Phew, okay I just finished setting up all of the transfers for the month. That might not sound like much, but our beloved Capital One 360 account has 13 subaccounts — 11 of which get money transferred in and/or out each month.*
The good news
We were able to put $334.10 into savings. And that’s with an $890 charge from the denturist for a CAT scan of Tim’s mouth.
We were planning on taking the entire cost of Tim’s oral surgery out of savings. So I guess technically you could say that we put in $1,224.10, with $890 taken back out for the scan. Point being, a net of $334.10 from my paycheck went into savings. Woot!
But wait, there’s more
I had a few other sources of money this month. AdSense came in at $126 for the past two months. (I’m still woefully under most bigger blogs. But it’s a damn sight better than where I was a year ago.) I sold a link in an old post. That plus saved savings was $285.46. I also closed out a weekly challenge I had going. Now that that we reduced our weekly spending we just can’t spare it, and I kept forgetting to do it anyway. So that was another $105.15.
In total we put a total of $850.71 into the savings account over the last 30 days. All of that without Tim’s monthly check. I think I’m going to sprain my arm from patting myself on the back.
The bad news
That gain is ever so slightly outweighed by the $13,721 we paid for Tim’s oral surgery. I mean, it’s close but we didn’t quite cover it.
Still, we’ve dealt with $14,611 of the expected $27,000ish. (It was $26,000ish, but the new denturist is a little more expensive. That said, he’s been doing this for more than 30 years. Understandably, Tim preferred to go with experience.)
Once the money finishes transferring over, we’ll have $13,927 in the account. Of that, $1,500 is going to be taken up by the wall renovation. Leaving us with about $12,400.
The future is uncertain
Really uncertain since I can’t find the denturist’s estimates. I believe it was a little over $13,000, but let’s say $13,500 to be safe.
We’ve already paid $890 of it, leaving around $12,600. Which means we just need to save another $200 to avoid dipping into the emergency fund. Well, $200 and no surprises. In other words, let’s call it $600.
Next month’s saved savings will be at least $170. And I’ll have more billable days plus a little extra overtime (in addition to the normal stuff). So being super-duper pessimistic/realistic I think we can plan on putting away at least $300. The next month will see $150 in saved savings and probably $100-120 in AdSense.
So things look good — in a flinching-waiting-for-the-next-shoe-to-drop kind of way.
Granted, we’ll probably walk away from the experience with almost nothing in savings. But we should have an untouched emergency fund. Which is all I’m asking for at this point.
<Forlorn sigh>
I could make a little more money each month with a sponsored post. But an alarming number of companies will only do that if you don’t disclose that it’s a paid post. I have three problems with that:
- It’s (for me) morally icky
- I promised I wouldn’t do that
- It’s actually against FTC rules (the agency made a big fuss about it a few years back)
So I’ve missed out on at least $450 of potential income. But at least I stood by my principles. Stupid, expensive principles.
How’d your financial month go? Everyone think good, no-whammy thoughts!
* In case you’re wondering, it’s savings, saved savings, emergency fund, car insurance, car fund, health insurance, vacation fund, taxes, Tim’s fun money, my fun money and pet fund
Catseye says
Congrats, Abby, you and Tim are doing better than I am. You are one hell of a money manager!
Donna Freedman says
Stupid, expensive principles — they ruin EVERYTHING.
(Proud of you, though, for sticking to your guns.)
Donna Freedman recently posted…Giveaway: $10 Starbucks card.
Punkin Pye says
Thanks for following the road less travelled, Abby. I’m proud of you.
Abigail says
I figure I owe it to my readers. You guys are awesome!
Hannah says
It’s crazy to me how many companies want their info not to be disclosed. I want to start making money from my blog now that I have decent traffic, but I cannot possibly do sponsored posts for stuff that I don’t find useful myself, so I’m having to explore other avenues, probably affiliate marketing.
PS- my friend Katie who won the book said it was life-changing (or at least the first 30 pages was)
Abigail says
Yay! So glad it’s helping her. I haven’t had a lot of luck with affiliate stuff, but most bloggers see great results.
Donna Freedman says
If the rest of the book was life-changing, too, maybe she could write a quick Amazon review? Sure would be appreciated.
Signed,
The Stage Mother
Donna Freedman recently posted…Giveaway: $10 Starbucks card.
Hannah says
You’re a great stage mother. I’ll tell her to review it.
Abigail says
Thanks!
Harmony @ CreatingMyKaleidoscope says
Those dental bills are insane! But, I suppose if you don’t have a choice, all you can do is find a way to make it work.
In comparison to me, those Adsense numbers are pretty good. How many posts have you published on this site?
Harmony @ CreatingMyKaleidoscope recently posted…Five Innovative Ways To Save Money On Your Wedding
Abigail says
Um, I’ve been doing this for 8 years. So… A lot. I try to do 3 posts a week, which helps keep it up. Pinterest has helped some too.
Harmony@CreatingMyKaleidoscope says
I didn’t realize that you’ve been blogging for so long – congrats 🙂
Harmony@CreatingMyKaleidoscope recently posted…2016 Mid-Year Debt Payoff Update
Abigail says
Haha, well I do my best to avoid douchebaggery whenever possible. I just hate reading a post and a link is completely out of tune with the post and/or blog’s emphasis. It just cheapens the whole thing. (I remember one that was how to deal with a windfall, and the blogger suggested online casinos with a link. Eek.)
Sorry to hear about your crown. Those are heinously expensive. Even with a discount plan I believe I paid around $1,800. And was told by readers that I’d gotten off lightly.
DC @ Young Adult Money says
Hmmm I just opened a capital one account. Those sub-accounts sound like a nice way to designate funds for specific things – I might have to give it a try.
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Abigail says
They’re awesome! I love not having to take money out of savings for each goal. I highly recommend a washer/dryer fund where you put money into the account when you do a load. We’re up to around $400.
Francesca - From Pennies to Pounds says
Sounds like you did really well Abigail! Eek on the dentist bill. What was the surgery?!
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Abigail says
Full-mouth implants. Eight implants plus the actual surgery to get them in plus (ick) shaving the gum bone down a little. Next up is the $13,000 dentures. At least it’ll all be over this tax year! I’m hoping for a large tax return to help pad savings again.