Sandi's 2021 Planned $avings Challenge

Want to up your frugal game? Join one of our challenges.
SandiSAHM
Posts: 2260
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:46 am
Location: Oklahoma

Sandi's 2021 Planned $avings Challenge

Post by SandiSAHM »

2021's newly hatched plan (DH is the instigator on this one, we'll see how long he's happy he had the idea :lol: ) is to save a [$trangely $pecific - but there's good reason] amount of money.

I'll be keeping track of it (in %s) here.

Stimulus doesn't count because it won't be saved and it'll just net out when filing 2021's taxes anyway.

So, with the $trangely $pecific goal in mind, as of January 1, 2021, we will be at 16.527% of goal - merely because $ will be moved from point "A" - a checking account, to point "B" - a savings account, because December is ending reasonably well.

Sounds like a running start, right, but I anticipate setbacks in late Winter/early Spring, a bit over the summer, and again next Winter. Hopefully the people will play along and not go on some weird spending thing. We've got some garden expansion & fencing plans that could stall progress, too.

I can't say we've ever set a savings goal for the course of a year - we've done project-specific savings, and saved whatever was left 'after' a month's obligations were met, but it's never been an aggressive "$X by MM/DD/YYYY" before. Should be interesting. I sure hope 2020's tax return turns out not to be too terrible. :?

Happy New Year!!
HappyDaze
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:11 am

Re: Sandi's 2021 Planned $avings Challenge

Post by HappyDaze »

SandiSAHM wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:11 pm 2021's newly hatched plan (DH is the instigator on this one, we'll see how long he's happy he had the idea :lol: ) is to save a [$trangely $pecific - but there's good reason] amount of money.

I'll be keeping track of it (in %s) here.

Stimulus doesn't count because it won't be saved and it'll just net out when filing 2021's taxes anyway.

So, with the $trangely $pecific goal in mind, as of January 1, 2021, we will be at 16.527% of goal - merely because $ will be moved from point "A" - a checking account, to point "B" - a savings account, because December is ending reasonably well.

Sounds like a running start, right, but I anticipate setbacks in late Winter/early Spring, a bit over the summer, and again next Winter. Hopefully the people will play along and not go on some weird spending thing. We've got some garden expansion & fencing plans that could stall progress, too.

I can't say we've ever set a savings goal for the course of a year - we've done project-specific savings, and saved whatever was left 'after' a month's obligations were met, but it's never been an aggressive "$X by MM/DD/YYYY" before. Should be interesting. I sure hope 2020's tax return turns out not to be too terrible. :?

Happy New Year!!
Good Luck Sandi - Cheering You On!!!
"All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. After all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog."

Charles M. Schultz
SandiSAHM
Posts: 2260
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:46 am
Location: Oklahoma

Re: Sandi's 2021 Planned $avings Challenge

Post by SandiSAHM »

I'll need the cheering on - we just decided that interest earned will NOT count toward the goal tally, because it's passive.

Not that there's a lot of it (interest - I remember the 80s fondly ;) ) but I was looking forward to 12 months of it helping at least a LITTLE, and... No.

And - 1/1/21 p.m. - now the people "need" something, collectively (not me, LOL, I define 'need' in a whole other way - my 'needs' are limited and I look at hobbies not for their starting cost but their lifetime costs before deciding if it's a reasonable venture... what I need is to train these people better :lol: ), for which they are shopping, and its cost is going to be a little over 3% of the goal... I'm not counting it 'til they've bought it, though. They could change their minds 20 times between now and actual purchase.

16.527% stands!
SandiSAHM
Posts: 2260
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:46 am
Location: Oklahoma

Re: Sandi's 2021 Planned $avings Challenge

Post by SandiSAHM »

First, the good news: this week is a 'pay' week and the projection for the total toward goal, at month's end, is 28.474%. Yay.

That'll probably stand, and maybe improve, by the end of February. THEN, though, some things will happen to impact it and maybe even drive it down a bit :? - from 3/13 to 4/11 things are going to be strange.

To make matters more interesting, my employer's business model has changed due to the loss of a customer whose new management decided that the service he's provided for nearly 2 decades is better off, $-wise, done in house (they've tried and failed before, but I think the boss has had it with being jerked around at this point and told them they're on their own; I totally understand that). I estimate 10-15% of my working time is (was, ended last week) spent on this particular service. The intent appears to be to diversify into other areas (ndb for me, done those historically as well, though the existence of e-commerce has changed the market considerably), but the success of that diversification ultimately depends on clients' willingness to obtain new lines from us, and our sales department's ability to dredge up new clients. Both these things are a BIG "?" in my mind, if only because I can see if from the standpoint of a client and don't really see the necessity (once again, it's not 20 years ago, the internet and global commerce has change...everything - it's not that his people aren't good, it's that his client base is realistic). I think he should double up his efforts on our biggest money-maker but he wants the warm and fuzzy feeling of multiple markets.

All THAT to say this: While I appear to still be 'employed' (contracted), I'm not sure I'll be making as much this year as last year. I track my time, so unless some big projects come in I can see taking a hit this year. And then of course the ? becomes: is this worth my time? It has very much been worth it for the last 2 years, so I'm going in thinking good thoughts :D

It just might make getting to that 100% a little more challenging than it might have been in non-post pandemic "normal" circumstances. But that's why it's called a CHALLENGE, right? ;)
SandiSAHM
Posts: 2260
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:46 am
Location: Oklahoma

Re: Sandi's 2021 Planned $avings Challenge

Post by SandiSAHM »

No % changes to report.

I am SO bored.

I used to tell my kids, "Only boring people are bored," and if I was right I am the single most boring soul to ever be on the planet. It's been cold and overcast and icky and all I want to do is take a nap.

Hope everyone else is toasty!
SandiSAHM
Posts: 2260
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:46 am
Location: Oklahoma

Re: Sandi's 2021 Planned $avings Challenge

Post by SandiSAHM »

So...

You know how you can be frugal, then start having more $ come in over time and pretty soon you're "comfortable" and that gives way to not necessarily being as frugal as you'd like to be?

I'm back to tracking expenses :roll: as a method of keeping the people apprised of how much we're spending by categories. If nothing else,*I* won't be spending as often, if only because I really don't enjoy nickel and diming things (there it is, I'm the root of the problem!), but I'll do it, because I think it's valuable tool for teaching the kids real-life accounting. This is the first time their new-found obsession is a category unto itself.

Also the 3/13 - 4/11 heightened potential spending timeframe has been cut back to 3/13 - 3/18. It's going to be a spendy 6 days but at least it's down to ONLY 6 DAYS. The April thing was decided against in committee - 4 votes against. Not a pandemic-friendly way to spend time, so out that goes for the year.
Post Reply