My Middle-Class Struggle: Savings Squabbles

Friday, June 11, 2011

It’s been a while since I posted figures, so we’ve got some catching up to do.  We’ve had two paychecks clear and paid the first-of-the-month bills in the interval.   I transferred $700 back  to savings, to re-fund our (travel-depleted) Baby Step 1 emergency account, a la Dave Ramsey. We still have money left in checking, but I am waiting on a bill or two that should have been here by now. 

Carryover balance:  $1387.02

Income:                  $1885.74 full-time paycheck

                                 169.52 part-time paycheck

                                      .03 checking account interest earned (what a joke!)

Expenditures: 

Mortgage:                    $1087.25

Home Equity payment:    200.00

Power Bill                       233.00

Oven payment                  50.00

Cable TV                          11.42

Transferred to Savings:    700.00

Gasoline :                       116.48

Groceries:                        86.13 

 Yard:                               17.09

Eating Out                         49.80

Gifts:                               173.00

Cash (pocket money)        40.00

Current Balance:  $669.14

That grocery total looks a bit high, given what we spent last week.  I need to go back over those receipts to see if they included other things--household products or something for the kids.  That just seems a bit excessive to me.  I know about $7 of it was paint for a project Struggle, Jr. is working on, which will be re-paid to his father, and some of it was for shampoo, shaving cream and other toiletries.

The restaurant bill was for a family outing with relatives, after an out-of-town church service, and for fast food one evening when I took the kids out after we had been running errands.   The "Gifts" figure included Miss S2’s birthday presents and a couple of checks I wrote to graduating seniors whose families are close friends.   I’m still looking for the homeowner’s insurance bill as well as the Visa bill—the one with all our travel expenses on it.  I think we owe around $1200 dollars on it.  Mr. Struggle wanted me to pay it off instead of replenishing our savings account, but I felt uncomfortable without that security net. He doesn't know I put the money in savings, so we haven't actually squabbled about it, but he'll be okay with it when I remind him of Dave Ramsey's plan. Anyway, the bill hasn’t arrived yet.  Maybe I’ll change my mind by then…….

What about you---are you able to relax without the security of a savings account?  Or would you rather pay off a bill sooner and avoid the interest charges? Sure would love to see your comments!

Medical Bills

Payday!

Income:   $1883.12

Expenses: $275.00 church donation

                    200.00 home equity line payment

                      49.92 water bill

                    200.00 oven payment

                    118.40 disability ins (semi-annually)

                      11.42 cable TV

                    256.43 mammogram clinic       

                      70.58 radiologist

           

I hated to send the mammogram money in, thinking as I wrote the check that I could have paid off the last of Visa if not for that stupid fiasco. I’ll be finding a better mammogram clinic before I ever go for another.  Or waiting for an alternative test.

We also paid half of our son’s college service club dues at $30, asking him to pay the rest.  We paid $50 to attend a Boy Scout banquet next week, in honor of our son and other boys in his district who earned Eagle rank during the past year.  We bought a tank of gas at $53.02, got $40 pocket-money for incidentals, a big load of groceries for $205.37 and a case of computer paper for $49.99, with a $25 online rebate, which I promptly completed.

We almost had an emergency over the weekend, before this check came in.  We had a balance of $4.66 when our youngest daughter, Miss S2, called from the highway with car problems. After several calls back and forth, a panicked father and a rescue from AAA, it was determined that the transmission was not bad, but that Miss S2  had bumped the gear shift stick into neutral by accident!  Whew!  Before realizing this, I had transferred $300 from our emergency savings into the checking account, in case it was needed.  I was thrilled to be able to move it back to savings today.  Dodged a bullet!

Emergency Savings

February 16, 2011

Payday!


Full-time paycheck: $1883.12 (biweekly)

Expenditures: $200.00 home equity line payment

                       $275.00 church donation

                          44.98 newspaper (13 wks.)

                          11.42 cable

We also spent $44 at the auto supply store for motor oil and about $10 at the dollar store for vitamins, toothpaste and such. That left over $1200.00 (see what I mean about feast or famine?) but I know the homeowner’s insurance bill is due and can’t pay it because it hasn’t arrived yet.  I decided to replenish the emergency account instead of pay Visa, so I transferred $1000 into savings, leaving $250 in checking to cover the homeowner’s at $126, a $75 bill for having the roof gutters cleaned, and a small present for a relative’s new baby.

It feels really good to have that small bit in savings. (Last year's savings was totally wiped out by medical bills, due to our deductible being raised to $3000.)  I'd love to get Visa paid that much sooner, but a small savings account balance buys a lot of peace of mind.  Like a little security blanket.

What's your financial security zone ?  How much do you need in an easily-accessible account to feel secure?