# Evaluate our budget (newly married)



## so_pink

My husband and I (recently married) are just working on our budget and were looking for input!

Here's our monthly budget:

Income
Take-home $7,500 (his gross is 90K, mine is 33K)

Expenses
Donation $1,300 (we tithe regularly to our church plus other donations)
Investments $750 (10% of take-home; my husband also contributes 4% of his income to a pension with company matching)
Rent $1,200 (3 bedroom basement in GTA)
Spending $1,000 (includes all spending - groceries, entertainment, small purchases, small household needs)
Gas $650 (my truck is approx $90/week and his car approx. $60/week. he gets a portion of his reimbursed; both of us need our cars to get to work and can't carpool together)
Insurance $430 (he has some accidents in his past but this also includes tenants insurance)
Interest $200 (see below)
Heath $100 (I take expensive prescription pills; the majority is paid via his benefits plan)
Internet & phone $160 (my phone, home internet, netflix, iPad data plus we normally buy data packages when we go to the US; he has a work phone)

Remaining cash left over each month is $1,790 which we allocate as follows:
$400 - vacation sinking fund (no trips planned in the near future so for now we'll pile this against the debt)
$150 - car repairs
$200 - presents (we both have large families - this is primarily for 5 nephews/nieces, parents Bday/Christmas and secret santas at christmas)

This leaves us with approximately $1,000 each month to go towards debt or other. He also receives approximately $3-5K annual bonus each year

Assets
Cash $6K (net of CCs which are paid off each month)
Investments $50K (all which he took into marriage - he handles this part but it's mostly Canadian/US blue chips held in registered accounts)

I know we don't have an emergency fund, but he is in a VERY VERY stable job and if need be, we could make by on just his income. Also, our LOC still has room and is available.

Liabilities
Line of credit - $50K (wedding + honeymoon + his student debt)

Our goals - start having kids in the next two years, hopefully buy a house after our debt is paid off and down payment is saved. We expect his salary to increase by between 6-10% each year for at least the next several years and for me to stop working after we have kids. currently we live in the GTA

What do you think?


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## Chigu

Not sure if it's a religious thing, but why are you spending over 17% of your net take home pay on donations, when you have 50k of outstanding debt? Why not defer the majority of your donation until after your LOC is paid off? 




so_pink said:


> My husband and I (recently married) are just working on our budget and were looking for input!
> 
> Here's our monthly budget:
> 
> Income
> Take-home $7,500 (his gross is 90K, mine is 33K)
> 
> Expenses
> Donation $1,300 (we tithe regularly to our church plus other donations)
> Investments $750 (10% of take-home; my husband also contributes 4% of his income to a pension with company matching)
> Rent $1,200 (3 bedroom basement in GTA)
> Spending $1,000 (includes all spending - groceries, entertainment, small purchases, small household needs)
> Gas $650 (my truck is approx $90/week and his car approx. $60/week. he gets a portion of his reimbursed; both of us need our cars to get to work and can't carpool together)
> Insurance $430 (he has some accidents in his past but this also includes tenants insurance)
> Interest $200 (see below)
> Heath $100 (I take expensive prescription pills; the majority is paid via his benefits plan)
> Internet & phone $160 (my phone, home internet, netflix, iPad data plus we normally buy data packages when we go to the US; he has a work phone)
> 
> Remaining cash left over each month is $1,790 which we allocate as follows:
> $400 - vacation sinking fund (no trips planned in the near future so for now we'll pile this against the debt)
> $150 - car repairs
> $200 - presents (we both have large families - this is primarily for 5 nephews/nieces, parents Bday/Christmas and secret santas at christmas)
> 
> This leaves us with approximately $1,000 each month to go towards debt or other. He also receives approximately $3-5K annual bonus each year
> 
> Assets
> Cash $6K (net of CCs which are paid off each month)
> Investments $50K (all which he took into marriage - he handles this part but it's mostly Canadian/US blue chips held in registered accounts)
> 
> I know we don't have an emergency fund, but he is in a VERY VERY stable job and if need be, we could make by on just his income. Also, our LOC still has room and is available.
> 
> Liabilities
> Line of credit - $50K (wedding + honeymoon + his student debt)
> 
> Our goals - start having kids in the next two years, hopefully buy a house after our debt is paid off and down payment is saved. We expect his salary to increase by between 6-10% each year for at least the next several years and for me to stop working after we have kids. currently we live in the GTA
> 
> What do you think?


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## dubmac

how old are the two of you?
have you considered buying a condo (5% down) in the near future (after prices hopefully soften in the GTA) to start building equity rather than paying rent? your condo could, conceivably, accomodate the two of you plus a newborn when that time comes.
have you considered opening a TFSA for each of you now so that you can start accumulating the room in the account as you build equity and develop an emergency fund.


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## Guigz

My suggestions:

1- Redirect donations to debt. Donate time instead. 
2- Move closer to where you work.
3- Consider getting a smaller vehicle instead of a truck. If 2), get a bike.

You want a house and kids and yet you only have 1,000$ left over per month as it is. While it is enough for either, I don't think it is enough for both at the same time. 

Only suggestions of course, you are in good shape.


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## Guigz

dubmac said:


> have you considered opening a TFSA for each of you now so that you can start accumulating the room in the account as you build equity and develop an emergency fund.


Room accumulates regardless of whether you have an account ot not. Aside from that, good suggestion!


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## GoldStone

Do you track your investment returns? Are you earning better return, after taxes, than the interest on your LOC? If not, liquidate investments to pay down LOC. 

If you are going to keep the investments, consider doing this:
1. sell the investments to pay down LOC
2. re-borrow to invest
This maneuver will make your interest tax deductible (read the fine print - some conditions apply).



Guigz said:


> 1- Redirect donations to debt. Donate time instead.


+1


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## so_pink

thanks for all the feedback!

There's a few prevailing comments:
1. Donations - It is a religious thing although there’s no guideline – we’re trying to give sacrificially, especially considering that we are both employed and make quite a bit of money. If we had to cut anywhere, this would be a potential area. The only thing is that something will ALWAYS come up to defer donating – if it’s not debt, it will be a house or kids or something else.
2. Our investment returns have been significantly higher than our interest expense - even after taxes. My husband started investing in January 2009. At this point, most of our investments are in registered vehicles so the tax cost to liquidate is high. However, stopping our investments until after we've paid off our debt is an option.
3. Vehicles - we've looked at downsizing the truck. We thought we could sell it, pocket a few thousand dollars and buy a newer car with less KMs. Will also save us about $40/week in gas.

We're in our mid to late 20s.

Any more comments? Thanks!


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## b_foot

I would work on the line of credit a bit before having kids. Kids are expensive!  As others pointed out, the only thing jump out on me is the donation amount. I know it is a religious thing but you're asking your questions on a money board. 

I would reallocate $2K / month to pay off the LOC (whether redirect donation or $750 investment). The debt should be paid off in 2 years, that will coincide with your baby plan. Take another 1-2 years to work on the down payment. 

You guys started early with relatively high income. I wish I'd save more when I'm at your age ;-)


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## the-royal-mail

I cannot support this structure. $50K in debt? IMO, with the kind of income this household brings in there is simply no excuse to be using credit and debt to operate. It sounds to me like priorities need a little tweaking. I'm not going to write a wall of text but recommend the following priority and structure:

1. pay off the $50K debt immediately, using the investment (sure, the returns exceed the expenses today but that can change quickly, and then you'll be in the hole and not want to sell until you dig out, better to quit while there is no loss)
2. build up *four* tiers of savings
3. only once the above have been accomplished should you then consider buying a house and having kids, not before
4. save in advance for you to stop working later

Yes, all of this _will _take you several years. It will not be easy, it will ideally involve sacrifice (to help you save faster towards your goals and practice prioritization) and it will not be instant gratification.

But implement the above plan and you'll be on a far better financial foundation because as of right now you're building on sand. Build your house on a rock instead.


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## Spudd

Whatever you do, don't withdraw from your RRSPs to pay down your debt. 

It looks like you have enough to funnel towards your debt with the budget you already have. You could stop contributing to the investments until the debt is paid off. 

Personally I would also cut back on the donations. I thought tithing was traditionally 10% of your income - that would be $750 rather than $1300. While I understand the point of sacrifice, I also think that "giving sacrificially" should be done within reason. If you have 50k of outstanding debt, you're at risk if either of you loses your job, and I doubt the church wants you to give so much money that you wind up in collections agencies hands.


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## Homerhomer

so_pink said:


> Liabilities
> Line of credit - $50K (wedding + honeymoon + his student debt)
> 
> Our goals - start having kids in the next two years, hopefully buy a house after our debt is paid off and down payment is saved.


Your goal is then to save up about $100k in the next few years (paying off 50k debt and 50k for downpayment), am I right? Ways to achieve it is to cut down the expenses and/or increase revenues, something is gotta give, if you stick to your budget as laid out currently it will take much longer to achieve your goal since paying off your debt will take you over 5 years. When you have children your expenses will go way up, and your salary will go down so you have additional hurdle to overcome.

It is very kind of you to be helping out others, and if it's your priority then by all means carry on, just keep in mind that without unlimited budget something has to give, if the level of donations is to stay where it is, it would mean sacrifieces in other areas, also the longer you carry your debt the more money you donate to the bank, and your ability to do something better with your money is minimized.


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## so_pink

the-royal-mail said:


> I cannot support this structure. $50K in debt? IMO, with the kind of income this household brings in there is simply no excuse to be using credit and debt to operate. It sounds to me like priorities need a little tweaking. I'm not going to write a wall of text but recommend the following priority and structure:
> 
> 1. pay off the $50K debt immediately, using the investment (sure, the returns exceed the expenses today but that can change quickly, and then you'll be in the hole and not want to sell until you dig out, better to quit while there is no loss)
> 2. build up *four* tiers of savings
> 3. only once the above have been accomplished should you then consider buying a house and having kids, not before
> 4. save in advance for you to stop working later
> 
> Yes, all of this _will _take you several years. It will not be easy, it will ideally involve sacrifice (to help you save faster towards your goals and practice prioritization) and it will not be instant gratification.
> 
> But implement the above plan and you'll be on a far better financial foundation because as of right now you're building on sand. Build your house on a rock instead.


We don't use debt to operate. In our past, we did use debt (him for school, us for our wedding) however we are no longer drawing on it and will be paying it off swiftly.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think we will need to discuss the amount we donate and perhaps consider postponing some of our investment contributions to pay down down debt quicker.


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## peterk

Homer makes a great point about your "donation" to the bank.
If you cut your donations now and pay your debts off completely, you will be able to donate even more later in life. Do the math, it works!


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## Plugging Along

I think you are in a vulnerable position and it will be challenging to meet your goals as you have outlined. I've put some thoughts to the areas you may want to consider...

Donation $1,300 (we tithe regularly to our church plus other donations) 
- This is about a priority that only you and your spouse can decide. Each year you are donating $15K + while you have $50K in debt which you are paying interest on. Would you be better off suspending the donations or reducing them while you have this debt? Another way to look at it, is how important is this in terms of if you had to choose between waiting longer to own a house and having a family vs the donations. If you don't mind waiting a few more years, then keep it's okay. You can't have it all at the same time. 

Investments $750 (10% of take-home; my husband also contributes 4% of his income to a pension with company matching). 
- I would continue with the amounts in which there is a company portion matched, the other part should be put towards debt. 

Spending $1,000 (includes all spending - groceries, entertainment, small purchases, small household needs)
- This doesn't seem unreasonable, are there any little ways to cut out some things?

Interest $200 (see below)
- This is the big issue, $200 a month is a lot of money, and it's much more when you will want to have a family and go down to one income. It's a quarter of the current EI monthly payments for mat leave. You need to get your self in the best cash flow position possible before kids.

Internet & phone $160 (my phone, home internet, netflix, iPad data plus we normally buy data packages when we go to the US; he has a work phone)
- Again, is there anything that you can cut out on?

Remaining cash left over each month is $1,790 which we allocate as follows:
$400 - vacation sinking fund (no trips planned in the near future so for now we'll pile this against the debt)
- This is $4800 a year. I would be thinking no trips as it's a luxury, and have it go against debt. 

$200 - presents (we both have large families - this is primarily for 5 nephews/nieces, parents Bday/Christmas and secret santas at christmas)
- Any change to cut this down? I think this one is hard. I actually buy my present throughout the year while on sale to save. 

This leaves us with approximately $1,000 each month to go towards debt or other. He also receives approximately $3-5K annual bonus each year


Assets
Investments $50K (all which he took into marriage - he handles this part but it's mostly Canadian/US blue chips held in registered accounts)
- If the investments are in RRSP's, then leave it alone, if it's in TSFA then use it for your debt.

I know we don't have an emergency fund, but he is in a VERY VERY stable job and if need be, we could make by on just his income. Also, our LOC still has room and is available.
- I don't consider a LOC which you already owe $50K on as a good emergency fund. If you are a 100% sure that he is stable, then I would consider creating a small emergency fund, but keep in mind if you have babies, you have to make sure that you can go further than just get by on his salary. You will have additional expenses, with no income from you. I would consider the emergency fund as also a little operating fund for the future. 

Liabilities


Our goals - start having kids in the next two years, hopefully buy a house after our debt is paid off and down payment is saved. We expect his salary to increase by between 6-10% each year for at least the next several years and for me to stop working after we have kids. currently we live in the GTA

I am not sure this is so reasonable in terms of timeframes and goals. You want to have a baby in two years, so essential need to pay off $50K in two years. Here's how it would have to look

$1K current excess X about 24 months = $24K
$4K bonus x 2 years = $8K

Shortfall - about $18K in years to make up.

You could expand your time by another couple of years, and that would take you out of the debt, or some other things you could do in some combination

Move vacation fund to debt = $10K in two years
Reduce donations by $8K in 2 years, so reduce it by about $400
Reduce some of your other expenses

This would clear out your debt in 2 years, so you could be debt free for when you have kids. However, then you deal with the issue of one income and not being able to save much. I would seriously consider saving for another little float fund now before you have kids, otherwise the idea of a house will become further and further.

If you are willing to make some deep cuts now, you could have your debt paid off in less than two years, and start creating your 'future' fund. Right now with your debt, you are just borrowing from your future.


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## crazyjackcsa

so_pink said:


> we’re trying to give sacrificially, especially considering that we are both employed and make quite a bit of money.


Then that's all there is to it. You're going to have to sacrifice things you want. The two years, the kids and the house. They may come later, or maybe not at all. That's called sacrifice. If you can live with that reality. That's fine, it's your money. If you can't, that's fine to.


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## piano mom

'I know we don't have an emergency fund, but he is in a VERY VERY stable job"

This was exactly what I thought when my husband and I first got married. He was securely employed in the public sector. But long and behold, his department got privatized and 10 years later, he lost his job. I just thank god that we saved like crazy even when we thought his job was VERY VERY stable. Now, in our early to mid forties, we have our house paid off (in our late thirties), fully funded our retirement fund and maxed out on our kids RESP. My husband has since got back into another "stable" job in the public sector 

PS The week after he lost his job, my husband said to me "Honey, thanks for making sure we saved for the rainy days" :love-struck:


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## Goose

*A different take on donations*

A couple of things, let me preface my thoughts by saying that my Wife and I give a significant amount of our income to our church and to other organizations. Contrary to everyone else I think that the tithe is the most important part of a (Christian) budget. Personally, the tithe is alway listed as our first budget item, before any other expenses.

Just a brief interlude that may help people understand this practice: As Christians we believe that everything in life first belongs to God, and that we are merely stewards of the things given to us; not owners. A tithe of 'First-Fruits' is just a recognition of this fact - that we are putting Him first.

You're on the right track with this thought:



so_pink said:


> thanks for all the feedback!
> 
> There's a few prevailing comments:
> 1. Donations - It is a religious thing although there’s no guideline – we’re trying to give sacrificially, especially considering that we are both employed and make quite a bit of money. If we had to cut anywhere, this would be a potential area. The only thing is that something will ALWAYS come up to defer donating – _if it’s not debt, it will be a house or kids or something else_.


With that said my advice would be:


Investing - I calulated that you need to submit ~$300/month to capture your husbands employer contributions. The rest should be redirected towards debt.

Vacation - This amount should be reduced and redirected towards debt; not neseccarily eliminated as I've found it's important to have some time away with your spouse.

Rent - What is the rational for the three bedroom suite? Do you require the other two bedrooms? Could you move into a smaller (err.. cheaper) place? Have you considered moving closer to either of your places of employement and eliminating a vehicle?

Household Expenses - Check out what other service providers for phone/internet/cable are offering for current deals, and then phone your provider and ask that they match to keep your business. 

Presents - $2,400 per year seems like a lot for gifts... maybe this could be modified somehow. (Ie. Making your own gifts if your handy.)

If possible, I'd evalute your investments to see if are any non-rrsp items that could be sold and used to pay down debt. The $6,000 you hold in cash is a good start for an emergency fund until your LOC is paid off.

Quick math shows that you could probably adjust things to pay atleast $2000-$2500 per month towards the LOC. At $2.5k/month the LOC would be paid off in twenty months which is pretty good.

Contrary to everyone else, I don't think you're in that bad of a spot. You have a positive net worth and should see your net worth grow pretty quickly over time.


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## Guigz

Goose said:


> Just a brief interlude that may help people understand this practice: As Christians we believe that everything in life first belongs to God, and that we are merely stewards of the things given to us; not owners. A tithe of 'First-Fruits' is just a recognition of this fact - that we are putting Him first.


Why does god need your money? Don't you think that he would prefer that you donate time instead to spread the compassion and love of thy brother and all that? Is it appropriate to tithe if you know the funds will be mishandled or used to support or stay blind to unspeakable behavior?

I am not asking those questions to undermine your faith or judge you. I am merely pondering on faith and the modern human. I believe most of these concept to be deprecated in modern society.


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## crazyjackcsa

YAY! Lets talk religion!


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## Goose

Guigz said:


> Why does god need your money? Don't you think that he would prefer that you donate time instead to spread the compassion and love of thy brother and all that? Is it appropriate to tithe if you know the funds will be mishandled or used to support or stay blind to unspeakable behavior?
> 
> I am not asking those questions to undermine your faith or judge you. I am merely pondering on faith and the modern human. I believe most of these concept to be deprecated in modern society.



I'll respond to this one; but if you have any other questions, send me a PM and I'll respond instead of cluttering up the finance board! (My apologies for the divergenance from the original post) 

You are correct in stating that God doesn't 'need' our money - everything is all his already. Giving/tithing is really for 'our' benefit; it teaches you to put God first, and cultivates a spirit of generosity.


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## Square Root

Let's try to keep religion out of this forum if we can. You asked for feedback and you got it.


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## so_pink

My husband and I have made some revisions based on some of the comments you have all provided. First a few responses and then an update:

- we've decided to revise our donation amount down - for the remainder of 2012, we'll be donating a bit less than 7% (to get to about 10% for the year) and will probably leave it at 10% going forward.
- unfortunately, we need two cars for our jobs - he travels to clients for work most days. However, any day that we're both working from our offices, we're going to car pool.
- we've decided to cut all additional investment contributions except for the amounts to get the company portion match. After the debt is paid off, we'll play a bit of catch up here
- since 95% of our investments are in tax deferred vehicles, we're going to leave them there for now and not liquidate anything
- we're going to build up a small emergency fund
- no vacations for the next little while besides the two we have on the books now: Boston (to visit a brother) and NC (for a wedding); in the new year, our vacations will only be to visit family (where we can stay for free) and using points to book the travel
- my husband is going to be cutting eating out from his costs unless it's paid for by work - he's in week three of this and seems to be going alright!
- we're thinking about cutting the iPad data plan - this saves us $13/month. Lately we haven't been using it and we both have data on our phones anyways. Not a huge expense, but every little bit helps


This gets us up to about $2K per month of excess cash, however can change depending on when we get paid. We detailed out the rest of 2012 and expect to pay at least $11,000 on the debt between now and the end of the year (this is including payments we made last week - $4.1K). After that, we'll re-evaluate our budget and plan out (in more detail) 2013.

Update on our financial position (end of September):

Cash - $5.5K (net of CCs which are paid off each month)
Investments - $50K
Cars - 2 fully paid off cars (maybe worth $12K total)

Liabilities
LOC - $46K

Forward outlook - we hope to make the following loan payments over the rest of the year: October $1,500, November - $1,400, December - $4,000.


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## newfoundlander61

Tithing is a must for us also, keep that going and you'll be fine.


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## so_pink

So just a quick mid-month update:
1. we had some unexpected expenses - we both needed to take a week off work as my husband's neice passed away
2. we've decided to try being a one car family for the next few months; after the hectic-ness caused by #1 settles down, we'll be selling the truck. If it goes smoothly though the winter (which is also my husband's busiest time at work), we'll keep it up through the summer. If it doesn't work out, we'll buy a replacement car in the spring


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## Homerhomer

so_pink said:


> So just a quick mid-month update:
> 1. we had some unexpected expenses - my husband's niece passed away and we are chipping in for funeral and other related costs so our LOC will increase a little bit.


I am very, very sorry to hear that.

Not that in times like this budgeting is a priority, however it illustrates the importance of having emergency fund readilty available, because one never know what can happen any minute.


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## so_pink

So we've had some more discussions about our car situation. Instead of going to 1 car, we're going to sell the Jeep and buy a new car instead. We're hoping to purchase a Ford @ 0% financing (expected payments are between $300-$350/month). This will cost us about $100 more per month (increased payments will be offset by significant gas savings (we think about 50%) and well as reduced maintenance costs (36 month warranty) but will allow us to immediately pay down our line of credit by $10K and will allow us to replace interest bearing debt with interest-free debt.

On top of that, we're going to only use my husband's car when absolutely necessary and car-pool to work other days. A bus to his office takes about 45 minutes and he can take this when his hours vary significantly from mine (his are longer and more flexibly). He'll use his car when going downtown (driving to Go-train), other clients, when he has to make multiple stops in a day and for evening activities (hockey mostly).

Thoughts?


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## Spudd

I think buying a brand new car is foolish. If you really think you need to update your Jeep, look for a used car instead with some remaining factory warranty. I am partial to Hyundais, personally, I find them very good value, especially when used. They have 5 years warranty from the factory, so you could get a 2-3 year old one and still have a good length of warranty remaining. I don't think the 0% interest is really a deal; I believe they jack up the prices to compensate for the low interest rate. 

If you think you can get 10K for your Jeep, you should be able to get a used Hyundai for around the same amount and not add monthly payments to your expenses. Instead, you can direct the $300/mo you planned to spend on the Ford to repaying your LOC. 

I searched autotrader.ca for the Toronto area, Hyundais >= 2011 model year, and found a used Hyundai Accent with 44,000km for <$10K. Expanding the search to >= 2010 brought me back many more choices (most of them Accents, but one Elantra in the bunch). There may well be other brands/models that would suit your needs (I don't really know what your needs are) but I just chose this as an example.


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## Lephturn

so_pink said:


> So we've had some more discussions about our car situation. Instead of going to 1 car, we're going to sell the Jeep and buy a new car instead. We're hoping to purchase a Ford @ 0% financing (expected payments are between $300-$350/month). This will cost us about $100 more per month (increased payments will be offset by significant gas savings (we think about 50%) and well as reduced maintenance costs (36 month warranty) but will allow us to immediately pay down our line of credit by $10K and will allow us to replace interest bearing debt with interest-free debt.


Don't do it! There are two problems with this plan - first you will get killed on depreciation. Second, it's bad for your cash flow situation. Don't kid yourself - 0% is not really 0% - you are paying for that loan it's just buried in the pricing.



so_pink said:


> On top of that, we're going to only use my husband's car when absolutely necessary and car-pool to work other days. A bus to his office takes about 45 minutes and he can take this when his hours vary significantly from mine (his are longer and more flexibly). He'll use his car when going downtown (driving to Go-train), other clients, when he has to make multiple stops in a day and for evening activities (hockey mostly).
> 
> Thoughts?


You need to just go to 1 car. My wife and I did this for years, and although it was difficult at first, we saved so much money! If it's just not possible for you to do, then fine - but I can't tell you how much it helped us in our early years to go to one vehicle. Once we had been a one vehicle family for a few months, we realized we never really NEEDED a second vehicle. A side benefit was that one of us picked up/dropped off the other much of the time, so we got more time to talk together than we otherwise would have, which was great for our relationship. It sounds silly I suppose, but the relationship benefits of having extra together-time was even more important in the long term than the money we saved.

Worst case - stay with what you have but just try not to drive it. The maintenance is not costing you anywhere near what the depreciation on a new vehicle is going to cost. Even fuel costs for a thirsty vehicle pale in comparison to the huge cost of buying a brand new vehicle.

If you do end up buying new anyway - there are good deals out there. Buy on the last day of the month, last day of the quarter, or best of all last day of the year. (I did my last deal on new year's eve and got a killer deal!) I know you pay for it anyway, but in those cases I do focus on cash flow - so 0% and long term financing is great. I got 0% for 5 years the last time I purchased a new vehicle - and I bought a car with a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty and 10 year power train. They are out there - Mitsubishi (what I bought and has been great), Kia, and maybe still Hyundai? Also - make nice sounds when they mention all the up-sell they are going to try on you - rust protection, extended warranty, pre-paid service, matts, etc. - then after you do the deal don't take ANY of that stuff. The add-ons are all way overpriced - if you REALLY need any of that stuff get it later and not from the dealer.


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## Seth

Some great advice on this thread.

I'll chime in on one thing, Tithing.

Jesus spoke more in the bible about Money than he did about Heaven and Hell.

Tithing is very OLD testament.

As stewards of God's money we're called to NEVER borrow and if we find ourselves in debt we should free ourselves "like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler" (Proverbs 6)

Listen to Dave Ramsey, he's very faith based in his personal finance teachings, and he has an awesome FREE podcast daily on the subject.

My advice to you, discontinue your tithing until you can give FREELY and with an unburdened heart... Pay off debt first, Proverbs 22:7, "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave of the lender"

Then you can tithe 20% if you like for a while to catch up.

$1500 a month redirected from giving to debt repayment will whack away at that 50k you owe in a hurry.

Cheers!

Seth


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## so_pink

Update on our financial position (end of October):

Assets
Cash - $8.2K (net of CCs which are paid off each month)
Investments - ~$51K (increase due to market gains + pension contributions)
Cars - $12K (2 fully paid off cars)
Total - 70.2

Liabilities
LOC - $50K (increase of $4K)

Net - $21.2K (prior month: $21.5K)

As mentioned earlier, my brother-in-law's daughter passed away which resulted in some extra costs. We also paid down the LOC $2.1K which exceeds our goal of $1.5K. This was mostly possible due to a larger than expected bonus for my husband. Cash balance is a bit high - we're in the process of transferring $1.6K to the LOC (hope to finish it this week).

Goals for this month:
- get the truck ready to sell and sell it - regardless of if we're going to replace it (we're leaning towards yes), we hope to sell it in the next few weeks and use the proceeds to pay down debt; we'll be without two vehicles until end of December/beginning of January as now is a time in our work lives that we can do with 1 car
- pay down an additional $1,400 in November (we're hoping to exceed this - our cash flow projections project us to pay down $2,600 in both November and December)
- limit expenses: we have some known expenses coming up - new boots for me, two new pairs of dress shoes for him and a suit for him and a trip to visit his brother

Other items:
- my husband has started to figure out his expected 2012 tax refund which will go to paying down the LOC. Hopefully it will be about $5K for him and $1K for me
- we've started to work nights on special projects for my company. the pay isn't great (so far, we've averaged about $14/hour) but it's for data entry and we can share in the work together - every little bit helps!


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## Homerhomer

Excellent, keep it up!!!!!!!


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## so_pink

Update on our financial position (end of November):

Assets
Cash - $6.5K (net of CCs which are paid off each month)
Investments - ~$51K (increase due to market gains + pension contributions)
Cars - $12K (2 fully paid off cars)
Total - 69.5K

Liabilities
LOC - $46.1K (decrease of $4K)

Net - $23.4K (prior month: $21.2K)

Goals from last month:
- get the truck ready to sell and sell it - regardless of if we're going to replace it (we're leaning towards yes), we hope to sell it in the next few weeks and use the proceeds to pay down debt; we'll be without two vehicles until end of December/beginning of January as now is a time in our work lives that we can do with 1 car

Update: Truck is ready to sell, but no bites yet. If anyone wants a Jeep, let me know!

- pay down an additional $1,400 in November (we're hoping to exceed this - our cash flow projections project us to pay down $2,600 in both November and December)

Update: so we paid down $4K in November which is good. Our goal for December is $2,600 but at this point that might be a bit unrealistic given our lower than normal cash levels.

- limit expenses: we have some known expenses coming up - new boots for me, two new pairs of dress shoes for him and a suit for him and a trip to visit his brother

Update: complete fail here. We had some car expenses (to get truck ready to sale and new breaks on my husband's vehicle). On the flip side, we made some money on side projects for my work which covered some of this

December Goals:
- Sell truck
- minimize Christmas present expenses; our goal is less than $500
- strive to make targeted loan payment; will need to be done via extra projects from my work plus minimizing expenses


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## lonewolf

Hi, Pink

Keep track of every penny spent. (write it down)

Taking into consideration lifes energy used to come in possession of the pennies that were spent on something. Use a rating system to rate if the money spent added or subtracted to that which you value. i.e., I value life so healthy food @ a grocery store bought on sale would be given a rating of +5, money spent on cigerrates would be given a negitive 5

Then write down beside each item if in the future you want to spend more money or less money or the same amount. Some need items the cost can be reduced. i.e., If Iam eating food in a restaurant, I can lower the cost by buying food @ a grocery store, I can further save by buying it on sale @ the grocery store. I can further save if I have unused space & I grow some of my own food, I can even make money if I sell some of the food I grow. Of course this has to balanced out with the limited supply of lifes energy which is best to use wisely.

I then recomend charting your expenses, charting money coming in from work & charting money coming in from investments. A goal you might want to then consider is working so your expenses are below money being made from investments. 

If you dont write everything down & try to do it mentaly you might be making mistakes with your money you do not realize your making.

My view is I want to make my self financially strong & help others from a strong position & not from a position of weekness. But I will never help anyone if I think it will promote dependency but will help if & when it is practical to promote responsibiliy & or if someone is in need & cant help themselfs. To do other wise takes away from ones esteem.



The more you understand that not being being a slave to debt & being financialy independent adds more value to your life then takeing comfort in being part of the herd the easier it is to be financialy independent.

Best


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## so_pink

Update on our financial position (end of December):

Assets
Cash - $11.4K (net of CCs which are paid off each month)
Investments - ~$51K
Cars - $8K (2 fully paid off cars -lowered from last month)
Total - 70K

Liabilities
LOC - $48.6K (INCREASE of $2.5K)

Net - $21.9K (prior month: $23.4K)

So not the best month. We had some unexpected expenses and budget overruns (for example: we had hoped to spend $500 on gifts but we spent $800) and we're still holding onto the truck (haven't been able to sell it yet, taking much longer than anticipated). We had a bit of a cash crunch at the end of the month and were not able to pay down the debt as we had anticipated. However, at the end of the month we've shored up the cash position a bit so we hope to make some debt repayments in January to the tune of $2,500 (that we took out in December) to $3,500. I should be getting a performance review and perhaps a bonus/raise and promotion in January of February, so that should help out tremendously.

In a few days I'll post our budget to actual from mid-September to end of December. Some of our budget amounts weren't reasonable and we need to do a better job of sticking to our budget in other areas.

January Goals:
1. Develop 2013 budget
2. Pay down debt (minimum $2,500)


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## Addy

Good for you for tracking your goals, and having set goals to begin with. Regardless if any of agree with all or little of what you're putting your money into, you will get there, you're on track and doing well just thinking about your expenses and goals. Keep on truckin' as they say, and you'll get where you want to be


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## Four Pillars

so_pink said:


> Net - $21.9K (prior month: $23.4K)
> 
> So not the best month. We had some unexpected expenses and budget overruns


$2,500 LOC increase is pretty major.

Obviously, this is only one month but you have to try to figure out some slack in your budget to handle unexpected stuff. The reality is that unexpected stuff keeps happening.

You might have to cut more spending to be able to make things balance.


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## so_pink

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

To be more specific as to the $2,500 draw-down on the LOC: we had a charge on our credit card (a deposit) that was expected to be released mid-December. It was held up (should be cleared now by the end of this month) but when we had done our cash flow projection in early December (we do it once or twice a month when we make payments on the LOC) we had projected based on this being refunded (i.e. - our credit card statement said we owed $4K, we budgeted for a $1.5K cash payment given the $2.5K refund). It wasn't, so we were $2.5K short on cash to pay off our credit cards which resulted in the draw-down on the LOC. In January we'll repay the LOC when we get this refund. I should really update our December net worth based on this:



> December 2012
> 
> Assets
> Cash - $11.4K (net of CCs which are paid off each month)
> Other (see above) - $2.5K
> Investments - ~$51K
> Cars - $8K (2 fully paid off cars -lowered from last month)
> Total - 72.9K
> 
> Liabilities
> LOC - $48.6K (INCREASE of $2.5K)
> 
> Net - $24.3K (prior month: $23.4K)


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## so_pink

My husband and I spent some time doing out 2013 budget and coming up with some 2013 goals, which I thought I'd list out to keep us honest:
1. Pay down debt by $35,000
2. Save $9,000 via defined contribution benefits (including employer match)
3. Donate $10,000
4. Keep variable spending (defined as groceries, phones, internet, purchases, entertainment and gas, maint, other car costs) below 15% of take-home pay
5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away)

Doing all this will put us in a position to pay off our debt in mid-2014 - that's our long-term goal!


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## Daenerys Targaryen

Those are great goals! Good luck, keep us updated


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## Pigzfly

I especially like the 10K donation


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## so_pink

*January 2013 Update*

*January 2013
*
Assets
Cash - 6.7K (net of CCs which are paid off each month)
Other - 3.1K
Investments - ~52.4K
Cars - [removed - see below]
Total - 62.2K

Liabilities
LOC - 47.4K (decrease of $1.2K)

*Net - 14.8K* (December: 16.3K; November: 11.4K)

*Quick Overview*
I removed the cars from the net worth. As you can see, our net worth has been fluctuating wildly over the last several months. I'm not exactly sure why the wild fluctuations from November to December to January yet, but I hope that this will smooth out over the next several months to be more or less $1,500 to $3,000 net worth gains per month.

*A review of January goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $2,500; we were hoping to accomplish this via the refund of the deposit; it didn't happen in January. Missed this one
2. Develop budget: done. We also planned out some 2013 goals (see earlier post) which I'll start giving progress on at each month end with my monthly updates.

*February goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $5,500 - will sell car in February which will lead to large payment (March: $2,200)
2. Get control of spending, especially food & dining (24% of take-home pay)

*Progress towards 2013 goals (bolded ones are in trouble):*
1. Pay down debt by $35,000 (YTD: 1,200, 3.4%, on track)
2. Save $9,000 via defined contribution benefits (including employer match) (YTD: 692, 7.7%, on track)
3. Donate $10,000 (YTD: 600, 6%, on track)
*4. Keep discretionary spending (defined as groceries, phones, internet, purchases, entertainment and gas, maint, other car costs) below 20% (changed from 15% - I was taking the wrong numbers in my earlier calculation) of take-home pay (YTD: 34% (actual), behind)*
5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away) (YTD: none)


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## so_pink

*February 2013*

*Assets*
Cash - 7.1K (net of CCs)
Other - 1K
Investments - ~54.6K
Total - 62.7K

*Liabilities*
LOC - 37.4K (decrease of $10K)

*Net - 25.3K (Jan: 14.8; Dec: 16.3K; Nov: 11.4K)*

*Quick Overview*
In general, we had a great month. We got a larger than expected bonus, a raise, sold a vehicle ($4.5K onto the debt), and are started to get our cash balance back to a more comfortable position. We also got deposit refunded ($2.5K onto the debt) and some expenses reimbursed ($1K). We did go to the U.S. for some shopping so our variable spending was higher than budget. On the flip side, we got a lot of needed (and wanted) clothes and similar and had our first weekend away of the year!

*A review of February goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $5,500 - will sell car in February which will lead to large payment; *Exceeded - paid down debt by $10K.*
2. Get control of spending, especially food & dining (24% of take-home pay); *In progress. Food and dining was down after taking into account reimbursable work costs. Spending was still high so we need to continue to work on this. Actual was 31%.*

*March goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $800; note that this is lower than we had originally planned but that is due to how much we exceeded Feb's debt repayment. (April - $6K)
2. Get control of spending, especially food & dining (30% of take-home pay)

*Progress towards 2013 goals (bolded ones are in trouble):*
1. Pay down debt by $35,000 (YTD: 11,200, 32%, ahead of plan)
2. Save $9,000 via defined contribution benefits (including employer match) (YTD: 1,384, 15.4%, on track)
3. Donate $10,000 (YTD: 1,370, 13.7%, on track)
*4. Keep discretionary spending (defined as groceries, phones, internet, purchases, entertainment and gas, maint, other car costs) below 20% (changed from 15% - I was taking the wrong numbers in my earlier calculation) of take-home pay (YTD: 33% (actual), behind)*
5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away) (YTD: 1)


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## so_pink

We made out first loan payment for March - $800.


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## Pigzfly

Looks like you're getting some wins under your belt, which is awesome 
I hope you're finding it motivating to see the LOC balance take a nice big hit.


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## so_pink

Pigzfly said:


> Looks like you're getting some wins under your belt, which is awesome
> I hope you're finding it motivating to see the LOC balance take a nice big hit.


Incredibly motivating. We just got our income tax refunds, will make a big payment this week and hope to have our LOC balance at $30,000 by the end of April, and $15,000 by the end of the 2013! Right on target to pay down the debt by $35K this year.

[Spoiler alert] We're also doing a better job this month on our spending and will be significantly lower than our discretionary spending as % of income goal for March.[/Spoiler alert]


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## so_pink

*March 2013*

Assets
Cash - 9K (net of CCs and o/s cheques)
Other - 0.6K
Investments - ~56.4K
Total - 66K

Liabilities
LOC - 31K (decrease of $6.4K)

Net - 35K (Feb: 25.3K; Jan: 14.8; Dec: 16.3K; Nov: 11.4K)

Quick Overview
Another GREAT month!. Our spending was extremely low (almost $2K below budget) and we received our tax refund a bit early which fueled our debt repayment. We also had another weekend away (over Easter - just got back last night) which was a much-needed break! We aren't expecting as great of a month in April but May is a 3 payday month for both of us, so good things are on the horizon.

A review of March goals:
1. Pay down debt by $800 - obviously, we significantly beat this goal due to the tax refund which resulted in $5.4K in debt repayments. However, we paid another $1,000 aside from the tax refund so we would have beat this goal either way.
2. Get control of spending, especially food & dining (30% of take-home pay) - killed this one! our spending (as defined below) was 7% of take home pay.

April goals:
1. Pay down debt by $2,000; $1,000 will be fueled by our accrued savings and $1,000 from our cash flows in April.
2. Continue to control spending at 30% of take-home pay.

Progress towards 2013 goals:
1. Pay down debt by $35,000 (YTD: 17,600, 50%, on track)
2. Save $9,000 via defined contribution benefits (including employer match) (YTD: 2,077, 23.1%, on track)
3. Donate $10,000 (YTD: 1,520, 15.2%, a bit behind but we hope to catch up in April)
4. Keep discretionary spending (defined as groceries, phones, internet, purchases, entertainment and gas, maint, other car costs) below 20% of take-home pay (YTD: 21% (actual), on track)
5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away) (YTD: 2)


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## so_pink

So I just processed a debt payment. So far this month, we paid $3,000 off of the LOC which is $1,000 higher than we had planned. However, it's not because we've been doing so well - we just moved some money around to pay it down earlier and this extra $1,000 will likely result in $1,000 less than we were planning on paying in May. Earlier is always better though! On the spending front, we are doing OK this month - not great, but not horrible either.

An exciting piece of news to share though - my husband has an offer to transfer to his company's Sydney office! We haven't figured out the financial ramifications of the move yet which will play into whether we'll accept the offer!


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## cmoney

Awesome work so far. Keep pushing yourself and challenge the limits of what you think is possible! Your goals are badass!


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## so_pink

*April 2013*

*Assets*
Cash - 6.7K (net of CCs and o/s cheques)
Investments - ~58K
Total - 64.7K

*Liabilities*
LOC (4%) - 28K (decrease of $3K)

*Net - 36.7K* (March: 35K Feb: 25.3K)

*Quick Overview*
Another good month! Our spending was a bit higher than March, and income was right in line with our expectations so we had a bit of a shortfall compared to budget but the high spending was due to some one-time expenses ($770 on flights for a few vacations, for instance) where we had a sinking fund to cover the variance. This is why the cash amount is a bit lower than prior months.

*A review of April goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $2,000; $1,000 will be fueled by our accrued savings and $1,000 from our cash flows in April.

Success! We actually paid down the debt by $3,000. The extra $1,000 was because of high cash balances which will probably result in our May payment being a bit lower than we had originally expected.

2. Continue to control spending at 30% of take-home pay.

Success! Despite the higher cost month, our spending (as defined below) was exactly 30% of our take-home pay.

*May goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $2,500.
2. Continue to control spending at 19% of take-home pay.

Also, we've projected out our debt repayments for the remainder of the year (assuming things stay status-quo):
May 2,500
June 1,000
July 1,000
August 4,000
September 1,000
October 5,500
November 1,000
December 1,000

This will leave us with $11,000 left of debt by the end of 2013 and will put us in a position to pay it off in early 2014. Very exciting!

*Progress towards 2013 goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $35,000 (YTD: 20,600, 59%, on track)
2. Save $9,000 via defined contribution benefits (including employer match) (YTD: 2,769, 30.8%, on track)
3. Donate $10,000 (YTD: 2,800, 28%, a bit behind)
4. Keep discretionary spending (defined as groceries, phones, internet, purchases, entertainment and gas, maint, other car costs) below 20% of take-home pay (YTD: 23% (actual), on track)
5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away) (YTD: 2 but we have two more planned: this weekend we are in Boston and we will be spending a week in Florida in July)


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## Pigzfly

Lookin' good - keep it up!


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## so_pink

*May 2013*
Assets
Cash - 7.1K (net of CCs and o/s cheques)
Investments - ~58.5K
Total - 65.6K

Liabilities
LOC (4%) - 15.5K (decrease of $12.5K)
Other (0%) - 9K (increase of 9K)
Total - 24.5K

Net - 41.1K (April: 36.7K March: 35K Feb: 25.3K)

*Quick Overview*
In general, we had another good month. Net worth increased again and we exceeded our targets for debt reduction by $1,000! The net worth increase is primarily driven by 3 pay days for both my husband and me along with some additional back-pay that I was owed from my last raise. Our income was about $5K higher than any usual month. You'll notice some changes in the liabilities as we've been able to obtain a 0% interest liability which saves us about $30/month in interest. This may or may not be required to be paid back at some point in the future and hopefully we'll gain an additional $10K of room here. Once we're done paying off our LOC, we'll start saving in a fund to be held in cash to repay this loan if required. We also paid for another June vacation this month - we are doing a weekend away at a golf and spa hotel in a few weeks.

*A review of May goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $2,500. *SUCCESS!*
2. Continue to control spending at 19% of take-home pay. Not so hot here. We were at 26%. On the year, we are at 24%. We generally have a hard time sticking to our spending goals. This month, a few categories killed us: restaurants (we took our parents out for dinners as a "thank you") and clothes purchases.

*June goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $1,000.
2. Control spending at 28% of take-home pay.
3. Find new housing. Right now we are paying $1,225 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath basement apartment but we are having some problems with our landlord so we are looking to move. We hope to find a place in June for a mid-July or beginning of August move date for about the same amount that we pay now.

*Progress towards 2013 goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $35,000 (YTD: 24,100, 69%, on track)
2. Save $9,000 via defined contribution benefits (including employer match) (YTD: 3,808, 42.3%, on track)
3. Donate $10,000 (YTD: 3,425, 34%, a bit behind but will get caught up)
4. Keep discretionary spending (defined as groceries, phones, internet, purchases, entertainment and gas, maint, other car costs) below 20% of take-home pay (YTD: 24% (actual), a bit behind)
5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away) (YTD: 3 with two more planned: June weekend a golf/spa hotel and a week in Florida in July)


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## so_pink

*June 2013*
Assets
Cash - 5.7K (net of CCs and o/s cheques)
Other - 1K
Investments - ~59.1K
Total - 65.8K

Liabilities
LOC (4%) - 15.5K (no change)
Other (0%) - 9K (no change)
Total - 24.5K

*Net - 41.3K (May: 41.1K April: 36.7K March: 35K Feb: 25.3K)*

*Quick Overview*
So not much change on the net worth front, but lots of activity! Our relationship with our current landlord has been deteriorating over the last little while so we are moving in the middle of July. Because of that, we had to pay a rental deposit which hurt our net worth growth (I don't track this as a prepaid or anything - too complicated and doesn't really add much value). We also went on a week-long vacation at the end of June/beginning of July and a weekend away in early June which had some added spending (a bit of shopping, golf, massages, doing excursions etc) but was worth the money. Lastly, we purchased a master bedroom set. We still need to get a mattress and box-spring so we might had some increased spending in July as well.

Lastly, we got notice this week that the line of credit is ending and will be converted into a loan at the end of July. Due to that, we moved some money around to build up some cash reserves so next month, the net worth statement may look a bit different. It will also impact our line of credit pay-down but we're not sure of the impact yet.

*A review of June goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $1,000. *FAIL. Reasons discussed above.*
2. Control spending at 28% of take-home pay. *FAIL. We were at 35%*
3. Find new housing. *Success! We found a new place, for $1,300/month (including all utilities and internet). It's a bit smaller than our current abode and only has one bathroom (our last place had two), but nicer finishes, nicer landlord, a garage parking spot, significantly closer to both of our jobs and about the same price after taking into account the reduced commute and internet costs.*

*July goals:*
1. Move and settle in!
2. Start looking at mattresses with a goal of buying in mid-August.
3. Build up cash balance in our main banking account (going forward, we think we'll build it to $15K and then pay down $5K)
4. Catch up with donations. Right now, we're behind about $1K (we have the cash, just need to write the cheque).
5. Keep discretionary spending below 30%

*Progress towards 2013 goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $35K (YTD: 24.1K, 69%, on track)
2. Save $9K via defined contribution benefits (including employer match) (YTD: $4.5K, 50%%, on track)
3. Donate $10K (YTD: $3.7K, 37%, a bit behind)
4. Keep discretionary spending (defined as groceries, phones, internet, purchases, entertainment and gas, maint, other car costs) below 20% of take-home pay (YTD: 26% (actual), behind)
_5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away) (YTD: 5) COMPLETE._


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## so_pink

*July 2013
*Assets
Cash - 19.6K (net of CCs and o/s cheques)
Other - 0.3K
Investments - ~61.9K
Total - 81.8K

Liabilities
LOC (4%) - 30K (increase of $14.5K; rate will increase net month to 6.5%)
Other (0%) - 9K (no change)
Total - 39K

*Net - 42.8K (June: $41.3K May: 41.1K April: 36.7K March: 35K)
*
*Quick Overview
*Another month with a lot of activity but very little positive movement (which, given our type of activity, is OK). The gains are fueled by stock market gains.

We moved this month, ended up buying some more furniture (storage for new apartment, mattress and box spring and other misc. stuff) which cost about $1.7K more than is in our normal monthly budget. Also, we paid for our old place for the full month and new place for the full month which added an additional $1K to the budgeted costs.

Lastly, as mentioned last month, the LOC is going to be converted to a loan with payment starting on August 15. Because of this, we moved some cash out of the line of credit to act as an emergency fund. Also, we're going to continue to build up our cash balances to ensure we don't have any future cash flow issues. Our future loan payments (in excess of minimums) will be adjusted as we allow for this. Currently our cash is segregated as follow:

Chequing accounts (net of CCs and o/s cheques) - $7.3K
Short-term savings (sinking funds) - $3.3K
Long-term savings - $9K

*A review of July goals:
*1. Move and settle in - DONE.
2. Start looking at mattresses with a goal of buying in mid-August - PURCHASED; we found a great deal after a few days of searching.
3. Build up cash balance in our main banking account (going forward, we think we'll build it to $15K and then pay down $5K) - in progress!
4. Catch up with donations. Right now, we're behind about $1K (we have the cash, just need to write the cheque). - DONE; wrote a big cheque this month and expect to get a few more out of the way in August
*5. Keep discretionary spending below 30% - FAIL; we were close (32%), but not quite there. This is definitely our weakness.*

*August goals:
*1. Keep discretionary spending below 30%.

As you can see, singularly focused on meeting this goal as it is paramount for our overall success.

*Progress towards 2013 goals:
*1. Pay down debt by $35K (YTD: 18.6K, 69%, BEHIND) [note: adjusting from last month, we'll now track this net of long-term savings as this was pulled directly out of the LOC this month]
2. Save $9K via defined contribution benefits (including employer match) (YTD: $5.2K, 58%, on track)
3. Donate $10K (YTD: $4.1K, 41%, a bit behind)
4. Keep discretionary spending (defined as groceries, phones, internet, purchases, entertainment and gas, maint, other car costs) below 20% of take-home pay (YTD: 26% (actual), behind)
_5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away) (YTD: 5) COMPLETE._


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## so_pink

August 2013
Assets
Cash - 19.6K (net of CCs and o/s cheques)
Other - 0.3K
Investments - ~60.9K
Total - 80K

Liabilities
LOC (4%) - 30K (no change)
Other (0%) - 9K (no change)
Total - 39K

Net - 41K (July: 42.8K June: $41.3K May: 41.1K)

Quick Overview
So this is the first month this year that our networth is actually down from the prior month. Actually, since May, growth has been slow but i expect that it will pick up over the next several months and allow us to get close to reaching our goals established at the beginning of the year. A few reasons for the negative growth:
1. Stock market slips. Our main account lost $2.4K in value over the last month. YTD we are still doing well though and in line with the major indexes, so we don't mind giving back a little bit this month.
2. Higher donations this month to get back in line with our goals.

We expect that September will be a good month - we received a raise at one of our jobs and don't have any major costs in the horizon.

A review of August goals:
1. Keep discretionary spending below 30%. We killed this one, coming in at 25%.

September goals:
1. Keep discretionary spending below 25%.

As you can see, singularly focused on meeting this goal as it is paramount for our overall success as this seems to be the reason we are missing our goals.

Progress towards 2013 goals:
1. Pay down debt by $35K (YTD: 18.6K, 69%, BEHIND); we hope to make a $5K payment in September.
2. Save $9K via defined contribution benefits (including employer match) (YTD: $5.8K, 65%, on track)
3. Donate $10K (YTD: $5.6K, 57%, a bit behind); we have outstanding cheques which will get us right on track here.
4. Keep discretionary spending (defined as groceries, phones, internet, purchases, entertainment and gas, maint, other car costs) below 20% of take-home pay (YTD: 27% (actual), behind)
5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away) (YTD: 5) COMPLETE, with two more planned (just weekends away, using points).


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## so_pink

September 2013
Assets
Cash - 21.5K (net of CCs and o/s cheques)
Other - 0.4K
Investments - ~62K
Total - 83.9K

Liabilities
LOC (4%) - 30K (no change)
Other (0%) - 9K (no change)
Total - 39K

Net - $44.9K (August: $41K July: 42.8K June: $41.3K)

Quick Overview
Overall had a good month, as was expected. We started a new diet on September 1 which has lowered our restaurant costs and has us feeling great. October and November should be great months from a cash flow perspective - we get a large bonus in October and an extra pay cheque (for both of us) in November.

A review of the September goal:
1. Keep discretionary spending below 25%; we did O.K. here at 28%. I"ll take it.

October goals:
1. Keep discretionary spending below 20% of income (income will be high in October).
2. Determine what to do with excess cash (note: either pay down debt or RRSP to be eventually used for home buyer's plan. Thoughts?)

Progress towards 2013 goals:
1. Pay down debt by $35K (YTD: 18.6K, 53%, BEHIND); we were hoping to make a $5K payment in September but didn't; we could have, but decided against it due to October goal #2. We should have the available cash during the remainder of this year to make about $15,000 of loan payments if we want to. Will leave us just short.
2. Save $9K via defined contribution benefits (including employer match) (YTD: $6.6K, 72%, on track)
3. Donate $10K (YTD: $6.6K, 72%, on track)
4. Keep discretionary spending (defined as groceries, phones, internet, purchases, entertainment and gas, maint, other car costs) below 20% of take-home pay (YTD: 28% (actual), behind)
5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away) (YTD: 5) COMPLETE, with two more planned (just weekends away, using points).


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## so_pink

*October 2013
Assets*
Net Cash - 24.5K
Investments - ~65.6K
Total - 90.1K

*Liabilities*
LOC (4%) - 23K ($7K less)
Other (0%) - 15.5K ($6.5K more)
Total - 38.5K

*Net - $51.6K (September: $44.9K August: $41K)
*
*Quick Overview*
Another good month from a net worth growth perspective. However, a good chunk of that was due to our investments doing great this month ($3,700 of the total $6,700 growth). We were about $1,500 behind our expected savings for this month - general spending was too high and we had a major car repair & vacation in October.

*A review of the October goal:*
1.	Keep discretionary spending below 20%; a fail @ 23%.
2.	Determine what to do with excess cash; didn’t figure it out this month. Still something to consider over the next several months.

*November goals:*
1.	Keep discretionary spending below 15% of income. At this point, we don’t think we’re going to hit our annual goal of 20%, but we’d love to see some improvement here still.
2.	Hit year-to-date donation goal of $10,000. This will be accomplished via a $1,500 cheque that’s already written and sent off plus our normal giving. It will feel good to hit this goal a month early.
3.	Pay down the LOC by $5,000.
4.	Finalize 2014 budget and post here for feedback.

*Progress towards 2013 goals:*
1. Pay down debt by $35K (YTD: 25.5K, 73%, behind); we paid down the debt by $7K in October and hope to make about $5,000 of payments in November which will leave us about $5,000 short of our goal with a month to go. We think we’ll end up making about $32K in payments for the entire year so I don’t anticipate we’ll make this goal this year.
2. Save $9K via defined contribution benefits (including employer match) (YTD: $6.6K, 72%, on track)
3. Donate $10K (YTD: $7.4K, 74%, on track). We hope to cut the cheques to hit this goal in November.
4. Keep discretionary spending below 20% of take-home pay (YTD: 26% (actual), behind). There’s no way we meet this goal for 2013. We anticipate we’ll end up closer to 22 or 23%.
5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away) (YTD: 6) COMPLETE, with one more planned. For 2014, we hope that this becomes a “max” goal instead of a “min” goal. Vacations have cost us about $4K so far this year which is too much!


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## Pigzfly

I could have sworn I wrote a massively long reply in this thread on Friday.
The long and short of it was to use your funds for the rest of the year to continue to pay off debt, so that you can achieve your goal of home ownership, as lenders will take into consideration your gross debt service ratio (not that you want to be at the top of it anyway).
There was also a big chunk about "why did you take cash out of your LOC and put it in the bank, it costs you money to do so."


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## so_pink

I guess I owe some updates since we're several months behind and quite a few things have changed!

Pigzfly - the reason we are holding so much cash is that the $15.5K loan could become re-payable at any time. Therefore, we feel like we need to hold it as cash in case it's called.


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## so_pink

*November 2013*
Assets
Net Cash - 25.K
Investments - ~67.3K
Total - 92.9K

Liabilities
Loan (4%) - 18.9K ($4.1K less)
Other (0%) - 15.5K
Total - 34.4K

*Net - $58.5K (October: 51.6K September: $44.9K August: $41K)*

Quick Overview
Another good month from a net worth growth perspective which is mostly a result of 3 pay periods for each of us. Not as great as we'd want to be on the spending side (which seems to be a constant struggle for us).

A review of the October goals:
1. Keep discretionary spending below 15% of income - fail here.
2. Hit year-to-date donation goal of $10,000 - not quite there yet - just a $1,000 off
3. Pay down the LOC by $5,000 - missed this one as well - got $4,200
4. Finalize 2014 budget and post here for feedback - didn't do this one either

December Goals: since we're writing this in hindsight, I'll be passing on goals for the next several months

Year-to-date Goals: again, I'll do an "end of year" recap instead!


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## so_pink

*December 2013*
Assets
Net Cash - 25.7K
Investments - ~68.2K
Total - 93.9K

Liabilities
Loan (4%) - 18.9K
Other (0%) - 15.5K
Total - 34.4K

Net - $59.6K (November: 58.5K October: 51.6K)

Quick Overview
Decent month with nothing spectacular to report from our personal finances. We were able to stay close to our "net income" for the month despite high entertainment and eating out costs. This is definitely something we need to focus on in 2014. We didn't make any debt payments and instead decided to focus on keeping cash levels higher so we have the ability to effectively tax plan (RRSPs) in early 2014.


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## so_pink

*2013 in Review*

Here's a quick review of our 2013 goals:

Goals were:
1. Pay down debt by $35K

We didn't quite make this one, paying down our debt by just under $30,000. We did have the cash on hand to make our goal, but decided to pass for items we'll touch on later.

2. Save $9K via defined contribution benefits (including employer match)

We met this goal which allows us to save a bit less than 10% of our take-home pay for retirement each year. I realize that this isn't enough, but we need to focus on getting rid of the debt first.

3. Donate $10K

Another one we missed! Our actual 2013 donations were $9,650, or JUST shy of our $10K goal.

4. Keep discretionary spending below 20% of take-home pay

Here is where we failed miserably. When we set this goal, we knew it would be a challenge and quite a stretch to be able to hit it, but we weren't really that close, coming in at 27% of our take-home pay. The difference in $ figures is about $8K. You can probably point to this "fail" as the #1 reason why we didn't hit goals 1 and 3 either.

5. Take time for at least 3 vacations (even if it's a weekend away)

As we had reported earlier, we easily met this goal and it's probably something we will be trying to cut back on next year as these little mini-vacations add up.


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## so_pink

*2014 Budget*









2014 (budget)	2013 (actual)	2013 (budget)

Take-home income 8,700 8,800 8,500 

Expenses 
Donation 890 800 830 
Rent 1,350 1,340 1,200 
Phone and internet 135 140 160 
Spending 1,500 2,000 1,000 
Gifts 165 260 200 
Car insurance 400 410 430 
Tenant insurance 40 40 - 
Life insurance 150 - - 
Car payment 340 280 - 
Car Costs 550 615 800 
Interest 50 150 200 
Exercise/Medical 100 150 100 
Vacation 100 290 200 
Furnishings 100 360 200 
Total expenses 5,870 6,835 5,320 

Net Income 2,830 1,965 3,180

First of all, sorry that this table is so hard to read. If you can look at the picture, great. If not, the columns are 2014 (budget), 2013 (actual) and 2013 (budget).

A quick analysis on some of the bigger changes:
1. Notice that our income per month is down. This is because I am pregnant and will be going on maternity leave mid-way through the year! Thankfully, my husband does receive annual increases and he makes up the majority of our family's income.
2. Spending is at the half-way point between what we budgeted for last year and what we actually spent last year. This is made up of two factors: (a) realization that last year's budget was too low and (b) a renewed effort on our behalf to minimize our spending.
3. You'll notice a car payment this year in our budget. As was mentioned in earlier posts, mid-way through the year we sold my vehicle and bought a new car with 0% financing.
4. Our car costs per month are also down. We also recently purchased a different car for my husband as his was on its last legs. We expect our maintenance costs to be less per month and also our new apartment means less commuting to work (both of us live 5 minutes to our offices)

The net income will be spent paying down debt primarily with any excess going towards retirement savings and saving for a down payment.

Thoughts and comments?


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## so_pink

*2014 Goals*

Here are our 2014 goals. Please give us feedback!

1. Pay off all debt
2. Have $20,000 saved in our house fund
3. Increase net worth to $100,000
4. Beat budgeted costs 10 of 12 months
5. After debt is paid off, save 15% of take-home pay (7.5% house fund, 7.5% retirement savings)

Thoughts behind them:
- need to have our loan paid off; this will save us interest costs and also allow us more flexibility and less worry
- since I'm writing this in April, I know that we've already put aside $10K into an RRSP to be withdrawn as part of the home buyers plan. We'd like to add an additional $10K during the rest of the year (after the debt is paid off)
- net worth growth is fun to track but a big portion of it can come from how our investments do. In 2013, our net worth growth was about $45K; $30K from savings and $15K from investment growth; getting that $15K from investment growth may not be realistic this year; but I would anticipate $10K of investment grow (from pension contributions) and $30K from savings
- we realized last year that we had an impossible time meeting our spending goals; this year, we're going to alter the goal slightly by just saying that we want to be our budgeted costs for 10 out of 12 months

Any feedback?


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## so_pink

*January 2014*
Assets
Net Cash - 30.3K
Investments - ~66.4K
Total - 96.7K

Liabilities
Loan (4%) - 18.7K
Other (0%) - 15.5K
Total - 34.2K

*Net - $62.5K (December: 59.6 November: 58.5K October: 51.6K)*

*Quick Overview*
Great start to the year! Even though our investment holdings dropped by almost $1,800, we were able increase our net worth by almost 3K! Our spending was in check and it was a pretty "status quo" month. 12 of these would be great.

*Progress torwards goals:*
1. Pay off all debt - no debt payments were made in January. We anticipate making larger payments every several months rather than monthly payments in order to ensure we have sufficient cash on hand in case of emergencies or anything else that pops up.
2. Have $20,000 saved in our house fund - nothing so far.
3. Increase net worth to $100,000 (increase of $40K) - $2.5 so far despite the down market
4. Beat budgeted costs 10 of 12 months - our budgeted costs were $7,000 and we spent about $6,200. So far so good!
5. After debt is paid off, save 15% of take-home pay (7.5% house fund, 7.5% retirement savings) - n/a


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## so_pink

*February 2014*
Assets
Net Cash - 21.4K
House Fund - 10K
Investments - ~68.8K
Total - 100.2K

Liabilities
Loan (4%) - 18.6K
Other (0%) - 15.5K
Total - 34.1K

*Net - $66.1K (January: 62.5K December: 59.6K)*

*Quick Overview*
Another good month! I received my annual bonus which propelled most of our net worth growth and the markets rebounded. Our spending was in check and it was another "status quo" month. You'll also see we made a $10K contribution to our "house fund" via an RSP. It's sitting in a high-interest savings account right now. Looking forward to March, we anticipate buying a (new to us) car and receiving our tax refund.

*Progress torwards goals:*
1. Pay off all debt - nothing except for the minimum payment was made in February. We anticipate making larger payments every several months rather than monthly payments in order to ensure we have sufficient cash on hand in case of emergencies or anything else that pops up.
2. Have $20,000 saved in our house fund - $10K so far (taken out of our cash balances)
3. Increase net worth to $100,000 (increase of $40K) - $6.5K so far ($3K in February)
4. Beat budgeted costs 10 of 12 months - our budgeted costs were $6.2K and we spent about $5.8. 2 for 2 so far! On top of that, our spending (with a monthly budget of about $1,500) was $1,200 which is another good sign.
5. After debt is paid off, save 15% of take-home pay (7.5% house fund, 7.5% retirement savings) - n/a


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## so_pink

*March 2014*
Assets
Net Cash - 23.6K
House Fund - 10K
Investments - ~75.9K
Total - 109.5K

Liabilities
Loan (6.5%) - 18.5K
Other (0%) - 15.5K
Total - 34K

Net - $75.5K (February: 66.1 January: 62.5K December: 59.6K)

*Quick Overview*
A decent month with quite a bit of activity. Let me list it briefly:
(a) We received our income tax refund of about $7K.
(b) We bought a car for $4,500; we bought winter tires at the same time for $350. Note that we haven't sold the old car yet and will continue to drive it for a few more months. We expect to get about $1,000 when we sell it.
(c) We made quite a few donations as one of our favourite charities were have a matching campaign
(d) My husband did a review of our investments and recalculated the value of it; on a month-to-month basis, we normally just use google to determine what it's value is and don't take into account dividends or the unrealized foreign exchange gain. This resulted in a bump of almost $5K which we'll carry each month until we do another reassessment.

*Progress towards goals:*
1. Pay off all debt - nothing except for the minimum payment was made in March but a large one will happen in April. We anticipate making larger payments every several months rather than monthly payments in order to ensure we have sufficient cash on hand in case of emergencies or anything else that pops up.
2. Have $20,000 saved in our house fund - $10K so far.
3. Increase net worth to $100,000 (increase of $40K) - $15.9K so far ($9.4K in March). Note that growth of $5K per month isn't sustainable and I expect that we'll revert to the mean soon.
4. Beat budgeted costs 10 of 12 months - our budgeted costs were $6.8K and we spent about $7.8K (not including the car purchase). The overrun of $600 can be attributed to donation ($1,000 more than budgeted), spending ($300 more than budgeted) and the winter tires ($350 not budgeted). The spending overrun is due to a few items: my husband had to buy a suit for a wedding ($500) and we bought grocery gift cards but haven't used them yet ($200). We're going to count this as a loss even though we don't feel too bad about this month given all the activity and where our budget overruns went. 2 for 3 so far. Our year-to date spending actual is just slightly ahead of budget.
5. After debt is paid off, save 15% of take-home pay (7.5% house fund, 7.5% retirement savings) - n/a

Now we're all caught up! Hopefully I'll continue to post monthly going forwards.


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## so_pink

*April 2014*
Assets
Net Cash - 17.9K
House Fund - 10K
Investments - ~79.1K
Total - 107K

Liabilities
Loan (6.5%) - 11.9K (decrease of $6.6K)
Other (0%) - 15.5K
Total - 27.4K

Net - $79.6K (March: 75.5 February: 66.1 December: 59.6K)

*Quick Overview*
We realized pretty early in that this month wouldn't be good from a spending perspective and we were correct. Some expected, some unexpected, but they were all paid in April and most not completely budgeted for:
(a) Vacation which cost us $1,200 (we were trying to keep it below $800)
(b) One of our siblings got married and we spent quite a bit preparing and buying gifts; the wedding was also out of town which resulted in more travel
(c) We ate out much more frequently than we would have liked to

After all that, our savings for the month amounted to about $900 which isn't horrible. The rest of the net worth gains come from investments which did pretty well.

*Progress towards goals:*
1. Pay off all interest-bearing debt - we made an additional $6,500 payment in April along with our minimum payments. We are still on track to pay it off this year.
2. Have $20,000 saved in our house fund - $10K so far. Nothing added in April.
3. Increase net worth to $100,000 (increase of $40K) - $20K so far. Note that growth of $5K per month isn't sustainable and I expect that we'll revert to the mean soon.
4. Beat budgeted costs 10 of 12 months - our budgeted costs were $5.6K and we spent about $7.1K. The overrun of $1,500 can be attributed to eating out too frequently, wedding gifts and our weekend away. 2 for 4 so far and we need to buckle up if we want to hit our goal here. Our year-to date spending actual is right at budget.
5. After debt is paid off, save 15% of take-home pay (7.5% house fund, 7.5% retirement savings) - n/a

What does May hold in store for us? I anticipate we will have a quiet month and hope that it will translate into a good savings month. It's a three pay month for both of us and we also anticipate selling a vehicle which will add to our cash flows by hopefully $1K. Our goal would be a $5K net worth increase from April.


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## YYC

Hi so_pink. Great job keeping yourself accountable by doing your regular updates here. I know I am not organized enough to do it every month. Couple questions regarding your budget. 

1. It seems you're fairly consistently over budget on your vacation spending. Any thought to increasing that $100/mo to a more realistic number?
2. $1,500 for 'spending' is sort of vague. Any thought to breaking it down a bit more specifically? I would think that $500/mo is maybe a more reasonable number for un-budgeted surprise items per month?

Anyway, keep up the great work and best of luck with your goals!


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## so_pink

YYC - thanks for your questions!

1. We realize that we go over budget but we want to keep the number as is because we think we can do better.
2. That $1,500 breaks down as follows (approximately):
Food and Dining - $900 (in 2013, the breakdown is 55% groceries, 20% restaurants, 10% alcohol and bars, 10% Fast food, 5% coffee shops)
Entertainment - $100 (sporting events, movies, etc)
Purchases - $500 (clothes, hair cuts, household/personal care products

The spending category isn't un-budgeted surprises.


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## Pennypincher

Congrats on the pregnancy. An extremely exciting time in your lives. 

I suspect your dining out and alcohol costs will go down, but then your child costs will begin.

Daycare costs are enormous as you have probably seen here before.

Your savings in investments of nearly $75,000 is pretty good for your ages. I know the donations tithing conversation has already been had, but again, it's unfortunate that you are spending so much in that area and still have debts to pay off. Nobody should be going into debt because of donations. 

Is there any chance of moving up at work into a bigger pay bracket for either of you?


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## so_pink

Thanks for your feedback!
- yes, we suspect our costs will change once this baby is born . . .
- we are planning as if I will not go back to work; currently, my husband earns significantly more than me and whatever I would earn would be eaten up by daycare costs
- we're pretty firm and comfortable with the donations 
- my husband receives quite strong annual raises and promotions; he's also looking outside his current employment for opportunities to increase his earnings that way


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## pnky

Wow....I just read the whole thread. @so_pink, your story is encouraging and fascinating. I am going to try and set and monitor my own goals in a similar manner.

Congratulations with the baby news, do let us know when it comes !!


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## OurBigFatWallet

My suggestions.....(could've already been mentioned but here it goes)

- instead of donating so much $ - volunteer at charitable organizations
- go down to one vehicle, drive less, or get a smaller vehicle that is better on gas
- since you spend $650/m on gas, definitely get the Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite cash back card. 4% cash back on gas and groceries with an annual fee of $99 but you'd easily earn that back on gas alone
- use the savings to pay down the debt asap

Thanks for sharing your budget


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## so_pink

OurBigFatWallet - thanks for your comments! Here are some responses:
1. We also try to donate our time - we are both active at our church and my husband also sits on a not for profit board; our giving will remain consistent  I think there's quite a bit of back and forth earlier in the thread on this. In summary, if anything, our donation amounts will continue to increase; comparatively, we've been very blessed, despite our debt.
2. We thought long and hard about going down to one vehicle to save money (we realize that our cars are a big expense) but with our lifestyle, it's very impractical; that being said, we did sale the gas guzzler last year (Jeep) and replaced it with a small car. We do try to minimize our driving.
3. We have the true earnings card from Costco which gets us 2% back on gas . . . credit cards is something we should spend some time evaluating and optimizing at some point though.


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## RBull

I haven't read the whole thread but it looks like you're making good progress. 

The main thing that comes to my mind is how can you have the largest budget line item as non specific- "spending". This is way too general and is likely much of the cause in failing to meet your discretionary spending goals. I apologize if you have this explained somewhere I didn't see.


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## so_pink

*RBull *- fair question .

In general, I summarized quite a few of our budget items when I posted it here. For instance, none of your probably care how much I budget for gas for each car. I can break out the "spending" category a bit though. They are as follows:

Groceries - $500
Dining/Alcohol/Other - $400
General Purchases - $400
Entertainment - $200

General purchases is basically anything that doesn't fit into another category - clothes, personal effects, etc. Entertainment might seem a bit low - one of our only "entertainment" item is Toronto FC season tickets. We go to a few games and sell a few games - basically it's a break-even exercise. Because of that, we can keep the entertainment budget pretty low and we rarely have problems staying under that.


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## so_pink

*May 2014*
Assets
Net Cash - 15.6K
House Fund - 15.6K
Investments - ~79.9K
Total - 111.1K

Liabilities
Loan (6.5%) - 11.8K
Other (0%) - 15.5K
Total - 27.3K

Net - $83.8K (April: 79.6; March: 75.5; December: 59.6)

*Quick Overview*
I had suggested last month that May would be a good, quiet month and it was. We realized a net worth increase of $4.2K; a bit less than anticipated last month, but we didn't sell the third car (and when we do, it will be for much less than originally anticipated). We did a great job of managing our expenses and our income was a bit higher than budgeted as we made some money selling raptors play-off tickets.

*Progress towards goals:*
1. Pay off all interest-bearing debt - minimum payment in May but I expect a large payment in June. We are still on track to pay it off this year.
2. Have $20,000 saved in our house fund - $15.5K so far. This was increased by $5.5K over last month as we had some cash that we couldn't use to pay off debt so it was moved into an RSP to be used for the home buyers plan.
3. Increase net worth to $100,000 (increase of $40K) - $24.2K so far. Still on track and doing well.
4. Beat budgeted costs 10 of 12 months - we beat this again this month which is great. 3 for 5 so far. Our year-to date spending actual is right at budget.
5. After debt is paid off, save 15% of take-home pay (7.5% house fund, 7.5% retirement savings) - n/a

June looks to be another quiet month. In general, the summer is bad for our savings - our budgeted June through September net savings is less than what we were able to accomplish in May alone. If there are extra expenses, they will be baby-related as we prepare for the July birth date.


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## RBull

so_pink said:


> *RBull *- fair question .
> 
> In general, I summarized quite a few of our budget items when I posted it here. For instance, none of your probably care how much I budget for gas for each car. I can break out the "spending" category a bit though. They are as follows:
> 
> Groceries - $500
> Dining/Alcohol/Other - $400
> General Purchases - $400
> Entertainment - $200
> 
> General purchases is basically anything that doesn't fit into another category - clothes, personal effects, etc. Entertainment might seem a bit low - one of our only "entertainment" item is Toronto FC season tickets. We go to a few games and sell a few games - basically it's a break-even exercise. Because of that, we can keep the entertainment budget pretty low and we rarely have problems staying under that.


Thanks for the reply. Seems reasonable. 

Good luck with getting ready for the baby.


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## Edgar

You may have addressed this early in the thread, but have you considered using your savings/part of your housefund to eliminate some/all of your 6.5% loan? It may hurt to lose 10% of your assets, but in doing so, your net worth will not change this month and increase at a quicker rate in the following months/years.


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## so_pink

Edgar said:


> You may have addressed this early in the thread, but have you considered using your savings/part of your housefund to eliminate some/all of your 6.5% loan? It may hurt to lose 10% of your assets, but in doing so, your net worth will not change this month and increase at a quicker rate in the following months/years.


It's mentioned earlier - the 15.5K loan may be called any time so we want to keep the cash available just in case. Also, the high amount of cash acts as a cushion if a cash need arises.


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## so_pink

So it's been a few months since I've updated this and in that time, quite a bit has changed with our situation:
1. Our daughter was born at the beginning of July and so now I am on mat leave
2. We purchased a house (set to close end of October) and we'll be doing some renovations
3. My husband is in the process of quitting his job to move into a more lucrative position beginning in December

All of the above, coupled with the busy-ness of life means that I think I will go from posting updates monthly to quarterly updates. Here's June's and Septembers!

June 2014
Assets
Net Cash - 15K
House Fund - 15.6K
Investments - ~81.8K
Total - 112.4K

Liabilities
Loan (6.5%) - 11.6K
Other (0%) - 15.5K
Total - 27.1K

Net - $85.3K (April: 79.6; March: 75.5; December: 59.6)

Quick Overview
Not a whole lot of activity. We actually have negative growth from savings and the increase month over month was due to the investments growing (a phenomenon that will reverse itself next update). We still struggle with managing our costs.

Progress towards goals:
1. Pay off all interest-bearing debt - minimum payment in June (expected a large payment that happened in July). We are still on track to pay it off this year.
2. Have $20,000 saved in our house fund - $15.6K and that's where it stood when we bought the house. I'm taking this goal off for the remainder of the year.
3. Increase net worth to $100,000 (increase of $40K) - $25.7K so far. Still on track and doing well.
4. Beat budgeted costs 10 of 12 months - we have already missed 3 months (June being number 3). 3 for 6 so far.
5. After debt is paid off, save 15% of take-home pay (7.5% house fund, 7.5% retirement savings) - I'm taking this one off as well.


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## so_pink

*September 2014*
Assets
Net Cash - 11.4K
House Fund - 15.6K
Investments - ~82.5K
Total - 109.5K

Liabilities
Loan (6.5%) - 6.2K
Other (0%) - 15.5K
Total - 21.7K

Net - $87.8K (June: 85.3K; March: 75.5K; December: 59.6K)

*Quick Overview*
This quarter continued to be "same old, same old" - our spending was too high. We managed to save about $1,800 and our investments grew by a net $700 (this primarily reflects the amounts put into the pension fund at work). Our goal was to save $3,000 so we were well short. As mentioned earlier, a few life events also happened:
1. Our daughter was born at the beginning of July so I am now on mat leave
2. My husband agreed to a new, more lucrative position at a different company which he will start in December
3. We purchased a house in September (closes in October) and I will post some details on how we did that in a future post

*Progress towards goals:*
1. Pay off all interest-bearing debt - large payment in July and minimum payments in August and September; prior to the house purchase, we were still on track to pay it off this year. As we take on more debt and need to increase our cash balances given the uncertainty of expenses, we may not hit this goal this year.
3. Increase net worth to $100,000 (increase of $40K) - $28.2K so far. Still on track and doing well - I fully expect that we will hit this goal.
4. Beat budgeted costs 10 of 12 months - July yes, August no, September yes; 5 for 9


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## so_pink

*House Purchase*

We had been looking at houses in our desired area for about 6 months. Over that time, we put in a few offers, dealt with bidding wars (on one house there was 13 offers!) and were generally pretty down on our expectation of getting a house any time soon. However, that changed in September when we found a house in our ideal neighbourhood, on a ravine (without back-yard neighbours) and with more space than we had previously expected to get!

Obviously, there were catches:
1. It was a bit more money than we wanted to spend. In order to alleviate this, we are going to withdraw the maximum from my husband's RSP for the HBP (we originally were hoping to not have to touch that). Note that we are also borrowing money from parents for the down payment.
2. It needs a bit of work. However, all stuff we can handle and we expect to do most of it prior to moving in.

Obviously, this will shift our spending, debt repayment, and saving goals over the next several years. In general and prior to completely knowing how much this house will cost us on a month-to-month basis, we expect to be able to pay off the down payment loan in 5 years or less and the mortgage in about 15 years.

For simplicity, I'll break down the approximate values of the house and loans that we will take on here and may show it as one line on our future net worth statements ("net house equity" or something like that).

Purchase price $475K
Reno budget $60K ($45K when we get it, $15K in the spring)
Total cost $535K

Sources to pay:
HBP withdraws $40K
Mortgage $380K (we are getting a re-advance-able mortgage)
Personal loan $100K
Cash $15K (includes cash on hand and savings over the next few months)

If we are short, we have been told by family that they are happy to lend a bit more on a short-term basis to cover the reno costs. After all the required renos are complete, we will have the house reappraised (expected to be in the $570K+ range) to access the additional equity to begin repay the personal loans and our current 6.5% loan.

After the above plan is said and done, I expect our "net house equity" to be around $90K on a house worth $570K.

If people are interested, I'm happy to detail the work that we hope to get done and our expected costs!


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## steve41

My problem with this compulsion to track and itemize everything on a near term, month to month basis is that we have no idea if you are saving/spending too much or too little.

You need to start looking at the future. Things like.... 
-the trajectories your salaries might take.
-when you plan to retire.
-do you have any windfall expectations (inheritance, etc)
-do you plan to (just) die broke or leave an estate

Long term cash flow planning is the only way you will know if you are on the right track. You could be sucking air at age 70, or your rotten kids will inherit a gazillion dollars. You won't know until you do a long range plan.


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## so_pink

Steve - thanks for your comments and I can appreciate the sentiment.

To respond to your questions:
We have a long-term plan stretching out for about 12 years. At that point, we anticipate to be totally debt free, outside of any HELOC for investing purposes, and have a net worth north of $1M. My husband has a fairly lucrative future earning potential - will likely hit $200K in the next several years - and he has no intentions of quitting for at least 20 years (he's 28 now) but probably much longer. Although there may be windfalls in the future, we are not counting or planning on them. Our parents are in their 50s so it's probably 30 or more years down the road. We're also part of big families so the quantum will likely not be life altering.

At this point, a 12 year forecast seems appropriate.


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## steve41

You are probably right. It is my observation that people only get into full lifetime planning once they are past their mid forties.


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## Connie Merrow

This is a nice post. Thank you for sharing. I liked and loved it.


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## so_pink

I thought it'd be a good time to post a quick update on the house, a review of our 2014 goals and some preliminary thoughts on 2015 goals.

We have finished our fall renovations and moved in a few weeks ago. To date, we have spent about $43,000 on the renovation which is basically what we budgeted from the start. The project had a few additions that we didn't initially anticipate, but we had built in enough of a contingency that it wasn't a big deal. Over the winter, we'll be doing small projects and hope to have the interior of the house "complete" by the spring! In the spring, we'll start some outside work and our early budget is about $15,000. As we haven't really started to flush out the details of what we want done, the budget hasn't yet been refined.

1. Pay off all debt

We won't hit this goal; purchasing the house (not originally anticipated at the beginning of the year) made this an impossibility. We do feel strongly that we could have completed this task if not for the house purchase.

2. Have $20,000 saved in our house fund

We ended up putting $30,000 of our own $ (not including the RSP withdraws where we had to sell investments) into the house so we did hit this goal.

3. Increase net worth to $100,000

We hit this in November due to the job change - we were carrying a $15K "loan" that was more of a contingency that we won't need to pay back. I expect our year-end net worth to be around $120,000 so we would have reached this goal even without the "help"

4. Beat budgeted costs 10 of 12 months

Another loser. Don't want to talk about it.

5. After debt is paid off, save 15% of take-home pay (7.5% house fund, 7.5% retirement savings)

A non-event as we didn't pay off the debt.

All-in-all, we missed most of the goals but still had the best year of our lives - a new baby, a new home, a new job and an exciting future!

When it comes to our finances, 2015 will be a focus on a few different areas:
1. Completing the house renovations
2. Managing discretionary expenses
3. Paying down personal loans

I hope to be able to lay out more exact 2015 goals in the next week or so!


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## so_pink

Life moves so quick!

It's been about a year and a half since our last update but I guess now is as good of a time as any! I might as well give everyone an update.

1. Provide our December 2014 Net Worth Update
2. Provide a quick update on what's changed in our personal lives in 2015
3. Provide our December 2015 Net Worth Update

I do think documenting this all is a great process and I do enjoy going back and reading our progress. Going forward, I'll try to keep this more up-to-date!

*December 2014*
Assets
Net Cash - 13.6K
Investments - ~60.5K
House - 517.9K
Total - 592K

Liabilities
Loan (3.50%, down payment) -100K
Mortgage (2.99%) - 368K
HELOC (3.25%) - $10K
Total - 478K

Net - $108.5K (Sept: 87.8K June: 85.3K; March: 75.5K; December: 59.6K)

Quick Overview
We had so much change in this quarter and most of it was around the house - we spent $43K on renos (new insulation, refinished floors, new kitchen, fixed electrical, etc) and didn't pay close attention to our expenses as a result. Overall, we saw an increase but we could have done better.

*Quick Update on what happened in 2015:*

- We've been in our house for about a year and a half now and enjoying it very much! It's much more expensive than renting, but we appreciate the non-monetary value that we get out of it. We did a significant amount of renovations (almost $70K) and are happy with the results!
- Our 1st child is a year and a half old and a second one is coming this summer
- I didn't go back to work after my maternity leave ended and we did feel a bit of a squeeze on our lifestyle as a result
- My husband's job is going well and we are happy with the move

*December 2015*
Assets
Net Cash - 4.9K
Investments - ~63.8K
House - 592.6K
Total - 661.3K

Liabilities
Loan (3.50%, down payment) -93.2K
Mortgage (2.99%) - 360.3K
HELOC (3.25%) - $36.1K
Total - 489.6K

Net - $171.7K (Dec 14: 108.5K Dec 13: 59.6K)

Notes on some of the figures:

The investments include a defined pension and RRSP; nothing was added to these amounts this year as the priority was stabilization as we look at 2016 as the start of aggressive debt repayment. Also included in the investments in our contributions to an RESP as we intend on getting these back when our children utilize the funds.

The house balance includes 3 numbers: purchase cost (474K), renovations (66K) and fair market value bump ($51.7K). We could easily sell the house in the $650K range given comparables in our area. During 2015, we did outside landscaping changes, added a bedroom in our basement, and finalized some other lagging renovations from 2014.

The loan was for the down payment on our house; we are making $1K monthly principal/interest payments along with lump-sum payments as we have available cash. We were lent this money with the understanding that we would repay it all prior to our oldest child starting school (Sept 2018). Starting in 2016, the monthly payments will come out of the HELOC and we will also be making aggressive lump-sum payments as clearing this debt is our priority.

The increase in the HELOC was to pay for some of the renovation expenses incurred in 2015. This balance will climb in 2016; our availability on this line is about $100K.

*Review of 2015 Budget and setting up 2016 Budget:*

We continue to struggle with managing our discretionary spending. We spent way too much on controllable categories (food & dining, gifts, purchases) and also had some unexpected expenses (car repairs, car breakdown requiring replacement). Also, not having my full income for the year make our salaries look stagnant.

For 2016, we expect that my husband's income will rise. Additionally, we are being much more concious of our spending and will continue this through 2016. We hope to make significant progress on paying down the loan (some of it will come out of the line of credit).

Here is a schedule showing our annual budget and actuals for 2014, 2015 and 2016 (budget only) (picture is better than the paste):









[Annualized, in $000s] 2016 (Budget)	2015 (Actual)	2015 (Budget)	2014 (Actual)	2014 (Budget)

Take-home income 120.9 113.6 112.1 119.9 104.4 

Expenses 
Donation 9.7 12.0 11.0 12.4 10.7 
Rent/Mortgage Interest 10.6 10.9 10.9 16.6 16.2 
House costs 8.4 8.6 8.4 0.8 - 
Phone/internet 1.4 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.6 
Spending 27.0 30.9 18.9 27.1 18.0 
Gifts 1.5 4.1 1.8 2.6 2.0 
Car costs 14.9 18.8 19.0 19.6 15.5 
Life insurance 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.6 1.8 
Loan & HELOC Interest 4.9 3.9 5.2 1.2 0.6 
Exercise/medical 2.1 2.3 1.2 2.8 1.2 
Vacation/Funishings 3.3 4.9 4.0 5.1 2.4 
84.7 99.1 82.9 90.7 70.0 

Net Income 36.2 14.6 29.3 29.3 34.4 

Renovations 2.5 23.1 46.0 43.7 - 
Mortgage principal 8.0 7.7 7.7 2.0 - 
Loan principal 48.8 13.0 14.0 13.0 - 
HELCO principal (32.0) (18.4) (70.0) 13.0 - 
RESP 5.0 5.0 5.0 - - 
Investments - - - 9.0 - 
32.3 30.4 2.7 80.7 - 

Net Cash 3.9 (15.8) 26.5 (51.5) 34.4


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## so_pink

*January 2016*
Assets
Net Cash - 8.3K
Investments - ~62.9K
House - 593.9K
Total - 665.1K

Liabilities
Loan (3.50%, down payment) - 66.2K
Mortgage (2.99%) - 359K
HELOC (3.25%) - 65.1K
Total - 490.9K

*Net - $174.2K (December 15: 171.7K Dec 14: 108.5K Dec 13: 59.6K)*

Notes on some of the figures:

The investments include a defined pension and RRSP; also included in the investments in our contributions to an RESP as we intend on getting these back when our children utilize the funds.

The house balance includes 3 numbers: purchase cost (474K), renovations (68K) and fair market value bump ($51.7K). We could easily sell the house in the $650K range given comparables in our area. In January, we spent money on putting storage solutions in several bedroom closets.

The loan was for the down payment on our house. We made $27K of payments on this in January (all of it came off of the HELOC).

The increase in the HELOC was to down the loan and also to increase our cash balances.

In January, our spending was good! The key category I review is our "Spending" budget of $2,250/month. In January, we spent only $1,500 here!


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## so_pink

*February 2016*
Assets
Net Cash - 15.6K
Investments - ~69.7K
House - 594K
Total - 679.3K

Liabilities
Loan (3.50%, down payment) - 65.4K
Mortgage (2.99%) - 358.9K
HELOC (3.25%) - 67.2K
Total - 491.5K

*Net - $187.8K (Jan: 174.2K Dec 15: 171.7K Dec 14: 108.5K Dec 13: 59.6K)*

Notes on some of the figures:

We received a large bonus and a company RRSP contribution in February which drove the net worth increase. Cash balance is high at the end of February because we have some large cheques coming out in early March. The investments include a defined pension and RRSP; also included in the investments in our contributions to an RESP as we intend on getting these back when our children utilize the funds. The house balance includes 3 numbers: purchase cost (474K), renovations (68K) and fair market value bump ($51.7K). We could easily sell the house in the $650K range given comparables in our area. The loan was for the down payment on our house. We made the standard $1K payment in February but intend on paying it down $6K in March and April. Our February spending was right in line with our budget. The key category I review is our "Spending" budget of $2,350/month. In February, we spent only $2,250 here.

Looking ahead, we anticipate a strong March with large tax refunds. If we continue disciplined spending, we'll likely increase our net worth by another $6K in March.


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## so_pink

*March 2016*
Assets
Net Cash - 20.6K
Investments - ~70.1K
House - 594.2K
Total - 684.8K

Liabilities
Loan (3.50%, down payment) - 59.6K
Mortgage (2.99%) - 358.3K
HELOC (3.25%) - 67.2K
Total - 485.1K

*Net - $199.7K (Feb: 187.8K Jan: 174.2K Dec 15: 171.7K Dec 14: 108.5K Dec 13: 59.6K)*

Notes on some of the figures:

We received our income tax refunds (totalling just under $10K) which is what boosted our net worth gains of $12K over February. Cash balance remains high but there are a few large amounts that should come out in April. The investments include a defined pension and RRSP; also included in the investments in our contributions to an RESP as we intend on getting a portion of this amount back when our children utilize the funds. The house value is fair - we could easily sell the house in the $650K range given comparables in our area.We paid down the loan by $6K in March and anticipating the same for April. Our February spending was slightly higher than our budget but generally due to timing rather than anything else. The key category I review is our "Spending" budget of $2,350/month. In March, we spent $2,900 so we can do a bit better here.


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## lost in space

Goose said:


> I'll respond to this one; but if you have any other questions, send me a PM and I'll respond instead of cluttering up the finance board! (My apologies for the divergenance from the original post)
> 
> You are correct in stating that God doesn't 'need' our money - everything is all his already. Giving/tithing is really for 'our' benefit; it teaches you to put God first, and cultivates a spirit of generosity.


 I remember this particular subject (tithing/Giving) came up in all places Greater Fool, can't remember the exact quote but the gist of it was every financial plan should have givings donations built into it. Obviously he put it much better than I did.

A few general thoughts

Consider buying a fully depreciated car. Chapter 1 Millionaire Teacher Andrew Halman has a good rund down on this. If you don't want to go that route than go for a 3-4 year old car where the bulk of the depreciation is gone. Also check on insurance rates, I was going to buy a used Rav 4 till I got the insurance quote. I went with a C-Max instead (I live in Germany)

Blogs Frugalwoods and MMM (not a huge fan of him) offer some great frugal living tips

YNAB - can't say enough good about this program, life changing for me. Better to the classic than the web version.

check out Dave Ramsey, he helped us get out of a ton of debt. 


good luck and I wish I had half the smarts you guys do when I was your age. As the old saying goes, too soon old too late smart


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## familyman

I grew up a christian and heard many sermons on tithing. There is a lot of misconceptions and very unbiblical information when it comes to tithing. The most biblical checklist I found comes from a website where I found lots of good biblical information on. The list is as follows:

1. Are you a born-again child of God? It is a great honour and privilege to support the work of God on earth; but that privilege is given only to His born-again children (3 John 7).

2. Do you have enough money for your family's needs? Are you sure that your giving will not put your family under any financial strain? You must take care of your family's needs first (See Mark 7:9-13 and 1 Tim.5:8). Our Father in heaven is very rich and He (like any rich earthly father) does not want any of His children to starve or suffer in any way, just because they gave Him money for His work. 

3. Do you have any large debts to repay? If so, do clear those debts first. God wants His children to live restful lives, free from all debt. We must first give to Caesar what is his, before we can give anything to God, because God does not want us to give Him Caesar's money, or anyone else's money (Matt.22:21; Rom.13:8).
(Note: A house-loan is not a "debt" (in the meaning in these verses), because the house is an asset that you posses that is equal in value to the loan taken. For the same reason, a vehicle-loan is also not a debt - provided the vehicle is insured for the value of the loan taken).

4. Do you have a clear conscience? Have you done your best to be reconciled with those whom you have hurt in any way? God will not accept any offering from anyone who has hurt someone and still not apologised to that person (Matt.5:23, 24)

5. Are you giving freely and cheerfully - and not under pressure from any man or even from your own conscience? God loves cheerful givers, not reluctant givers. He does not want gifts from those who give under pressure, or who give in order to fulfill some obligation, or who give merely to ease their conscience, or who give in order to get some reward from Him in return (2 Cor.9:7).

The christian person who wrote this, for whom I have great respect for, goes on to explain that in the Old Testament, it's the amount given that mattered. In the New Testament aka the new covenant that God made with His people, it's HOW you give that matters. If you can only give 5% cheerfully and another 5% uncheerfully, God will only accept the first 5%. The other 5% is an abomination to Him.


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