So after the how screwed up last week was, week #10 is going to clean up all of those loose ends and finally give us the fresh start I promised you at the beginning of January. You can look at this as your 2nd chance to join in the fun of saving money. Maybe this week you start putting $10 a week in a new bank account or even just stash it in your sock drawer. Maybe you'll start returning your deposit cans or stop spending your loose change and put it in a jar at home. However you choose to save and whatever you choose to do with the money it will be money you wouldn't have had if you didn't start saving today!
Ok... last week I mentioned having a $600 check from extra money my wife made working overtime in February and that the money is going into my checking account to help me catch up on my Discover card bill. I never went to the bank last week so that check will go to the bank this week along with a bunch more stuff that I'm going to get into now. I also mentioned having a $326.28 check from Aetna that will still be going into my checking account for bills (normally this would have been money to save if I wasn't so behind on bills). I went into great detail about how I didn't get a paycheck because the people that work with me screw up everything. Well that check finally came in the mail on Monday so that $622.09 will go into my checking account. This is normal for the first check of the month (*see the end of this blog for a refresher on what money I deposit where over the course of the month). This week I also got a final check from Aetna for $136.21. This check is to make up for the taxes that they took out of my previous checks even though they were not supposed to tax it.
After the posting of last weeks blog I got $300 from a friend for something I paid for, for him on my credit card. That money will be going into my checking account so that it can cover the $300 I charged for him. I also got $215 from another friend that I did the same thing with. Now you might be wondering, why I'm so generous in terms of paying for things for people. Well the way I see it, if I charge something on my Discover card and I can get the cash back rewards and all I have to do is get the money from someone, deposit it and pay the bill then I'm making free money in cash back rewards! I cant recommend a Discover card enough for anyone that does us a credit card. If you use a Discover card for things like food, gas and other necessities and pay it off each month you will actually turn a profit on everything you buy! I've been using my Discover card for a little less than 2 years and I currently have $294.56 in cash back that I can request a check for or use to pay my bill at any time I choose!
Let me give you a dollar recap of money going to my checking account this week....
$600.00 (from my wife)
$326.28 (from Aetna)
$136.21 (from Aetna)
$622.09 (my paycheck)
$300.00 (from a friend)
$215.00 (from a friend)
A total of $2199.58 going into my checking account in one week sounds awesome, but I'll remind you that I have a credit card bill for about $1500 and about $100 in other bills (mostly from pretesting for my gallbladder surgery). I also have a negative balance in my checking account that I have to clear up with part of this weeks deposit. My guess is that this week I will be paying the $100 of assorted bills and about $1750 on my Discover leaving a few hundred dollars in my checking account for the next few weeks.
Now that we're done fixing all the screw ups from last week lets get into this weeks money. The only other income for this week is my regular paycheck which was for $594.14. This is the 2nd paycheck for the month which means it goes into my mortgage account. But this week I'm also going to take $50 out and put it in the account I use to make quarterly payments on a loan that I mentioned a few weeks back. I pay $200 per quarter on that (interest free) loan. The first quarters payment was made and there is still some money left in the account from last year so as long as I keep putting some in I'll be all set for the 2nd quarter payment too. I will also be doing my weekly $20 transfer from my checking account to my vacation savings.
Before the recap, I'll also say that I got a little bit of cash from some family members for my birthday (which was March 3rd). I haven't completely decided yet, but I will either be keeping the cash in my wallet to spend as I see fit or I'll deposit it into what I call my 'online spending account' which is linked to my Paypal account and used for anything I order online where Paypal is accepted. If it goes into the bank it wont actually be 'saved' it will be spent the next time I find something I 'need' on eBay!
Here is the week 10 wrap
up:
$38.97 to my 401K
$20.00 to my vacation fund
$50.00 to the quarterly loan payment account
which makes the 2013
totals...
$249.95 in my 401K
$200.00 in the vacation fund
$20.05 in the piggy bank
$50.00 in the quarterly loan payment account
As this weeks bonus I'm going to give you the refresher on where I deposit my weekly income based on my very rigid predetermined budget...
monthly paycheck #1 - deposited into my checking account for the months bills, food & fun
monthly paycheck #2 - deposited into my mortgage account to pay the mortgage each month
monthly paycheck #3 - deposited into my mortgage account to pay the mortgage each month
monthly paycheck #4 - the saving check which is split between 2-3 different savings accounts
money from deposit cans & bottles - put into the piggy bank whenever I return the cans
money from my wife's overtime hours - going forward most of that will go toward paying down the mortgage & saved for any issues with the escrow payments.
*editors note: when I got my paycheck this week I noticed that my health, dental & life insurance costs were all exactly double. I checked last weeks paycheck and realized that they didn't charge me for those 3 things last week. Even though the payments are the same the OCD is killing me because I rather have the right amount taken out each week. Next week I'll speak with payroll and make sure it doesn't happen again.
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