Emergency Savings: August 2013 Update

Quick post today because I'm happy that we were able to scrape some savings together this month! It's been a busy week at work due to annual reports.

Here goes!

$4,200 saved so far towards the Emergency Savings Goal of $5,000!

Once the $5,000 is reached, we're going to start putting more money at our debt. I can't wait since the debt hasn't gone down but gone up (or feels like it!) due to high interests on the cards.

Emergency Savings August 2013 Update

Quick update on Emergency Savings: $800 saved towards the $5000 immediate savings goal.

Updated the savings meter bar. That's 16% of the $5,000 Savings Goal fulfilled. 

My savings numbers are not as high as other casual bloggers out there but I am slowly getting there.

What is your savings number this month?

Recent posts on Emergency Savings: 

• 21 Years Until Credit Card Freedom & Update on Savings Goal
• Reduced Hours = More Debt
• Update on Savings Plan: Tenant Issues
• Emergency Fund Update

Emergency Fund Update

Emergency Fund March 2013 Update:  $1,040

Due to me being repeatedly sick, I have had quite a substantial pay reduction the last two to three months.

I have not been able to fund the emergency fund as much as I would like but I finally got it up to $1,040. That's where it would probably sit for a while since I have quite a few irregular bills in March and in the next few months.

Tax Refund: Where Did It Go?

I received approximately $4,000 in tax refund. I was overly joyed. I love seeing a big (big for me at least) amount of money in my checking account. Yes, I know, I just gave the government an interest free loan for a year but let me enjoy this, ok? ;)

That was last Friday. Now, it is gone.

Surgery Ahead!

Bad News Come In Clusters....I am 100% at fault

I have been missing alot of work lately due to health problems and there is a surgery looming ahead, which will take approximately 4-6 weeks to recover.

I have been missing pay due to me being paid hourly and the 4-6 weeks of recovery time from surgery will be unpaid as well.

What does this mean to my goals of Credit Card Debt Payment & Emergency Fund Building?

Well...

Credit Card Debt Pay Off Progress Jan 2013

Credit Card Debt Pay Off Progress: January 2013

Since November, 2012, I've paid down $1,454 toward the $16,000 credit card debt. That is alot of money put towards the credit card debt for me but I haven't been able to build up my Emergency Fund at all.

My next step with the Credit Card Debt pay off plan is:

2013 New Year With New Problems?

I'd hate to start off the new 2013 year with something negative but I kicked off this new year with urgent need for getting my car pass the smog test, which involved the replacement of the Oxygen Sensor, and new tires.

The tires can no longer be ignored. The front tires are showing metal wires even. Walmart has 14" tires for $73 each. It is just discouraging because I was planning to save $900 in December but this money will be used to pay for the four tires and the Oxygen sensor, smog test, and DMV fees.

December 2012 Net Worth Update

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This is depressing.

I refinanced recently to a lower mortgage interest rate and so, my loan amount went back up. The credit card debt increased. My home's value has substantially decreased. My traditional and roth IRAs have basically remained the same due to lack of contributions.

The only things that have increased slightly in value have been my 401K retirement plan and the company's pension plan. I currently contribute 8% of my salary to the Pension Plan and 14.7% of salary to the 401K Plan. There is no employer match available for both plans.

I really have to move forward and commit to the 2013 Financial Goals.

2013 Financial Goals: Updated

2013 Financial Goals:

I am modifying my 2013 financial goals to include Emergency Savings as the first priority due to the shaky nature of the current employment situation.

As an initial goal, the Emergency Savings should be at $6,000. After meeting the initial Emergency Savings goal, I plan to pay down the Chase Sapphire Credit Card, which has the highest APR.

 

Emergency Savings Goal

$ 6,000

Debt Elimination Goal

$16,000

Debt: Another Mountain to Break Down

I have been dreading to post this but I must force myself to face this.

I won't go into excuses except that there were a few things that came up that helped me re-accumulate debt after my last year's Debt Elimination. But, mainly it is my lack of willpower and commitment to budgeting.

This is not counting the Mortgage Debt. I did a balance transfer recently to consolidate, which is why the Discover More Credit Card is at 0% APR currently until 2014.

In addition to that, I have alot of uncertainty at my job right now. I need to build up emergency funds again as well as pay down the debt. Since Discover More Card is at 0% APR on balance transfer currently, I think I am going to wait on paying it off even if I can save that amount in the coming year and put the money in the emergency fund instead until the promotion period ends in 2014. Of course, Chase Sapphire Card needs to be paid off soon since it has the 15.99% APR on the balance.

Have you had any problems of not meeting debt elimination goals because life throws curveballs at you?

Discover More Credit Card (0% APR until 2014):

$12,509

Chase Sapphire (@15.99% APR):

$3,229

Debt Elimination

Credit Cards!

In the past couple of years, I did what I had managed to avoid for most of three decades; I accumulated huge amounts of debt (not even counting the mortgage debt).

I've lost track of how much frivolous spending (out-of-country vacations, clothes, makeup, etc) ended being (upwards of $15,000) but I have the following debt amount remaining after a couple of years of paying off as much as I can:

Current Debt (not including mortgage debt)

1) Citi Thankyou Card: $ 4,475.61

2) Chase Slate Credit Card: $ 58.95

3) Amazon Visa Credit Card: $ 66.91

Today, I am using money from the tax refund and emergency savings to pay off the two smallest cards and most of the largest account.

Remaining Debt as of tomorrow (March 8, 2012) would be:

1) Citi Thankyou Card: $ 475.61

    I am throwing $ 4,000 at this card. 

2) Chase Slate Credit Card: $ 0.00

    Yes!!

3) Amazon Visa Credit Card: $ 0.00

    Yes!!

How do I feel about this?:

Do I feel happy about this?

Yes.

Will there be more credit card debt?

I intend to continue using these credit cards but pay off the balance each month as I had done before I went out of control in spending. So, yes, there will be a balance but to be paid off each billing cycle.

Emergency Savings Status (March 8. 2012):

$ 5,200.00

My emergency savings is very meager at this point. Just typing it out makes me feel depressed.

I definitely need to save more. It's been hard since I have had two pay cuts at my current job and currently, taking a nearly 20% paycut. Management keeps saying another year, then, another year comes, and they're right back to saying another year.  Things around the condo have been failing on me that needed repairing that I have been using cash to pay for. I just don't want to use credit cards if I can pay with cash anymore. It's been a tough couple of years.

Here's hoping to a better year in 2012!