Cash is Back!

Welcome to my little corner of the internet where I talk about our personal finances. If you scroll back, you will notice I document each month where I find extra income. 

For many years we were moving around with the military and I was dreaming of putting down roots. I decided to start saving for our next home down payment. I made a Big Goal of $200K saved! In late 2021, we made an offer on the home and I made a final post about where we ended up with our Big Goal. You can read about it here.

Spoiler alert, we didn't meet the Big Goal, but we saved over half! In the end, we had $112,487.84 saved towards our goal. That was ALL of our savings outside of retirement. We put about $80K down on our mortgage and then spent another $25K on some needed upgrades, specifically a new deck, siding repairs and painting of the exterior. All money that has been well spent!

Today, I was making note of the cash we have in our savings accounts and noted that it was over what we had saved in 2021. It has taken us over 4 years to get back to that large of a balance. Today we are at $114,100.37. We even bought a new Honda Odyssey in during that time and paid it off in full. 

At this time, we are embarking on a transition. My husband (age 56) officially retires from the military at the end of this month (February 2026). He will be receiving a retirement check that we can live on, but our budget will be tighter than the past. Thus we have a lot of cash we can supplement from as needed. I am so grateful to the habit of saving. The ability to live on less than we earned. 

For anyone that comes across this and reads, please know that saving provides a safety net, breathing room, and options. If you look for money to save from your income, or in unusual sources, you will find it. What we focus on expands! Keep track...it helps so much!!