I've been thinking about some things I want to get accomplished before seriously saving for the hard goals. I think we can do it over the course of 3 paydays.

1. Save enough cash to pay for a handicapped ramp for the back porch. This is a premade steel one that is easily removable so we can take it to our next home. It will cost about $1000.

2. Pay in cash for a driver's ed class for my son. We haven't been able to find the time to teach him to drive and I need him to be able to drive. This will cost $750 (possibly with tax so might be closer to $890 if there is).

3. Buy new shoes for everyone who needs them. That's at least me and DH. DS might need a pair, too. DD is good. Buy jeans for DS who has lost a lot of weight. This is contingent on the stores reopening their changing rooms, because he is the sort who must try pants on as he has a long crotch to waist ratio. This is a line item in the budget, though, under clothing.

4. Save for our September getaway by the sea. This will be as we go along, $200 a month.

Our hard long term goals are:

1. Bump retirement from 5% to 7%. This will compensate for if they have to carry through with stopping the matching due to covid belt-tightening. Will start in July.

2. Save to get the Emergency Fund up to 3 months of income. I know Dave Ramsey says expenses, but I feel safer with income. I don't think he accounts for medical insurance costs if you become unemployed. For this I will need a total of $19,650. We currently have $8821.90 in the EF. We need to come up with $10,828.10. I think we can do this by the end of December, possibly the end of January.

3. Once we have saved 3 months income, bump retirement up to 10%.

4. Simultaneously save for the down payment and 6 months EF. I'd like the ratio to be $1500 a month to the down payment fund and what is left to go to the EF. I am not entirely sure what that amount will be with retirement contributions at 10%.

5. Once the Emergency Fund is at 6 months expenses, bump retirement to 15% and put all remaining funds toward the house down payment fund. Eventually I would like to have saved enough for our house to have a mortgage payment that is only around $1500 a month. That means we will have to save for longer, but I don't want to be stretching every month for $2000 mortgage payment. I want to have a reasonable payment with cushion. We can do $2000, but then we'd have to be tight with the budget and I would like to be a littler bit looser.

6. Save hard core for the down payment. I am playing with the idea of just saving up enough to buy a house outright. It would mean living here a lot longer, but the payoff could be worth it. Not sure how much longer mom is going to live, though, since she is 80. It might be longer than it would take to save up that much money.

If we just save up for a down payment with the idea of a mortgage, I think we will need about $120K for the house and land we want with a reasonable mortgage. That is about six and a half years to save. So all told we are looking at 7 years to get where we want to go. Which really seems like forever. But DH ought to get some raises during that time so maybe not that long. Who knows, though. They are on a wage freeze during covid. He didn't get the raise that should have gone with his promotion and even the merit raise that should come in July won't happen for anyone. That doesn't mean he won't eventually, just not now.

Although MIL does give us money from time to time, so maybe any of that that doesn't go towards medical can also be saved towards our goals and make us achieve them faster. I don't count on that, though.