Reaching For Financial Security

Anyone here on a plant based diet? Frugal Texan is I believe, any others?

Looking for some information resources and will happily take your suggestions.

Thanks!

We were informed today that PG&E will be turning off our power this Wednesday at 2 pm. The plan is to turn it back on Thursday at noon. However, turning it back on is a process which takes 24-48 hours.

So it looks like I will have some more non-working paid hours this week.

I don't mind being paid for hanging out with SB and Bella at home, but it is a frustrating interruption to keeping up with my work.

There are 15 counties affected by this planned power outage.

Budget and spending are going well for the month. Nothing else to report.

or #1 since the refinance.

This month I managed to scrape an additional $224.01 to principal. This brings my remaining payments to 142, or 11 years and 10 months, with one of those being less than a full payment.

If amortization tables interest you, you may notice that I have Frankensteined the old and new loan amortization together. (Amortization table available for viewing under "My Pages"). It just made sense to me to do it that way.

I did receive a refund of $480.88 from my original lender. I am hanging on to $400 of it (in checking) as I have a dental appointment coming up and I expect to owe about that to the dentist. The remaining $80.88 is part of the $224.01. (I have a Health Care Reimbursement Account for medical expenses, but I have just had more of them than usual this year between some dental work and my first ever pair of prescription glasses. The money is nearly depleted for this year).

November is a 3 paycheck month so I expect to pay an additional $800ish next time. That's going to be FUN, I'm looking forward to it.

My area is experiencing a planned power outage. The power went out early Wednesday morning between midnight and 4am. The utility company, PG&E, said to plan on no power for up to 7 days.

As you know, I work for the county in a clerical position. While some county buildings are equipped with generators, mine is not.

My office was told to report for work Wednesday morning as usual and await further instructions. So I did, sat in the dark twiddling my thumbs for 40 minutes along with my co-workers, at which time we were instructed to leave and report back this morning at 8am.

I drove the 23 miles home and enjoyed a pleasant day with SB and Bella. (We have a small generator, fresh water in the tank, propane, and battery backup. Not everything works when there is no power, and of course we have to conserve since what we have has to last, but we manage fine).

This morning I got ready for work, drove 23 miles to get there, and by 8:05 was told to go home and come back tomorrow at 8am. So, now I am home again. I am pleasantly surprised to have a bar on my phone, so this entry is what you get.

Some people around here are very angry about this power shut-off. But I feel it is to be expected. If PG&E is going to be held financially responsible for fires starting from downed power lines during windy weather conditions, what choice do they have? Of course they are going to turn off power when high winds are expected. And if that's safer, then I am all for it. A little inconvenience is nothing compared to the loss of life and property suffered by people in the town of Paradise.

I am being paid for these days without using any of my accrued vacation or comp time.

Tomorrow, SB will take the little travel trailer down to my mom's house in the central valley, where power is not currently disrupted. We will spend the weekend there.

Well, thanks to CeeJay, I was able to recover quite a few entries. Some I found were not cached so I could not recover them, and I don't doubt some I just did not find. Oh well, it isn't as if the world has lost anything or even noticed.

Yesterday I went over to a friend's to help her with her QuickBooks. This is the same friend I mentioned a few months ago who was living in a 5th wheel while building a new house. The house is still not done, but it is done enough that they have moved in. The house is absolutely gorgeous, they chose to do it in Tuscan villa style. It is VERY upscale, but they didn't spend nearly what you might think at first sight.

When they got a quote for the cabinets (kitchen, baths, linen, storage), it came in at 121k. (A big part of that is she wanted high cabinets with arches.) Well, that was far more than she wanted to pay, so she got on eBay. She found someone on the east coast who was selling beautiful high end custom cabinets and granite. It was all 8 years old and the person was redecorating. My friend spent 12k including shipping last year, then stored it (on her own property). When the house was ready for the cabinets and granite, her second-hand stuff went in. It looks fabulous.

She got most of her light fixtures, ceiling fans, and french doors the same way. Someone who had a Tuscan style home in Folsom was redecorating and sold it to her cheap.

If you did not know, you would never guess.

The house sits on a ridge, and you look out towards Folsom lake in the distance. Their house is all glass to the west, opens on to a patio with outdoor kitchen and fireplace. I took this pic with my phone. The picture quality is not great, but I think it gives you an idea of their view.



How awful, right? Oh, and I had to take a pic of their dog, Gracie. She is such a sweetie. Plus, you get a look at the main tile they chose. (In their entryway, there is a wood and tile pattern).

Originally Published 09/21/19

I have been meaning to share this. I did this project for my little great-niece, born earlier this year. At one time, I did a lot of cross-stitch. It had been years, but I wanted to make something for the long-awaited sweet baby girl of my grand-niece and her husband. I enjoyed doing it, and have already begun another project.

Originally Published 9/20/19

I signed the docs for my re-fi today. The new terms are as follows:

Principal 45k
Rate 4.58%
Term 12 years
Payment $407.58, to be automatically withdrawn from my checking account monthly beginning 11/03/19.

They waived the $399 fee, charging me only $15 to add their name as lienholder. My current lender gave a payoff number before I made my most recent payment, so they had the payoff as $44,985.00. I should receive a refund from my current lender for $500ish once all the dust settles.

Yay, it feels good. Smile

Originally Published 09/10/19

Yesterday's trip to the DMV was a success. So, with registration in hand, I submitted an application with Essex Credit to refinance my 5th wheel loan.

I expect that I may need to pay down the principal some. I bought the 5th wheel new and we all know what happens to the value as soon as it is used instead of new. I don't know the current value and I am not certain if they do 100% LTV or if it is less. Will just have to wait and see. What I do know is that I would much rather be paying 4.69% than 6.74%, so I will cough up whatever principal is needed to make it happen.

Originally Published 8/28/19

The next thing I want to focus on in my quest to pay off the 5th wheel is to get the loan refinanced to a lower rate. My current rate of 6.74% is not horrible for an RV loan, but I feel I can do better. Reducing the interest just gets me there that much faster.

I found a lender (Essex credit, a division of Bank of the West) who will refinance at 4.69%, but I need to submit my DMV paperwork along with my loan application. Uh-oh, obstacle.

The home mail delivery is very unreliable in our neighborhood. Mail shows up late, or your neighbor drops it by because it was delivered to their house, or the most common is that it never arrives at all. Complaints have been lodged with the local Postmaster for years and years, but nothing changes. So, most people just have a PO box. We do too, and the DMV has this information, but they continue to use my home address for my mail.

I have never received my license plates, registration, or other paperwork for my 5th wheel.

My car registration expired last February, and I still do not have my new tags. They mailed me a second set in June (requested via telephone), which also never arrived. I know the first set was mailed to my physical address because they told me so on the phone. I suspect (but have not confirmed) that they did the same with the second set.

So I need to go to the DMV in person to take care of both items. I made an appointment and it is a couple of weeks away.

Originally Published 8/24/19

Everything is paid for August, so it was time to make an extra principal payment. It is my habit to keep 1k in checking, then "sweep" all else towards whatever goal I am working towards. This month I was able to sweep $566.96, of which $147 was from a refund for DMV fees, and the remaining $419.96 was from regular income.

So that was a good month, and I hope to manage paying a similar amount every month, until it is done.

Updated snips of the amortization table are on my "5th Wheel Amortization" page, link in my sidebar.

Originally Published 8/12/19

Now that I have decided to make paying off my 5th wheel loan a priority, I have been thinking about different strategies to get the job done.

One strategy I intend to pursue is to get a 0% no balance transfer fee credit card loan if I can. I have Googled a bit, and have found a couple of offers for 0% for 15 months, no balance transfer fee. If I were to borrow $4,200, that's a repayment of $300 per month for 14 months (I always plan to pay in full the month before the offer ends). It adds a bit more hassle to juggle both debts, but I would save an additional $334 in interest by paying a lump sum of $4,200 up front vs. paying $300 per month over 14 months.

So I will apply and see if I am approved or not.

A second item is that I have raided my Roth sinking fund. I had been depositing 5% of my gross pay to it each payday, with the intent to contribute the money in 2020 (I had already contributed the max for 2019). I am using part of the money for medical expenses (more on that later), and the remaining balance of $1,130.81 as an additional principal payment. I will schedule the payment as soon as the money hits my checking account.

Originally Published 8/11/19

So early this year, we lost our beloved Nala to laryngeal paralysis. This is a condition in which the nerve controlling the laryngeal flaps stops working, and so the flaps stop moving between the esophagus and the trachea. This was hard on everyone.

After grieving for a few months, SB and I adopted a female 2 year old English bulldog/pit mix. She was being fostered but was the property of the Bradshaw animial shelter in Sacramento. She has quite a personality and has successfully taken charge of SB and I, as we are both besotted with her. Her name was already Bella, and she knows it, so Bella it is.





We have had so much going on, and so much more is on the horizon. My brother and sister in law will be here in two weeks for an overnight visit. My birth mom is coming in late August/early September and will stay for a bit. And then my daughter and son-in-law will be here in late September for a visit.

This September also marks our 10th anniversary. We are planning to take a short trip, possibly to Lake Tahoe.

In financial matters, I have decided to make paying off the 5th wheel a priority. I have re-arranged my budget some and will begin paying the loan aggressively with my next payment. I have cut back my personal allowance, trimmed my travel budget, and will not contribute to my Roth. Instead, all of that money will go to the 5th wheel loan, along with every other dollar I can scrape up.

I will add a Page to my sidebar with the loan amortization to track my progress. I have already made a small amount of progress by making the first 3 payments before the due date (interest accrues daily). If you are interested, take a peak.

Originally Published 05/21/19

I try to prepare for future expenses by saving a bit each payday in various sinking funds. With the recent purchase of a new 5th wheel, they needed some tweaking. I update the balances regularly, which you can view any time you please by clicking on the "Sinking Funds" page link in my sidebar. This is what I am currently doing:

Car Ins & Reg - This is now for both my CR-V and 5th wheel. I am budgeting $2,700 per year for insurance and registration for both. This breaks down to $103.84 per pay period.

Car R & M - This is now for both the CR-V and 5th wheel too. I am budgeting $1,500 per year, which breaks down to $57.69 per paycheck.

Car Replacement - To replace my CR-V when the time comes. I am budgeting $1,500 per year plus my "round out", which breaks down to $64.24 per paycheck. ("Round out") is the amount needed to give my sinking funds transfer a nice rounded number).

Clothing - Current budget is $600 per year. This will change once I am no longer dressing for work. This breaks down to $23.07 per paycheck.

Electronic Gadgets - To replace my phone, laptop, what have you. The budget is $300 per year which breaks down to $11.55 per paycheck.

Emergency Fund - Not a true sinking fund, but here it is. Currently no money is being regularly added.

Gifts/Xmas - The budget here is $1,000 per year, which breaks down to $38.46 per paycheck.

Planners & Goodies - For my fancypants planners and supplies. The budget is $100 per year, which breaks down to $3.85 per paycheck.

Roth - Saving up for next year's contribution as I've already contributed 7k for 2019. The amount is 5% of my gross pay, which works out to $103.15 per paycheck.

Travel/Vacation - I am budgeting $2,500 per year, which breaks down to $96.15 per paycheck.

All together, $500 per paycheck is automatically transferred into these funds a few days after each payday. This method works very well for me. Once set up, it is so very simple and requires no effort on my part.