HouseHappy's Personal Finance Blog

Even though its not the end of the month, exactly, all my budget has been allocated for this month.

Any cash I have left from my carrying around/entertainment budget will get thrown into my change jar.

Funds for these savings come from salary, overtime, FB sales, etc. The amounts were how much was added, not what the total in the savings account is.

New Home Fund +$1,351.64
Baby Fund (for future expenses) +$50.00
EFund +$29.38
Home Upkeep Fund +$50.00
Medical +15.00
Automobile +$180.00
Vacation Fund +$10.00
Membership Fee +$13.00
Clothing Sinking Fund +$5.00
2016 Gifts Fund +$75.00
Baby's Savings (will be starting 529 or something soon) +$50.00
Nephew Savings (for school/car) +$14.37
Cash Savings: $146

TOTAL $1,989.39 YAY Overtime!

I was paid yesterday and able to send quite a bit to saivngs/goals:

CC entertainment payoff $155
Gift savings $60
Clothes savings $5
EF savings $15
Car Savings $200
New Home Fund $935
House Slush Fund $130



Mini Goals through 4/30 Status:
Goal #1: Pay off extra entertainment splurge on credit card $155 – COMPLETED
Goal #2: Car Savings: $343 added by 4/30 $200/$343
Goal #3: Medical Savings: $493 added by 4/30 $0/$493
Goal #4: Nephew Savings $486 added by 4/30 $0/$486
Goal #5: EFund Savings: $936 added by 4/30 $0/$936
Goal #6 New Home Fund: $10,334 added by 4/30 $935/$10,334

Currently, my office has unlimited OT and with the baby being soooo good. I am able to put quite a bit of time in in the evenings and on the weekends. I am lucky to be able to work overtime from home, which makes this possible.

My husband & I want to move/sell the house around April/May, so I am pushing to meet a lot of different goals using overtime plus my already budgeted amount per month.

These mini goals (all dependent on OT) are as follows. These are all stretch goals, but meeting as many of them as possible is a fun goal!

1.Pay off extra entertainment splurge on credit card $155

2.Car Savings - $80 (4 months of $20/mo automatic savings) plus $263 in OT [To meet goal of $500 by April 30th]

3.Medical Savings - $60 (4 months of $15/mo automatic savings) plus $433 in OT [To meet goal of $500 by April 30th]

4.Nephew Savings - $0 auto savings plus $486 in OT [To meet goal of $1000 by April 30th]

5.Emergency Fund - $60 (4 months of $15/mo automatic savings) plus $876 in OT [To meet goal of $1000 by April 30th]

6.New Home Fund – Auto Savings Total of $2345 plus $600 from extra paycheck plus $7389 in OT [To meet goal of $20,000 by April 30th}. ***We have additional home savings outside of this***


With Friday's Paycheck (overtime plus any automatic savings), I will:

1. Put $155 to the entertainment spending - MEETING THAT GOAL

2. Put $200 to the auto savings fund ($180 OT plus $20 auto savings)

3. Put $935 to New Home Fund ($600 OT plus $335 budgeted auto savings).

Great start!!

I have 31 hours of Overtime in this paycheck. I am happy to say that it increases my 401k contribution by $222.21 and increases the company match by $95.24. This is an extra $317 towards the 401k!

Tuesday was a good day. I visited the surgeon for my 1 month post-op appointment. I am allowed to resume all activity, which is great, because I can lift & carry the baby again!

-Bing [DONE]
-Doctors appointment [DONE]
-Work 2 hours OT
-List all newborn clothes for sale (too small for the baby now) and list online [DONE]
-Give baby a bath [DONE]
-make lunch for work tomorrow [DONE]

My husband & I are trying to sell the house this year. We want to move from the 2 bedroom townhouse we currently own and buy a bigger place. With a baby, 2 cats & a large dog, we just don't have much in the way of room. We aren't going crazy, but we definitely want to upgrade a little.

This past weekend, we went through the house & put together a pretty long To-Do list to get the house ready. I am hoping to spend as little as possible doing so, but we have a small budget for it and will utilze those funds as necessary to get the house marketable.

Wish us luck! Our goal is to have the list completed by the end of April

You may recall, my To-Do list is always overwhelming. So I decided to focus on just getting 5 Things off the list completed each day. Yesterday, I accomplished a lot:

-Sign up for Patient Portal with doctors office [DONE]
-print amz return docs [DONE]
-redo and reprint house To Do Before Sale List [DONE]
-balance checkbook [DONE]
-update OT plan [DONE]
-Bing Rewards [DONE]
-Mycoke rewards [DONE]
-Pampers rewards [DONE]
-finally add wedding band to insurance policy [DONE]
-take amazon return to UPS [DONE]
-take down Christmas tree [DONE]
-work 3 hours OT [DONE]
-cuddle with baby [DONE]

Lots of fun stuff to do in the midst of germs just rotating between people in my house. The baby & I alternate being sick!

1. Put $60 budget towards cash only gifts 2016
2. Work Min 8 hours of OT per week to go towards goals [already exceeding this goal]
3. Put $600 from OT towards New Home Fund
4. Put $240 from OT towards car savings

I had calculated an estimate of my net pay after increased medical, HSA contributions and the addition of a childcare FSA. I used payroll city & got a figure.

Today, my paystub went up online & it was within 24 CENTS of my estimate. I can't believe how good that was!

My 2016 budget will not need to be adjusted at all!

The baby is sick and we ended up taking her to urgent care today as her pediatrician is closed on the weekends. This is the start of medical expenses for 2016.

Upside is that she doesn't have anything more than a bad cold/bug and she is already feeling a bit better!

She is currently obsessed with the monkey faces on her footie pjs!


The good thing about today is that I purchased an activity block from a lady off a facebook sales site. Its in excellent condition and retails for $60 new. I bought it for $10. So happy about that!

So far, 2016 has been spendy. However, all entertainment/food spending has come out of the entertainment budget & is not out of line for the budget.

Jan 1st Lunch for both of us: $16.22
Jan 2nd Soda stock up $8.00
Jan 2nd Breakfast for both of us: $12.75
Jan 2nd BJs - groceries, diapers & formula $144.21
Jan 2nd Babies R US - humidifier for baby $54.99 (used $50 gift card)
Jan 2nd Amazon - 2 baby books, 1 baby toy & a replacement Wub-a-nub for the baby as the dog ate her current one $30.72

List of Gift Cards and freebie codes. Please note there are a lot of shutterfly - which I use for family yearbooks, grandmother gifts, etc.

Shutterfly: $20 off code expires 3/27/16
Shutterfly: $20 off code expires 3/27/16
Shutterfly: Free 8x8 Photo Book expires 2/29/16
Shutterfly: Free 8x8 Photo Book expires 2/29/16
Shutterfly: Free 8x8 Photo Book expires 5/1/16
TinyPrints: 20% off plus free shipping expires 2/29/16
TinyPrints: $20 off expires 5/1/16


20% off Gymboree expires 12/31/16
Old Navy Reward: $10 expires 5/31/16

Two Stones Restaurant Gift Card: $50
Bob Evans GC $10
Nail Salon Gift Card: $60
Nail Salon Gift Card2: $60
Barnes & Noble GC: $25
Walmart GC $2.97
Babies R Us GC: $300
AC Moore GC: $20
Home Grown Café GC $10
Christiana Pub GC $10
Skipjack Restaurant GC $10
Skipjack Restaurant GC2 $10
Primo Subs GC $5

I have multiple savings accounts that I use to meet different goals. My current balances are as follows:

New Home Fund: $9,666.54
Baby Savings [Slush for purchases needed]: $0.11
Emergency Fund $53.22
Slush Fund [HOA, Sewer, Vet, etc] $614.15
Home Upkeep Fund $114.50
Medical Fund $16.32
Automobile Upkeep $157.41
Vacation Fund: $25.15
Memberships $104.25
Clothing/Beauty $100.93
2016 Gifts Fund $906.82
Z Savings - to be for education, etc - $123.73
Nephew Savings - $574.61

2015 Goals Recap:
1. Contribute $8k to 401k
EXCEEDED GOAL - total increase in retirement accounts - $14,718.81
2. Pay off CC TY $1087.11(Paid off Feb 6th) COMPLETED GOAL
3. Pay off CC FR $5762.60 (Paid off Mar 6th) COMPLETED GOAL
4. Pay off CC BA $9257.35 (paid off August 10th) COMPLETED GOAL
5. Pay off Car Loan $1595.93 (Paid off April) COMPLETED GOAL
6. Cash Only Gifts - Birthday AND Christmas COMPLETED GOAL
7.Spouse Paying off the last of the credit cards he came into the marriage with. NOT COMPLETED - BUT VERY CLOSE

I utilize alternative income as part of my birthday/holidays/Christmas fund. In 2015, I collected $852.30

Alternative Income totals 2015:
Gift promotion $10
cc rewards: $566.53
ebates $36.23
change jar $76.2
Bing $20.99
inbox $40
mypoints $25
settlement $28.35
insurance reimbursement $49

My 2016 Goal for alternative income through things like Mypoints, Ebates, Coke Rewards, Credit Card rewards, etc is $200. Much less this year as I giving a break on credit card promotions for a while. I will use for normal purchase rewards, but am not opening new cards as we are looking to sell/buy a new house this year.

In 2015, I did the following:

-Paid off $15,019.95 in credit card debt that I came into the marriage with (Current CC Debt: $0)
-I paid off my car loan $1,595.93
-Purchased a crib $319.99
-Purchased a glider/ottoman $493.98
-Cash-flowed Gutter/Soffit Repairs $1933
-Cash-flowed car repair: $499.67
-Cash-flowed house painting $750
-Added $3840.32 to the New House Fund
-Increased 401k/IRA savings by $14,718.81


That is total change of $24,132.85 in debt payoff/savings/cash-flowed expenses and $14,718.81 in retirement savings for a total of $38,851.66 in positive financial change for 2015.

2015 was a great year! I am thankful for the overtime opportunities, flexible job and that we could do such positive financial changes while pregnant, having a baby and being on maternity leave!

1. Keep contributing 14% to 401k (plus 6% match)
2. $2500 to HSA (PLUS $1500 Company Match). Already set up
3. $3333.33 to Childcare FSA (PLUS $1666.67 Company Contribution)
4. Cash only Birthdays/Holidays/Christmas (add $1294 to 2016 Gifts Fund)
5. Increase New Home Fund by $8000
6. Increase Efund by $946.81
7. Increase Vacation fund by $274.86
8. Increase Nephew Savings by $500.05
9. Increase Medical Savings by $483.69
10. Increase Car Savings by $442.68

Update of Savings as of 11-25-15

Some accts have been recently depleted. I am looking to add only into these accounts and not spend from them. The 2 exceptions: 2015 Holidays and the Slush Fund.

New Home Fund $9324.88
2015 Holidays $588.29
New EF $43.82
Slush Fund (Sewer/HOA/Vet/EZPass) $353.63
Home Upkeep Fund $58.40
Medical Fund $41.30
Auto Savings $117.26
Vacation Fund $20.13
Memberships $91.14
Personal $65.82
2016 Gifts Fund $710.09
Baby Savings $73.67

Latest Update of retirement accounts without husband's.

IRA AM: $16,196.94
401k: $25,310.47
IRA JP1 $44,835.77
IRA JP2 $2072.85
TOTAL $88,416.03

My husband's open enrollment at his work ended just before mine started, so we had only estimates to compare.

Since he is one of those lucky people that NEVER needs a doctor and I am one of those that goes all the time (thyroid disease, etc), we figured it made sense to have him go through his insurance since he'd never make the deductible.

And I will put my daughter & myself onto my employer's insurance.

I also am planning to utilize every extra benefit that I can. This includes Medical coverage that also provides a contribution from my employer to my HSA of $1500. I am contributing $2500 to the HSA myself.

I am also utilizing the Family Care HSA. Daycare costs will be more than the $5k maximum it allows, so the HSA will be fully utilized in 2016. Work contributes 50 cents to every dollar, so I will put in $3333.33 over the course of the year and they will put in $1666.67. So basically - free money & pre-tax funds to use toward day care!

I am keeping my 401k contributions at 14%, with the 6% company match, that's 20% of the salary.

The increased costs for medical for the baby, increased HSA contributions and the daycare FSA will significantly decrease my take home pay, but in the long run, the savings will be worth it!

Our household expenses have skyrocketed lately - partially due to baby and part due to being home more. I am working hard to make every purchase be as productive as possible.

Target has a deal on toilet paper - I was able to get TWO packages of 48 Double Rolls for $29.25. They have a subscription promotion, I used my Redcard Debit card.

Then I used a $25 gift card I earned on a diaper deal from the other day. After all that, I paid $4.25 out of pocket for 96 double rolls of toilet paper. Can't beat that deal!

I also got a great deal on paper towels as well. Two Bounty Huge Rolls (set of 8)at discount for $26.59. I used a $20 gift card from my deal the other day, paying $6.59 out of pocket.

We still have $20 in Target gift cards from the Diaper deal. I am keeping an eye out for a good paper towels deal LOL

I also was notified by babies'r'us that their promotion for our Baby Registry has hit. They gave us a $169.38 gift card to use there by Feb 23, 2016. That will go a long way! We also still have $200 in BRU gift cards that we have been gifted. I hope to use them well.

A site I follow shared a nice target deal on diapers!

I purchased 6 packs of diapers at $24.99, plus some diaper cream for $1.27. This gave me a total of $151.21

I then was eligible for a $25 gift card for spending $150 on baby items.

And eligible for $20 for buying 3 diaper packs at once. I earned this twice.

So my total of $151.21 was then reduced by $7.56 for using my Target Redcard (5% off). Final price $143.65 for 6 large boxes of diapers.

I used a $60 Visa gift card that we received as part of our baby shower and I earned $65 I Target gift cards.

Can't beat that deal!!

I met my gifts/Christmas budget goal for 2015 and have started on 2016.

For the 2015 budget, the funds were made up of automatic savings of $60 per month, small amounts of cashflow and some from alternative income.

2015's alterative income has included:

$10 from Gyft
$350.69 Credit card rewards
$36.23 Ebates
$76 Chang jar
$20 Bing Rewards
$10 MyCokeRewards
$28.35 Settlement check
$49 insurance reimbursement
$40 inbox dollars
$25 Mypoints

TOTAL $645.27

Can't beat that!

Any further extra money is going to my 2016 Gifts/Christmas fund.

So far, I have:

1365 My Points (Goal 3500-3700)
332 Bing Rewards (Goal 475 for next $5 AGC)
2420 Recyclebank points (no goal exactly)
$10.20 Inbox Dollars (GOAL $30)
1572 Mycokerewards (Goal 1400 for $20 gc)
$6.61 Shopathome
$6.31 Ebates

My Oct, Nov & Dec's auto budget ($60/mo) is going directly into the 2016 fund for a nice jump start. I already had set aside some overtime funds as well. More family to buy for with all the new kiddos (my new little one, my sister-in-law's new baby, etc)

Yesterday was payday and because there is an extra paycheck this month, more went to non-normal expenses than the monthly ones.

After normal bills, doubling the grocery budget (due to extra baby expenses this month), gas, etc., I was able to:
-put $500 into the new home fund
-put $70 into the EF
-have $200 to new clothing.
-rollover $100 into baby savings (rolled over FB sale income)

Post-pregnancy, thanks to the gestational diabetes, I have lost 30 pounds between my pre-pregnancy weight and today. So I am down 2 jeans sizes & am in need of some new clothes before returning to work. A great problem to have!

Last Friday was payday!

Normal bills get paid - car insurance, Netflix, electric and allotted amounts go to sinking funds (Personal/Beauty, Medical, Gifts, Auto, Vacation), and cash reserves are set aside for pet expenses, groceries, gas & entertainment...

I put $736 to the new house fund! big amounts still as there are no daycare expenses yet.

Lately, with all the new expenses and how much I am beginning to hate our current home, I am feeling a bit behind with our goals.

But we're not. And I just needed to look back at the changes over the year to see that!

In 2015,

I have:
-Paid off $15,019.95 in credit card debt that I came into the marriage with (Current CC Debt: $0)
-I paid off my car loan $1,595.93
-Purchased a crib $319.99
-Purchased a glider/ottoman $493.98
-Cash-flowed Gutter/Soffit Repairs $1933
-Cash-flowed car repair: $499.67
-Cash-flowed house painting $750


That is total change of $20,612.52 in debt/expenses

PLUS I have put $1500 into the New Home Fund YTD

*Please note that I say a lot of "I" because my husband and I have separate & joint accounts. He and I each wanted to pay off our debt from prior to the marriage. I don't have track of his debt payment, but he is almost done as well!

So what I need to remember, as of 10/1/2015, I have had a positive financial change in the amount of $22,112.52!!!!

Started putting some things on a FB Sales site, I already have a few bites. I also have re-upped some Craigslist listing from prior to the baby coming:

Breastfeeding paraphernalia: $45 (Meet set up tomorrow)

3 Nursing Camisoles: $20 (Meet up pending time to be set

Old (bad condition) Telephone Table. Its an antique, but requires a lot of work: $25. Pending pick up on Sunday!

We have done very well with not over spending with 'entertainment', but for sanity, we have left the house a bunch for lunches out, etc.

To help combat us doing that too often, I am back to meal planning! I also am working on a freezer meal plan to help with going back to work the first week of November!

This week:

Saturday:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, sausage & milk
Lunch: salad for me, sandwich for hubby
Dinner: Sandwich for me (feeling lazy) and leftover tortellini for the husband

Sunday:

Breakfast: of multiple options: sausage, bacon, eggs, etc or just cereal

Lunch: Sandwiches and salad

Dinner: Tacos

Will be working on a plan for the upcoming week!

We have been enjoying our joint maternity leave and are about halfway through. Our little one is so much fun!

She's sleeping today, so I did a little 'shopping'. I used the info from Laura (Keeping it Frugal)'s post about nearly free clothing. I ordered 2 outfits for the baby and a work shirt for myself and paid $0.52. Can't beat that!!

Today, I used a tip from a frugality site that I like to order 5x7 Wooden photo panels from Walgreens.

I used a picture of my nephew playing soccer & ordered 2 for my sister & mom for Christmas. I used a picture of my 2 year old niece playing that I had taken earlier this year and ordered 2 for my mom & sister for Christmas.

Then I made one 5x7 of my husband holding the baby in an outfit that my MIL crocheted and one of my husband's nephew holding the baby. My Mother-In-Law will go ape over them!

Then I took a picture I had taken at our Little One's 1 month birthday and ordered a copy for my sister, my mom & one for myself.

Then I a fun picture of my little one for myself and a picture of the dog in a funny pose for a gift for my husband.

Total of 11 5x7 Wooden photos (normally $14.99 each for a total of $164.89) for $3.75 each (for a grand total of $41.75. Got some great Birthday/Christmas gifts!!

Last few days have been spendy.

Netflix: $7.99
Duck Race Humane Association Donation: $30.00
Donation to an old teacher's Crowdsourcing Fund $15.00
Tickets to Last Comic Standing comedy show (Parents night out in October) $94.00
Photo Book (gift for grandparent) $10
5x7 baby photos for gifts for family members $4.00
Grocery/Baby supply/Household Supplies: $283.16
Postal Service: $14.70
Eating Out: $64.28
Gas: 22.84

However, we still were able to put a bunch into savings!

$1000 into the New Home Fund
$50 House Repairs Fund
$100 Slush fund
$60 2015 Gifts Fund
$20 Auto Maintenance fund