Breaking the Budget and Surging Ahead

I’m not really certain what prompted it but I’ve already committed to spending over $3300 this month… and we’re only one week in.

Ouch!

So much for the budget!?

Last month, I *so* wanted to increase my savings by $1000, decrease my mortgage balance by $1000, and somehow manage to pad my checking account with another $1000 too…

Doing the math (while keeping regular monthly expenses in mind), technically, that doesn’t even seem to be possible. But, man, I came darn close in May.

So far, the new baby isn’t costing us anything more than we expected or could handle.

Of course, with child care looming in the future, I’m well aware that that’s going to change in a hurry so I’m going to do my best to put the biggest dent in the mortgage that I can while I can still afford to.

So, this past week (I’m already one payment in!), I increased my weekly additional mortgage principle payment from $75 all the way up to $230.

Wow, Brainy! How can you afford $230 per week extra?

That’s a great question, and really, if you asked me if I could afford to send between $920 and $1150 extra towards my mortgage each month, I’d immediately say “No freakin’ way…“

That’s why weekly payments are the only way to go.

You can afford to deprive yourself of more than you think you can.

Doesn’t Suze Orman say something like that?

I’m pretty sure it’s her.

She’s right.

Though I’ll just be scraping by, I somehow can afford to send $230 each week to CountryWide, or Bank of America, or whatever they’re called this month…

While making this budgetary change, which all but ensures that my mortgage balance will fall by over $1000 each month, I decided to make sure my savings account balance would grow by at least $1000 per month too.

It just seemed like a good time to go all out.

Five minutes on the computer and another modification of weekly auto-transfers — an increase from $165/per week all the way up to $250 per week.

There are always at least 4-weeks per month, so I’m guaranteed to increase my balance by $1000 plus interest.

That wasn’t so painful…

So, putting it all together, I essentially increased my weekly outflow by $240.

Considering that I was totally accustomed to my previous outflow, this almost feels like I’m eliminating $1k worth of debt and amassing $1k in savings for just $240 per week.

That’s a pretty good return.

I know it’s not as simple as that — it’s actually costing me double — but it certainly feels like I’m getting a great deal.

The only spot that I’ll tank each month will be in my checking account. I can live with that.

Now I know what some are saying, “Must be nice to have a 14-figure salary… I could do that too if I made as much as you…”

I’ll be the first to admit that $240 per week is not a small number. And it’s certainly not an amount that everyone can afford — and that’s okay.

I started with a $25/week auto payment to Countrywide back in June of 2007.

Twenty five bucks.

At minimum wage, that’s just a half day’s worth of work. You smokers out there probably spend more than that on cigarettes each week. Think about it.

Point is, $25 is do-able.

And it makes a difference. A HUGE difference — see for yourself.

Whether it’s for debt repayment, savings, or even investments. Automatic weekly (not monthly) payments and transfers are the way to go.

- – - – - – -
PIAC Factoid: Setting the record straight, I don’t make a 14-figure salary.

I may be a multi-thousandaire but I got there on a 5-figure salary…

Posted on June 7th, 2009 at 9:07 am by Brainy Smurf
Finance, Mortgage, Savings, Success | 3 Comments »

Finally… A Good Weekend (and Reason) to be a BoA Customer

So I may have tripped up and become one of those parents that shows way too many pictures of their kids but I will never, I repeat, NEVER be one of those parents that takes my children to places that they can’t possibly comprehend or even enjoy because they are far too young…

Sorry, infants and zoos don’t really work well together… They just don’t.

So, while I may be on the sidelines for the next couple of years, you don’t have to be!!!

If you’re a Bank of America card holder, you can get into tons of museums and zoos and things for FREE this weekend!

Basically, if you have a Bank of America credit, check or ATM card, you can present it at any one of 100-plus museums across the country and your admission fee will be waived.

Apparently this is case on the first weekend of EVERY month, but this is the first I’ve heard of it.

Click here for all of the details.

In short — in another couple of years, you can bet I’ll be at the gates of the Bronx Zoo.

Or maybe on the deck of the USS Intrepid? Ooooohh. That sounds exciting.

Hmmmm…maybe we’ll pack the stroller up tomorrow morning…

Posted on June 5th, 2009 at 5:53 pm by Brainy Smurf
Cutting Costs | 2 Comments »

Duncan, a Boppy, and an Alligator

Sorry…

I don’t want to turn this in to a “Mommy” blog and I’ve always kinda been turned off by people who go overboard with pictures of their kids (especially when they’re kinda goofy looking) but I just couldn’t resist…

The novelty will wear off soon, right?

Posted on June 3rd, 2009 at 2:10 pm by Brainy Smurf
Smurfling | 5 Comments »

Spending Report for May 2009

So last month I curbed my spending all the way down to my self-imposed $2500 ceiling.

This month, I decided to toss that out the window so that I could aggressively attack my mortgage balance without feeling any sort of guilt.

I’m setting the stage for a dismal and embarrassing spending report…

Or am I?

Here’s how I spent my money in May 2009:

• $1860.00 : Mortgage
• $254.42 : Business Expenses
• $208.00 : eBay (yes… another game worn hockey jersey)
• $109.26 : Cable/Internet
• $106.62 : Electricity
• $96.62 : Water/Sewer
• $84.41 : Natural Gas
• $69.36 : Gas
• $48.46 : Phone
• $40.00 : Cash
• $10.00 : Car Wash (so the car would look nice when we brought the smurfling home)
• $2.12 : RedBox Movie Rentals

Total spent was $2889.27.

Over last month, that’s an increase of $389.27.

Not great, but when you consider than before last month’s success, I was consistently spending over $4000 each month, well, it makes me feel pretty good.

Sure, the warmer weather and the related lower utility bills are a big help. (I used my savings there to treat myself on eBay. Bad, I know.)

But if I can continue to throw that much “extra” at the mortgage and still manage to keep my other expenses relatively low, well, things can only look up.

Posted on June 3rd, 2009 at 8:12 am by Brainy Smurf
Finance, Spending Report | 2 Comments »

Net Worth Update: June 2009 (+$8,726)

Wow — it was all good news this past month.

Gains all the way. No losses. None!

And to think, I thought last month was great!

The big turnaround came in the value of my home — and combined with my additional effort at paying down the mortgage, well, it almost feels like I’m doubling my money…

Sorta.

Here’s the breakdown:

Cash:
Kept my checking account balance above the $3k mark for pretty much the entire month.

I’m working my way towards a minimum balance of $5k and I think I did a pretty good job at moving towards that goal.

Savings:
I’m on auto pilot here. Basically, with weekly deposits totalling $165, I’m just keeping this on the up and up.

Gov’t Bonds:
That cool $1k I tossed into the mix back in April hasn’t paid off yet, but I’m still confident that I made a wise move.

401k:
I know the news of doom and gloom is still all around, but it certainly doesn’t seem like it should be.

Home:
Sweet! This is the first sizable gain in a loooooonnnnggg time.

Auto 1 & Auto 2:
Nothing to report here, though, I have a feeling that I’ll be adding an “Auto 3″ in the not too distant future.

Credit Cards:
Paid in full — nothing to report.

Auto Loan:
Nothing to report.

Other Loans:
Still… nothing.

Mortgage:
Moving right along. My goal was to knock over 1% of the total balance off each month and I’m right on target. I’d really like to be under $100k before the end of the summer.

Posted on June 1st, 2009 at 7:54 pm by Brainy Smurf
Finance, Net Worth Updates | 1 Comment »