December 2025 Extra Savings

The final month of 2025 was fruitful for extra income to add to our savings! Here is where the money came from:

Amex Rewards $76.34

Amazon Rewards $1.18

Chase Rewards $6.09

USAA Rewards $267.78 

FNBO Interest $76.86

USAA Interest $0.20

NFCU Interest $190.05

Warrior Dividend $1776.00

Total $2,394.50

Total YTD $6,351.43

I wrote a note in 2025 that it would be a year of abundance and it definitely showed up in our found money this year. We usually exceed $3,000, but never have we doubled that number. It was a great year for saving cash from my husband's paycheck as well. We are always grateful for the abundance God provides. 

Tracking our progress brings awareness and gratitude. I would recommend tracking, even if you spend the money or send it to debt. That is money that has blessed your current circumstances. 

August 2025 Extra Savings

Welcome to my blog where I primarily track extra income. I share this as a way to encourage you to find ways to save small amounts of money for your future or even to pay down debt. Small amounts add up! Look for creative ways to save. 

Amex Rewards $75.39

Chase Rewards $7.84

Amazon Rewards $4.01

USAA Rewards $4.00

FNBO Interest $82.24

USAA Interest $0.16

NFCU Interest $154.12

Total $328.36

YTD Total $2,408.23

Thank you to the creator God for blessing us with abundance and fruits of our labor!

July 2025 Extra Savings

The year is more than half over and we are on track to save at least $3500 this year for non work income! This is how that money showed up this month:

Amex Rewards $69.40

USAA Rewards $5.00

US Bank Rewards $31.05

Chase Rewards $31.37

Amazon Rewards $5.49

USAA Interest $0.14

FNBO Interest $82.18

NFCU Interest $151.01

Total $375.64

YTD $2079.87

Small amount of money add up! Passive income from savings or from your credit card rewards are one place to find extra income. Do not sign up for a rewards credit card if you cannot pay off the balance and are racking up interest on your debt! We use our credit cards like debit cards and pay the balance off twice a month when we get paid. 

Saving small amounts can build an emergency fund or a car repair fund. Many people save this way for vacations and big holidays such as Christmas. What do you need to be saving for?

June 2025 Extra Savings

Here's where we found extra funds to add to our savings this month:

Amex Rewards $41.85

Amazon Rewards $3.77

Chase Rewards $9.08

NFCU Rewards $65.08

USAA Rewards $2.00

USAA Interest $0.14

FNBO Interest $81.63

NFCU Interest $145.57

Total $349.12

YTD $1,704.23

Track your savings contributions, interest, extra income for a year. This practice reinforces savings and abundance mindset! We live in a world of abundance. If you look for lack you will find it. If you look for abundance you will see it! 

May 2025 Extra Savings

A break down of extra savings in May 2025:

Amex Rewards $25.56

Amazon Rewards $8.29

Chase Rewards $4.19

US Bank Rewards $45.78

USAA Interest $0.16

FNBO Interest $84.12

NFCU Interest $138.54

Total $306.64

YTD Total $1,355.11

I track any extra income beyond earnings from work. Usually, the income is from credit card rewards or interest earned on our savings. We are on track to earn an extra $3000 from these sources this year! We are grateful for all blessings that flow into our lives!

April 2025 Extra Savings

Here's a list of where we found some extra funds in the month of April!

Amex Rewards $36.31

USAA Rewards $6.36

NFCU Rewards  $50.00

NFCU Interest $103.03

FNBO Interest $82.95

Total $278.65

YTD Total $1,048.47

I will track this data every month, all year long. Small amount of money add up over time. Keep saving!

March Extra Savings 2025

I'm tracking our extra savings beyond earned income for 2025. This extra income generally comes from interest on our CD's and savings, and credit card rewards. 

March 2025

NFCU Amex $50.00

Chase Freedom $20.91

US Bank $30.73

USAA Interest $0.11

FNBO Interest $89.71

NFCU Interest $97.32

Total $287.97

YTD Total $769.82

Small amounts of money add up over time. One can look for lower prices at the store when shopping, and save the difference. Or something bigger such as investing regularly overtime. The power of saving compounds through our habits! The tracking reminds me that it is a worth pursuit and adds value to our hard work. 

2025 Financial Goals

Welcome to 2025!! Let's talk about the financial plan for the year. My husband will retire officially from the military on February 28, 2026. We have 14 months to prepare for this change. We have been planning for this in many ways for years, sending more to our retirement fund than many and keeping our expenses low. 

Our main goal is to stockpile cash to assist with the transition. Worst case scenario it's money will live on to supplement my husband's retirement pay (which is less than half of what we receive now). Best case scenario, he will find another job (which he wants to do) and we can use the cash towards buying a new vehicle to replace his 2007 Honda Ridgeline. 

We are shifting our retirement contributions. He will continue to contribute 17% of his Basic Pay to the TSP (Thrift Savings Plan). We will stop automatic contributions to our Roth IRA's and put that money into a CD paying over 4.5%. If he has a job before the 2025 contribution deadline (April 15, 2026) will send this money in for investment. We do max out both of our Roth IRAs (we are over 50), so this will result in $16,000 by year end and $18,666.66 by the retirement date. 

I am estimating on the high side that we can save an additional $45,000 by year end. On the low end maybe closer to $40,000. It's a fine line this year of stockpiling cash, but also enjoying the higher income while we have it. This cash will get funneled to CDs or money markets where we can be earning some interest. I think we are around 4% APR on our main savings account. I will keep my eye out for good offers! 

I will continue to save all interest earned and deposit credit card rewards money into our savings account. We do use credit cards and pay them off in full every two weeks, we do not pay interest on our credit cards. 

I will note mostly for myself that we ended 2024 with $51,826.53 in cash. We will approach or exceed $100,000 in cash by year end or when my husband retires. 

I have no doubt, based on years of experience, that we will make great progress on our goal. Just having a goal and working towards it means we will get close, meet it, or even exceed it. 

November Snowflakes

I'm tracking money coming in this year from interest, credit card rewards, and other miscellaneous places. 

Amex Rewards $57.11

US Bank Rewards $36.36

Chase Rewards $7.76

USAA Interest $0.10

NFCU Interest $78.40

FNBO Interest $81.64

Total $261.37

YTD $2,930.91

In the past credit card rewards money was going to the van loan. That is now paid off! All extra income is being saved. In 2025, we will be accumulating as much cash as possible as we prepare for my husband to transition out of employment with the military. 

October Snowflakes

I'm tracking money coming in this year from interest, credit card rewards, and other miscellaneous places. Reward money is going towards paying down our van loan. Each month I calculate the total and send it in towards the principal of the loan. Interest is just accumulating in our bank account to add to cash savings this year. 

Amex Rewards $38.93

Chase Rewards $19.81

Lumbee ROC $39.61

USAA Interest $0.11

NFCU Interest $80.70

FNBO Interest $103.89

Total $283.05

YTD $2,669.54

Still on track to 'earn' more than $3,000 this year. I notice that tracking this extra income from interest and rewards from credit cards brings me to a place of gratitude. It's like appreciating the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae or the cool breeze on the hot beach. May you find gratitude in your life and in your financial situation. 

The Mindset of Abundance

I've been working on my mindset on many things in life. I like to think I am a positive person most of the time, but I have caught myself many, many times harping on myself or even to my husband about spending too much money. This was a bit surprising and irritating to me to become so aware of about myself. I know some of this is from the past. We did live on less. We did live paycheck to paycheck and it was important to watch the dollars. Frugality and saving have been a key part of where we are today with a healthy paycheck, nearing retirement with pension and a seven figure nest egg. 

The mindset years ago was to create that nest egg, to save for a rainy day knowing we only had ourselves to rely on. I wanted to get to retirement and know that we didn't have to work until our last breath. I wanted to fund retirement and have options. That mindset worked! We were focused on a goal and watching the spending was part of that path.

Unfortunately, I find my mindset on spending needing to change. We are not in the same place financially when I started tracking the spending. We do have cash, we have options, we have built a nest egg. And the nest egg is still growing. 

I did some calculations. Our retirements accounts are seven figures and rising. We are still adding to our retirement accounts. My husband still wants to work after he retires from his military job with a pension. Income is still coming in for the foreseeable future. The rule of seven, which says that an investment earning 10% on average per year will double in seven years. I was a bit floored by that number. Then I doubled it again for the next 7 years. In 14 years, I will be 65 and that is PLENTY of cash to do a whole lot of things and cover living for 30 plus years. 

Doing the math and looking at the real future value of what we have saved showed me I need to loosen up the mindset on spending. While I don't need to turn the other way and spend every last dollar, I definitely need to lighten up my mindset when I see money spent that for whatever reason seems too much or unnecessary. 

I actually feel very abundant after doing these calculations with our retirement accounts. We are saving plenty and there is plenty of income to let us buy what we need and want without having to hold a poverty mindset into the future. I also believe that what we focus on expands. I am focusing on abundance. My life is full of abundance and cash to buy what I need and want. 

Have you done a check on your mindset around money lately?