March 1st Net Worth Snapshot

We are $6,853.96 up from last month's net worth(only liquid cash/investments, as I don't count housing or car values).  Just over $2K of that if due to savings put away in February from our household accounts.  The other $4,800+ is from our retirement/investment account gains.

We are also $93,700 up from one year ago, the February 1st of 2015 net worth snapshot.

Once Hubs retires I will miss these little monthly look backs, when we move from acquisition mode with money to spend-down mode. ;-)

Sluggy

To-Do List....February Update

So how did we do on February's goals?
Let's take a look.....

FEBRUARY

* Inventory Stockpile  DONE  We had a couple of days of warmer weather near the end of the month so I took advantage and got out into the garage and tidied up the stockpile and stock took.  We are at "capacity" with a few categories of foods and that was noted and we'll not be buying certain items for some time to come.  Other categories we are winnowing down the supplies and some of these we won't be restocking while others we will.

* Pick Giveaway Winner  DONE

* Mail out Giveaway Box  DONE  As I haven't heard back from her on whether it arrived safely I've emailed her to follow up and everything is fine.

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything billed in February has been paid(except for 1 medical bill I am still waiting on).

* Bike 60 Miles  DONE--61 miles

Even though I didn't realize at the time when I set this mileage goal that it was a short month and then I didn't bike for 4 whole days because I was sick(making Feb. only 25 days long for my purposes)I still hit the 60 mile target.
Go me.....lolz

* Paint and Complete 1 Item  FAIL  Nope, didn't do this.  My paints and brushes are still sitting on a shelf in the garage.  I did however go down into the basement and dig out something to paint......

And I hope to get the paints out and complete these by the end of the month.

* Sew & Complete Something  FAIL  Well, what can I say?  I was set to finish another nightgown(once I found all the cut-out pieces for it in the pile in the bedroom)but then the bathroom renovation actually HAPPENED......so I haven't been able to use my sewing machine as the bedroom is a construction zone staging area by day. ;-)

* File Federal Taxes  DONE  Got 'em done and mailed off to the criminals in Washington.

* Do FAFSA  DONE  I was so NOT going to even fill out this crap for College Boy's junior year coming up since we don't take aid from the government so there is no point.  Except that CB got a job this semester on campus and even though the funds to pay him do NOT come out of federal Work Study monies in order to keep this job next year we have to fill out this insanity.
sigh.

I love how the FAFSA eggheads inform us that due to our income we are expected to contribute over $52THOUSAND to CB's education each year. 
Ok....but his costs are "only" $22K a year for school. It's so nice to know that someone considers us "rich".

BTW-Daughter was told when she filled out FAFSA this year(considering a return to college), as an adult without parental financial support and living on her own for 3 years now, making approx. $32K gross and with little cash assets in the bank, that she is expected to contribute over $9K to her educational costs next year.  Now just where is she suppose to come up with $9K, especially since she'll have to quit her job to go to school? 
They.
Are.
Insane.

* Do State Taxes  DONE  We always owe a little bit of money to the great fiscal bastion of PA, so I am never in a hurry to do this set of taxes.....but it's done and off my plate now.

* Do CB's Taxes  DONE  Well they are done but not mailed because he has to come home next week on break and sign the forms.

* Take Food Bank Donation in  DONE

Got my bags of food/toiletries taken up mid month.

* Sign Contract on Renovation  DONE  Committed to the work at the beginning of the month and when 1 of the contractor's other jobs ahead of us was pushed back into March we got onto the contractor's schedule lickety-split.
The work is coming along....

There is now a ceiling in the bathroom again! rah.

*  Buy Reno Supplies  DONE  I signed up for a Lowe's card to put the purchase of supplies and labor onto and got a 5% discount on said supplies and labor.  The bill will be paid off fully in March once the job is completed.

* Read 1 Book  IN PROGRESS  I've been reading a biography of actor Henry Fonda.  Progress is going much slower than expected as this tome is reading like someone's half-assed  educational dissertation that they thought would be a good idea to turn into a book and make some money off of it.  I think the writer was a candidate for a joint Pyschology and Cinema Arts degree.  I am having to go view many Fonda flicks to keep up with and grasp the literary noodlings of this author.  The amateur psychoanalysis of the man and his roles by this writer makes me keep a barf bag nearby as well.  It's a long slow slog through this book yet I persevere.
One thing is for certain, Fonda was one f*cked up piece of humanity!  As are his kids.

* File State Taxes  DONE  Sent off and the check written and I can wash my hands of this chore for another year.  Looking forward to moving to a state without state income taxes......

* Plan Travel for 2016  ON HOLD  Due to life issues that are still up in the air at this point in 2016, our/my travel plans are on hold until certain things are settled so I am removing this from the To-Do list for now.   Still working on at least 1 trip for the year with my eldest when he is on his Summer break from teaching.  And I might be heading to Boston area with Hubs for his Springtime conference, but other than those trips no plans are shaping up yet.

* Have a Date w/Hubs  DONE  We went out for lunch together last weekend and then I sat and watched him pick out beer to take home(fun, fun).

Living the dream folks......

So we did pretty well on the February Goals with only 2 Fails.  I confess that my goals this past month weren't too strenuous but there were some important one(taxes/fafsa)to get off my plate.

I am still thinking on what to try to get done around here in March.

What are you working on in your life?
Tell us what plans are taking up your time and energy lately.

Sluggy

Changes Are in the Air

We have lots of things up in the air and possibly coming down the turnpike around here in Sluggy Land.
Some things I can't talk about now as they are medical in nature(and not my medical issues for a change)but it is affecting my life now and might affect it more fully if things work out one way rather than another.

One thing I can mention is that the Daughter is contemplating going back to college to finish her degree.  She has applied to a particular school and has gotten accepted already AND they gave her a $12K merit scholarship.
Of course this a private college and not a public one so $12K is merely a drop in the financial bucket to afford attending this institution.
However she only needs to do 2 years worth of work and won't have to live on campus.
There are other colleges yet to hear from and she is mulling over her options.
This particular college is located near us so if she attends there she will move back home to live until the sheepskin is in hand.

If this plays out in this way, it will affect our retirement plans/moving plans a bit.  It also means I need to make room for a fourth(and a fifth is her BF comes too)person in this house.
This is something I hadn't counted on.....having to downsize my stuff even more so they/she can move back home for a couple of years.  Of course, there will have to be compromises made in the way the house is used/lived in now as well.

This is not an unsurmountable issue.  And we have time to figure it all out once she commits to going there(deadline is May 1)and comes back sometime in August to start in the Fall.
But it does make planning anything for the coming year(mostly travel)impossible until this school and the medical issues are settled one way or the other.

It just goes to show that life changes and not always in the way you think it will.  ;-)

Sluggy

The Great Bathroom Renovation of 2016.... Part 1

So I took these BEFORE Photos of our Master Bathroom last Wednesday, the day before I began living in a Construction Zone.
It's a basic bathroom really.

Here is the toilet.  The "thing" between the toilet and the sink/vanity cabinet is a tile covered surface that I suppose was to be used as a vanity table with a chair.  We just throw our toiletries on top of it and put a waste basket underneath.
Notice that there is a halfway/kneewall behind the tiled surface and the sink top adjoining it, in front of the mirror.

Here is the tub area.  This is the same tile used on that tiled vanity across the room.

Well, except that this whirlpool tub was replaced before we moved in(as they didn't think the old whirlpool tub worked-it did work but the previous owners had the power to the jets shut off-a whole other kettle of stinky fish that was!). The plumber who replaced the tub had to take out the bottom row of tiles and replaced them with a half row(this tub was taller than the old tub)of plain ivory colored tiles, which didn't match the white tiles with diagonal pastel colored stripes that are the old tiles.
But what was worse was that the plumber(or whoever he hired to do the retiling work)also removed a hunk of the backerboard behind the tiles and never replaced or repaired that before putting new tiles on!
So we have been living with nothing behind the bottom row of tiles for 15 years and being as it's a shower/tub area-which gets a lot of moisture obviously-it's been nearly impossible to keep clean as you can't put any pressure on the caulk/tiles there.  Yes, there is no grout between those tiles in that row, just caulk....lots and lots of caulk over the years.

We finally gave up cleaning and using this tub/shower about a year ago when we decided to redo this bathroom.
I won't show you a close-up of this photo as it's gross.

This is the bathroom closet door.  It too is broken and has never closed properly.  It was cut down from a larger door blank and never hung correctly.

Notice too that all the room trim and door(also the bathroom door)is this faux wood color.  I suppose that was the "in" color for doors/trim when this palace was built in the 1980's....or plastic wood-look trim was cheaper and easier to finish off than real wood trim(no sealing or painting required).

This is the toilet and a good shot of the floor in the room.
The toilet is NOT white or off-white or ivory.
It is the palest tint of GREEN known to man.
See the roll of tp on the right to compare white to the green of this toilet.

Now the green in the tiles in the room are about 3 shades deeper.  To add to this cachophony of color notice that the floor vinyl tiles are another 10 shades darker than the tile so we have 3 shades of green in a very small room that aren't even in the SAME COLOR PALETTE!

Needless to say my color sense is assaulted every time I have to go into this room!

Now let's add the vanity/sink in.  The cabinet is a builder's grade oak color with crappy door handles.
The sink/counter top is an ivory colored faux marbling item with a styleless chrome faucet.
Doesn't the ivory counter top look just spiffy next to the white tiles with pastel strips?
Bonus-you can see the moldy caulk over the tub in the mirror!!
Living the dream folks, living the dream.....

Here's a better shot of the tiles.....they are textured too boot!
Pastel pink, green and blue dashes of color on a white background.  I guess the builder was covering lots of bases in case you wanted to change the color scheme/decor in here. lolz

And here is the wall with the bathroom door, next to the sink/counter top and the mirror.
You'll notice that the towel ring is a deluxe $10 model and that the mirror is just a huge sheet (4x4.5 feet?) of mirror glued to the drywall with a thin metal strip nailed to the wall to frame it.
Classy......

"Who needs a mirror THIS BIG??", I ask as I wave to y'all! lol

And over the mirror is a soffit housing two spotlights potlights.
There is also a soffit over the tub area.  It's a strange design choice at best which we will explore more fully in a later post.

So that was the State of the Bathroom last week.

On Thursday that all changed however......and not a moment too soon!

Sluggy

2016 $38K Savings Challenge.....February Update

Every year I keep a close eye on our monthly expenses and our monthly income.

Our income is mainly the salary my Hubs draws from his job.  We have money taken off each paycheck from the top to put into savings, before we even get our hands on it.  This money that's taken goes into various pots....life insurance, health insurance premiums, long term care insurance premiums, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings or these other categories.

Once the automatic savings amounts, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision premiums are taken out, it leaves what we get to "live on".  From this amount we budget for bills, both monthly and irregular bills(semi-annual, annual etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, clothing  etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into an interest bearing Savings Challenge account.

For 2016 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am raising the Goal amount to $38,000 this year, $10K more than my goal for last year.

I have reconsidered and changed my Goal from $40K to $38K for 2016.  With some things coming down the pike this year I thought it prudent to back up my Goal a couple of thousand.  8-)

On to the February report.....

I have posted my February End of Month $38K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers HERE.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $3,333.33.

I have to report that we finished up February with a goodly amount leftover but not my target amount.
The extra amount we ended the month of February with?.......$2004.57

Income

We had $1,848.87 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.

Other monies received in February totaled $155.70.  This included interest made on non-retirement accounts.

This brought us to our gain of $2004.57
Since we have no debt, this goes into savings.

Outgo

As for the expenses this February, here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as last month.
*  The water bill was down $4.26 from Jan.  Of course with College Boy home for a week in March that bill will be going right back up. lolz
*  The February electric bill was only up $36.96 from January's bill.  With electric heat this is an amazing total for heat and lights, etc. in northern, mountainous PA. February is generally our highest electric bill month in the year.  I will be glad to see the electric start to slowing decrease for the next 8 months.
*  The credit card bill was down $642 from last month.  No travel=not much spending on that other than gas.
*  The cash withdrawals were down $500 from January's totals.
*  Hubs received a bonus(which is a VERY good thing!)but we won't be counting that into the regular income until we decided where to allocate those monies.  At this point it might go to more home improvements/repairs or to other issues I haven't brought up on the blog yet with medical and our kids.  I'll talk about this more fully in the months to come as decisions are made.

HERE are the BAD THINGS(and the not so bad)

*  The gas card was up by $7.39 in February.
*  Medical payments were up $854.62 from January due to satisfying our deductible for the year and paying out of pocket for many bills.
*  There was a 6 month car insurance payment due on one of the cars for $433.47
*  College Boy got a birthday check this month from us.

The Food Budget costs for February are in another post, which is located HERE.

February was a fairly expensive month for us.  The regular bills were decently low but we had a lot of medical expenses, an irregular car insurance bill and birthday money to dole out.

With 2 month accounted for, our Savings Challenge Grand Total for 2016 is $4467.33.

Final thoughts on February---
We hit our insurance deductible this month so it was a less than stellar month for saving any cash.  If I didn't have that $1,700+ carried over from savings in December it would have been almost a zero sum game month in Feb.
And compared to February 2015 we put $1400+/- less into savings this February.
Even though we have $4K+ saved so far in 2016, we are over $2100 behind at this point in the year.
We won't be catching up with the financial goals until April I fear when the first 3 paycheck month of the year rolls around.

THOUGHTS going forward into March----

We have a small amount to pay on our state taxes and some medical payments due but the bad thing is a big irregular bill due in March-real estate taxes. ugh.
There is no travel or planned extra spending so far for March so I hope we can stash away at least $1K this month given the tax bill.
Only time will tell though.....

So how was your February financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in February?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!

As we go forward into 2016 why not make this new year the one were you clean up your finances and pay off your debts.
Plan to set something aside if you don't already now or increase what you bank now for your future self.
Live below your means and keep some change for a rainy day....because no matter how sunny it is in your life now, dark clouds come along and you'll be glad you have that umbrella to keep you dry.

Sluggy