$8205.19 Beginning Balance of EF
___10.00 2/6 Auto Deposit
+__10.00 2/13 Auto Deposit
-------------
$8225.19 Ending Balance of EF

DH emptied his wallet and added $13.62 in ones and coins to the coin jar. My daughter also traded me out a bunch of quarters in exchange for ones, so I am going to need to roll coins. I should have enough in there to make a deposit soon.

Capitol One 360 added the interest for the month to my account. I put it in the Emergency Fund.

$8205.19 Beginning EF Balance
+___6.70 C1-360 Interest Added
----------
$8211.89 Ending EF Balance

$8195.19 Beginning Balance
+__10.00 Amount Added
---------
$8205.19 Ending Balance

I have hit my goal for the month of $8205. My goal for the month of February will be $8405.

My fever has finally broken. I hope that means I am on the road to recovery.

Today is payday (finally!). I sent $100 to the Emergency Fund.

$8095.19 Beginning Balance
+_100.00 Amount Added
-----------
$8195.19 Ending Balance

$8085.19 Beginning EF Balance
+__10.00 Amount Added
------------
$8095.19 Ending EF Balance

I also added $8.17 to the coin jar.

I am nickling and diming my way to $10K. So many people out there think they just cannot save. Even when things were super tight we managed to eek out $10 a week for savings. We let go of a luxury item, soda pop, and instead put that $10 in savings each week. We drank water instead so we weren't replacing the soda pop with another beverage or upping our intake of other beverages we already bought like milk or OJ.

I decided to save all my coins and add them to savings. This eventually turned into all of my ones as well that I got back in change.

Then we cancelled our cable for a savings of $100 a month (back then), and put that money into savings. Just between those three things, We managed to save between $140 and $200 a month.

Even if you can't put aside $10 a week like I did when I started out, try to put $10 a month into savings. It doesn't seem like much, but it does begin to add up. And the habit of putting the money in is just as valuable as the actual money you are putting in. You are learning to save so that when a bigger opportunity to save comes along you are ready to add it to your savings habit.

I cleaned out my purse tonight and added $11.09 to the coin jar.

For some reason I am feeling really anxious about payday getting here on Friday. I guess because going without a paycheck for four weeks, even when you are prepared for it, is not a natural thing.

I'm not out of money or anything like that. I just want it to be here already. I'm feeling the same way about all tax documentation. I want it here, so we can file and get most of our HSA money back ASAP. I want it in the bank and under my control, earning interest for me.

Well, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have one more week without a paycheck and then finally next Friday DH gets paid again. I am so glad that I put so much money in savings and stayed on top of all the bills. It has been so helpful in stretching over the last 3 weeks and we'll be fine until the end of this.

I start this next week with $674.63 in the checking account and $75 in cash. The only thing I have to pay for is part of my dental visit on the 22nd. And give the kids allowances. I will have to buy some milk and some deli meat and veggies on Sunday, but other than that, I hope to end up next payday with $500 left to throw at the mortgage.

Since the new year has started DH's paychecks will be fully taxed again so the extra $700 I've been throwing at the mortgage each month will be reduced down to an extra $200 again. Our medical insurance year won't be up until May and then who knows how much things will go up then. So trying to do as much as possible while I still can and if I don't spend this week I can make one last big payment. I think I can get the mortgage under $6000 on payday.

My coin jar was getting heavy and my ones envelope was getting fat, so I rolled coin and counted ones. Altogether I had $42 ready to be deposited.

$8043.19 Beginning EF Balance
+__42.00 Deposit Added
------------
$8085.19 Ending EF Balance

My goal for the month is to get to $8205. I have $119.81 to go to reach that goal. I have 2 more $10 deposits coming this month and I will make my usual $100 monthly deposit when we get paid on Friday. So I will make that. I need to save $167 a month if I want to get to $10K by the end of the year. But I'm trying for $200 each month. I'm also on track for that.

$8033.19 Beginning EF Balance
+__10.00 Deposit Added
------------
$8043.19 New EF Balance

I know what I want for my birthday next month. I want to check into a hotel and order room service and not be a mother for a day. The kids have been at each other's throats since DD came home from school. DD was in a bad mood because of that one crazy teacher she has so she started it. Then in response DS started provoking her on purpose.

Supposedly they were never speaking to each other again. One hour later they're acting like nothing ever happened, but I'm still tense. And irritated. *sighs* Motherhood, it ain't for sissies.

I spent about 2 hours today doing research on aquaponics systems. It is something I'd like to get into in the future. Not so much for the fish, more for the vegetables, but the fish would be a nice by-product. They can be expensive, but there are some DIY systems that can be cobbled together for far less money. Either I need to start saving or I need to figure out what DH is capable of putting together. Or willing to put together.

There are some that are as simple as a small fishtank, a grow bed, and a pump, filter, and bucket. That would probably be a good place to start.

I dropped DH off at the airport tonight, but before we left he emptied his wallet. He had ten ones and a bunch of coins. Altogether I added $14.42 to the coin jar. I also see little piles of coins he's left around the house that I need to go and gather up. He has a bad habit of emptying his pockets wherever he happens to be and not where the coin jar is. Probably I'll find an additional 50 cents or so.

I have a lady who is interested in buying rabbits in a couple of months. She wants to start raising them for meat and is looking for breeding stock for after she moves. I'm crossing my fingers as she sought me out as opposed to me advertising for it. Still, I may never hear from her again, either.

I haven't done Swagbucks since December. I just got exhausted from it. Not sure when I'll start up with it again. Just don't feel like it yet.

I broke my hairbrush tonight so will have to buy a new one. I am irritated. I know my hair is ridiculously thick and long, but a brush shouldn't just snap in two if it hits a tangle. Unfortunately I get a big tangle at the base of my skull where the C-PAP mask strap goes that has to be worked through every day. I am thinking about buying an old fashioned brush with a wooden handle and actual bristles. I'd have to order it online though. I haven't seen them in stores for years but I've seen them online. But I'll have to buy a cheap one in the meanwhile.

I finally got the amount of interest from one of the CU's for the quarter. A whopping 61 cents. And yesterday was the weekly $10 transfer. I added them both to the Emergency Fund.

$8022.58 Beginning Balance
+__10.61 Deposit Added
----------
$8033.19 New Balance

Extremely intrusive ads are still extremely intrusive. Just saying...

Today was the $10 auto transfer to savings. I moved that to the Emergency Fund.

$8012.58 Beginning EF Balance
+__10.00 Amount Added
------------
$8022.58 New EF Balance

Small amounts add up.

I added $16.14 in ones and coins to the coin jar today after DH cleaned out his wallet and I cleaned out my purse.

I've caught up on all the financial housekeeping I needed to do and have set up my January budget. Now I just need to balance the checkbook and pretty much everything will be set on autopilot until the middle of the month.

Interest hit two of my savings accounts, for a total of $7.84. I added this to the Emergency Fund.

$8004.74 Beginning EF Balance
_____.43 Interest from CU #2
____7.41 Interest from C1-360
-----------
$8012.58 New EF Balance

I added $8.12 to the coin jar today.

I haven't done Swagbucks in a week. My SB toolbar disappeared from my IE and I've tried redownloading it and nothing. The computer seems to think it is there, though it is not showing up in the list of programs when you look to install/uninstall something.

It's still on my chrome, but I find it is easier to use SB in IE than in chrome. Especially to have the SBTV running in the side.

Aside from that I've been too busy to put the effort into doing it right now. I know I'll get back to it in January. I have enough SB right now to cash out for a $30 GC, though I'll probably wait and get the 5 $5 at the start of Jan.

For the last 2 years we gave SIL a $200 gift card to Target. SIL lives at the poverty level despite working two jobs. This year we couldn't afford to be so spendy since DH's bonus was not as high as expected. I feel bad about it, because we like being able to help her out, but we have done a lot for her this year.

We even kept our own Christmas pretty simple. So this year she is only getting a $40 gift card. I am debating about giving her the 2 $50 Safeway gift cards we got from DH's work, since she lives near one and the closest one to us is 30 miles away, but then I think we will be going 4 weeks without a paycheck and that $100 might be something we could use for that time period.

With taking her and her daughters to Disneyland this year, I think we have spent more than enough money on them. I just hope she wasn't counting on the bigger gift card.

Today is the auto transfer of $10 to savings. I added that to the EF and it is now officially over $8000.

$7994.74 Beginning EF Balance
+__10.00 Amount Added
-----------
$8004.74 Ending EF Balance

My next big goal is $10K.

My goal for January is to save $150. January is virtually a no paycheck month, so that is basically my monthly deposit of $100 and since there are five Thursdays in January, an additional $50. Maybe I'll be able to save more, but I can't be sure of that. I will try to make it up in later months.

Forgot to put the entry on Thursday, updating the Emergency Fund.

$7983.74 Beginning EF Balance
+__10.00 Weekly Thursday Deposit
-----------
$7994.74 Ending EF Balance

$5.26 to go to meet my monthly and yearly goal of $8000.

$1400.00 BoA VISA
__100.00 Emergency Fund
___19.00 Dues Fund
___72.56 Internet
___72.00 Water/Sewer Holding Tank
__757.82 Van Loan (plus extra to principal)
__100.00 Property Tax Fund
__100.00 Propane Holding Tank
___40.00 Allowances
__200.00 Laptop Fund
__100.00 College Fund
__100.00 Vacation Fund
__109.00 January Money Fund
__100.00 Moving Fund
__100.00 Appliance Fund
--------------
$3370.38

$700 of the payment to BoA VISA was the $700 I had set aside for Christmas presents. Since they were bought with the VISA I used that money to make the payment. I will make another payment next week to cover the other half of the travel expenses for DH.

Also had 3 Medical Bills:

$90.00 Physical Therapy
$10.62 Doctor
$13.70 Sleep Doctor
----------
$114.32

Oooh, almost there.

$7883.74 Beginning Balance
+_100.00 Monthly Deposit to EF
-----------
$7983.74 Ending Balance

$16.26 to go to meet my end of month and end of year goal of $8000 in the Emergency Fund.

So made it to the CU to deposit $49 in coin jar money.

$7834.74 Beginning EF
+__49.00 Deposit Added
-----------
$7883.74 New EF Balance

I may or may not be depositing the monthly $100 to C1-360 today. We will see once I've done all the bills. My $8000 goal for the end of the year is getting close. It is exciting to see it so near.

Wow, I went down hard with this last illness. Lots of sleeping has helped some. Still have a raging fever and still am exhausted but those seem to be the worst of the symptoms at this point.

I've gotten way behind on keeping my financial stuff up to date on here, though. I've had 2 Thursday deposits made, the $10 autopays, so need to update my EF for that.

$7814.74 Beginning Balance
___10.00 12/5 Deposit
+__10.00 12/12 Deposit
-------------
$7834.74 New Balance

I've got quite a lot of coin jar money to deposit today, too, so we will be back with an update there later. And it's payday so hopefully will do an update on that point as well.

I emptied DH's wallet of ones and coins and added $25.39 to the coin jar. It was quite a nice little boost. I also found 35 cents on my night stand and added it. Moving right along on the EF goal.

Yesterday I sent $100 to C1-360, my main EF account and today the interest of $6.54 hit.

$7708.20 Beginning EF Amount
__100.00 Deposit Added
+___6.54 Interest Added
-------------
$7814.74 New EF Amount

I hit my goal of $7720 for the month of November and am well on my way towards my goal of $8000 by the end of the year. Just $185.26 to go and $140 of that is taken care of by Thursday deposits and the monthly deposit, so I really just need to scrape together $45.26 this month. I can do that.

I found an error in my savings account, .34 in my favor. Also the weekly auto pay of $10 went through today so was added to the EF.

The new balance of the EF is: $7708.20. I haven't done the payday stuff yet, but will be likely sending a bit more to the EF when I have. I have $11.80 left to hit my monthly goal of $7720.

I added $15.59 to the coin jar today, .25 yesterday and a dime the day before.

$7687.86 Beginning Balance
+__10.00 Auto Deposit Added
-----------
$7697.86 Ending Balance

$22.14 to go to hit my November goal of $7720.

$302.14 to go to hit my yearly goal of $8000.

I am putting a copy of my Funds totals here in case something goes wrong transferring stuff between laptops. This is the first time in my life I've ever had so much money saved up. Almost $14K and it will be over that by month's end.

After our next mortgage payment on Friday we will have more money in the Emergency Fund than we owe on the mortgage. That feels incredible.

$2024.84 January Money Fund
$7687.86 Emergency Fund
___76.00 Dues Fund
__100.00 Property Tax Fund
__100.00 Propane Fund
__300.00 Vacation Fund (Hawaii 2018)
__600.00 Appliance Fund
__300.00 Moving Fund
__900.00 College Fund
_1200.00 Laptop Fund (using to pay off same as cash)
__700.00 Christmas Fund
------------
13988.70 Total in Savings

I deposited the coin jar money into the safety net portion of the Emergency Fund today. It was $43. I also sent $100 to C1-360 to the primary EF.

$7534.86 Beginning EF Balance
___43.00 Coin Jar Money
+_100.00 Monthly Deposit
-------------
$7687.86 Ending EF Balance

That leaves me with $33.14 to come up with this month to meet my November EF goal of $7720. I've got 2 more Thursdays this month, so that will take care of $20 of it, so really only $13.14 to scrape up. That should be easy enough.

I am hoping to have it to $8000 by the end of the year. That's a bit of a stretch, but I think I can do it.

DH found out that bonuses come out on December 20th, so we should get it by the end of December. I have no idea what to expect. The first year he worked for this company the bonus was 10% of yearly income. The 2nd year it was 5% of yearly income, because they only had small projects. DH says they did a lot of big projects this year and big projects usually come with more bonus money.

10% would be fantastic. It would mean putting aside enough to finish funding DD's first year at community college and having enough left over to pay the mortgage off (It's just over $8200), with a tiny chunk to the EF. 5% would still be pretty awesome, meaning having enough to pay for her college and having a small chunk left over to go to the EF.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for 10%, but I will still be happy with anything they give us.

Since today is payday, I cleaned out my purse and put all the ones and coins into the coin jar. I add $10.53. I kept back 2 quarters to pay the parking meter. I like to keep at least that much on hand in case I can't find free parking at the library.

Hopefully I will be able to make a deposit today. I can pop over there after physical therapy today if I remember and don't feel like a bruised puppy afterwards. Physical therapy will be $90, assuming she doesn't cancel on me this week due to illness.

Today was the weekly auto deposit to savings of $10. I transferred it the to Emergency Fund.

$7524.86 Beginning EF Balance
+__10.00 Amount Added
------------
$7534.86 New EF Balance

Also, what is up with the hit counts? Is it just me or are they going crazy? I just hit 3 million a couple months ago. Now it's at almost 7 million. I don't think my blog is that compelling.

DH went back to Alaska last night and cleaned out his wallet before he left. I cleaned out my purse, too. I had $14.79 in coins and ones to add to the coin jar.