The farm and farmhouse

I've been dishwasher shopping for several months now but the one I picked has been completely out of stock this entire time. Last night after randomly checking I saw Lowes had just a few available for purchase on backorder (not to arrive until July.) Best Buy had also gotten a few in stock for the same timeframe and $70 cheaper but you had to pay $80 delivery or pick up yourself. My credit card is currently running 5% back at Lowes. So what to do?

I went ahead and purchased from Lowes before they were gone. This morning during business hours I called their customer support line and talked to a very nice lady. After explaining to her the same dishwasher was $70 cheaper at BestBuy she confirmed and refunded $70 back to my credit card. Super easy and quick way to save $70 AND I also get my 5% cash back and free delivery. It never hurts to look at competitor prices and ask for a price match. 

Kitchen remodel is going pretty well. This is week two of no sink or stove but my countertops are being delivered today! My husband has the next four days off and my construction worker is coming to hopefully install the counters on Monday. So if we can get everything painted and trim up over the weekend hopefully we can move back in early next week. I am SUPER excited and ready to not be eating microwave food off paper plates every day anymore. 

I am still waiting on my last $1,000 web design check to pay for the kitchen remodel. And I don't have the money saved for the dishwasher purchase but since it's been out of stock so long I had no idea when I would get another chance. Thankfully they won't bill until it ships which is weeks from now so we should be able to come up with the money by then or at worst we can borrow from ourselves for a short time. 

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. 

I received my stimulus today and used it to finish saving for my medical out of pocket max for the year. What a relief to have it already saved for! No more medical debt. I am still fighting out of network charges from last year but I am hopeful for a resolution soon. 

Which means we have nearly completed all our goals for the year except for regrading the yard. We are waiting on the weather to cooperate, but the money is saved.

We went ahead and added another saving/project goal which is a small kitchen remodel. I already have $3,000 set aside for that. If we go over budget I may have to save a little more, but hopefully that will mostly cover it. 

Now that all our goals and wants this year are basically saved for I'm not sure what we will use extra income towards. I do know I need to save a bit for some time off work I will be taking this fall. So I have been taking a small amount from each check. Otherwise I'm not sure if we will contribute more to retirement, save for more home projects, a new car, or perhaps just a general savings fund and then decide later. What a good problem to have!

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. 

I got my federal tax refund this week. Still waiting on state. I got over $6k this year. So I took tithes out, put $3,000 into our vacation fund, and put the rest back for medical expenses. Unfortunately I am on a new medication that is about $300 a month and not covered by insurance. So that will be a drain on our medical fund which I did not count on. 

I also received another unexpected medical bill from our NICU stay in January 2020. Sigh. It was supposedly taken care of back in September but here it is again. So I'm working on still fighting that. I am hoping I can get it from $3k+ down to about $400 which at the point I will just pay it and be done. I still think I should have to pay none of it, but I'm tired. 

I think I have husband convinced to replace our kitchen cabinets and get a dishwasher. I think I can do it for around $3,000. So we'll have to save that up first. Hopefully within the next few months. 

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. 

I have most of my taxes filled out and it looks like we will be getting back around $6.5k!!?? Usually we break even. 

This is a combinaition of a lot less self employment income, having a baby and also the stimulus checks for the baby which we did not get yet. 

If the numbers are correct we will basically be able to fund all our goals for the entire year which is just crazy to me. I'm not sure what we will save for this year. Perhaps retirement, or some other future large home projects we want to do in a year or two. 

Anyway, every year around tax time I always re-evaluate working. I work 2 part time jobs which are both sort of high stress. I only pulled in about $12k this year, and my tax rate is crazy high because of it being self employement income, AND it pushes us out of some tax breaks. Around half of my income seems gobbled up by taxes. Which I am just not sure is worth working a few days a week plus random weekends, evenings, late night calls, etc. Especially since we are basically getting back in taxes what I net in a year. lol.

Especially now that I have a child and finding a babysitter has been hard. Our parents watch her, but my in-laws are super afraid of Covid, so we are frequently banned from visiting and babysitting if we see anyone else. Example: They will not be babysitting for possibly the next 8 weeks because of a few engagments we have to attend.

My mom is in healthcare and works crazy hours, and although she is always willing I feel terrible making her babysit when she worked 12 hours all night and has to babysit for 8 hours and then go back to to work. It's not really fair. I also can't pay someone to babysit because I would have to pay more than I bring in. So it's just kind of lose lose. We have been talking about more children and that just seems like it will make it even harder. 

I am afraid of quitting my job(s) though. I like having a little spending money, and I also like getting out of the house a couple days a week. I think I would get extrememly bored and lonely at home all day every day. I'm also afraid I would get lazy and fall into the trap of laying around all day. If I had some hobbies, or a few things to do every week I think I would be okay. But I'm just hesitant. I have always worked. I took one year off to do only web design for a year and I kind of hated it after like a month. I was so stir crazy. But that was before I had kids, and I enjoyed my 6 weeks maternity leave so I just don't know. 

My part time office job can be stressful but it is also kind of gravy. Especially since Covid, I come in late and leave early whenever. I called into today because of snow and I'm working from home. I don't get paid much, but I also like the flexibilty and time away from the house, so I am hesitant to give that up. But part of me would also like the 2 or 3 days a week at home to do other things. I'm worried if I quit I will regret it like I did previously. But I also see quitting as possibility if I get pregnant and have a bad pregnancy like I did last time. 

Thoughts? Has anyone else transitioned to stay at home mom?

I spent a lot of money this week but surprisingly my finances are in as good of shape as ever. It makes a huge difference not having to use all extra income to pay debt. Besides the fact that husband has been working 6 or 7 days a week and some long hours. 

We got our on demand water heater installed and it's glorious to have all the hot water we want. Hopefully it will lower our electric bill slightly but I'm sure our water bill will go up with all the baths and long showers we have been taking. lol. 

We bought a used sectional, a new tv and some wall art for our livingroom. All told we spent about $2k this month on home projects, but our livingroom is almost complete. We had been using hand me down furniture for almost a decade and it is nice to have something that is more what we want and matches. Besides just cosmetic issues our baby is almost on the move and everything needed to be child proofed.  So a new tv that can hang on the wall out of reach is great. We still would like to purchase a recliner and some new end tables, but not in any hurry. 

I did sell the last of my available goats and added $850 to my animal fund along with pay for and pick up my remaining hay for the season. 

Also spent about $100 buying outfits for our upcoming family pictures. We never got any real maternity or newborn pictures so we are finally getting some. A friend is a professional photgrapher and is only charging us like $50. Which is insane! He did the same for our wedding. Usually his wedding photo shoots are $2k+ so I really appreciate his enormous generosity. 

The goals for 2021 are a bit harder for me. We finished paying off our non-mortgage debt and now that we are onto savings I am a little unsure about what our priorities are. Although I've always had 5 goals a year I can only come up with 3 for now. I may add more later. 

Goal 1.) $3,500 for medical OOP max

We already have $4,500 being saved into our HSA but we want to save the remaining $2,500 for our OOP max plus an extra $1,000 for an uncovered medical expense. 

Goal 2.) Regrade the yard and install water heater

This is been a waiting project for almost two years now. We have the money set aside and I'm just waiting on contractors. The water heater is supposed to be installed next week.

Goal 3.) Go on vacation

We aren't sure where or when yet, but we want to take a vacation and pay cash. Approximately $3,000. 

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. 

Long story short I have $1,100 left on the 0% interest medical loan before I am debt free. (besides mortgage)

My stretch goal was to pay it off this year but it looks like I am going to be about $800 short. I have over $8,000 in savings to regrade our yard and install our new water heater. Cost estimate for that is $6,000ish, and I won't need to pull it for at least two more months, but I also know projects always seem to cost more than expected. I'm itching to borrow the $800 from there and pay off the loan this month. I would then use the next couple months to build back up my buffer. Any logical reason againist that or should I just pull the trigger? 

I am SUPER excited to be able to save money every month instead of putting a sizable chunk towards a loan payment!

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. 

In order to make anymore progress on https://budgetbloggers.com/ I need to add some blogs. Are there any bloggers here that would be okay with me copy and pasting a few of their posts over on my new website? After that is successful I will also be looking for a couple people willing to set up an account and make a few posts to try out the system. Let me know if you would be interested in that as well. Thank you!

If you are interested in setting up an account to test please email me at support@budgetbloggers.com

I have almost all my clients switched over to either the new company or to myself. So far everyone except one account has paid their bill upfront for the next year. So I have a huge inflow of cash right now, but I have to remember it will only be once a year. I already saved back the amount I need to pay for the subscriptions that are due in a couple months, and paid for the hosting for all the accounts for 3 years. The rest I went ahead and put towards savings and debt pay off.

Still sad about loosing my job but I will be okay. The few clients I have taken over will pay for my personal websites and subscriptions. I have two companies I am picking up work from, and I can always find solo projects as well.

I have three more goats sold which will be picked up and paid for over the next month or two. 

Lots of things to do on the farm before winter. 

Debts

Mortgage -$122,309.94 (-$230.57)
Medical Loan #2 -$4,700 (-$500)

Savings

Roth IRAs +$16,380 (+$268)
401K +$30,317 (+$735)
Emergency Fund +$8,284 (+$212)
Animal Fund +$938 (+$0)
Truck Fund +$2,030 (+$5)
HSA +$2,524 (+$250)

Overall: +$2,200.57

Markets went up a bit. Slowly picking at debts and savings. Still waiting on insurance reimbursement from July. 

*****
Thought I would let you know that I am working on a new website that will showcase personal finance blogs. https://budgetbloggers.com/

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