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Money Date

May 14th, 2007 at 09:34 pm

Well DH and I are going to have a money date later this week to discuss our finances. My goals for the meeting are:

1. Go over our budget and show him where we've been spending. I enter it all in, so I have a slightly better picture, but I get bogged down in the day-to-day stuff that I don't really have a good idea of the big picture.

2. Find out how much more money we'll be getting each month. DH had been withholding taxes at a higher rate. Last month I fixed that so after the 15th we'll know how much less taxes are being withheld.

3. Figure out what to do with that money and the $230/month raise he'll be getting in the next month or so.

4. Figure out to do with $10K that we got from my Dad's life insurance money.

5. Celebrate that we paid an extra $1200 on our cars this month and now have officially reached our goal of 5 months expenses for our EF!!

We have a couple of different goals that we'll put the money towards.

1. Pharmacy school. We're planning on taking out loans for the tuition, but use cash to pay for books and other expenses.

2. Retirement accounts! I've been looking forward to opening a retirement account for a couple of months now.

3.Pay off our cars ($17K total, 9K at 5.99% and 8K at 3.59%)

4. House down payment.

Any suggestions or advice on how we should allocate that money? And I'll keep you updated on what we decide.


Also I got a check from pinecone a couple of days ago and picked up 6 cents at Winn Dixie that was left on the ground. So that'll be added to my challenge. I don't usually add change that I find, but DH made such a big deal about me picking it up that I'm going to add it!

New additions: $ 5.06
Previous total: $295.02
Total since 4/15: $300.08

Posted in $20 Challenge | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Money Date”

  1. Ima saver Says:
    May 14th, 2007 at 11:03 pm 1179180212
    1179180212

    I would open a roth ira account with some of that money. Put it in a good mutual fund, like Vanguard Index 500.

  2. Vapors Says:
    May 15th, 2007 at 01:09 am 1179187761
    1179187761

    Definitely start your retirement savings now. This is the first time I have read your blog so I might have missed why you haven't started. Do either of you work for companies that offer a 401k with a match? If so, start one or both up to that match. After you reach that point, it's a good idea to put the rest in a ROTH IRA.

    Congrats on that huge extra car payment, but next more, put it towards retirement.

  3. ktmarvels Says:
    May 15th, 2007 at 03:59 pm 1179241186
    1179241186

    We haven't opened retirement accounts for a couple of reasons. First we're both only 24, I am between schooling and not really working and DH has been active duty in the Navy for only about a two years. On top of that we're just now finally on top of our new financial situation, as we're newlyweds. As far as work retirement accounts, he's in the military so he can contribute to a TSP, but there is no match.

  4. Aleta Says:
    May 15th, 2007 at 05:28 pm 1179246505
    1179246505

    I can't tell you how important it is to get a retirement account going at your age. If you start now, you won't have to save as much as most people to reach your goals. You never know what will happen to prevent you from contributing in the years to come. What you're investing now will grow so fast. You have to set your own priorities. But, I would definitely max out a retirement account and use the rest for your school, and maybe use the extra money received in the raise to pay on your cars. It would be good to get at least one of them paid off and especially if you're looking to buy a house in the future.

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