Goal Number Two

Two weeks have past since I made that payment that brought our Amex bill down to $1k.  (I’ll be adding a few hundred dollars to each monthly payment to continue bringing the balance down.). Just this week I made my first $1k payment towards our second credit card.  (We only have the two.). My goal with this one is the same but with a smaller balance ($5k), I’ll be able to get this one done quickly.  

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that our water heater keeps plugging away until we’re done with this second goal but if not, we’ll just reallocate and adjust.  

In the evenings, I’m trying to get a baby quilt hand quilted in quick fashion.  After that is done, I need to work on our taxes before we decide how we will approach our car loan and motorcycle loan.  The motorcycle loan has a very small interest rate.  Paying it down would make it very easy to sell if we found ourselves in a tight spot.  On the other hand, I need that car to get to work so paying that down would give us $400 to go towards something else.  I keep forgetting that I can also roll the minimum payments I’m currently making and that will help getting some of these things paid off quicker.  For example, we automatically pay $150 to our chase account.  Once it’s paid down to $1k, the minimum payment will go down and I can reduce this amount by probably half and still make significant progress.  That’s $75 that can go to something else.....$400 regular car payment, $75 chase payment reduction, plus $2000 a month will pay off that car very quickly.  It gets a little exciting when you think of it that way.

I have been trying to use items from the freezer over the past few weeks.  

We Did It!

I just submitted a payment to our American Express account.  Our statement balance is now at exactly $1000!  That’s remarkable considering that we were carrying a $10k balance at one point last year.  My plan from here on out is to pay the amount charged each month plus at least $100 towards that balance.  Credit cards sometimes have the nasty habit of closing your account once you pay them off - we had that happen with a BOA visa years ago.  They really like getting all that interest each month.  Speaking of which, I recently looked at our paper bill and realized that they were charging 17% on the sign and travel balances.  Ouch!  Better get the rest of that paid off in 2019.

From here, I will start paying off our other credit card beginning in two weeks.  I will continue to make our regular $150 monthly payment (over the minimum) plus a large payment every two weeks.  

We need to replace our hot water heater and have a faucet that needs to be replaced. I hope we can postpone this until the second card is paid down.  

Our water heater is 18 years old and we can tell that it is not producing as much hot water.  We estimate it will be $1500-2000 for the water heater.  It’s a good move since may put our house up for sale in a few years.

A mostly frugal Weekend

My goal was to celebrate getting our first debt down to goal range by eating out at Longhorn.  Well, I didn’t get that payment made yet simply because we’ve been busy but we did eat at Longhorn on Friday night - for $15!  We earn points at work for rewards and acknowledgement of going beyond expectations.  I redeemed some points for a $50 Longhorn gift card and we paid the balance of $15 which included the tip.  I will be making that payment early this week.  Next payday, we move those big payments on to the second debt.  I estimate two months, maybe two and a half, to have that one paid off.  I very excited to see the balance after this next payment is made.  At one point over the year we’ve been working on this, the balance was at $10k!  Imagine, now...it’s just about gone.

I officially started working on my DWR quilt.  I started a new blog to document the process. Eppdwr.blogspot.com.  I have also finished the chevron portion of the top for the baby quilt.  Progress!

We bought an Amazon Fire Stick today (on clearance for $27) so we can watch tv and movies on Prime.  We’re already paying for it so why not?  I may track what we watch in March to see how we can cut our tv expenses, especially DirecTV.  We pay abou $135-140 a month just for tv.  Plus Amazon Prime and Netflix.

We spent this cold, cloudy February day cleaning up the garage.  We carted some kiddie stuff off to Goodwill, trash to the can and just some good old fashioned cleanup and organization.  I was able to put away all the groceries that were sitting in bags downstairs.  I spent $57 on groceries yesterday but I may go back for some deli meat and bread.

Pantry/Freezer Challenge Month

We started our pantry/freezer challenge this week although, I did buy regular groceries last weekend.  I will carefully craft a grocery list for Sunday to take advantage of what we have on hand.  No doubt, some meals will be rather simple.  When I took a peek in the freezer today, I discovered a restaurant box of bacon I had completely forgotten about.  We also have many packages of ground beef and chicken and a few packages of sausage.  I also have some fish there as well.

My grocery trip was very limited and I tried to focus on things to round out a meal.  I bought two packages (6 breasts) of chicken which was BOGOF at Publix along with two boxes (also BOGOF) frozen egg rolls.  I picked up some potatoes, a large bell pepper and a cucumber.  Total was under $50.

Sunday: Italy an Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans

Monday: stuffed peppers with smoked sausage

Tuesday: stir fry chicken and vegetable fried rice

Wednesday: potato soup and blts

Thursday: fried rice and egg rolls

Friday - out or tbd

Sunday we also picked up some supplies for home repairs.  I was able to fix the flush on our guest toilet.  The part I bought before took too long to fill the tank and did not let enough water in the bowl.  For $9 this new part works much better.  We also bought hose bibs but we’re gonna need a plumber to work on this.  I also bought a new chime for our door bell.  Haven’t decided if we “need” this or not.  We decided to buy today and return later in the week if we did not need.

Progress and Updates

I had really hoped to get our first debt down to the $1k mark last Friday but I just wasn’t willing to take a thousand dollar hit to the checking account over and above my paycheck.  In just over a week though, it will happen.  I’ve decided to leave that $1k balance n the card for now.  Sometimes credit card companies have a nasty habit of closing accounts once you pay them off.  We had that happen with a Bank of America card.  They had been happy to collect our interest over the years but shortly after we paid it off, they closed it.  

As I’ve stated before, once that account is at the lower amount, I will move straight on to paying down our other credit card.it has a $5k balance and will likely only take one and a half to two months to pay down to less than $1k.  From there, we need to decide what path to take.  We may decide to pay towards both our car and motorcycle equally or alternate increased payments.  Both have low fixed interest rates but we’d just like to have lower balances.  Of course, with any debt repayment you always have unexpected expenses that throw you for a loop.  Last year it was a dud car and tree trimming expenses then a cruise we paid cash for.  Who knows what will happen this year.

I’m still working on my gree Triple Irish Chain quilt.  I finished a row and rolled the quilt forward another 8-10 inches.  Slow progress is better than no progress.  I’m currently also working on constructing a baby quilt and buying supplies for a traditional Double Wedding Ring quilt.  I think I’ve decided that I make more progress when I have several projects going.  I can bounce between as interest wanes.

It’s very cold here right now.  They had forecast snow for earlier this week but it didn’t happen.  Work is very busy.  By Tuesday afternoon, I already had nearly two hours of overtime for the week. I could work an extra hour every day and just barely keep up most days.  I have to mention that I find many of my coworkers to have bad attitudes or look and act weary at work.  They don’t seem to be cheerful. I know it’s tough to get up every morning and get to work.  Maybe you don’t like what you do or don’t want to be there but you are.  Make the best of it.  Stop complaining about everything.  Smile.  Find some joy.  I just wish I had more energy after work and maybe got to bed a little earlier at night.

February is a pantry/freezer challenge month.  Technically, I guess it started Monday.  I’m going to try to plan meals to use a lot of our pantry and freezer items and only supplement new groceries as needed.  I also need to use up what we have.  For example, I’m planning fried rice and egg rolls for Saturday.  I just need broccoli and maybe some sugar snap peas (unless I can find some in the freezer). I may buy an extra box of egg rolls if they are still BOGO.  If we’re home for Saturday lunch, it will be sub sandwiches.  Pizza on Friday is all set. I have a crust, sauce, cheese and meat already.  Sunday, I will cook fish and chicken - from the freezer.  I may need a few veggies and definitely milk, eggs and bread.  

Budgeting to Eliminate Debt

I did a little preliminary work today on a net worth calculation and also a monthly budget.  The net worth calculation will be helpful to see what assets we have that we may not have remembered or considered such as stock ownership, retirement accounts and asset value versus debt.  As we begin to make plans and ramp towards retirement, these will be important to track and consider as we make decisions.  I also quickly looked at a loan amortization schedule but couldn’t get the figures to match up with our loan.  I’ll take another look at that at a later date.  All of our February bills are paid except for the water bill.  It is usually the last one because they don’t store bank numbers so you have to have your card available when you pay.  That means two trips up and down the steps!

Changes to my prescription drug coverage for 2019 mean that I need to change pharmacies for my prescriptions and revisit where I fill DH’s prescriptions.  Looks like I will be required to fill mine at CVS or mail order.  I know I can get one of DH’s prescriptions for free at Publix and one may be significantly cheaper at Kroger with the membership.  I’ll have to analyze if it make sense to move them all or just the one.  Some may actually be cheaper by paying cash and using GoodRx.

I tried two new recipes today:  flat bread from Bigger Bolder Baking and Banana Cake from Spend with Pennies.  The flat bread was good but needs a little salt to negate the bland nature of this bread.  It was quick and easy but next time, I will use a little less yogurt, a little more baking powder and mix it up closer to baking time.  I will also leave it a little thicker so it’s less like a tortilla.  The jury is still out on the cake.  We’ll eat that a little later this evening.

Most of the Christmas stuff has been put away neatly.  I have some gift wrap bags, a rug, wreath an nativity still to put away but it was a big accomplishment to get that done today.  I will attempt to finish this task tomorrow and also get boxes out to the garbage for pick up Thursday morning.

I start my new schedule at work tomorrow.  I start work a half an hour earlier and also leave earlier.  My start time will be 7:30 now instead of 8 but I expect that I will start work around 7 every day to get a little OT in.  Getting out of work 30 minutes earlier will mean it will be easier to stop at the store on the way home or make a dinner that requires a little more time.  I can also get a load of clothes runnng or the garbage to the curb before it gets dark.  I’m hoping that it’s an improvement.  

Today has generally been very constructive.  I was able to go to Joann’s today and although I wasn’t able to get any fat quarters (they weren’t on sale like I thought), I did buy fabric for a baby quilt I need to work on.  It was on sale for 40% off so I spent about $15 for the top fabric.  I will either use something I already have for the back and batting or pick up something on sale in the next few weeks.  It’s medium gray, light gray and mint to match/coordinate with the nursery.  I need to decide on a pattern and get started.

Back to work tomorrow but it is just a four day week!

Halfway into January

Initially, I had wanted to do a pantry challenge for January but since we were keeping three of our grandsons for five days, this wasn’t going to work.  Instead, February will be a pantry challenge but I will start focusing on using pantry items and freezer items now.

My plan is to restock some staples in the pantry while eating down the more perishable or specialty items.  Some of the items I plan to purchase are canned tomatoes, beans, broths and boullions, pastas and rice, spaghetti sauce, etc.  The goal is to stock up a three month supply of items we routinely use with a one month supply - or an extra “one” - of condiments and specialty items.

Frugal accomplishments so far this month include closing the post office box we opened last January.  We planned to open a business but that didn’t happen.  We closed the box before we owed more money.  Saving about $60-80 for the year.  I also plan to cancel and turn off a landline we currently have in the home.  Again, this was done in anticipation of the business that never opened.  This savings will be about $30-35 per month or $360-400 for the year.

We plan to switch our cellular service onto a senior plan which should save us $75 per month.  We will also need to purchase a new cell phone as we’ve had some issues with one of our phones.  While that will be expensive, DH uses his phone for his work and is reimbursed $40 each month.  I’ve been putting that money into either our checking or savings for over a year or more.  This means that probably half of the phone cost will be covered by these reimbursements.

Tax DH will be here soon.  I plan to order my software and start collecting paperwork before the end of January.

Non-Frugal/financial changes:  I’ve been working about 3-4 hours of overtime each week.  Unfortunately, we’ve been asked to cut this back to 2 hours each week.  I’m disappointed about this not only from a financial standpoint but also because I cannot get my job done in 40 hours each week.  There will need to be some adjustments to expectations.  I am also planning on implementing a savings plan to start systematically saving a percentage of our income to see how little we really need to live “comfortably.”  (I’ve started a weekly transfer to savings of $100/week.  I will up this to $125 after two weeks.)

We really limited our Christmas spending putting very little on credit cards.  I think we placed one Amazon order ($100) for items we couldn’t get locally and one gift DH ordered for me.  Both were paid last week.  No lingering credit card debt for Christmas. Another large payment to our main credit card was made this week.  Another payment was made to cover a recent purchase on the other credit card. WooHoo!