Time for another update-
Financial Goals for 2008
Fully Fund Emergency Fund by 2/1/08
Completed on 1/31/08 YIPEE!!!!!
Fully Fund Orthodontics for Oldest-
This was completed last month, but due to scheduling delays, we aren’t paying for the braces until this month. A few extra bucks in interest for us…
Begin saving 10% of income into Roth IRA’s and TSP-
The fund I wanted to invest in had a rather large minimum. So all extra savings this month went to the IRA.
Begin College Funding for Kids-
I spoke with my brother-in-law this weekend and I want to reconsider the type of account we are using. I need do some calculations to see what type of account is the best for us. This decision should be made in March and we will start funding again in April.
Begin aggressive savings for house and car-
This one has taken a back seat to our other goals for right now. Since we are in the military and move every 1 to 2 years we have no immediate plans to buy a house, but we do need to start saving more in this area. We have two cars that are in good shape, but if our family grows we will need to purchase a larger vehicle, so we need to start saving more in this area too.
I would like to up these areas by at least 200% each in our budget. After our trip to Ohio this weekend I am feeling the need for a bigger vehicle. We were so cramped! We can’t decide which vehicle we should keep or sell and since we don’t have the cash to pay for another vehicle we have time to decide.
Funding all of our expenses for the year-
I over funded many of our categories this year. This month I am cutting back on camping, clothing, and haircuts. I have added a field trip category, this is mainly going to be used to cover parking since most of the trips we take are free.
Vacation Funding -
We have decided to take a family vacation at the end of this year. Since it is a family vacation, all family members are contributing to this account. I have decided to dump all the change out of my envelopes (at the end of the month) into our vacation jar. Our goal is still to have this funded by October.
Cutting Our Expenses-
I am still working on this one. Since we are still getting use to living without payments I am trying to see how much really need to live on, and what we can do without.
Groceries-
Last month I met our grocery goal! Since we were successful last month, as a family we agreed to continue to slash the grocery budget each month by $25. Hopefully that will be less painful! Since it is a family endeavour the kids are really excited about finding ways to save money on food. This month’s goal $575 for a family of 8.
Clothing -
I was able to cut our clothing budget in half. Our biggest expense is shoes, but I have been able to find some deals on those. If only the kids would just stop growing! We were blessed last month with 3 large garbage bags of clothes from people at our church. I have found that if you let people know that you are a thrift store, hand-me-down fan they are quick to offer you things they don’t need anymore.
Gifts -
I still haven’t figured out how to slash this category. I joked with my friend that I need to start buying everyone’s gifts at CVS. It’s a possibility!
Finding extra sources of income-
My husband and I are brainstorming this one. We have several ideas in the works, we just need to get focused and decide where to put our energy and extra time.
I love being debt free. It is a great way to live. My goal for March is
to regain some of the gazelle intensity we had while we were paying off our debt so we can save aggressively for the future. I am excited about the progress we have made and determined to continue to find ways to spend less and save more.
Check out Money Saving Mom for more financial check-ups
The Happy Housewife
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Allen Taylor
[Reply]
GREAT WORK!
Sounds like things are coming in shape for you guys.
Keep it up!
Nichole
http://blog.handmadebycole.com/
[Reply]
WOOHOO!! Sounds like you guys are sure on the right track!! Keep up the good work!!
Our goal is to be 100% debt free (including the house) by the end of next year.
[Reply]
My husband is in the financial planning industry so I see lists and goals daily in his list he makes (drives me insane sometimes but we won’t tell him lol). I have a friend in France who started what she calls “a slow year”. While she is into natural everything and some things are not avaliable here she does (would have to be extra creative) her masterplan is fantastic. The first thing she did was to boycot going to the grocery store and using everything from her fridge and pantry (NOT foodstorage). She is on month2 if you can believe it. Anyway, just thought I would share…she has some creative ideas on how to save in the household and meet some financial goals. Her blog is linked on mine as Riana.
Congrats on NO payments. We don’t do credit and have been debt free for many years now…it is such a blessing and a relief!
[Reply]
This is wonderful! I think you’re doing a fantastic job. Way to go on the emergency fund.
$575/month for eight is really impressive.
[Reply]
Great to hear that your Emergency Fund is done! We just reached our halfway point and can’t wait to be onto babystep 4, 5, etc.
[Reply]
that is truly amazing. i have been trying to get my husband to work towards that also, but i think the man believes debt is the natural course of things. we have 5 kids, and i babysit to bring in some extra cash.
god bless you military families!
[Reply]
Thanks for visiting my blog! I came over to visit yours and I’m very impressed – you’re doing great! I love your ideas about having the kids involved in saving for the vacation, cutting the grocery budget, etc. When mine are a little older I think I’ll do the same thing!
[Reply]
I really enjoyed this post. I know you can do the grocery goal. I feed 8 people mostly organic and natural food for $600 a month.
We are building a house without a bank. Just God and us so every “extra” penny is taken right now. As soon as the house is done those pennies will be saved in different ways for different things like college and retirement.
Great post!
[Reply]