Bloom Where You Are Planted

Well, I bought the car. With sales tax and registration, it came to $16,493.71. I borrowed 16k from Wells Fargo and coughed up the 493.71. The balance of car fund is going towards car insurance.

Here it is:



J is so happy to have his own wheels. I am glad he gets to enjoy the rest of his senior year with his own car. He has named the Accord "Rose", since I bought the Focus in Roseville, and that event triggered the Accord coming into his possession.

I added a page showing the amortization of my car note as scheduled. I will edit and update it as payments are made. The first payment is not due until Dec 20th. I will make a full payment on Nov 20th anyway, which will give me a nice start. All extra bits of money will now go towards the car loan.

I keep checking every day to see if the loan appears when I log in to Wells Fargo's site. So far, it does not.

Where will the car payment money come from? I'm so glad you asked. The car payment is $248.65. I had been budgeting $170 for Car Fund which will now go towards the payment. Additionally, I have trimmed $50 each from budgeted E Fund and CurveBall Fund deposits.

I'm trying really hard to come in under budget on groceries, miscellaneous, and discretionary spending. After everything is paid for the month, if I have more than $500 in checking, I will sweep it to CurveBall.

My mortgage payment has posted. I received a $25 credit from Wells Fargo Home Rewards and I have paid an additional $15.75. My new balance is $171,375.00.

Chips to date: $1,535.44

Interest savings this month: $5.37

Interest savings to date: $46.73

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $3,368.88, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full.

Still small, but slowly building momentum.

Cash is up.
Debt is down.
Investments are up.
Home value estimate is up.

So over the past few weeks, I have been visiting dealerships and taking test drives. I have driven a new Kia Forte, a new Nissan Versa Note, and a new Ford Focus Titanium. I had planned to test drive a Hyundai Elantra too before I made my final decision.

I loved that Titanium. All of the bells and whistles, so pretty, and it rides so nice. The salesman made me a very nice offer too. The MSRP on the car is 26,685 and he quoted me 21,301. It is a good price, but still more than I want to spend. Also, the car has the dual clutch automatic transmission. Ford has been putting those in the Focus and Fiesta cars since 2012, and there are a lot of complaints and lawsuits over that transmission. Of course, some people have no trouble with them whatsoever. I prefer to just buy one with a manual transmission in the first place and avoid the whole issue. There are no Focus cars with a manual transmission and the other features I want sitting on a lot anywhere in my area. If I have one special ordered, I will not have much bargaining power to negotiate a better price. Paying 26k is completely out of the question.

Last night I was browsing CarMax's website, and I found a 2013 Focus SE with a manual transmission, the navigation, heated front seats, and moon roof which I crave, in my preferred color (dark grey) with only 18k miles. The "no haggle" price is 14,998. This price is much more what I had in mind. The car is close enough to new that it should provide reliable transportation for many years to come. I have already called and they have placed the car on a 7 day hold. I plan to go see it over the weekend, and if it is as advertised, I intend to buy it.

As you might guess, J is thrilled with this news.

I have applied for a used car loan from Wells Fargo, and I can get 3.69% on a 6 year loan. I like the rate, and I want my minimum monthly payments as low as I can get them. I do not intend to take the entire 6 years to pay off the car.

I still have full coverage on the Accord. My car insurance premium went from about $90 per month to about $140 per month when I added J as a secondary driver. (This is with the pay-in-full-up-front discount). It will double when I add another car and J becomes a primary driver. I will have to cover this myself until J graduates, gets a job, and takes over his share of the insurance. OUCH!

Today is payday, so my scheduled savings transfers are happening any minute now.

I have made another $20 from a payday loan. The co-worker keeps insisting, so I take it. I have been trying to talk her into opening a savings account for YEARS now, but so far she has not. I have been regularly giving her loans "until payday" for about 6 months now. She always pays me on payday, but a week later asks for another loan. Most recently, I loaned her $160.

I just redeemed $62.36 in rewards from Capital One Quicksilver. I charged the cruise tickets, so that is why it was more than usual. (Even though my mother is paying for our cruise, I charged the tickets to earn rewards points. She has already reimbursed me, and I have already sent the payment off to Capital One).

Previous Car Fund Balance: 1,388.80
Budgeted monthly deposit: 170.00
Payday loan: 20.00
CC rewards: 62.36
New Car Fund Fund Balance: 1,641.16

And credit card rewards are up to $996.33 for the year! Yes, I will definitely make 1k in rewards this year.

Last update balance: 1,124.87

Recent activity:

September interest .68
proceeds from payday loan 20.00
Hausernet decoy mail 3.25
part-time job 240.00

New total: 1,388.80


Going to see a play with a girlfriend tomorrow night, "Spank, The Musical". We will probably have dinner too. This is a girlfriend I don't see often. She had her kids later in life. They are 7 and 3 now, so she doesn't get out much.

Last weekend, I went to see Spam-a-lot with J, two of his friends, and BF. It was a community theatre production in Roseville. The boys all loved it. I try to make play-goers out of people whenever possible!

The weekend before that, I took off both Friday and Monday. One of my dearest friends from childhood was in town for his niece's wedding. He stayed at my house. Between his family activities, we got to spend some fun time together. It had been 9 years since we had last seen each other in person.

That's about it.

My mortgage payment has posted, and I have paid an additional $16.87 to round the balance down to $171,700.00.

Chips to date: $1,494.69

Interest savings this month: $5.20

Interest savings to date: $41.36

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $3,284.23, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full.

Cash is up.
Debt is down.
Investments are down.
Home estimate is down.

Lately I have been mulling over the idea of buying my final home with a reverse mortgage. Or, if I buy before age 62, buy it traditionally and plan to owe about half of the value at age 62, and take the RM at that point.

I am thinking this way because I want to retire with no mortgage payments. The best way to accomplish this is to own a home free and clear. At this point, that is looking unlikely, unless I opt for a 1 bedroom apartment style condo. Such a home is not without its benefits, but of course has some drawbacks too. If I opt instead for a small single family home with a garage, it is looking as though I will not be able to own it free and clear by age 62.

So, I am keeping this idea on the back burner.

Well, we booked our cruise yesterday. We don't leave for nearly 4 months. That's OK, because the anticipation is part of the fun.

Recent car fund activity includes my budgeted transfer for September ($170), payment from part-time job for August ($200), Capital One Quicksilver credit card rewards ($14.56), and interest ($.44). Car Fund's new blance is $1,124.87.

My mortgage payment has posted, and I have paid an additional $17.90 to round the balance down to $172,000.00.

Chips to date: $1,477.82

Interest savings this month: $5.13

Interest savings to date: $36.16

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $3,248.99, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full.

Today is MrsM180's birthday! She and her dh spent last night at their new place, but will be by this evening for birthday cake.

Cash is up.
Debt is down.
Investments are up.
Home value estimate is down.

One day towards the end of last week, MrsM180 announced she and hubby had found a new living arrangement. This was something of a surprise, as I did not know that they had been looking. They are excited and optimistic. I am glad for them, but gosh, I am going to miss them. So will J and our canine companions.

The very next day, BF announced his last night at his house is this coming Wednesday. Beginning Thursday, he will be living full-time with me.

This is a lot of change in a short amount of time for an old girl like me. Wish me luck!

Update: His plans have changed already! The contractor wants BF to stay through the weekend to assist with a few things.

I just couldn't stand it, I had to make a mortgage chip! I decided to pay an extra $35.28, just to make the balance a nice round number. Yes, I need to be saving cash. But, it made me happy, so I did it!

Things have been going very well with BF and I. I enjoy his company so very much. I know getting his mom's house ready to sell has been so hard for him, but he is powering through. Of course, when you gut the kitchen all the way down to the studs in the walls, it often takes longer than expected to get everything done. But, the house is almost there. I will take pics this weekend and post them.

My mother is considering booking a cruise for 4. This particular trip sails from LA and visits Cabo, Puerta Vallarta, and Mazatlan. It is a 7 day trip. My mother wants to do this trip with J, yours truly, nephew, and herself. The price is quite reasonable at $499 + port tax of $95, per person. I know I said no more vacations until after my next car is paid for, but I'm not going to turn down a trip someone else is offering to me. I will have some costs of course. I told her I would pay for the gratuity and to park my car for a week. I will also probably pay for our gas down and back. I may pay for J to do a fun excursion or two, depending on what is offered.

I just paid all of my bills for August, and had $91.76 "extra" in checking. Off to CurveBall it went. I just love it when I get to sweep "extra" money to savings or debt.

HauserNet paid me for February, $2.25.

My part-time job paid me $160 for July's work.

My budgeted automatic transfer of $170 happened.

And we are up to $739.87 in Car Fund.

I have been thinking about my car needs. I was thinking small SUV for several reasons. I am not used to driving in snow and I might like to tow a small travel trailer one day. Upon further investigation, I have learned that towing a travel trailer with a small SUV is not recommended. On another forum I visit, there was a thread recently discussing driving in the snow and many people there reported driving in sedans with front wheel drive and snow tires and doing just fine. And many of them live in places which get much more snow than Reno, NV. That started me thinking that perhaps I don't really have a compelling reason to spend more to buy a small SUV and more to keep gas in its tank.

So, now I am thinking car. But, I would like a hatchback for easier in/out with bicycles. I have been browsing online, pricing cars which come with a hatchback option. Of those, I really like the looks of the Ford Focus hatchback. They are super cute! I'm not crazy about the Ford brand, though. I still have plenty of time to think about it.

HauserNet coughed up $4.25 for decoy mail in January.

I redeemed $23.90 in credit card rewards from Capital One Quicksilver.

Barclay's paid a whole 12 cents in interest.

And we are up to $407.62 in Car Fund.

Also, redeemed credit card rewards for the year is up to $919.41.

J has one more driving school session, and it culminates with a trip to the DMV for his behind the wheel test. Yay! And then my car insurance will skyrocket. Boo!

BF has been at my house all week, and we are driving to his house this afternoon. J will be going too, as he will spend the night at his friend's house (the friend lives in the same town as BF). I think I will just let J drive. Wish me luck!

I took J shopping for school clothes a few days ago. He got 3 pairs of jeans, 4 t-shirts, 1 real shirt with buttons, collar, and sleeves, and a package of socks. It came to $211. School starts Monday.

Even though I am not actively chipping at the present time, the interest savings continues to compound, and I want to continue to track it.

During July, I automatically chipped $25.00 from Wells Fargo Home Visa credit card rewards.

Chips to date: $1,424.64

Interest savings this month: $4.99

Interest savings to date: $31.03

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $3,137.52, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full.

My oven has been behaving badly for several months now. On Friday, I had MrsM180 pick up some take and bake pizza. Well, I had a heck of a time getting that dough to cook. BF was here, and he said I should look for a new stove on Craig's List. I pooh-pooh'd that idea. I mean, I don't want to deal with Craig's List people and looking at used stoves, not knowing what questions to ask, etc.

Sunday morning when I woke up and trotted out to the living room, BF was sitting on the couch with my laptop. He said "look at this", and I saw he had found a stove and microwave just listed that morning. They looked clean, and very similar to the models I have now. They were asking $100. (The microwave is the built-in kind that matches the stove).

I talked with the owner yesterday. He stated they both work perfectly, but that he and his wife had upgraded their appliances to stainless steel. He was working yesterday, but said we could come this morning (Monday) to see the appliances. BF said he would deal with it, and I handed him $100.

BF texted a bit after nine that he was on his way to my house with my new appliances. I hope the installation went well. I can hardly wait to get home and see!

Cash is down.
Debt is down.
Investments are down.
Home value estimate is up.




Car Fund Update:

I received $4.25 from HauserNet and added that to car fund. With that deposit plus yesterday's interest, it is up to $383.72

Credit Card Rewards Update:

My Wells Fargo Home Rewards Visa still gets some use. It automatically redeems in increments of $25. When the billing cycle closed last week, sufficient rewards were available and so $25 was applied to my mortgage balance. So, I made another mortgage chip despite myself.

I have a co-worker/friend who has been having cash flow problems. I have been lending her various sums of money between paydays to tide her over. She always repays me, and promptly.

Today was payday. When she repaid her latest loan, she gave me an extra $20. When I opened my mouth to protest, she said "Listen, you have helped me out a lot. I'm happy to give you $20, just take it". So, I did!

I have sent that $20 off to Car Fund, and we are now at $379.35.

My budgeted automatic transfer of $170 has happened.

I received $160 from my part-time job and sent that off as well.

Car Fund is up to $359.35. Just think, I could buy two tires and a big stick to connect them, and away I would go!

I did get a raise as of July 1 (yay! ). After some tweaking, here is my new ZBB.



I have been able to bump up both CurveBall and Car savings account. I have reduced my mortgage payment to just the amount required.

I have redeemed $16.46 in credit card rewards from Capital One Quicksilver. A transfer to Car Fund has already been scheduled, bringing the balance to $29.35.

My mortgage payment has posted, bringing the balance down to $172,641.29.

Chips this month:
part-time job $160.00
budgeted extra $54.36
WF Visa $25.00
Bill Me Later refund $8.67
CC rewards $6.82
found on sidewalk $1.00

Total chips this month: $255.85

Chips to date: $1,399.64

Interest savings this month: $4.70

Interest savings to date: $26.04

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $3,084.56, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full.

So, not a bad collection of chips in approximately 1 year of chipping. I have eliminated 5 payments from the end, and reduced a 6th.

As I said yesterday, I am going to stop chipping in favor of accumulating cash. I will still track my credit card rewards as they are received. But now, they will go into my car fund instead of towards my mortgage.

There are some changes brewing on my horizon, and as a result I am changing some of my short-term goals.

What are the changes? I want to move, and I will be giving my son my car as a graduation present. So, I'm going to need some cash.

I spent more on vacation than planned (of course!), including a very unplanned repair bill for a rented ATV. My son was not seriously injured, so that was good. I have drained my vacation fund and tapped my curveball fund, but I continue to have no credit card debt.

I have renamed "vacation fund", its new name is "car fund". This will be to purchase my next car. I will not be taking another vacation until after my next car is bought and paid for.

I will no longer be chipping at my mortgage, but instead will be piling up all of the cash that I can.

Yesterday I received a rebate check for $6.67, as well as a payment from HauserNet for $4.25. I have added both to car fund. Combined with the $1.97 which was already there, I am up to $12.89. Not much of a car there yet.

I will be changing up my budget a bit. I will post that when I know if I got a raise on 7/1 or not. I won't know until next payday (7/15).

My plan once I have moved and gotten settled is to purchase a condo. Not sure yet if I will go for a 1 or 2 bedroom. Either way, I expect my total housing cost to be much, much lower than it is now.

Cash is down.
Debt is down.
Investments are up.
Home value estimate is up.

In chippy news, I have recently received:

1. $160 from my part-time job.
2. $8.67 from Bill Me Later*
3. $1.00 found on the sidewalk.

I have sent all of that off to my mortgage, bringing the balance down to $173,000.43.

*I opened a "Bill Me Later" account through PayPal at some point. A couple of months ago, I bought a dress via Bill Me Later. I paid the bill in full, but never received the dress. Eventually, the store cancelled my order as the dress was out of stock. They promptly refunded me in full to my PayPal account. PayPal immediately sent my money off to Bill Me Later, resulting in a credit balance. I decided I didn't want to have the account if that is how it automatically works. So, I bought a few CDs on Second Spin, then asked Bill Me Later to close my account and send me a refund of my remaining credit balance.

I am off on a road trip on Saturday. Yay! I love a good road trip. The itinerary includes Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Little Bighorn, Arches, Great Basin, and Bryce Canyon. If we run out of time, we will skip one or both of the Utah parks.

My mortgage payment has posted, bringing my balance down to $173,176.92.

Chips this month:
budgeted extra $54.36
CC rewards $19.12
HauserNet $4.75

Total chips this month: $78.23

Chips to date: $1,143.79

Interest savings this month: $3.80

Interest savings to date: $21.34

Eventually, the interest savings on the chips I have already made will compound to $2,553.55, provided I own this house until the mortgage is paid in full.

I have some nice chips on the horizon. I am working on that $400 WF AmEx reward. Also, I intend to begin chipping my part-time job earnings. I am feeling more confident about the balance in E Fund, now that BF is finally on the ball about selling his house.

Cash is up.
Debt is down.
Investments are up.
Home value estimate is up.