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. I just cashed out my mrrebates account for $10.10. I will get it until June 1st and I will directly apply to credit card debt.

Also, I have realized that I have enough funds for my conference trip saved up, so I am not going to set aside any more funds. I will devote the "extra" funds to the following: 1) $40 to the house account for the windows which will likely be installed soon and 2) $100 to credit card debt.

I have also been using my rewards credit card for my one major grocery purchase each week in order to earn rewards. At the end of June, I will have enough rewards to get a rebate. I will use that to make an extra payment to the other credit card.

Hey, everybody. My mortgage is down to $66,499.09. Last month, between my regular principal payment and extra principal payment a total of $186.12 went to principal. Woo-Hoo!

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, 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 used change in the amount of $0.71 to pay for part of my groceries and lessen the amount coming out of checking. That's good, because checking is a little low. I am going to put it toward cc#1.

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $1237.48

$0.71 change used for groceries

New Balance: $1238.19

Old Challenge Balance: $1200.48

DH's payment to cc #1 $37.48

New Challenge Balance $1237.48

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.

It's official, everybody! My mortgage is under $67,000! Woo-hoo!

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.

Old Challenge Balance: $773.48

I found myself with some extra money in the checking, so I sent it to the cc #1.

New Challenge Balance: $783.48

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

Prior Challenge Balance: $501.48

Transfer From Slush to cc #1: $20.00

New Challenge Balance: $521.48

I have allocated for nearly all of the upcoming expenses and find myself with some money left over. So, I decided to send an extra $5.00 to the cc#1.

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $496.48

Add $5.00

New Balance: $501.48

So far, this is shaping up to be a repeat of last year with not having to look very hard to find the funds to pay off debt. Cheers to my progress. I will start putting the pedal to the metal.

Woo-Hoo!

Previous Balance: $407.00

Today I paid several payments to the credit card from different sources.

$37.48 (dh's payment to the credit card)
$40.00 (regular cc payment - I will pay more)
$12.00 (dividend from my savings account)

New Balance: $496.48

Also, on Thursday, we had window installers at our house to install another new window. Woo-Hoo! It is wonderful to have new windows, but not go into debt to pay for them. We already have enough money to pay for another window, but we may wait for a little while on the next one.

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. I just finished a pinecone survey and will be getting $3.00 from that in a few days. That money will go directly to cc #1. Woo-Hoo! I also finished a survey at epoll.com, which gave me enough points to be able to cash out for $5.00. That will also be going to cc #1, but it will probably take a few weeks at least to get here. That ought to put cc #1's balance at somewhere around $3424.82. The $5.85 payment to cc #1 has not yet gone through, but will on Friday. I am loving this. Even though I still have a ways to go yet in adding to the regular savings (emergency) and paying off cc #1, I no longer feel like the guy in the picture below.

I was under budget for my shopping today and so the leftover $20.00 is going to my slush fund. Also, an extra $20.00 is going to cc #1. Also, when we refied our house in July, it seems the mortgage company figured some fee incorrectly and today we got a check for a grand total of $5.85. As soon as that check clears, I will send it to cc #1.

I am reporting the actual balance of cc #1 and it is lower now than it has been in over a year. I am ashamed to say that I have not reported the accurate balance in at least than long. With several big and small payments lately, I now have the balance much lower. Woo-Hoo1

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. We just got our first statement on our mortgage since we re-fied. It's weird because, unless I forgot to record the balance on SS for several months, the balance went down by about $1179, but the regular principal plus extra principal is $151.00. Hmm...

I also got some found money in the mail, $3.00 for a Pinecone survey and $6.77 in a reimbursement check for a work related party. The whole $9.77 is going to cc #1 once the check clears.

I finally paid off the balance on cc #2! Woo-Hoo! I did this with some of the rest of my work trip reimbursement. I also authorized a $50.00 payment to cc #1. From this point, I am going to seriously step up payments on cc #1. I am so happy I can hardly speak. I am blessed.

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.

I have today and tomorrow off. I probably will not be going anywhere or spending much money, so I decided to allocate some extra towards payoff of cc #2. Woo-Hoo! That brings the balance to $245.25.

I have cc #2 to a much lower balance now. I plan to have it paid off by the end of the year. I am going to use survey money, rebate money, regular payments, and not so regular payments. Woo-Hoo!

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.