So, if you recall in my last financial post, I still had $58.00 of my $500.00 reimbursement left. Well, today I sent that to cc #1.

Also, I finally got the second part of my reimbursement in that amount of $1118.62. I have already sent $80.00 total to house, car, and escrow savings. I have also allocated $200.00 for the yard light and doorbell replacement.

$1118.62
-50 1/2 of trip to fayetteville
-60 house savings (1/2 DONE!!)
-60 car savings (1/2 DONE!!)
-100 regular savings
-200 yard light/doorbell (DONE!!!)
-100 cc #1
-75 escrow ($20 TOWARDS THIS SO FAR!!)
-40 fun money
-100 extra slush
-283 other that I have not thought of
0

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2885.25

$80.00 Savings Deposits
$58.00 cc #1 payment
$200.00 set aside for home repairs/maintenance

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $3223.25

Hi, everyone. So far, I have only received $500.00 of my total conference reimbursement (it comes from 2 different places). I had a lower balance on cc #2 that what I thought, so I have adjusted my original plan as follows.

$500.00 Total Reimbursement Part 1

$192.00 cc #2 payment (the balance is now $0!)
$ 50.00 cc #1 payment
$100.00 yard light allocation
$100.00 trip out of town at end of month allocation

So, with all of that, here is the update to my 52 Week Challenge Balance:

Prior Balance: $2443.25

Payments and Set Asides: $442.00

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2885.25


I still have $58.00 left out of the $500.00 after all that. I think I may put it on cc #1 because it really needs to be paid down.

This is me right now. I'm so excited!! And this is only the beginning. I have about $1100.00 coming probably tomorrow to spend on debt, savings, etc.

Click on this video of the Pointer Sisters to see just how excited I am to pay off debt and allocate funds for things that I really need.

https://youtu.be/YwKRM_835uk

Hi, everyone. The first part of my conference reimbursement just came by mail today. Here is my plan for how to spend it. I have already paid all but about $300.00 of the costs from the conference trip charged to cc #2 with funds I already had saved over the last year from regular deposits, survey payments, etc., so after paying off the $300.00, the rest is gravy. One of the things I want to do is set aside some funds to replace our yard light which is currently using a mercury light and lots of kilowatts, making our electric bills higher unnecessarily.

$500 Total Reimbursement

-$100 1/2 of funds for out of trip at the end of the month

-$300 cc #2 payment

-$100 yard light allocation

0

Hi, everyone. I got paid again today, so more money went to credit card debt, savings, and retirement.

Prior 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2343.25

Regular Savings Deposit $40.00
cc #1 payment $40.00
slush $20.00

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2443.25

I will put more money into slush and credit card tomorrow.

Well, this month is a three paycheck month for me, so Yay! I have a little extra money and the only thing I have to buy for the next is groceries. So, I sent an extra $60.00 to cc#1. I also put $80.00 into slush.

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2203.25

cc #1 $60.00
Slush deposit $80.00

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2343.25

Hi, everyone. I got paid today, so more money went to debt, savings, and retirement.

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $1867.67

Regular Savings Deposit $40.00
House Savings Deposit: $40.00
cc #1 payment $50.00

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $1997.67

Hi, everyone. In a true effort to buckle down and not allow spending and debt to get out of control, I decided to make as many meals as I can out of what food I already had in my cupboards, fridge, and freezer. I made an inventory of the food at the same time I made my shopping list.

1/2 pound raw cauliflower
4 ounces raw pumpkin seeds
8 ounces raw flaxseeds
1 pound raw carrots
1/2 raw cabbage
12 ounces frozen french green beans
12 ounces frozen okra
2 onions, 1 red and 1 white
12 ounces almond milk
plenty of dried herbs and spices for making recipes
1 raw beet
2 red potatoes
3 servings of soup I made for my husband
1/2 bulb of garlic

I also have plenty of kale, 2 kinds of lettuce, and arugula to make salads for me. The lettuce is especially loving the moist, cool weather we have been having and so is huge.

1) Potato Salad with avocado with potatoes, avocado, lemon juice, mustard, paprika, sea salt, stevia, pepper, and green onion. I will add ham to this recipe

http://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/potato-salad-with-avo...
2-3 lunches for me

2) Eggs, Meat, Vegetables, and Smoothies. Add seeds and veggies to smoothies
7 breakfasts for my husband and me

3) Burgers with potatoes and kale (potatoes, sea salt, pepper, garlic, kale)
http://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/garlic-hash-browns-ka...
1 supper for my husband and me

4) Salad with lettuce, kale, chives, arugula, garbanzo beans, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, green onion, sliced almonds, sea salt, pepper. 1 salad will have a cut up beet.
4 lunches for me

5) Rotisserie Chicken and steamed vegetables
1 supper for my husband and me

6) Chicken Soup with onion, carrots, green beans, ginger, garlic, and homemade broth
4 lunches for my husband

7) Leftover Soup
3 lunches for my husband

8) Spaghetti Sauce with onion, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, oregano, sage, basil, chives
- Add broccoli instead of pasta
1 supper for me and my husband

9) Stir Fry With Beef, Onion, ginger, garlic, bell pepper
1 supper for me and my husband

10) Leftover Turkey Curry with onion, carrot, parsnip (substituting turnip), sweet potato, mushrooms, bell pepper, diced tomato, coconut milk (substitute almond milk), curry, turkey, coconut oil
http://stupideasypaleo.com/2012/12/26/leftover-turkey-yellow...

11) Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls with beef, olive oil, onion, cabbage, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, pepper, sea salt.

Hello, everyone. I guess I have been living the high life, because I have had a few too many expenses and need to buckle down for awhile until I get it all balanced out. I think I will start with a food challenge by seeing how many meals I can make out of what is in my cupboards and fridge. And I must not forget that I now have lettuce, kale, and arugula that I can harvest and it's delicious. I have onions every now and then.

Anyway, I got paid today, so more money is going into savings, debt, and retirement.

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $1627.67

Regular Savings Deposit $40.00
Car Savings Deposit $20.00
House Savings Deposit $20.00
Professional Savings Deposit $40.00
Payment on cc #1 $100.00
Slush Fund $20.00

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $1867.67

Hi, everyone. I get paid tomorrow, so more money is going to savings, debt, and retirement. I don't really report my retirement here except on the sidebar. Here are my numbers.

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $1482.67

Regular Savings Contribution $40.00
Professional Savings Contribution $40.00
Car Savings Contribution $20.00
House Savings Contribution $20.00

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $1602.67

I will make payments to the credit card tomorrow. See ya'!

Hi, everybody. I get paid again tomorrow, so more will be going in and out of checking, savings, and towards debt.

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $1238.19

Regular Savings Deposit $40.00
Car Savings Deposit $20.00
House Savings Deposit $20.00
Professional Savings Deposit $100.00
DH's payment to cc #1 $37.48
Slush Fund Deposit $22.00

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $1477.67

Hi, everyone. I get paid again tomorrow, so more money will be going to savings, debt, and retirement.

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $963.48

Regular Savings Deposit $40.00
Professional Savings Deposit $100.00
Car Savings Deposit $20.00
House Savings Deposit $20.00
cc#1 payment $75.00
Slush fund deposit $22.00

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $1200.48

Woo-Hoo!

Howdy, neighbors and money savvy friends! Well, I got paid again today and so I have already paid the internet/phone bill, gas bill, electric bill, put some money into savings, and made a credit card payment.

Old Challenge Balance: $783.48

Regular Savings Deposit $40.00
Professional Savings Deposit $100.00
Payment on cc #1 $40.00

New Challenge Balance: $963.48

Because I have had such a challenging couple of weeks, I am going to use the current paycheck to get caught up.

Prior 52 Week Challenge Balance: $783.48

$22.00 deposit to slush fund
$40.00 deposit to regular savings
$40.00 deposit to house savings
$100.00 deposit to professional savings
$37.48 dh's payment to cc #1
$20.00 regular payment to cc #1

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $1042.96

One of my new games this year has been to use all my change in my purse for my one big, regular purchase of the week. And that is grocery shopping. I go through the self checkout and bag all my groceries myself. I use as many coupons as possible. To limit the amount coming directly out of checking, I use all my pocket change and any bills I have in my purse. Usually, it is only a couple of dollars, but one week, it was about $20 I had leftover. Woo-hoo! I have also really been trying to evaluate each purchase I make and to use cash I take out of the ATM for impulse purchases, so that when the cash runs out, I stop buying stuff.

Hi, everyone. I get paid tomorrow. I have already allocated for 1/2 the mortgage and paid the gas and electric bills.

Prior Challenge Balance: $521.48

Regular Savings $40.00
Slush Fund $22.00
House Savings $10.00
Car Savings $10.00
Professional Savings $140.00
Payment to Credit Card $30.00

New Challenge Balance: $773.48

Hi, everyone. I get paid tomorrow and am trying to make a go of the 52 week challenge, but am getting a late start. So, I went through my records to get an idea of all my stuff that qualifies for my challenge.

1/2 paycheck
$17.00 deposit to car savings
$17.00 deposit to house savings
$100.00 deposit to professional savings
$1.00 deposit to AAA/car tax savings
$5.00 deposit to escrow savings
$40.00 deposit to regular savings

1/30 paycheck
$10.00 deposit to house savings
$10.00 deposit to car savings
$40.00 deposit to regular savings
$145.00 deposit to professional savings
$22.00 deposit to slush

That means my 52 Week Challenge Balance is $407.00.

While my real goal with the 52 Week Challenge is to pay off cc #1, I have not put any payments on this list. The balance on the margin is not the real balance because I had to use it again recently, so the balance is higher. I also have a goal to attend a professional conference in June this year, so I am ramping up what I am setting aside for that. I plan on doing lots of surveys, buying and selling used books, and whatever else I can do to raise the extra cash I need to accomplish my goals.

Cheers to the 52 Week Challenge!

Hi, everyone. As the year 2014 draws to a close, I feel the desire to reflect on my amazing progress for 2014 and make goals for 2015.

Progress:
1) Made steady progress on paying off cc #2 and have kept it paid off since early November. Woo-hoo!
2) Have funneled that same energy towards paying off cc #1. Have not made it there yet, though.
3) Retirement account has increased significant, but I don't remember how much.
4) All of my savings accounts have increased significantly as a result of regular deposits and also deposits of found money. Several of the savings accounts are "sinking funds" that are for a specific goal. They have served me well this year and resulted in helping to meet those goals without going into debt to do it. I get really weird looks from one of my friends when I tell her I have 7 savings accounts, though, but I don't care. When I told that it is helping me to get out of debt, she seemed to think that was good. Woo-Hoo!
5) Refinanced our mortgage in July from 5.23% to 4.75%, lowering our regular payment about $27.00. We have continued to make the same payment, though.

Goals for 2015:
1) Continue to make steady progress on cc #1 and pay it off by 12/31/2016. I plan to pay a regular payment of $100 per month and also make extra payments when possible.
2) My boss has told me that I may be getting a bump in regular pay level next July. I don't know how much, but I plan to make use of it by bumping up my retirement contribution by 1%. I also plan to increase savings deposits and debt payoff with these funds.
3) We have already paid a deposit on another new window for our house and it will be installed in January, I think. We will continue to set aside funds for more work on the house, including more tuckpointing and some basic maintenance.

Hi, everyone. More debt has been paid and more money has been saved. It is becoming more second nature to me now. That feels good that I don't have to struggle so much. So far, I have allocated for 1/2 of the mortgage, paid the gas bill, internet/phone bill, bought gas for the car, and bought groceries. I also deposited to savings, but lost my note as to how I allocated it, so this is my best recollection.

$40 regular savings deposit
$40 car savings deposit
$40 house savings deposit
$70 professional savings deposit
$20 AAA/car tax savings deposit
$5 escrow savings deposit
$1 self improvement savings deposit

On December 1st, I got a rebate deposit from mrrebates. I sent it directly to cc #1.
I also paid $50 to cc #1. cc #2 is still at $0.00!!!

Hi, everyone.

My cc #2 balance is still $0! Woo-Hoo! I get paid tomorrow. I have already allocated for 1/2 of the mortgage payment, gas for the car, slush fund, groceries, and the purchase of health supplements. I have also paid the water/sewer bill and put money into savings.

I will be putting the balance of my work reimbursement into my professional account. That's where it came from and I want to go to another conference next summer, so I figured the $231.00 would be a nice beginning to the approximately $1500 I will likely need.

I will be getting 2 payments of $3.00 each for Pinecone surveys in a couple of days. They will be going straight to cc #1. That feels good to say.

Hi, everyone. I am so blessed. Today is a wonderful day. I remembered a couple of days ago that my cc #2 has with its rewards system a way to "erase" travel purchases. So, since I recently had to travel out of town for work, I decided to see how it would work for that. I was able to erase part of the cost of my hotel stay to the tune of $30.41! That was after I had already paid that part off for myself. Woo-Hoo! The credit for that hit today, which brought the balance of cc #2 to $185.59. Awesome. I also received the reimbursement payment for the trip from my work. I paid $100.00 to cc #2, bringing the balance of cc #2 to $85.59! Awesome. I feel so blessed. I will probably pay off the rest before next payday out of the same funds. I can't stop smiling.

Hi, everyone. It's payday here in the midwest and so more money has gone to savings, debt, and retirement. Here is my progress so far.

$21.00 Deposit to slush fund
$40.00 Deposit to regular savings
$40.00 Deposit to car account
$40.00 Deposit to house account
$20.00 Deposit to professional account
$20.00 Deposit to aaa/tax savings account
$ 6.00 Deposit to escrow account
$ 3.00 Deposit to self account

The best news is that before I even got paid this time, I discovered I had about $40.00 left over in my checking, so today I sent it to credit card #1. In about 2 weeks or so, I should get my reimbursement for attending a conference. I will pay off cc #2 completely and put $50.00 of it towards cc #1. The rest I will put back into my professional account for attendance at another conference next spring or summer. I also have $3.00 coming for Pinecone surveys, but I don't know when I will receive it. I will put it towards cc #1. On December 1st, I will get about $11.00 from mrrebates that I will put towards cc #1.

Hi, everyone. It's payday again for me, so more money has come in and gone out and I am blessed. I have put more money into nearly all my savings accounts, retirement, and towards debt. The dh and I refi-ed our house this week. Woo-hoo! That lowered our payment by $40.00, $40.00 which we will now be putting towards set asides for more new windows. Eventually, I will go back to using it for paying more on the mortgage principle and credit card debt. Right now, in order to avoid freezing in the winters and roasting in the winters, we need new windows. We are so blessed and have no idea how we managed to bring all this greatness into our universe because we did not even seek out doing a re-fi. The dh called the mortgage company about something else and they wanted to talk to him about a NO COSTS OUT OF POCKET re-fi. Woo-hoo!

Also, I count on my list of things successfully done this week is paying our annual registration and car tax. I saved up since last July for doing so and on Sunday discovered I was only lacking $10.00 in the AAA/tax savings account from being able to pay for it. I had $10.00 in checking and it is due next week, so I paid it. It feels great knowing that it was not a problem to pay it, because I saved up for it rather than HOPING I would be able to pay for it when it came due.

I will be attending a conference soon. I have also saved up for months to attend it. I have to pay for it up front myself, but got special funding at work to reimburse my expenses. My professional savings account is down $200 because I just paid for the conference registration in full.

Hi, everyone. It's payday again for me. More money has gone to debt, savings, and retirement. I have lost track of my challenge amount, so I am not counting that here, but here is what I have done so far.

$40.00 Deposit to regular savings
$21.00 Deposit to slush fund
$40.00 Deposit to Car Account
$40.00 Deposit to House Account
$40.00 Deposit to Professional Account
$20.00 Deposit to AAA/Car Tax Savings Account
$1.00 Deposit to self Account
$1.00 Deposit to Escrow Account

Also, my retirement account up! Good news. I also sold 2 books on cash4books and will be getting $3.20 for them in a couple of weeks. I will put that money towards cc #2.

Hi, everyone. I have good news and bad news on my 52 Week Challenge. The good news is that I am still doing good on my challenge, but the bad news is that I had to make a couple of steps backward. I had to replace the battery in my car because it went dead. We were not sure if it was the alternator or battery at the time it happened. Between the diagnosis and the battery installation, it was $171.49 or something like that. And that was with a $20 coupon I had earlier printed off the internet, anticipating needing to replace two more tires on the car. I put it on cc #2 to get the rewards points. I made payments to it from both checking and savings to avoid the balance getting out of control. I am not letting that slow me down and am forging ahead.

Previous 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2652.67

Car Savings Deposit $40.00
House Savings Deposit $40.00
Professional Savings Deposit $20.00
AAA/Car tax savings Deposit $5.00
Medical Savings Deposit $5.00
Credit Card #1 Payment $40.00
Credit Card #2 Payment $10.03 (from mrrebates)
Credit Card #2 Payment $58.28 (dh's payment)

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2870.98

I have more progress to report on the Challenge front. I got paid today and so more money went to debt, savings, and retirement.

Prior 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2468.74

$20.00 paid to cc #1
$40.00 regular savings deposit (automatic)
$40.00 car savings deposit
$40.00 house savings deposit
$20.00 professional savings deposit
$9.00 AAA/tax savings deposit
$1.00 medical savings deposit
$13.93 paid to cc #2

New 52 Week Challenge Deposit: $2652.67

On another note, the mortgage is down even more, and retirement is up. In fact, the retirement is more than my mortgage for the first time.

Hi, everyone. It's Friday and payday! Wheee!

I have more progress to report on the Challenge front. I got paid today and so more money went to debt, savings, and retirement.

Prior 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2278.74

$40.00 paid to cc #1
$40.00 regular savings deposit (automatic)
$40.00 car savings deposit
$40.00 house savings deposit
$20.00 professional savings deposit
$9.00 AAA/tax savings deposit
$1.00 medical savings deposit

New 52 Week Challenge Deposit: $2468.74

I have also cashed in my rebates in the amount $10.03, but I won't see the deposit until about July 1st.

The saddest thing I have heard about in my universe this week is that my nephew, still a young adult, died in an accident. He was a passenger at the time. Police are still investigating to find out who was at fault. Fortunately, he had health and life insurance which is paying for all of his expenses. I think his parents were kind of worried about how to pay for his funeral, but are relieved of that at least.

Hello, everyone. I got paid today, so more money went to savings, retirement, and debt.

Prior Challenge Balance: $2020.46

$40 regular savings deposit
$40 car savings deposit
$40 house savings (windows) deposit
$20 professional savings deposit
$1 AAA membership/car tax savings deposit
$1 medical savings deposit

New Challenge Balance: $2162.46

My bank's website is having fits right now or I would make my payment there. Will post more tomorrow.

I also have a lottery ticket and some change to turn to bills tomorrow. I will deposit the money and make a small payment to cc#2.

Hi, everyone. I get paid again tomorrow, so more money will go towards debt, savings, and retirement.

Prior Challenge Balance: $1825.46

Deposit to Regular Savings $40.00
Deposit to Car Savings $40.00
Deposit to House Savings for Window $40.00
Deposit to AAA/property tax savings $1.00
Deposit to Medical savings $1.00
Deposit to Professional Savings $1.00
Payment to cc #1 $55.00

New Challenge Balance: $2003.46

I have also already allocated for the mortgage in the checkbook, paid the gas and electric bills, and allocated $20.00 towards 2 new rear tires on the car. I had the front tires replaced
s several weeks ago and will need to to replace the rear ones in a few months.

I only have $31.00 to go on the needed allocation to pay for the rest of the new window! Woo-hoo!

Hi, everyone. My stepdaughter, who lives with us, gives us money for rent, etc. twice a month. Much of the time I put it towards a credit card or other debt. This time, I am putting it towards the Challenge.

Previous 52 Week Challenge Balance $1726.07

$20.00 rent money from stepdaughter deposited towards house savings for new window (brings house account balance to $140.11)

Also, while rummaging through my purse for a deposit slip this morning, I discovered an envelope with $4.00 in it I had earmarked to put into savings, except somehow I never deposited it. It goes to my Challenge, too! I deposited the whole $24.00 this morning. That brings the house account up to $144.11. Woo-Hoo! I only have $80.89 to go on the funds needed for the new window.

This brings my new challenge balance to $1750.07.

Hi, everyone. I am doing another snoopy dance. My dh's hospital bill #4 is paid off! Woo-Hoo! Also, I got paid, so more money went to savings, retirement, and credit cards. Will update more with balances later.

$1518.05

$40.00 deposit to regular savings
$40.00 deposit to car savings
$80.00 set aside for new window for house (brings total to $120.11 - need $225.00 by middle of June)
$6.51 pmt to cc #2
$41.51 pmt to dh's hospital bill #4

This brings my new Challenge total to: $1726.07

This is amazing, and so much more than I thought I could do this year!

I will put more towards the window set aside and cc#2 on May 1st.

Prior Challenge Balance: $1130.76

Automatic Deposit to Regular Savings $40.00
Payment to DH's Hospital Bill $30.00, bringing the balance to $40.44
Slush Fund Deposit $20.00
Payment to cc #1 $40.00

New Challenge Balance $1260.76

Future Items to Add to Challenge:
1) sold a book for $7.01 - will get deposit in about 3 days
2) cashed in mrrebates for $12.00 - will get deposit next Tuesday
3) Make DH's regular payment to cc #2 next Tuesday $58.28
4) will make regular payment to cc #2 tomorrow $20.00