September Wins/Losses

[sadlebred]

Is it already September?

[midwestmama]

W: We bought some vacant land in 2019 to use as camping/hunting property and took out a HELO to buy it. In Oct 2020, we did a cash-out refinance (and went from a 30-year loan to a 15-year loan) of our mortgage to essentially combine the HELO loan that was at a separate bank with our home mortgage at our CU. As of this month's mortgage payment, we are below the mortgage balance we were at before the cash-out refi. I am celebrating it as a win, because it means we've paid off the cost of the land.

[brooke77]

W: Not really a win, but I’m counting it as one. I took a vacation in July and the airline changed my flight. Basic summary is that my morning flight was going to be 20 minutes delayed and I only had a 65 minute layover for my next (international) flight. The airline automatically rebooked me for a flight that night going in the wrong direction, an overnight stay, another flight, and then the same international flight. Which makes zero sense because I could just stay home and take the same flight from my home city to the connecting city to final destination rather than fly to another city simply to spend the night in an airport and arrive at my destination at the same time. ANYWAY, since their rebooking was insane, I rebooked my own flight on a different carrier that got me there the same day (just 10 hours later…) and canceled their rebooking. I made a claim through travel insurance and just got reimbursed! So it FEELS like free $$.

L: I already spent my insurance money on outdoor furniture and the 12 foot skeleton 🙈

[Susie]

Still in limbo:  my car situation seems to be deteriorating, it is now stuck on 99.5 FM with no ability to change anything but volume.  H has decided he likes the Rav4 Prime on paper, so I think we're going to test drive one.

[sometimesrunner]

W & L: Our homeowners insurance premium doubled from the prior year. This is especially annoying since we didn't have any claims! Anyway, our agent got new quotes and found a much better rate.

L: We're finally starting on a much-needed exterior refresh. We have that pressed wood fake tudor-style exterior, and it's definitely rotting in some areas. We have a call in to schedule an appointment with the contractor, but I fear it's going to be $$$$.

[chpmnk1015]

W: our house escrow payment went down so if I continue to round up I'm not paying an extra 33 a month instead of 19 lol.

L: beginning of school year expenses..this club, this thing, that dinner out, etc

L: big payment due this week for my sons scout trip next year

L: 2 weddings coming up sept and oct. Money set aside for one,

[noodleoo]

W: we are officially done with daycare!!!! 🎉🎉🎉 It’s been 8 years. I’m curious if we will actually feel the savings or not. It might be time to start thinking about replacing my 15 year old RAV4. I barely drive anymore since I WFH and it only has 110k miles on it, so it’s definitely a want, not a need.

W: work has been so busy lately I’ve been working extra hours. Thankfully I’m hourly so I get paid for it. I feel like I should treat myself since I’ve been so stressed, I deserve to spend a little of the extra pay on myself.

L: H took said car for an oil change and they found a leak so we paid $500 to replace a hose, which seems like a lot! Still less than a car payment but annoying.

[simpsongal]

W: I was expecting an escrow adjustment and I think they're just going to KOKO

W: DH got a good amount of surprise income from securities lending and we were able to partially fund 529s (had planned to skip them in 2024 b/c of all the reno costs).

L: I was putting off a bunch of projects and purchases b/c of summer, heat, and our sick pup. Now I'm in full project mode which is great for getting stuff done but not the wallet.... I bought the pieces for our new kitchen table (I'm working on assembling), roman shades (to the tune of nearly $1200), curtains, an ottoman, a truck load of mulch & compost/soil, some new plants, etc. I've got out of town guests coming in later October, so there's a nice soft deadline to wrap this stuff up.

[deadwing]

W: I don't really go here, but about a year ago you all helped me decide to take out a loan to cover a portion of my new car purchase instead of taking money out of my investments. My goal is to pay the loan off in no more than 2 years. It's been about 11 months and the loan is down to just 36% of the original amount. I also met with my investment advisor last week and the YTD rate of return on my investments is ~7% higher than the interest rate on my loan. I wasn't thrilled about taking the loan last year, but now I'm glad I did it.

[sadlebred]

I'll take any wins I can get. It's been a loss lately.

W: I bought a (not cheap) bracelet from an upscale chain jewelry store a while back. They have a lifetime guarantee. When the clasp broke a few weeks ago I took advantage of it. No questions asked. It couldn't be repaired. The new one arrived, was shortened, and will be worn.

L: No job and no current prospects, but I'm just beginning the search.

[niq]

W: msniq signed up for MVP Gold status with Alaska through work, so I think we'll get two free companion tickets for our December travel
L: We're still digging out from underneath summer travel
L: Fence repair
L: medium sized medical stuff
W: I think I'm healed enough to declare myself done with PT. We'll see what happens going forward. I think I get some free personal training through my gym (ofc this is an upsell for paid training), which I might use every once in a while.

[Gato]

This has been a painful month! Too many travel/concert expenses over the summer plus car/home issues this month equals a reckoning that will last the rest of the year.

We are tightening our belts and vowing to be wiser in 2025.

[mlkgls]

September feels like I started in the red after last month’s miscellaneous vacation expenses. Even though the flights, hotel, and cruise had been paid beforehand, those little extras really added up!

L: DS’s public school has been nickel and diming us for the last month. A couple hundred in unexpected fees is irritating since I zero balance, but I also think some things are just wasteful. Why does my 12yo need a special $15 CC shirt to travel in for 1-2 months, when he already has a uniform AND multiple School Name Athletic shirts?

L: New shoes for DS. I miss the days of buying a $12 pair at Target!

L: I had to buy a washing machine unexpectedly at the beginning of the month, but at least I was able to catch a Labor Day deal.

L: DH is 100% commission and didn’t make last month's sales goal after being out over half the month due to illness and then our big summer trip.  

W: My electric bill was $0 this month after the provider applied last year’s deposit. I guess it’s time to evaluate rate plans again.

Honestly, I think we need to tighten our belts for the rest of the year. I’ve had a number of house expenses and I need to refill those savings buckets. 

[coffeebean]

It's been a while since I've posted, but was really excited about this win. We haven't priced out homeowners insurance in quite a few years, but did so recently and found better coverage through another company for $2K less per year than our current insurance. So excited to make this switch and put that $2K toward principle to pay off our mortgage a little faster.

[lust2hart]

W: We owe less than $30K on our mortgage! I'm hoping we can pay it off before April 1 but that's pretty aggressive for our financial situation, so we'll see. I know paying off our mortgage isn't the smartest move from a numbers perspective, but I can't wait to own our home outright. Once that's done, we will be indebted to no one.

[chpmnk1015]

L: Mortgage on our house went up like 120 because taxes and homeowners ins.. need to call homeowners and see because that was way more than expected and we have had no claims
W: looks like mortgage on our rental went down because escrow has more.. so will take half and save for expenses and half and put towards extra on mortgage because that rate is high
L: expenses this month still out of control... had to put money out for a party, ap exams, a scout trip next summer, school stuff.. ugh.

[sadlebred]

Of course I have another loss.

L: $250 to replace the skidplate on my car that came off earlier this summer. It protects the oil pan and filter or I would have left it off. One more week, technically, of employment.