Layout:
Home > Archive: August, 2011

Archive for August, 2011

Debts Paid Off & A Working Budget

August 16th, 2011 at 10:34 pm

Since last writing my husband's new job continues to go well. We are finally on his new insurance - good bye COBRA! And we know what his real take home will be now that we have benefits coming out. We made the controversial decision to withdraw my husband's 401k from his previous employer and pay off our car loan. It was a hard decision, but we feel good about it. We are sticking to just one car which lowered our car insurance by $30/month and saves on gas. My last student loan payment will be made in September which is $70/month. With all these changes, we estimate having an extra $175/month after expenses (and after contributing to my husband's new 401k) starting in October. This is so exciting, especially since I am no longer babysitting which brought in $800/month.

Our emergency fund is down to about $420 due to my son's surgery and preparing for baby (Baby #3 was due on the 14th, so he should come any day now) among other surprises. We expect the EF to be back to just under $1000 by the beginning of September though if I have calculated correctly and do not have any major surprises.

I am just so happy that my husband and I are now focused on the same goals and truly working towards them together. It feels so good to be united, even if we still have some differences of opinion when it comes to finances!

I will try to post more accurate numbers soon as well as the budget.

Debts Paid Off

August 16th, 2011 at 10:24 pm

Since I last wrote, my husband's job continues to go well. We have just gotten onto his new insurance - good bye COBRA! We finally know what his true take home will be now that his benefits are being taken out and if we stay on our budget, I figure we will have about $175 extra at the end of each month starting in October! I am so excited!

We made the controversial decision to withdraw my husband's 401k from his previous employer and paid off our car loan last month. This helped our budget fall into line since I am not babysitting anymore which was bringing in $800/month. We will be eligible to start contributing to his new 401k in September and plan to do that. It was a hard decision, but I feel good about it. Also, we have decided not to replace the older car we sold and are sticking to just one car. We have done this before and it's not too inconvenient. This decision saves us about $30/month on car insurance and of course, gas money.

My last student loan payment is next month! Good riddance! That is $70/month that we do not need to worry about anymore either. This is all so nice and exciting to see it all working.

I still want to post real numbers and our budget, but for now our emergency fund is down to about $420 due to my son's surgery and getting ready for baby (Baby #3 was due on the 14th, so he should be here any day now) among other things. We should have the EF back up to just under $1000 at the beginning of September though if I have calculated correctly and we do not have too many new surprises.

So, that's the quick update. I am going to do better with updating this blog, because it helps keep me focused and I feel like my husband and I are finally on the same page when it comes to finances. It feels so good to be united! Smile