So much to write about, so little time to do it.
But here's what I've been working on today: MONEY!
I will be using our tax refund to pay off our new stove, the boys' birthday party, and all three kids' registration fees for next year (J for preschool, A and B for Religious School).
The supplemental pay we will be receiving by the end of May (for the drama class I've been teaching and the middle school show DH just directed) will go into savings to make up for the fact I don't receive a paycheck over the summer (to be fair, I don't TEACH over the summer either!). This will be the first summer that we will not have to struggle with money!
The "tax stimulus check" which I expect sometime in May will be going into our savings account to pay for summer activities. I am budgeting $100 a week so we can do activities as a family. We've never been able to set aside this much money for family activities, so I'm really excited about it.
All other supplemental pays we will be receiving from June through August will go toward paying down our Discover Card debt. If we stick to the budget (and with all the "extras" I've accounted for I don't see why we shouldn't be able to) we will be able to pay off the Discover card completely by October.
Once the Discover card is paid off, we will only have two areas of debt: our mortgage and our home equity loan. Unfortunately, at this time, we have very little savings and very little retirement money set aside yet. I know our next financial goal needs to be to build an emergency fund large enough to cover three months of expenses. By my calculations we should be able to do that by June 2010. I suppose our next goal will be to set up a retirement fund.
I would LOVE to be able to begin putting more money towards the principal of our Home Equity Line of Credit, but I think our priorities should be: 1) Discover Card, 2) Emergency Fund, 3) Retirement Fund.
I'm feeling quite satisfied now and comfortable with our financial situation right now. That's a rare feeling for me, so I'm going to try to ignore all the other things that I have to do this week and just savor it.
6 comments:
Sounds like a very good and solid plan. I think it is quite doable. Also, I bet you can find way to stretch that $100 for family stuff.
Good luck!
Definitely the retirement account before the house and home equity loans. They're tax deductible and are typical expenses. You need to work on that retirement money.
Good job so far.
BTW, have you thought about joining a pool? The money you spend initially for the bond might be alot, and the annual fees, but you'd still be coming in under $1,000 and you'd have a place to go every day during the summer. Just a thought.
Very possible. I have great confidence in you.
The pool near where I used to live did not require a bond for the first year of membership. It was very reasonably priced, and we went nearly every day and packed a picnic lunch to avoid spending any money at the concession stand. It would easily fit your budget, with plenty of money left over. Email me if you want the name of the pool.
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