Contributions to our Pot of Possibilities (POP) for June!

Paycheck 6/1 $260
Paycheck 6/15 $260
Oldest Allowance $100
Total Interest $92.85
US Bank $12.32
Chase Rewards $17.87
Amex Rewards $51.39
Discover Rewards $0.37
USAA ATM refund 3.50

June Total $798.30

YTD Total $4,593.16
New Big Goal Total $76,677.09

Potentially could have included an Army Travel payment made to us this month which was over $1000, but for now we are holding it seperate for some potential expenses. I may reconsider however!

It's time to report interest income. Interest rates are far lower, and we lost a great rate when a recent CD matured.

FNBO $27.20
NFCU $65.43
USAA $0.22
Total $92.85

That's about $70 less than last month. Interesting times. The good times don't always last do they? However, we are very grateful for what we do have.

These funds have been added to our Pot of Possibilities!

It's the time of the month where I redeem credit card rewards and add them to our Pot of Possibilities!

I redeemed the following:
US Bank Visa $12.32
American Express $51.39
Chase Freedom $17.87
Total $81.58

Our US Bank Rewards will drop next month by about $8 since I will no longer use for our cell phone bill. We have been able to use a credit card to pay our rent the last three months, as the office staff has waived the associated fees since they are not working on site.

I decided a couple months ago to stop messing around with Swagbucks. It is a bit of a time suck, although I did limit the time I spent on it. I decided I do not support their advertising content, that I am clicking on to raise it's prevalence to the public. I can find other ethical ways to bring in another $300 a year. It was a good run of bringing in some cash however and I am thankful for the times it helped us out.

Everything seems up for review these days!

Yesterday, I switched our cell phone plan to their lowest cost unlimited plan, which ended up saving us about $22 a month. I did have to switch to paying our bill with our checking account. I had been using our US Bank Credit card to receive 5% back, however the math still worked in our favor to switch. I think I had seen this offer before, but the math didn't seem to add up in our favor. I'm wondering if something else changed or if I just didn't do the math right last time!

I may close the US Bank credit card if I can figure out if another one of our credit cards gives 5% back on internet. I think one of them does. That will be the only charge going to that card, so I'm interested in consolidating if I can and still be getting decent cash back.

We also get Disney+ for one year for signing up for our new cell plan. We will use it I'm sure, but I wasn't wanting to add another streaming service when it first came out. The value of that is $6.99 per month, so definitely a nice bonus.

The other financial change is setting up some new Certificates of Deposits. I'm not thrilled with the rates as they have fallen. But I we have a lot of cash on hand and I have to have it earning something! I opened one for $25K, and will probably open a second one in a week or two for a similar amount. We decided we didn't want the a large $50K CD, as the interest rate doesn't benefit us. Instead we will have two $25K CDs, as a way to keep our options open a bit. I locked one today for 1.25% with Navy Federal. I unfortunately missed their last 'special rate'.

I started a batch of sauerkraut yesterday(first time ever) and today I began working on growing a batch of sourdough starter (also my first time). We all can grow and learn anything at any time.

Have you found a service to change or stop recently? Have you ever made any fermented food?

It's that time of the month where we add up our interest we earned on our cash savings last month. Rates are declining and our large CD expires this month, so numbers will likely go down for awhile.

FNBO $34.79
NFCU $129.37
USAA $0.21
Total $164.37

We threw all interest into our Pot of Possibilities!

My husband is out of town for work. He finally had two days off in a row on Saturday and Sunday, but worked Monday (Memorial Day) Strange times we are in, where the time off happens away from the family. But this is really like a deployment for many, so I have to look at it through that lens and be thankful that most days I have been able to see him.

They gave him the option of flying or driving to the destination. He could also have rented a car. He decided to drive his truck, which then prompted us to get some maintenance done that we knew was going to be needed soon. He got four new tires, rear brakes, brake fluid flushed and an alignment for about $1300.

The destination is about 900 miles each way. Mileage is paid at 57.5 cents per mile. This will give us a payment for about $1,035. I think we will bank this money in our Pot of Possibilities once it arrives. We had already been saving for the maintenance and that account is still flush with funds.

Don't worry planning for the second wave is happening, as is planning for hurricane relief in the age of CV. My husband, along with his team, have submitted these plans to higher ups multiple times. There are so many inefficiencies in government, so frustrating to observe. The Army Reserves is rarely deployed on the homeland, so a whole new era of responsibility.

My husband IS on the promotion list for Lieutenant Colonel. Now we wait for orders to make it official. It may take 6 months to get those, as only so many are processed and approved each month. We are grateful for increasing income and feel very blessed to have employment in a time when many others do not.

And on a completely different note, I'm buying a slightly used Crockpot today for $20. The one I had from our wedding (24 years) ago went out around Christmas. I have been pondering an Instant Pot, but haven't found the right price. So a crockpot it is for now. I have a lot of dried beans I have been putting off making because of it. Yes, I know I can use the stove and a pot, but I'm so used to the CrockPot! I am excited.

We have our auto insurance through USAA. We have three cars on our policy. Just like many of you we received a credit recently because fewer people are on the road, less risk, ect. That first credit was $97.45.

We were notified this week we are receiving another one month credit, specifically 20% of what is equal to one month premium. For us that is $46.39.

Our six month premium was due May 4, so the first credit did reduce our payment owed. Now we have this credit, so I assume it will get refunded to our checking account. Or maybe it will just sit there until our next insurance payment is due. I should look into the specifics.

I am going to put these credits into our Pot of Possibilities, so they can do their magic. 😀

Are you getting another return of your auto insurance premium?

A few credit card rewards have been tossed into the Pot of Possibilities this month. I usually report these at the end of the month and I will again at the end of May. But it's kind of fun to write about tossing them into our new pot!

Chase Freedom $49.38
US Bank $12.32
American Express $52.86

That is $114.56 into the pot in addition to our two monthly contributions of $260 each. These happen on payday.

Next month I'm increasing the two monthly contribution to $310 each because we are discontinuing giving our oldest daughter her monthly allowance, which was $100 per month.

Looks like my husband is traveling for work and will be gone about two weeks. I expect there will be some per diem money that we can save in June after his expenses are submitted.

The Pot is growing!

In my last blog post, I mentioned the need to change the name of what I have been referring to as our Big Goal for the last couple years, which was originally started as a house downpayment goal for our next home, potentially four years from now when my husband retires. Sooner if we love the next place we get stationed with the military.

The new name needed to have a more positive vibration, as I was starting to feel like Big Goal sounded like something unattainable or just really hard to do. I think how we feel about something can affect the outcome.

As you can tell, I have taken several days to consider some ideas that came out in a couple brainstorming sessions. We have decided not to attach a specific number to this name or goal. Of course,I will always know what our original amount was, but I'm not going to track that as an end goal.

The new name for this cash accumulation is the Pot of Possibilities!! I have this image in my mind that I will throw various amounts into the pot and that numerous possibilities can be created with those funds. It may be a pot that allows for a house, or maybe a house AND something else. It's the seed money in some respects to the new life we begin to create when retirement comes around. Oh, the possibilities!

(Multiple posts today...check them out!)

I just reported on our Big Goal progress for April. We are very close to the milestone of $75K. I have been thinking for awhile about changing the name of our goal. There is a bit of a negative connotation to the term 'big goal' almost implying that it is unattainable or that it would take a miracle to reach. I truly want to believe that it is possible, so I need a new name. I don't know what it is, but if anyone wants to make a suggestion I'm sure open to ideas. The money was originally intended as a downpayment on our next house, so it could be home related. But in these unknown times I simply see it as cash that can be used to sustain us in the hard times. But again the term I use has to have a positive vibration to it. Because I know things are going to work out and this is an attainable goal. I'm also open to not having a number attached, because of course, if more is supposed to come our way it will!

I might also be hurting ourselves by not throwing every penny toward the goal. I did not include the stimulus money in the goal, or any housing refunds, or the money we were able to save this money simply by not being as active in the retail world or driving as much (specifically able to set aside $1,030.24!)

I have a feeling that health and sustainability are going to be big lessons for many of us in the coming years. We actually just had a power outage of 21 hours this week. I was grateful once again to the neighbor who let us hook to their generator for our fridge and to charge our devices (our daughter was trying to still do homework!) I think sharing in that way is beautiful, but I also think some self reliance is important too. We may be using some (or all) of our stimulus money to buy some things that help us be more self reliant, such as a generator or a camping stove. We may also use money to invest in more glass food containers, or having a bigger stockpile of foods on hand. I don't have it all figured out, but it seems like that investment may be helpful in addition to keeping cash.

In another note, I'm glad we don't eat a lot of meat or dairy. We do use some and it would be missed, but we are able to live without it. I do find it sad for the farmers who are forced (or choose) to kill their livestock before getting it to market. So many repercussions of the actions taken. But again I believe this will all work out. It will be bumpy for awhile, but we will collectively come to a better way of living in the world that is sustainable and healthier for everyone. We all want health and vibrancy and our natural world can provide it! We just have to come back into balance.

May you be well. May you be happy. 🦋

We make automatic deposits to our money market savings account each pay period! For nearly a year I had been directing extra funds to paying ourselves back for the downpayment on our daughter's car. This month I can add those to the Big Goal progress!

April Big Goal Additions
Paycheck 4/1 $260
Paycheck 4/15 $260
Total Interest $156.31
US Bank $12.33
Chase Rewards $3.35
Amex Rewards $66.92
Swagbucks (Paypal) $10
Ebay Sales $7.46
Utility Refund $35.18
April Total $811.55

YTD Total $2,880.99
New Big Goal Total $74,964.92

Goal is $200,000. We are at 37.48% of goal. I celebrate every deposit and every milestone on the way there!