I updated the sidebar to include our new loan for the truck. Our initial loan balance is $14,776.68. It is a four year loan with a monthly payment of $329.13. The first payment is due this Tuesday, so we will see the balance start to fall very soon.

I have left the truck savings ticker up since we were a little short on our $12,000 goal. We did put $12K down in cash and borrowed the amount we were short from savings. I will pay back the $78 at the end of this month.

Don't expect to see lots of extras going to pay down this debt right now. We are in status quo mode for at the least the next year since we expect extra expenses due to maintaining two households. We are still researching places for my husband to stay. I don't think we will know the impact this has to our finances until at least one or two months after he moves for school. Yep, I'm stressed about it to say the least!

Since my husband is now home from deployment we expect to see his paycheck amounts go lower. He no longer qualifies for tax exemption, or combat pays, worth nearly $1100 per month. Boy, it sure was nice!

I will need to rework the budget in light of lower paychecks, a new loan and an upcoming move for DH. I expect the next year to be tight particularly because of the move.

It seems I will need to start watching those pennies a little closer. I might need to decide about canceling the newspaper and the landline. So hard to give up, especially when those would only save us $50 or so a month. I would expect the groceries may be the bigger issue. It seems everytime I go to the grocery store in the last month some item has increased dramatically. Yesterday, it was shredded cheese. I will need to watch for these items on sale and stock up!

I know some of you reading have already cut back in light of job losses and paycheck reductions. It now appears to be our turn. Any advice?

I added some more money to the truck savings in the amount of $1,672. That brings the balance to $11,922!! Only $78 short. Wish I had won that in Vegas.

But the real news is that we bought a new to us truck yesterday! We bought a 2007 Honda Ridgeline with just over 23,000 miles. It has the leather seats and a navigation system...which are much more than we were originally looking for. It is now sitting in our driveway!

Since our goal was to put $12K down, we went ahead and borrowed the extra $78 from other savings. We financed under $15K for 48 months at 3.39%. Some of the sales tax and registration fees were added to our finance amount. So yes. More debt. It was so fun to put down that much cash for a vehicle!! I highly expect we will pay off the truck early as we usually do, but that will likely wait as a goal until after we have moved.

We now have two Honda vehicles (both 2007) that we expect to have for quite a few more years to come. It would be nice to get the girls to college at least before we buy our next vehicles. Full cash would be awesome!

We bought the truck used from a BMW dealership. While we were waiting to do paperwork, the salesman took a few moments to talk to us about how affordable a BMW can be. Using a lease! Ugh. So not into those...the lease. I'd take a BMW if I could afford one.

We are back from Las Vegas!! I don't know how much we spent yet, but boy did it seem like we were spending money left and right. Primarily food and drinks. We aren't big gamblers and actually did very little. We got off the strip a couple times to visit Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon. Amazing sites worth seeing.

I checked our retirement accounts today and we have reached another milestone with over $150K in investments!! It doesn't seem that long ago that we reached the $100K mark. I have been told in the past that reaching the $100K mark is key. Once you make it there and continue to invest the returns add up fast.

If your accounts are over $100K, have you noticed your accounts adding up faster than in the beginning?

Yep. We went truck shopping yesterday. We didn't buy anything. Yet. It seems my husband is very anxious to buy the truck he has been looking forward to for a couple of years.

The truck he is looking to buy is a Honda Ridgeline. In our area there are only about 12 used available. Out of those, only a two to three have the lower mileage we are looking for. In other words, slim pickings.

The dealership was definitely trying to pin us down on a purchase. This dealership even has 0% financing for 36 months. Tempting but not a deal maker for these particular vehicles.

We talked last night. We are going to try to wait until May to commit to a purchase, since that is when we will have the full $12K downpayment.

DH and I talked yesterday about the truck money. We are going to stick to our plan and use it towards the purchase of the truck. The savings is only about half of the purchase price. The remainder will be taken out as a loan. We plan to keep our current van and this truck until our girls graduate college, which is at least 10 years away.

In the next year, we should be able to live on our current income even while maintaining two households. And we have our emergency fund we can dip into if needed. And hopefully it won't be needed. Once we move, we should be able to make new goals and progress towards those.

It feels good that we decided. I'm happy that we are sticking with our original plan.

Pay day is here. We were able to add $1627 to our truck savings. That brings the balance to $10,250!! We are getting very close to the goal.

I think near the beginning of May we can proceed to find a new to us truck. We are still trying to determine what to get and how much to actually finance. In truth, we may not put the full amount we have saved towards the truck. The only reason we won't is because of the high probability we will be running two households in the coming year. Cash will be key in keeping the additional debt down.

Do you think that is a good idea? Or should we take on less debt now and take on more debt if we need it in the next year? I don't know that we will need it, but I think I'm just trying feel some control in something that feels out of control.

I've had a few conversations with my sister recently about our impending move and running two households for awhile. She has a big expense coming up in the next year also. One that she can't put off. So it brings up the issue of how to handle cash flow when a storm is on the horizon.

Step number one may be obvious: do not take on more debt. This should be easy for her. However, we already made plans to purchase a new to us truck, possibly borrowing at least half of the purchase price. We will need to look at this carefully in the next month. We need another vehicle. But do we need another loan or can we handle a larger loan to keep the cash flow available?

The next step is to stop paying extra on current debts, to set aside more cash for that storm on the horizon. Easy for us, as our only debt is our mortgage. For my sister, she has credit card debt that she has been focusing on. Luckily at very low interest rates. She will keep making minimum payments.

Finally, sock away the cash!! We have at least 6 more pay periods before our storm starts...paying for DH to move to school and paying for his living expenses. My sister her time frame is not as clear, thus more reason to hang on the cash when she can. If at some point in time she sees they can pay down some debt with cash they have saved and still have some for the storm then she will do that. Oh, and for my sister, her big expense isn't really a storm, but a joyous celebration!

As I write this, I realize that if someone had debt they could pay off before the big expense arrives and have time to save for it then would be the best situation.

The ability to save up cash for a future expense is a good way to avoid more debt. That is what we are both aiming for. Once the storms pass, we will definitely refocus our efforts on debt reduction and cash savings.

In the end it is all about cash flow. Keeping cash on hand to handle the expenses forth coming to avoidl more debt. Any other advice for those in this situation?

I'm not completely against the government shutting down. If it needs to be done to move our country forward then so be it. However, it appears we will have a delay in pay for as long as it is shut down. We should get back pay for all days of the shut down once it is over.

The really good news? My husband is back on US soil!! I got the news last night. He will be back home as soon as possible. There is still out processing paper work to be done.

So...to figure out how to handle a lack of pay in the short term. Obviously, we do have emergency funds that we can rely on. Once we get paid we will reimburse ourselves. I know not everyone can do this. For that, I feel sad.

It's been my tradition to turn the pilot light off to our gas fireplace in early April. I did just that yesterday. It was 87 degrees here. Today it will only be in the 40's and it's very windy. I wonder if I'll regret turning it off?

We usually don't turn it on until mid to late November, but I figure it has to help the utility bill.

We earned $94.45 in interest for the month of March. I think we will still earn 10% interest on the SDP for at least two more months. It's been a nice bonus.

I'm adding the interest(rounded up to $95) to the truck savings balance.

New Balance: $8,623

We are getting closer to the goal!!

I have added an additional $1,172 to our truck savings. This includes the $200 I saved from our no spend month in March.

New Balance: $8,528
Yipee!!

Oh, and if you read my earlier post about the Today Show....April Fool's. My husband will return in April, but we will not be announcing the reunion on national television. Sorry!

I'm off to go shopping. One month is plenty for no spending!!

My no spend month is almost over as the month of March draws to a close. Anyone want to do a no spend month in April? Pay your bills and only spend on necessities. At the end of the month we can see if you saved some cash. I'll cheer you on.

I had a no spend day yesterday. I noticed that we are very low on butter and I have no soda in the house. I might cave and go buy those things. Otherwise things are looking very good to close the month with at least $200 in saved cash.

I realized that $200 divided by 31 days is $6.45 per day saved. One could simply save $6.45 per day by transferring it to a savings account and have $200 by the end of the month. And who couldn't use an extra $200?

It was a no spend Saturday. Yipee!!

We stayed home, entertained ourselves with things around the house, ate from the cupboards and wanted for nothing.

Today. I have to get fuel and a few groceries to make it through Thursday. Only a five days to go in the no spend month.

Checking account balance to date: $316.89

I have added $1496 to our truck fund this pay period. That brings the fund to $7,356. We are more than half way to the goal!!

I'm hoping for at least three more pay periods before we make our purchase. We will also be seeing more interest from our SDP account, as well, as a payment for per diem for the last year.

I was looking back over some blogs I've written in the past. I noticed that there are several that I would consider my best advice. I'll have to keep digging to see if there are more, but for now I've narrowed it down to five!

I have them all on my sidebar, but I will add some links to this post:

Here we are at March. And it's payday. We added $1,304 to our truck savings fund. Our new balance is $5,860. We are getting close to half of the goal!!

As I mentioned in the two previous posts, I will be attempting to do a no spend month. This isn't really no spend as much as less spend. Spend only on necessities and required bills. It is a chance to evaluate all expenses. Especially the variable ones.

I don't have expectations that this will work out perfect, but I will do my best. I plan to share the twists and turns along the way.

Until March 15, our next payday, there is $457.89 in our checking account. This is the money allocated toward spending. This is a similar amount we start with each pay period when DH is not home. I hope to spend considerably less than this amount.

I have not specifically stocked up in advance for this adventure, however, I do have my homemade laundry detergent, plenty of toilet paper, hair products, toothpaste, feminine needs, dryer sheets, and cat litter.

I am very low on food. Last night I actually ate a child's microwavable meal that has been in the freezer for weeks! The girls had other various leftovers. Today I used up a rotisserie chicken on my sandwich. I think we can make it one more evening without going to the store for necessities. One item I know I need this week is plastic sandwich bags for school lunches.

My major exception for this month is my daughter's birthday. It is much later in the month, but I will need to buy her gifts and a food treat at the very least. I will use the same checking account money mentioned above.

Here's to a no spend, less spend month!

I am thinking of attempting a no spend month for March. Has anyone done this before? I have read several blogs where people have.

Obviously a no spend month would still allow for paying bills, buying food and other necessities. Since I would be attempting this in March, I would also have to allow for my daughter's birthday gifts, a special dinner and treat. Luckily she is outgrowing the need for parties.

It seems like a good month to do this after coming off a very expensive month with all the eating out we did. It is my last full month without DH in the house, so I would have complete control over spending.

We will definitely have to get a little creative over spring break with free activities. We already want to visit our local art museum which has free admission. A warm week would allow for some outside walks.

I agreed that my girls are allowed to use their money to buy wants for themselves. I won't allow them to pitch in for wants for the family.

Thoughts, ideas? Anyone want to join me in the month of March?

Our federal tax refund, $1,990, was deposited into our account today. We do owe our state $124 by April 30th (yes we get a delay here). We will save the $124 and pay the state just before the due date. The remainder of the refund, $1,866, will be saved for the truck purchase.

New Truck Savings Balance: $4,556

We are getting closer each time money comes in!

If you are getting a tax refund, what are you doing with yours?

Well, it was hard to leave completely from SA. Did you notice I still commented on some blogs? DH did spend a fair amount of time watching TV, which I rarely do. It was great to have him home, except that we were both sick a good portion of the time. I thought it was a cold, but now I think it was a mild respiratory flu! Yuck. We are very close to the deployment being over, so I'll get to announce he is back home for good soon.

I'm looking forward to doing some more financial posts soon, since our federal refund is scheduled to post this Friday. And then, payday, is just around the corner, too!

DH is home. It is like he never left in many ways. He's taking the girls to school, helping with dishes, giving me his cold. Really. There has been too many colds here this last week at our house. Not really a fun R&R from that aspect. It is really nice to have him around.

DH was paid today, so we are adding some funds to our truck savings. We were able to put an additional $1355 away this pay period. I wish it could have been a bit more, but we are eating out more this week with DH home. It is what it is.

New Truck Balance: $2690

It's payday. What does one do when they don't have a van loan payment for the first time in awhile? Start saving for the next vehicle!!

The goal is $12,000.00

New Balance: $1,335.00

Feels pretty good to keep the money in our account rather than sending that money into the lender.

We save each month, actually twice per month, for expenses that arrive only once or twice a year. I recently had to adjust the amount we are saving. An increase of $30 per month or $15 per pay period.

We use this general escrow account to pay for auto insurance, auto registration, and my life insurance. The life insurance increased $380 per year, thus the needed increase in monthly savings. The details can be see on my sidebar.

We also save for property taxes and homeowner's insurance once per month. I refer this account as our home escrow account, since it is all home related!

Are you saving for your non montly expenses? If not, you should be! It makes life so much easier to have the money in the account when the bill arrives.

I mentioned yesterday the new goal, now that we have paid off the van, is to save a big chunck of cash towards a new to us truck. Our initial goal is to have $12,000 by the time we make the purchase. We should get pretty close.

We currently own one vehicle: the van. We sold our car in October to our neice. My husband will be taking several weeks off after his return. The deadline for the purchase is before he returns to full time work.

Right now the balance on this goal is zero...until next payday at the end of the month. I can't wait to get started on another goal. I updated the sidebar, too. Please cheer us on!

It was actually a good year for us earning interest thanks to the deployment and our investment in the Savings Deposit Program. We are earning 10% interest in this program!!

Checking interest: $2.54
Money Market interest: $93.40
SDP interest: $475

Total earned: $570.94

No complaints here. I wish everyone could get these rates on their idle cash.

Happy New Year!!

Here is how our year played out in numbers:

Retirement contributions: $15,002.68
Retirement accounts increased: $31,560.27

Retirement accounts still exceed $100K. I can see why once you reach $100K and have good or even average investment returns that the money starts to increase rapidly. Fun!!

Debt paid off: $23,845.18
Total debt remaining: $132,414.32
This includes the mortgage and the van loan.

Emergency fund increased: $7000

Net worth increased: $62,405
This does not include any increase in the value of our home.

It was a great year financially, thanks to diligence in paying off debt and increased income due to deployment. Of course, I would have rather had my husband home, but I will take the positives of deployment, too.

I think I mentioned some of our goals in November, but here they are again in a little more detail.

1) Save maximum in Roth IRA's = $10,000
2) Save 9% of basic pay in TSP
3) Save for college = $4,000
4) Pay off van loan, beginning balance = $1,643
5) Save truck downpayment = $12,000
6) Save cash for two vacations
7) Evaluate possible Roth conversion

The contribution to the TSP is up 2% from 2010 because of the reduction in payroll taxes. The college contribution is increased because we expect to save the full year. However, I will need to open 529 accounts for the girls. We are currently in Coverdale Educational Savings accounts and the maximum has been reduced to $500 per year beginning in 2011. That is not enough for us.

The payoff on the van will be easy considering how well we have done so far. I hope to pay it off by mid January!! Then we'll save for about 4 months towards a new to us truck. Then we'll save for vacations to take place in the middle of the year.

It should be fun to see what 2011 brings! Tell me what goals you have for next year.

It's official. The amount deducted from your paycheck for social security will be reduced from 6.2% to 4.2%. Obviously, this is a good thing for your paycheck. I'm not so sure how it is good for the social security program.

For us, that is about $115 more per month. My husband's basic military pay will also increase by 1.4% in the new year. It's a lower raise than in the past, however, we are grateful for any raise at all. Not everyone is so lucky.

I will be working on figuring out how our pay will change in the new year. Once I know the dollar change, I need to figure out how to allocate it to meet our goals in the next year. I like that!

What plans do you have for your social security tax savings?

One of our goals for 2010 was to increase our emergency fund by $7,000. And we did it!!

I just transferred the last $61.68 to finish it up. It's the first thing I did this morning after pouring my cup of coffee. It feels so good to set a goal and reach it. Yipee!!

New Goal Balance = $7,000

And that's all I have to say about that. Done!

I'm looking forward to DH's payday. And it is not because there is no money. I actually have $45 that could be spent, but I don't think I need anything!

Payday means we finish up that emergency fund. It also means we make our regular van payment and an additional van loan payment. I love to see those balances change.

Payday is just two days away! Do you have big plans for your next payday?

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On a side note: I posted three items on craigslist tonight. I'm keeping them up for one week. If they don't sell, we are donating them. They have all been up on craigslist before with no luck. Fingers crossed this time!