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.

Debts

Mortgage −$120,209.76 (-$235.59)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$21,151 (+$95)
401K +$42,722 (+$625)
Emergency Fund +$8,791 (+$7)
Maternity Fund +$1,000 (+$1,000)
Animal Fund +$1,261 (+$200)
Car Fund +$20 (-$0)
HSA +$2,300  (-$53)

Overall: +$2,109.59

Kitchen is 95% done except for installing knobs, some caulk, hanging shelves and decor, etc. The main things are all installed, paid for, and in working order. I LOVE it. So much better.

I put my notice in at my job. I will be officially quitting the last week of September. 10 years is a good run. I'm nervous and excited to be a SAHM for at least a while.

We are currently all caught back up on the money we owed ourselves. I've been trying to save like crazy to put back enough money to lessen the stress of quitting my job for several months. Looking to need about $500 a month and I would love to save 4 months’ worth by the time I quit. Halfway there already, so I'm hopeful I will be able to complete and/or over accomplish that goal. 

I finally got a large chunk of web design money I was owed. $500 more still to come.

Debts

Mortgage −$120,445.36 (-$235.03)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$21,056 (+$316)
401K +$42,097 (+$828)
Emergency Fund +$8,784 (+$230)
Animal Fund +$1,061 (+$1)
Car Fund +$20 (-$425)
HSA +$2,300  (+$375)

Overall: +$1,560.03

We are back from vacation and came in under budget. We did have some issues with the rental car company not honoring our pre-paid price at pickup and charging us an extra $300. But I was able to contact support (it took forever) and they refunded the overage. 

The truck fund is wiped and is now the "car fund." Since we won't be needing anymore vehicles in the near future we will change this to just save for general maintance, repairs, and license renewals. Ideally we would like to keep $500 - $1k in there just in case.

It's been a crazy couple weeks with vacation and my obgyn unexpectedly dropped me from care. I am/was so devastated because I LOVED my last birth. I've been scrambling to meet and find a new doctor but I think I have one picked out which is a major relief since I am almost in my third trimester. 

We are still picking away at the kitchen. We got the dishwasher mostly installed last night, hoping to finish today. I can't wait to use it. Fingers crossed we did it right and it works correctly. lol. 

Debts

Mortgage −$120,680.38 (-$234.47)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$20,740 (+$385)
401K +$41,269 (+$976)
Emergency Fund +$8,554 (-$277)
Animal Fund +$1,060 (+$0)
Truck Fund +$445 (-$750)
HSA +$1,925  (+$375)

Overall: +$943.47

Had to steal from the car fund and the emergency fund to pay for kitchen remodel overages. I expect to pay ourselves back asap. Vacation is coming up quickly!

Debts

Mortgage −$120,914.85 (-$233.91)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$20,355 (+$623)
401K +$40,293 (+$1,457)
Emergency Fund +$8,831 (+$353)
Animal Fund +$1,060 (+$0)
Truck Fund +$1,1195 (-$10)
HSA +$1,550  (+$375)

Overall: +$3,031.91

Kitchen remodel is starting tomorrow! I am scared and excited. I have been very sick this week and it seems like a terrible time to get started but we can't delay since the contractor is scheduled and the cabinets are waiting to be picked up. I am worried about not having a kitchen for a couple weeks and that seems really hard with a toddler but I'm sure we'll make do. Hopefully it goes quicker than expected and it turns out well. 

Vacation is only a month away which is also exciting and scary. Thankful everything is already reserved and paid for. 

Debts

Mortgage -$$121,148.76 (-$233.35)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$19,732 (+$355)
401K +$38,836 (+$2,005)
Emergency Fund +$8,478 376 (+$102)
Animal Fund +$1,060 (+$0)
Truck Fund +$1,205 (-$0)
HSA +$1,175  (+$116)

Overall: +$2,801.35

Still plugging along. Kitchen remodel budget actually doubled but thankfully I also got a web design job which covers the entire amount. After we get a few more little saving items done and replenish the car fund I will probably start bumping up our retirement savings. It has been a year or more since we saved anything in the IRAs which has been sad. But we also paid off like $25k of debt or something crazy and this year we have saved over $15k. That is an insane amount of money for our income. We have been putting some into the 401K this entire time, but we can do better. Glad we are young and time is on our side. We have more saved than most people our age and income I think. 

Debts

Mortgage -$121,382.11 (-$232.79)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$19,377 (+$243)
401K +$36,831 (+$995)
Emergency Fund +$8,376 (+$203)
Animal Fund +$1,060 (+$1)
Truck Fund +$1,205 (-$0)
HSA +$1,059 (+$206)

Overall: +$1,880.79

These numbers are actually not completely reflective of our total savings because I also have $3,000 saved for vacation and $2,500 saved for medical expenses. But since those funds are fluctuating and will be eventually drained I don't want to include them. 

Besides that I also use YNAB so I have several thousand dollars sitting around that is alloted for different budget items and future bills. It's crazy to see my checking account pushing $10k but I don't consider myself to have "extra spending money." Everything is accounted for and budgeted for. 

We are currently in a good spot so even though I have been working less lately our net worth is still slowly climbing. Right now I am trying to finish up our medical OOP savings, then I will replenish the truck fund and then start saving for more home projects. If we happen to get another stimulus as expected it will pretty much finish everything off at once. We are fortunate that stimulus money has been an unexpected windfall and not needed for daily living. 

Debts

Mortgage -$121,614.90 (-$232.23)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$19,134 (+$501)
401K +$35,836 (+$891)
Emergency Fund +$8,173 (+$659)
Animal Fund +$1,059 (+$850)
Truck Fund +$1,205 (-$600)
HSA +$853(+$437)

Overall: +$2,970.23

Lots of progress this month. I was able to fully replenish my buffer and I sold a few goats to boost my animal fund. I can't stress how amazing it is getting a paycheck and getting to decide where I want to save the money rather than figuring out how I can make debt payments. 

Debts

Mortgage -$121,847.13 (-$231.68)
Medical Loan #2 $0!! (-$4,100)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$18,633 (+$426)
401K +$34,945 (+$795)
Emergency Fund +$7,514 (-$1,017)
Animal Fund +$209 (-$0)
Truck Fund +$1,805 (-$0)
HSA +$416(-$2,358)

Overall: +$2,177.68

I was able to pay off my last medical loan which means I am debt free besides my mortgage and also completed all my 2020 goals!! This is the first time I have been able to accomplish that which I think is astounding since this has been such a terrible year. 

I think we plan on resting for a month or two and saving up for a few smaller home projects and then we will begin saving in earnest again.

I will be working on and posting my 2021 goals soon.

*****
New website that will showcase personal finance blogs is up and you can now make accounts.  I took a break from working on it over the Holiday but will be picking it back up soon. https://budgetbloggers.com/

If you have and suggestions on things you would like to see let me know. 

Debts

Mortgage -$122,078.81 (-$231.13)
Medical Loan #2 -$4,100 (-$600)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$18,207 (+$1,827)
401K +$34,150 (+$3,833)
Emergency Fund +$8,531 (+$247)
Animal Fund +$209 (-$729)
Truck Fund +$1,805 (-$225)
HSA +$2,774 (+$250)

Overall: +$6,034.13

Markets are crazy up. Had a car repair and bought some animal feed for winter. I already paid a huge payment on the medical bill for December and fingers crossed I will be able to pay it off this month and be debt free for the new year. 

*****
New website that will showcase personal finance blogs is up and you can now make accounts.  https://budgetbloggers.com/

If you have and suggestions on things you would like to see let me know.