,364 (+$154)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$99 (-$2)

Overall: +$3,569.84

Our overall went up a lot which is quite surprising to me since I feel flat broke.

We went on a two week vacation and went $500 over our budget, which honestly isn't too bad because we had some unexpected expenses/changes pop up. We sold some concert tickets planned for later in the year and cancelled that hotel/trip which netted us enough to cover the overage. We spent around $2,700 on a two week trip for everything for 4 people.

My car windshield cracked and we had to fix it before vacation because we drove across the country. -$300 Then yesterday I drove my car for the first time since we got back and my battery light and some other errors came on. Then my electronics went off including my AC (it's over 100 degrees outside)... After diagnostics my alternator is broken. I’m waiting on quotes but it’s looking like $500-$800 possibly. Yikes. But super thankful it made it through 3,000+ miles of driving and broke close to home, and that I’m a SAHM so I can do without a car for now. 

I had to replace my broken retainer which ate up all our HSA contributions this month. 

My checking account buffer is lower than ever because I’ve had to keep pulling from it. I’m owed $600+ and was hoping to refill some of it, but now it may be going to more car repairs. 

I had to transfer $150 from the EF to my animal fund with plans to pay for this years hay in July. Price has increased $300 from last year unexpectedly.

Somehow even with all that we have come out ahead, honestly I don’t know how. Hopefully in July we will have less emergencies pop up. It’s been several months of large expenses and I’m ready to have some breathing room. 

Debts

Mortgage −$114,618.73 (-$243.94)
Land Loan -$9,923.77 (-$187.82)
Hospital Bill - $966.41 (-$75)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$26,119 (-$113)
401K +$50,212 (+$265)
Emergency Fund +$6,964 (-$1,224)
Animal Fund +$1,210 (+$4)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$101 (-$784)

Overall: -$1,345.24

Ouch! The expected vet bills along with an unexpected and sudden termite swarm which cost $1,200 to remedy really did us in this month.

Some good news is that both our land loan and our medical loan dropped a figure off, I’ll celebrate the small wins. Sometimes I get an itch to pay extra on the land loan, but our saving account is drawing almost the same amount in interest as we are paying. So right now it doesn’t really make sense to pay the debt instead of save since we would then have to take on new debt to complete more future home projects.  

Debts

Mortgage −$114,862.67 (-$243.36)
Land Loan -$10,111.59 (-$188.36)
Hospital Bill - $1,041.41 (-$94.44)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$26,232 (+$577)
401K +$49,947 (+$1,533)
Emergency Fund +$8,188 (+$1,292)
Animal Fund +$1,206 (-$495)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$885 (+$143)

Overall: +$3,576.16

The month looks better on paper than it actually was. The market is up, but our general budget money is down. Unfortunately my dog was acting a bit off so I took him to the vet and shockingly found out he likely had an aggressive cancer. Within 3 days he had worsened considerably and I took him back and sadly had to make the decision to put him to sleep before we could even get an official biopsy. He was only 3 years old and I lost my other older male last year to the same thing. Plus I had to make the decision on my lifetime horse just a couple months ago. I’m just heart broken, and of course had to pull from my animal fund to pay for pricey unexpected vet bills. Now we will also have to consider getting a new dog and all the expenses that come with that since they are working dogs and I really need to find a new partner asap for my remaining old dog. 

Overtime was hard to come by this month but I did have a yard sale and made a couple hundred dollars which helped us cash flow some things, and cleaned out some junk! This week I have vet appointments for 3 year shots for 4 animals. Ouch. Which I didn’t save for. Double oops. I think two of them I will only get 1 year shots this time so I can get them back on a rotating schedule and I only have to pay for a couple animals each year. 

There is also another $1,000 hospital bill on the CC which will drain the HSA as soon as the next paycheck is deposited. 

I was reimbursed all the money I had put down for the vacation deposit from family so that is where the biggest chunk of increase came from this month. I’ve been working as much as I can on web design so hopefully that will be enough along with more overtime to keep us gaining in May. 

Debts

Mortgage −$115,106.03 (-$242.77)
Land Loan -$10,299.95(-$190.25)
Hospital Bill - $1,135.85 (-$75)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$25,655 (+$456)
401K +$48,414 (+$2,744)
Emergency Fund +$6,896 (+$263)
Animal Fund +$1,701 (+$5)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$742 (+$293)

Overall: +$4,269.02

A really good month for savings and for the market. My husband and I went on a week long vacation without the kids for the first time. It was nice to get away and we kept it pretty cheap, only going over my budget by about $50 for a total of $800 spent.

Our sump pump went out during a storm and flooded our basement. Luckily no damage, just a mess to clean up. Husband got a bonus at work so we used it to buy the new pump, and saved $600 for driveway work when the weather clears. Our yard and driveway were destroyed when we had to trench over 400' for a new water line. It's been graded several times but over the winter it's settled again and we will need to backfill, blade, and get several dump trucks of rock. $$$ Thankful for the bonus to help offset some of the cost. 

It's nice to be caught up for the time being. If nothing major comes up we will be able to put back extra next month for our upcoming vacations. 

Debts

Mortgage −$115,348.80 (-$242.19)
Land Loan -$10,490.20 (-$183.04)
Hospital Bill - $1,210.85 (+$22.83)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$25,199 (+$2,261)
401K +$45,670 (-$1,158)
Emergency Fund +$6,633 (+$1,835)
Animal Fund +$1,696 (+$5)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$449 (-$934)

Overall: +$2,411.40

It's kind of depressing that despite a $9k tax return this is all our net worth went up. A lot of our retirement contributions were offset by market loss. HSA contributions were over shadowed by an ER visit. With many more hospital bills to come. A high OOP max and a chronically sick child will do that.

At least our EF went up, and we do have savings not shown here for vacations and other things. 

Debts

Mortgage −$115,590.99 (-$241.61)
Land Loan -$10,673.24 (-$187.63)
Hospital Bill - $1,188.02 (-$75)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$22,938 (+$1,766)
401K +$46,828 (+$3,968)
Emergency Fund +$4,798 (-$2,527)
Animal Fund +$1,686 (+$5)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$1,383 (+$184)

Overall: +$3,900.24

A good month thanks to the markets bouncing up. I had to pull from our savings for our 6-month car insurance. This is a planned expense that I use that account for besides emergencies. But the biggest loss in savings was due to putting a deposit on a vacation home rental for later in the year. Most of the money will be reimbursed to me by my family (we are sharing the rental home) so it's temporary.

I was able to catch up on all the budget overages this month and put some money back for next month’s budget. I am also owed a couple hundred for web design so that will give me gas money for February and allow me to replenish my checking account buffer a bit.

Still waiting on my Paypal 1099, arg. Hopefully tomorrow so I can submit our taxes.

Debts

Mortgage −$115,832.60 (-$241.04)
Land Loan -$10,860.87 (-$184.25)
Hospital Bill - $1,263.02 (+$1,263.02)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$21,172 (-$825)
401K +$42,860 (-$1,108)
Emergency Fund +$7,325 (+$49)
Maternity Fund +$0 (-500)
Animal Fund +$1,686 (+$4)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$1,199 (+$184)

Overall: -$3,033.73

Bad way to end the year. Received a large medical bill and several more hospital bills pending and more sure to come with our deductible starting over and our child’s continuing health problems. We made the decision to just do 0% monthly payments on it for now until our HSA builds back up. Once we are in better shape we will pay it off. But I have a feeling we are going to need every dollar for more medical stuff in the next few months.

I would love to be able to fill the HSA completely each year so it would 100% cover our OOP max, but on the weeks my husband doesn’t work overtime we would be short. So at this time we have to scrounge $2,500 each year from overtime to pay the entirety of our medical bills. Hopefully next year we can bump it up even a little, and hopefully eventually we will be healthy and stop having astronomical medical bills every year.

 Markets are down. Used up the last of the maternity fund I had saved. So happy I was able to put that back and then “pay myself” for over an entire year. I’m going to miss it for sure.

I will compare our end of year net worth in a separate post.

Debts

Mortgage −$116,073.64 (-$240.46)
Land Loan -$11,045.12 (-$180.79)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$21,997 (+$1,324)
401K +$43,968 (+$2,950)
Emergency Fund +$7,276 (-$817)
Maternity Fund +$500 (-500)
Animal Fund +$1,682 (+$3)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$1,015 (-$473)

Overall: +$2,908.25

It's been a rough month for our household but the best the market has done in a long time! We paid around $1,300 for our new 500' main water line and hydrant.

I purchased nearly all our Christmas presents and my husband's and daughter's birthday presents for later in the year. Only two more things to purchase! I love buying everything early. It takes some of the stress off and I make sure to capitalize on sales. I spent a little more than I wanted to. I stayed mostly in budget for the gifts but with kids old enough to be excited we felt like we needed to replace a few things. We got a new tree, some new lights, plus a few small decorations and little things like a gingerbread house kit and pjs for the kids. Our tree and such were what we have been using for a decade and it was free/used when we got it. So it was time to replace.

I had to put to sleep one of my pets this month. ☹ I had him for almost 20 years and I am heart broken. On the budget side of things his geriatric care and food were costing $100+ a month so that should free up some extra cash flow to catch our overflowing expenses.

My human kid had more diagnostic testing for a chronic problem and also an unexpected hospital stay. So yay… more medical bills. At least it fell before the deductible starts over I guess. Thankful she is doing better-ish, still working on a long term solution.

Hoping we are about done with the spending because we have been bleeding money this month, along with high stress and busy schedules. My house is a wreck, I’m mentally and physically exhausted. I had my yearly doctor appointment and they said I’m constantly sick because I am chronically tired and stressed. Not much I can really do about it since most is out of my control but I sure hope life winds down a bit soon. I’m ready to have a peaceful and relaxing Christmas season. 

Debts

Mortgage −$116,314.10 (-$239.89)
Land Loan -$11,225.91 (-$185.66)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$20,673 (+$134)
401K +$41,018 (+$457)
Emergency Fund +$8,093 (-$32)
Maternity Fund +$1,000 (-500)
Animal Fund +$1,679 (+$1)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$1,488 (+$358)

Overall: +$843.55

Markets are slightly up which is better than the typical sharp decline. Still pulling some from our buffer / EF, and we just completed a large outdoor project (replacing the main water line) so who knows what that bill will be but it will come out of the EF. The EF includes our saved amount for home projects as well but I leave it and label it as EF until it's used just to keep the numbers more simple.

I am thankful to have another project done especially before the cold weather sets in. I am thankful to not have another year of worrying about water lines freezing and breaking again, and I also added an outside hydrant which will improve my quality of life greatly. I've been carrying buckets of water from the bathtub for ten years all winter to water all my farm animals because my current house spigot freezes.

Still need to run gutter drainage lines and put in a new septic but that is looking like it’s going to be put off until next year again. Which is fine with me, gives us longer to save.

Just got our yard regraded a month or so ago and now it’s a disaster with the 500’ water line that was dug up and installed. Sigh. They are going to come back and regrade again in a week or so. Wish the projects would have coincided a little better but it is what it is.

Still having pretty consistent medical bills. Our medical costs are crazy crazy high. Me with my chronic health issues and both kids have been sick pretty much nonstop all year. We have been averaging over $12,000 a year out of pocket including our premiums for the past 4 years. American healthcare sucks. That is 20% of our gross income.

I have several friends who make around what we do and all have free healthcare and food stamps due to taking cash jobs and not reporting all their income so they quailify and/or having more kids. Kind of sucks that since we follow the rules and pay our taxes we have to lose 20% to medical every year plus our taxes. Bad system that is easy to scam. 

Debts

Mortgage −$116,553.99 (-$239.31)
Land Loan -$11,411.57 (-$179.30)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$20,539 (-$1,426)
401K +$40,561 (-$2,060)
Emergency Fund +$8,125 (-$399)
Maternity Fund +$1,500 (+$430)
Animal Fund +$1,678 (+$6)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$1,130 (-$923)

Overall: -$3,953.39

Ouch! Markets are down, and our savings are down. Even sadder is the fact that we got an extra $600 in back pay this month. We did go on vacation, which was supposed to be to Florida, and then of course once we got there Hurricaine Ian was coming so we had to abandon that plan and leave to another state. Bad timing for sure, but thankful we were able to get out and praying for all the residents there. That did end up changing our costs a bit but we only went over about $400 and we have $600 in flight credits for next time so really it's a wash. 

Otherwise just lots of expenses that popped up, including a much needed new (used) lawn mower because our old small one couldn't handle the new acreage of land we purchased. 

Husband's raise contract passed, not the number he was wanting but he did also get some extra vacation time, and possibly paid paternity leave for the future. Plus a couple other perks. We are expecting $50-100 extra a week depending on overtime. Hopefully that will be enough to dig us out of the hole we are sliding in. 

Debts

Mortgage −$116,793.30 (-$238.74)
Land Loan -$11,590.87(-$187.98)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$21,965 (-$189)
401K +$42,353 (+$268)
Emergency Fund +$8,524 (+$926)
Maternity Fund +$1,070 (-$500)
Animal Fund +$1,672 (+$2)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$2,053 (-$163)

Overall: +$770.72

Got the bonus which we used to replenish the emergency fund and save more for our upcoming vacation. Raise negotiations are currently on hold due to a different plant strike. The good news is that they will be back paid once the raise goes through eventually.

Haven't paid back the maternity fund yet until some medical bills are settled. Had another urgent visit with the other kid. Sigh.  Retirement is about even with our contributions which is better than declining. 

Debts

Mortgage −$117,032.04 (-$238.37)
Land Loan -$11,778.85 (-$181.61)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$22,154 (+$665)
401K +$42,353 (+$1,659)
Emergency Fund +$7,598 (-$1,635)
Maternity Fund +$1,570 (-$1,430)
Animal Fund +$1,670 (+$2)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$2,216 (-$853)

Overall: -$1,172.02

Retirement accounts were actually up a bit. But not enough to counter the dumpster fire that July was. One of the kids needed an ER trip. Then we all caught covid again and husband was out of work unpaid. Had to purchase the rental car for vacation which doubled in price since last year's vacation and quadrupled the price of our 2015 vacation. $1,600 vs $400! I'm still waiting on another person to pay me back for their share. 

Our propane which has always been on budget billing was increasing from $110 to $200 with no changes in usage. When I inquired they told me they could no longer offer a rate cap and this is how much they expected the rate to increase. Yikes. I found out if I pre-paid for the entire year they would lock in $2.14 a gallon so we went ahead and did that. Which was another large expense. 

Still have some large medical expenses coming, some of which I pre-paid but I expect another two thousand or so next month. 

Basically had to use up my entire buffer and pull from my maternity fund to cover things. About one thousand will be reimbursed from the HSA and thankfully husband is getting a bonus in August. Just kind of bummed because we were hoping to use that to get ahead and instead we will have to use it to dig ourselves out of the hole.

Some good news is that husband’s union contract is up on Monday and the entire plant is fighting for a large wage increase. They are wanting $5 an hour effective immediately and then 5% a year for the next 5 years to battle inflation. For reference he has usually gotten about $.30 a year in the past. So it would be a significant bump in pay for him. We really need that since the price of everything like groceries have ballooned and are really killing us. It could be months before they come to an agreement so we’ll see what we end up with, but husband says the workers are pretty firm so fingers crossed.

Debts

Mortgage −$117,271.22 (-$238.61)
Land Loan -$11,960.46  (-$184.54)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$21,489 (-$914)
401K +$40,694 (-$2,279)
Emergency Fund +$9,233 (-$400)
Maternity Fund +$3,000 (-$500)
Animal Fund +$1,668 (+$301)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$3,069 (+$257)

Overall: -$3,111.85

Retirement accounts were down as usual. It was a hard month for us with little overtime and some bigger expenses so sadly we had to pull from our buffers/savings. July is shaping up to be better though. Except some looming medical bills which will probably deplete our HSA. 

Debts

Mortgage −$117,509.83 (-$238.04)
Land Loan -$12,145.00 (+$12,145) New Loan!

Savings

Roth IRAs +$22,403 (-$389)
401K +$42,250 (+$723)
Emergency Fund +$9,633 (+$203)
Maternity Fund +$3,500 (-$500)
Animal Fund +$1,367 (+$501)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$2,812 (+$208)

Overall: -$11,160.96

Retirement accounts were almost even with our contributions this month. Sold some goats, paid for hay and hired someone to clean the barn. Several more goats will be leaving in June. 

Land purchase went through, waiting on the county to record it so we can combine with our existing property and move onto the septic. Super excited!

Debts

Mortgage −$117,747.87 (-$237.47)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$22,792 (-$2,010)
401K +$42,250 (-$3,497)
Emergency Fund +$9,430 (+$743)
Maternity Fund +$4,000 (-$500)
Animal Fund +$866 (-$0)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$2,604 (+$200)

Overall: -$4,826.53

Retirement accounts plummeted again. Saving as usual.

Debts

Mortgage −$117,985.34 (-$236.90)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$24,802 (+$995)
401K +$45,747 (+$3,475)
Emergency Fund +$8,687 (-$287)
Maternity Fund +$4,500 (-$500)
Animal Fund +$866 (-$100)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$2,404 (+$69)

Overall: +$3,888.90

Retirement accounts rebounded a little. Cash is down due to buying hay and also getting some old trees cut down. Thankfully I am owed $1,000 in web design which should come in this week. I will refill my buffer and then start saving the rest for our land purchase.

We also bought all our plane tickets for the year and our hotel for our fall vacation. So glad that is done and there was cash set aside for this. Makes vacations so much better to not have to worry about money! Just need to get a rental car and everything big will be paid for in advance. 

We actually have one ten day vacation and four long weekend trips planned this year. Plus I'll be going on three goat related weekend trips as well. Lots of traveling!

Debts

Mortgage −$118,222.24 (-$586.33)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$23,807 (+$2,426)
401K +$42,272 (-$450)
Emergency Fund +$8,974 (+$303)
Maternity Fund +$5,000 (+$3,000)
Animal Fund +$966 (+$1)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$2,335 (+$469)

Overall: +$6,335.33

Big bump from our tax return and overtime. We contributed quite a bit to savings and retirement and started saving for multiple vacations this year. (Not included in above figures)

We paid a little extra on the house since we have a separate checking account that gets weekly deposits where the mortgage is paid from and it’s a pain to withdrawal the extra from the 5th week months. Figured we might as well just start sending it to the mortgage in the future. 

Debts

Mortgage −$118,808.57 (-$234.93)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$21,329 (+$529)
401K +$42,722 (-$2,572)
Emergency Fund +$8,671 (-$616)
Maternity Fund +$2,000 (-$0)
Animal Fund +$965 (-$250)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$1,866 (+$375)

Overall: -$2,299.07

The first time we have lost in a while. Markets are down despite contributing to retirement. Bought hay with my animal fund, and had to pay for a home project and car insurance with our emergency fund. (Our short term savings are lumped together with our EF.) Just unfortunate that it all hit at the same time. But this month should be better!

In other news husband was told he is likely going to have to work 7 days a week until April. He has already worked 7 days the last 3 weeks. And also a worker is out possibly for up to 13 weeks. Which means 12 hour shifts... They are training a new guy but he won't be ready for at least 5 more weeks. My husband really needs a new job. He is worn to a frazzle. 

Debts

Mortgage −$119,043.50 (-$234.37)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$20,800 (-$571)
401K +$45,294 (+$2,217)
Emergency Fund +$9,287 (-$129)
Maternity Fund +$2,000 (-$100)
Animal Fund +$1,215 (+$1)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$1,491 801 (-$310)

Overall: +$1,522.37

Work's end of the year retirement deposit is the only thing that kept us in the green this month. Thankfully depsite most of these numbers being down we are actually in pretty good shape this month. There is a lot of money that I don't count or include in these numbers. We have about $3k more in our checking account at any given time that we have saved to pay for the month's bills, eating out, etc. Since I use YNAB I have enough extra money on hand to basically pay for a full month of expenses at any given time that I don't figure in the numbers above. I will make another post about year end net worth and our past and future goals. 

Debts

Mortgage −$119,277.87 (-$233.81)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$21,371 (-$213)
401K +$43,077 (-$969)
Emergency Fund +$9,416 (-$88)
Maternity Fund +$2,100 (-$200)
Animal Fund +$1,214 (+$0)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$1,801 (-$1,302)

Overall: -$2,538.19

November was a bad month for the markets and also because we paid all our medical bills for the baby. Hopefully this month will be better!

Debts

Mortgage −$119,511.68 (-$233.25)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$21,584 (+$256)
401K +$44,046 (+$706)
Emergency Fund +$9,504 (+$257)
Maternity Fund +$2,300 (+$300)
Animal Fund +$1,214 (+$2)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$3,103 (+$106)

Overall: +$1,860.25

Baby is here! She is almost a month old already and big sister loves her. Things are going pretty well. She had to have a minor surgery and I got sick but we are both on the mend. It is exhausting taking care of two under two sometimes but we are loving it.

So far I am not missing my job, but I know it's early yet. 

Debts

Mortgage −$119,744.93 (-$232.69)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$21,328 (-$2)
401K +$43,340 (-$146)
Emergency Fund +$9,247 (+$250)
Maternity Fund +$2,000 (+$575)
Animal Fund +$1,212 (-$250)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$2,997  (+$335)

Overall: +$994.69

Our smallest gain in a while but still a gain. Markets were all down, I had to buy hay, and I've been puchasing a lot a little items that I needed since this was my offical last week of work! I also have some smaller saving buckets stashed away not accounted for here like gas, eating out, etc, to last me a while without a paycheck. 

I have enough in the maternity fund to last about 6 months without pay (including the monthly child tax credits until the end of the year.) That is not including the credits for the upcoming baby, or our tax return or anything. So I am hopeful I will manage okay. Work is still begging me to come back eventually, we'll see. It is definetly going to be an adjustment to pull from savings to buy stuff instead of depositing a paycheck each week. Still figuing out the best way to budget for my expenses. Currently thinking about making a "payment" to myself at the beginning of the month and budgeting it all out. That way I am not tempted to keep pulling little amounts from my savings and go over my allotted amount of spending.

We were also gifted a TON of diapers, wipes, and gift cards for the new baby. So these will help us stretch our budget.

Glad my husband makes enough for us to manage a single income and that we are frugal enough to have savings to do this! I am looking forward to my lifestyle changing a bit and trying something new. 

Debts

Mortgage −$119,977.62 (-$232.14)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$21,330 (+$179)
401K +$43,486 (+$764)
Emergency Fund +$8,997 (+$206)
Maternity Fund +$1,425 (+$425)
Animal Fund +$1,462(+$201)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$2,662  (+$362)

Overall: +$2,369.14

Feels like time before the baby is slipping away. Still so much to do at home to prepare such as get a car seat and clean the house. We are in the home stretch which is both exciting and scary!

My old dog has both cancer and heartworms. ☹ Not completely unexpected because he has been declining for a while. He does get monthly heartworm prevention but I am not perfectly good at giving it at the same time every month. Sadly the steroids which would slow down the tumor growth would also quicken the heartworms, and heartworm treatment would be too hard on his frail body. We are going to try the slow kill method, recheck in 6 months and if the worms have decreased we will start him on steroids to hopefully slow down the cancer. Surgery or chemo was not advised by the vet because of his age and tumor growth. Of course the vet has no idea on a timeline, he could pass away tomorrow or make it another year or more. Just taking each day one at a time and making sure to make him comfortable and happy as long as possible.