Tuesday, September 24, 2013

making progress

Another week down, but as the month continues on, its getting harder to maintain our no spend month policy. South County Boy is getting a little antsy... and a little cabin feverish-ness...

To help inch him along, we did a $5 pizza from Little Caesars and I also used some pocket money to get us some frozen yogurt on another night were he was feeling antsy so there was some semblance of a date... and then i followed that up when we bought steaks at the grocery store so he could have a good meal too.

So we were making it work....

and then we also bought new sheets... (2 sets) off woot.com...

I know... I know...

But our spare set ripped and with Roxy taking refuge on our bed 95% of the time when we aren't home, we needed a few in circulation so we can wash them more frequently so i'm not constantly cuddling with excess dog hair... and it was $48.58 for 2 sets with shipping so I don't feel entirely that bad about it.

We've also have some birthdays coming around the corner... My mom's as my "aunt"... but that gift spending has been coming out of our birthday and gifts savings so it hasn't really effected our cash flow.... What is, is our cell phone situation.

My work is now requiring that I have a smart phone to check emails away from my desk because I work weird hours and am now a salary employee. Since its now a job requirement, they will be granting me a bi-weekly stipend on my paycheck to help out with the costs.

Its supposed to cover a phone itemized over 24 months, monthly insurance, accessories like chargers and cases, and the monthly service. I got a stipend of $43.84 on my check on Friday after taxes, so i'm assuming monthly I'll have around $87.68 for my work phone.

I looked into contract plans first, but i'd have to pay around $90 a month plus tax and at least $100 out of pocket for a phone with a decent enough memory and ram to last me the 2 years on a contract. Since I did NOT want to sign a new contract, I started looking into prepaid phones since our I.T. department's only stipulation was that it needed to run android or i-phone software. I found out that I could choose a no-contract prepaid plan an unlimited talk, text and 4 gigs of data for $70 a month (or $60 for 2 gigs) and all the taxes and fees are supposed to be included...  (If I go with the larger amount of data to start off while i guage my usage, its still $20 cheaper a month then the 2 gig, 2 year contract plan).

I just had to pay for a phone... Verizon Wireless had a deal online where you could buy a $300 smartphone for only $109... and they would waive the activation fee (which is normally $35). Now I could have selected a cheaper phone, but the one I picked up had 8 gigs of internal memory to hopefully keep it running for a good long while and I found a case for it off Amazon for only $5 with shipping. It also uses the same car charger I already have so I don't need to buy new ones.

All in all, after paying for one month of service (70), the phone (109), and the taxes ($24.99), I had to shell out $203.99 to Verizon. With the first stipend of $43.84, I'm currently out of pocket $160.15. If I look at just the monthly stipend, it will take me 10 months to break even and recoup my costs... but on the other hand, I won't have to buy a trac-phone card every other month for my phone, saving me around $20 a month... so basically its a little over 4 months and i'm reimbursed.

Monday, September 16, 2013

No Spend Update


I wore my white dress with a black belt and headband to
make it look different! Score-- no need to get a new dress
this year!
What a busy week.

Last Friday SCB went golfing for the first time ever with his work. They took all their clients out for a day of golfing (best ball) so SCB borrowed some clubs from a co-workers husband and had a great time.

The next day SCB and I went and volunteered in LA at the Child Share annual Gala (The organization I do the LA Marathon for each year)....

and we're exhausted. It was a really full weekend for us and were only now starting to get back into the swing of things.
Tired... very tired...

Since we had to dress up and socialize, we used some of our "fun money" for the month to pay for some fast food for hubs...  but we did spend $50 on the silent auction item we won at the Gala... but it was for a good cause so, ya... it happened.

SCB got paid on Thursday and after tithing, retirement, our allotted pocket money, and the $50 for the auction, we dropped another $375.35 to the Emergency Fund.

It's now at $10,613.25... so only $1,614.69 to go!

We also found out that SCB will be able to participate in his company 401k... and they do a 3% match if you put in 6% so we are going to set that up this week so we don't leave free money on the table.

Here's to hoping this week calms down!

Friday, September 13, 2013

Mortgage Update Sept '13

Principle paid down: $319.52
Interest: $350.44
Additional Principle: $0.00
New Balance: $111,821.70


The pay off date is June 2033. 
If I continue to pay the minimum on my loan, I will still need to pay $46,489.26 in interest (plus the $22,935.39 I've already paid... totaling $69,424.65 in interest for my condo). The original amount of interest I was going to pay before my refinance was $116,404.23. 

It took me $7,057.08 to get the keys to my condo... and another $17,672.29 to remodel and repair it...  In short, I was -$24,729.37 in the hole on day one...
  • In 2009 I got the First Time Home buyer's Credit giving us $8,000.00. I also got to write off some of the property tax I paid in addition to taking the standard deduction. This gave us an extra $90.10... but then I had to pay an Electrician $95.00 to fix an outlet... We also ended 2009 with a refund from my botched tile job that gave us another $1,265.00.
  • In 2010 I saved $1,087.00 on my federal taxes and $461.00 on my State taxes from itemizing my homeowners expenses. (This is what I received ABOVE what I would have with just the standard deduction).
  • In 2011 I spent $12.97 at home depot and $72.29 on a kitchen door. When we subtract those costs from what we saved by living in our condo instead of renting, we came out ahead $494.04 (See Mortgage Update + Condo Costs December '11 for that break down.)  We also received a small $70 refund check from over paid closing costs. Since we tied the knot in 2011 we won't be able to itemize our housing costs so there's no savings there for us.
  • In 2012 we finished our Kitchen/Laundry door which cost us $103.24.. We also replaced both our glass slider doors which cost us $2,957.00... and repaired our dryer for $81.42....It ended up being $3,383.47 cheaper to OWN our condo than to rent an apartment on a monthly basis,  (See Housing Costs 2012 for the break down) so even after we subtract the windows and other minor repairs, we still came out ahead $241.81 by owning our condo instead of renting... 
  • In 2013 we got $52.53 back from challenging my property taxes in 2012. I also refinanced our condo, costing us $447.00 up front for our home appraisal... but we got a check back at closing for $747.20 and a check from my old escrow account for $489.74... We also got to skip a mortgage payment too! In addition, they automatically lowered my property tax value, giving us a check for $86.77
All of that Leaves us $12,186.18 in the hole...

If we assume our home is worth at least what we paid for it ($120k), we have $8,178.30 in equity. Leaving us only $4,007.88 in the hole after 4 years. 
If we use our home appraisal figure of $150,000.00, we have $38,178.30 in equity, giving us a gain of $25,992.12.

For 2013, we will again assume our monthly mortgage payments are a wash since its cheaper to OWN our home then to RENT an apartment. Check out Housing Comps 2013 for how we figured that one out (and those rental figures do not yet include us getting a pet 6 months into the year and being subjected to a pet deposit and pet rent). For 2013 we have spent $8,656.22 to live in our condo, instead of $12,249.00 to live in the apartment.
  • Mortgage (including additional principle payments:) $6,716.46
  • HOA:  $2,385.00
  • Small Home Repairs/Improvements:$0
  • Earthquake Insurance: $187
  • Homeowners Insurance: $297
  • Refinance Charges: (-$789.94) This is what we "gained" from refinancing after out of pocket fees.
  • Property tax Rebates ($52.53) & ($86.77) 
Saving us $3,592.781 this year by not renting.

If I sold the condo tomorrow, I'd have to sell the property for $123,222.96 to break even..
  • This assumes a 6% total commission ($7,393.38)
  • and enough money to refund the amount we are in the hole for ($4,007.88)

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

I love unexpected money

Cause she's cute
We just got a check in the mail for $86.77...

It's from BOFA and its from our escrow balance apparently.

Works for me! :)

This also reminds me that I need to look into seeing if we get any money back from the original MIP insurance I had to pay on our first loan before we refinanced...

I'll do a mortgage update breakdown for Friday's post... but if things keep continuing, I may in fact break even on our property by the end of the year!!!!!!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Payday and No Spent Month Update

I got paid on Friday, which means our Emergency Fund got its first payment in operation no Spend Month/Save the Emergency Fund. 

$269.36 was sent to savings. 

This was comprised of the normal $100 we put aside each month for vacation and travel, our normal $100 which we use for eating out and discretionary spending, and $69.36... which was money that we didn't actually spend when we went out to Utah on gas. (With all the pending amounts from the various gas stations we stopped at, I rounded up at the end of my last post-- Real damage was only $172.06 in gas and tolls, etc--)

Which brings our EF to $10,237.90 / 12,227.94, leaving us only $1,990.04 away from getting it back up to 6 months of expenses.

SCB and I have been really good so far with spending too.

I had to take a few clothing items back to the store and exchange them for better sizes, so besides the $12.69 difference in price, we have only bought food, gas, and have paid our bills as they come in... and that's with attending a baby shower and a baptism this week too.

We adjusted our grocery spending to accommodate the items we were asked to bring with us for both occasions.  For the baby shower we picked up spinach and artichoke dip and pita chips from Costco (leftovers we rolled over to the baptism since it was the next morning) and I added a fruit and a veggie tray...

I also made the following items for the shower with some yarn I already had in the house.
Puppy Outfit. (Its a way brighter pink but I snapped
the photo late in the evening and the camera
on the tablet isn't that great when its dark.
An owl blanket that matches the bedding they picked out.
Both items were well received :) Its been 102 degrees for the entire week and we have been really good about not running our AC and using fans and cool water for both us and Roxy. We have been taking her out when it gets cooler in the evenings and I have been enjoying my evening cold water bath before going to bed and sleeping with an ice pack. 

Next Friday SCB will get his first 80 hour a week paycheck. After 10% goes to Tithing, 15% to Retirement and we take out $20 each for spending money for the next 2 weeks, then rest will be diverted to our emergency fund and we should hopefully see a good jump in progress. 


Saturday, September 7, 2013

Annual Insurance Premiums

Since I bought my condo in September 4 years ago... September is our Insurance month and we pay our annual Homeowners and Earthquake Insurance Policies.

What's pretty neat is that our Homeowners insurance policy just dropped $24.00

Earthquake Insurance Breakdown: $187.00

  • Building Property: $25k with a $3,750 deductible
  • Personal Property: $25k with a $750 deductible
  • Loss of Use: $10k (no deductible)
  • Loss Assessment: $25k with a $3,750 deductible.

Homeowners Insurance Breakdown: $297.00
  • Building Property: $26,200 with a $500 deductible  
  • Personal Property: $26,200 with a $500 deductible  
  • Loss of Use: Actual Loss Sustained with a $500 deductible  
  • Loss Assessment: $10k with a $500 deductible 
  • Personal liability $300,000
  • Damage to Property of others $500
  • Medical Payments to others (per person) $1,000 

*We get a $8 discount for Home Alert, $47 discount for having our Auto Insurance with them, $35 discount for being claim free *

As most of you know, South County Boy and I treat all of our annual and semiannual bills like monthly bills and put aside what it would cost us to pay these bills each month it in a separate savings account so we don’t get "sticker shock" when the bills come in. 

Since we have replaced Wanda with Sally, (who now has comp and collision insurance on her, the $24.00 savings will be eaten up with her slightly high insurance fees).  

Here’s the price break down:

Earthquake- $187 a year ($15.58 a month)
Homeowners- $297 a year ($24.75 a month)
SCB’s Car- $251 every 6 months ($41.84 a month)
SCG’s Car- $362.51 every 6 months ($60.42 a month)

 So we'll put $143.00 into savings each month instead of $129.00 and not have to worry when the bills come in.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

September No Spend Month Budget

It's been awhile since SCB and I have decided to do a No Spend Month... But with our emergency fund in a sad state after Sally's purchase, and with the unknown costs to register her legally in California, we are instituting a "No Spend" Month.


Since we don't know what a real 40 hour per week paycheck looks like for SCB yet, we are just leaving that line blank and will transfer whatever the amount is down to our savings.

Were keeping our pocket money, but that's it. I think this will be a good exercise for us to help rein in the crazy spending that's been going on.

Wish us luck as we just pay bill and buy just groceries and gas this month!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Back From Utah...

We made it back from Utah... It took us 13 hours on the return trip with all the weekend Labor Day traffic... but since SCB didn't have any vacation hours, we didn't feel right asking them to give him Tuesday off when he was getting Monday off already for the holiday.... so we bit the bullet and boy was it rough sitting in the car for 13 hours, even with our ample breaks for Roxy...

We got to visit with family and celebrate our nephew's 5 year birthday a couple days early... but this trip was really about getting things done.

Shopping.... Sewing... and Driving.... That's really what happened when we went out to Utah.

First, Shopping:
Since getting to go through the Temple last month, I have been having a lot of issues with my closet... which is a fairly common problem for most church Converts as I now wear more modest clothes to accompany the garments I received in the temple. My closet wasn't scandalous or anything like that before... but since i'm so short (I'm only 5'1"), my garments tend to run a little longer on me then they would on the average girl... even when I select petite sizes (petite sizes offer a shorter distance from the waist to the seam which is greatly appreciated, but they do not shorten in leg length from the regular ones).... and to make it worse, the fabric I like the best doesn't shrink in the wash like the others do so these things come down to my knee almost. I'm making it work and trying to make this a pleasant experience... but for the time being while I figure out what really works and what doesn't, we wanted to take the opportunity we had in Utah to shop and pick up some clothes from a few stores that cater to a more modest philosophy. Things like Cropped Shirts with a cap sleeve made for layering (they stop after your bra so they just add a sleeve without the bulk around your belly)... some Capri pants since I can't wear any of my shorts at present and its HOT in California... and a few tops I could toss on without having to layer...

Second, Sewing:
My whole shopping experience in Utah surrounded around wanting and needing a dress/skirt extender. if you have no idea what i'm talking about, here's a picture.
Photo from this etsy shop for $33.00
I wanted something to add just a little length to my dresses... but since my garments run longer, everywhere I looked I found the length was fine... if the added fabric WASN'T a see through Lace. Since I ran out of luck, I bought some fabric at Walmart and was able to make one in Black and one in White for only $25.00 for both!!!

Driving
Roxy hanging out in Wanda while we head out to Utah...
She was such a good dog and a little trooper the whole way
Oh ya, and yours truly drove a stick shift! I had about a 30 minute driving lesson with my brother in law on Sunday in an empty parking lot, and then back to his parents house... and then on Monday I drove around 140 freeway miles on my own!

  • 140 freeway miles as in leave the gas station, hop on the freeway, get to fifth gear and just maintain speed for 130 ish miles, then slow down, get off freeway, navigate a "round a bout" and pull into a gas station... 
I'm proud to say that I not only was able to start the car on the first time (I peeled out a bit... but hey it started!!!) I ended up only stalling once when I had to stop on a hill and wait for cars to go by to get into the gas station... but I was able to start it up again on the first go... (I just burned a little rubber in the process... )


So i'll be learning more about how to drive a stick shift...

But we managed to trade cars, and get "Sally" back to California in one piece... We're still waiting for this "emission sticker" to come in before we can register her in California... but that should be coming soon. We ended up paying $2,000 for her and $1045 in repairs on the old car (his parents paid to fix the AC in the end, saving us that $600).

The Car aside,  Utah ended up costing us $551.50.
  • $152.97 of that was clothes for me.. 
  • $82.00 Clothes for SCB
  • $38.81 on Eating out
  • $46.04 on a trip to Walmart for fabric, a birthday present, and some odds and ends...
  • $231.68 was gas, tolls and other car related expenses... 
Were taking $200 out of our vacation fund to cover the gas and the tolls (we rounded up since we are still waiting for some of the gas station pending fees to disappear)... and the Clothing money we were able to work into the budget since we didn't put any money into savings last month...

But with buying the car and doing the unexpected repairs to Wanda... our emergency fund is a bit sad...

6 Months of expenses for us is $12,227.94

  • Monthly Mortgage: $771.99
  • Dog: $50.00
  • Groceries/House Items: $275.00
  • Insurance: $143.00
  • HOA: $270.00
  • Cell phones, Internet, Electricity: $150.00
  • Gasoline: $200.00
  • Health Insurance: $178.00
Our Emergency fund is now at: $9,968.54... $2,259.40 Short... (We keep $1k in both our checking accounts as a buffer and that isn't included in this number...)


So were back in Savings Mode... Ideally because we are both working, i'd love to start working towards 6 months of base income set aside... which is a little shy of $35k... So we'll be working on a new budget soon.