Pot of Possibilities - August 2021 - Final

This will be my last Pot of Possibilities post, at least for awhile! We are buying a home, which is what much of these funds were meant to support. The original goal was $200,000 by end of 2023. Not sure we would have made it, but we really might have been close. Let's see where we ended up!

Paycheck 8/1 $1,022.77

Paycheck 8/15 $1000.77

USAA Rewards $3.20

Amex Rewards $88.73

FNBO Interest $12.87

NFCU Interest $42.76

August Total $2,167.90

YTD Total $20,427.46

POP Total $112,487.84

I really wanted to reach the original goal, but it's time to put down roots. It's time to spend and invest in our home. These years of savings and tucking funds away have allowed us to get to this point. And it's quite gratifying honestly. After the move I will be back with new goals, new plans. Keep saving! It's all worth it. 

Pot of Possibilities - July 2021

Another month of 2021 in the books and we have saved money once again in our Pot of Possibilities!

7/1 Paycheck $962.77

7/15 Paycheck $1000.77    

Ebay Sale $8.65

FNBO Interest $12.87

NFCU Interest $37.48

USAA Interest $0.15

Amex Rewards $72.19

Chase Rewards  $4.89

USAA Premium Refund $538.48

July Total $2,638.25

YTD Total $18,259.56

POP Total $110,319.94

I'm calling that another milestone! Over $110,000! 

The original goal of this big savings goal was to reach $200K, by the time my husband retires. With the idea that we could put a large down payment on a home. At the time I thought we might buy a home worth about $200K! Of course home prices are rising rapidly since that time. We are likely still on track to meet that goal with about 2.5 years to retire. But things are changing. We have orders to move to our final assignment. We are likely going to buy a home there since it's in the Midwest and closer to our girls. So it will be time to dip into the Pot of Possibilities. The amount we have saved is plenty to put at least 20% down on our next home. 

It's been a fun ride building up the cash, but it will feel good to have it work for us in another way soon. And it's time, since interest rates are not in favor with savers once again. 

I expect there to be another month, or two of POP contributions. The savings never really stops, but I will likely stop reporting it in this way. 

Thanks for following our journey! Oh, and check back tomorrow I have news on another bit of a windfall!  

Pot of Possibilities - June 2021

First half of the year of savings complete! We are looking to roughly save $30,000 towards our Pot of Possibilities this year. We are on target and slightly ahead at this point. 

6/1 Paycheck $858.82

6/15 Paycheck $1029.84

NFCU Interest $55.08

FNBO Interest $12.45    

USAA Rewards $6.13

Chase Freedom $4.28

Amex Rewards $76.80

June Total $2043.40    

YTD Total $15,621.31

POP Total $107,681.69

I usually have a US Bank reward of $3.50. The bank now requires a minimum of $25 in rewards before redemption. I'm currently only using for our AT&T internet bill for 5% off. The small amounts add up, but I'm getting less interested in keeping this card. 

Interest is declining as two of our CDs matured this month and we cannot get anything close to what we had for interest now. It really isn't the best time to be holding cash. I plan to open a money market at Navy Federal rather than having the proceeds from the CDs in regular savings account. That will help a little. 

How did you do with your savings this month?

Pot of Possibilities - May 2021

Five months of the year already complete?! Time is moving fast in our world. Time once again to report the contribution to our Pot of Possibilities. I failed to redeem some Amex Rewards some time back and only realized it at the end of April, which is why the amount is so large in comparison to other months. I'm not sure exactly how that happened, but we will take it. 

5/1 Paycheck $979.28

5/15 Paycheck $941.12
AmEx Rewards $202.24

USAA Rewards $9.95

US Bank Reward $3.50

Chase Rewards $20.07

USAA Interest $0.14

NFCU Interest $72.29

FNBO Interest $12.86

May Total $2,241.45

YTD Total $13,577.91

POP Total $105,638.28

May was a spendy month, but we did manage to put the full amount we originally allocated each pay period into the pot. We have another line item of $250 per pay period towards unallocated expenses. We spent it all this month and dipped into what we saved previously. Mentally I don't like to dip into savings, but I set this up for that very reason! It's just something I have to remind myself when it happens. 

We are still making progress on our Pot of Possibilities! After five months we have done very well, and may possibly be on track to save at least $30K in 2021. Good luck with your June savings goals!

Pot of Possibilities - April 2021

A new month! Time to report the progress on adding to our Pot of Possibilities! This is the least amount we have added in awhile. April was full of spending! We flew out of town to help our daughter move from one state to another. We also had a repair to my van that we didn't have fully funded. Remember when I took our sinking fund down to zero at the end of last year? It's all the same money in the end. 

4/1 Paycheck $979.34
Amex Reward $5.00
USAA Interest $0.10

US Bank Reward $3.50

Anniversary Gift $50

Chase Reward $5.71    

NFCU Interest $69.89

FNBO Interest $14.04

Chase Freedom $5.74

April Total $1,133.32

YTD Total $11,336.46

POP Total $103,396.83

I have another trip back to help our daughter move out of her college dorm room for the summer. Hotel expenses and restaurants will add up. We have a little set aside, but will mostly come from current income. I am grateful we could still move the meter on the balance to the positive! It all counts.  

While doing this update, I realized I forgot to redeem American Express rewards in April. Another $50, but will add in May since it has not yet hit our bank account. 

Good luck with YOUR savings goals!

Pot of Possibilities - March 2021 (MILESTONE!!)

Time once again for the Pot of Possibilities progress report!

3/1 Paycheck $979.36

3/1 Extra funds $26.16

3/15 Paychek $971.95

3/15 Extra funds $172.29

USAA $3.08

US Bank $3.50

Found cash $20

Amex rewards $50

XRay refund ('18) $27.99

Stimulus $1400.00

NFCU Interest $72.15

FNBO Interest $14.68

March Total $3,714.16

YTD Total $10,203.14

POP Total $102,263.51

As predicted, we exceeded the $100K mark this month!! Last year our total contribution to the Pot was just over $20K, after three months we are halfway to meeting that same goal. A raise does help the finances. 

We did received $4,200 in stimulus money for myself, my husband and our college daughter. The $1,400 above is my portion. We saved $1,400 towards college tuition this fall. My husband contributed his portion to causes close to his heart. 

Two other unusual contributions are the $20 found cash and the x ray refund. I found a $20 bill in a Walmart parking lot. No one was around, it wasn't windy. Someone was just unfortunate and I was the lucky finder. I have never found paper money on the ground before! The x ray refund was a surprise. Apparently our insurance finally processed for an x ray my daughter had in the fall of 2018. We had paid the clinic and they refunded us the amount the insurance paid. 

I'm am proud that we underspent during each pay period this month. April has us traveling, helping our daughter move and some repairs to my van are expected. We will see if we can maintain that next month!  

For now, I'm celebrating our HUGE milestone of passing the $100,000 mark! Yippee!! Who hoo!! Happy Dancin'!! 

Pot of Possibilities December - Best YEAR Yet!

Time for the final Pot of Possibilities report for 2020!!

Here are our December contributions which include excess funds from two of our YNAB categories, Emergency Fund and Car Maintenance. 

12/1 Paycheck $310

12/15 Paycheck $310

Interest earned $81.74

USAA reward $3.16

Amex Reward $38.71

Chase reward $19.83

US Bank reward $3.50

Subscriber USAA $151.06

FB Sales $50.00

Pinecone Surveys $9.00

Venmo Bonus $5.00

Subtotal $982.00

Excess EF $4,314.00

Excess Car Maint $2,591.00

Excess Subtotal $6,905

December Total $7,887.00

YTD Total $20,003.44   

POP Total $92,087.37

Our best year yet with contributions, where we exceeded $20,000 saved in one year towards our Pot of Possibilities! Yes, yes, I did squeeze a couple extra categories for another $75 to get this number over $20K. We have now also reached a milestone of over $90K saved. Just under $8,000 to reach the $100K milestone. 

We have three years until my husband retires from the military and we have a move expected to take place in 2021. What will be our final Pot of Possibilities total be at that time? Stay tuned for the progress!

More Savings?

The goal for us is always saving as much as possible while we have the income, so my mind is often contemplating how to find more cash to add to our Pot of Possibilities. Saving now, will give us options later!

Two balances in our YNAB budget caught my attention this week. I am considering bringing them both to zero. The funds would get allocated to our Pot of Possibilities. 

Car Maintenance:

Begin 2020 Balance $1,623

Saved $275/mox12 $3,300

Total Spent in 2020 $2,332

Ending 2020 Balance $2,591

We were able to cover the expenses with the amount we save normally. Plus we saved nearly an extra $1000 over of what we spent. We didn't zero out last year, so we have an accumulated balance that is more than what we spent in 2020. We can adjust several ways. 

Option one, we simply don't save in this account for 2021. This would be $275 a month we could set aside, saving $3,300 in 2021. 

Option two, we could zero the account and continue to save monthly. We could keep saving the same amount or we could adjust the amount down to the average spent in 2020 which was just under $195 per month, that would allow another $80 set aside monthly adding another $960 for the year. 

I'm leaning toward Option two with lowering the amount we save monthly. There is a possibility we would have expenses that exceed the annual savings, but we do have money elsewhere if absolutely needed. 

Another line item in the budget I'm looking at: 

Emergency Savings

Begin 2020 Balance $686

End 2020 Balance $5414

We have other savings contributions we make regularly, but this account is a place to cover months where spending exceeds what we budget or if we spend less than we budget. Overall we spent less than we budgeted in 2020 by $4,728! I have already eyed this account as a place to pull some cash to cover some of our daughter's spring tuition in January. Specifically, I will move $1,375 to the tuition balance. This will leave $4,039 we can move to the Pot of Possibilities. And it's possible that at the end of this month, I will have a little bit more to add to that as well. 

To wrap up, we will move $2,591 from car maintenance and $4,039 from emergency savings to our Pot of Possibilities. That is a total of $6,630! 

I will also lower the monthly car maintenance contribution to $195 and save an additional $80 monthly to our Pot of Possibilities in 2021. 

So very thankful for more savings! 

Cash Flowing In

A mid month update with some money flowing in...towards the Pot of Possibilities of course!

It's that time of year where our auto insurance company, USAA, sends us a subscriber distribution. This years amount was $151.06. It seems larger than usual, but I may not be remembering right. It's never the same so doesn't really matter. 

I sold several things on Facebook and have an additional $50 into our pockets! There has been lots of decluttering here this month, much of the items just given away off the front porch. I figure it gets the items in to the hands of someone who wants it the fastest! 

I also figured out the new cash payout system for Pinecone Research, a website called Wallet. I had $9 in survey rewards from November than I finally figured out how to get into our bank. Not really a fan, and this may keep me from participating in the future. Yes, little amounts add up, but is the time and effort worth it any longer. 

I also redeem our monthly $3.50 in rewards for making our AT&T internet payment with US Bank. It's the only thing I charge with them to get the 5% rewards. I need to double check I don't have another card I could use to get an equivalent reward. 

My husband was promoted last Friday in a ceremony with a quick cake reception and then a smaller dinner party later in the evening. We had the best time. Promotion means increased pay. The earliest we will see it is January 1, but we don't have a lot of faith that they are going to process the change within 30 days after watching several others not get paid on time. It will show up eventually, and I will attempt to trust that it will be timely. 

Everyone likes money flowing in right? How is your cash flow this month? More out than in or the opposite? 

POP Contributions November 2020

These are the contributions to our Pot of Possibilities for November:

11/1 Paycheck $310

11/15 Paycheck $310

Interest earned $80.10

USAA reward $6.00

Chase reward $6.71

US Bank reward $3.50

2 Chase settlement cks $150.00

Wells Fargo refund $5.00

Ibotta reward $20.30

November Total $891.61

YTD Total $9,716.44

POP Total $81,800.37

I made a prediction last month that we will get to $82,500 by the end of the year and we are still on track to do that. Who hoo!

I'm still pondering a way to get to $85K. We have the $2,400 we received as stimulus money in April. I set it aside to potentially assist with our daughter's education. I have other money to use first, so it seems silly to not add it. That alone will get us to the $85K goal. 

Okay, let's add it!!  Revised list of November POP contributions. 

11/1 Paycheck $310

11/15 Paycheck $310

Interest earned $80.10

USAA reward $6.00

Chase reward $6.71

US Bank reward $3.50

2 Chase settlement cks $150.00

Wells Fargo refund $5.00

Ibotta reward $20.30

Stimulus $ (April) $2,400.00

November Total $3,291.61

YTD Total $12,116.44

POP Total $84,200.37

Now look at that! Just under $800 to make it to the $85K goal. We seem to average close to that in contributions every month, so I expect we will make it. Even if short by a little bit, I will add to it and make it happen! 

See you in January to report the end of 2020 POP contribution results!

November 2020 Interest

November interest report!

NFCU $69.56

FNBO $10.37

USAA $0.17

Total $80.10

That interest is piddly for the amount of money we have in cash. I expect in 2021, we will start diverting future cash flow to stock investments. Income is increasing and to keep that money in cash will not serve us long term. 

Interest is added to our Pot of Possibilities!

Chase Claim Checks

 My husband and I both received Chase settlement claim checks in the mail yesterday for $75 each. A very nice surprise. I'm not sure this is one we ever submitted a claim for. It may have been automatic, since we have Chase military benefits and it had to do with overpayments of some kind. 

As you might guess, we have added these funds to our Pot of Possibilities! 

I also received a $50 Target gift card from my parents. I do plan to spend it hopefully on a want, rather than needs. If I can't find anything I will spend on needs and add another $50 to the Pot!

I'm doing a big declutter before the end of the year, primarily going to pick 20 days where I focus on something or some area in the home and let more things go! We will most likely be moving next fall and I don't want to take stuff we don't use or need. I'm to the point of selling less and less things, and tend to just give away to someone who needs it. We have been blessed. 

An Expense Going Away

We have good news! Our oldest daughter who graduated college this spring has accepted a full time job! She has a few weeks until she starts and can telework from her current town, but will need to move when the office is done with teleworking. 

We are excited that she will be self sufficient, but more excited that she will be able to obtain health insurance from her company. We have been paying a $228/month premium for her to be on our military health plan. We will put in the cancellation request as soon as her new plan is effective.

The monthly premium was essentially equal to my husband's raise in January 2020. It feels like getting a raise. We tend to save all raises for retirement and now also our Pot of Possibilities!

I expect January might be the earliest we could cancel, but may depend on the effective date of her new plan. 

POP Contributions October 2020

These are the contributions to our Pot of Possibilities for October:

10/1 Paycheck $310.00

10/15 Paycheck $310.00

Interest Earned $82.46

Oral Surgery Refund $140.08

USAA Reward $3.00

US Bank Reward $3.50

Chase Freedom Reward $5.15

Amex Reward $55.09

Birthday Gift $50

eBay Sales $13.24

Army Travel Payment $213.05

October Total $1,185.57

This are the official contributions we made this month.  It became apparent that we actually spent a lot less this month compared to the last few months, by a total of $629.07!!! We are adding it to the Pot of Possibilities this month. We have far exceeded our contribution from September.

New October Total $1,814.64

YTD Total $8,824.83

POP Total $80,908.76

The goal last month was to exceed $80K, and we did that and then some! We feel confident we can get to $10K saved into our Pot of Possibilities this year, we need just $1,175.17 to make that happen! We will easily do this with our regular paycheck contributions. This will put us over $82K for the year. I am confident we can get to $82,500, but the real question is can we get to $85K? I'm going to see what we can do! Only two months left in the year. Stay tuned!

POP Contributions September

These are the contributions made to our Pot of Possibilities (POP) in September. 

9/1 Paycheck $310.00
9/15 Paycheck $310.00

Interest Earned $81.73

USAA Reward $3.00

Amex Reward $63.80

US Bank $3.50

eBay Sale $6.01

Pinecone Surveys $9.00

Chase Rewards $3.64

September Total $790.68

YTD Total $7,010.19

POP Total $79,094.12

Look at that! We have less than $1000 to go to reach the 80K milestone. I think this will be the goal for October, I'm going to stash some extra funds in here and make it happen. I know I can come up with at least what we added this past month, plus another $115 to make it happen. We just need to spend a little less this month. I'm actually excited...maybe I will exceed it!

POP Contributions August

 These are the contributions we made to our Pot of Possibilities (POP) in August.

8/1 Paycheck $320.00

8/15 Paycheck $320.00

Interest Earned $87.58

Pinecone Surveys $9.00

USAA Reward $3.00

US Bank Reward $3.29

Chase Rewards $3.64

Amex Rewards $79.28

August Total $805.79

YTD Total $6,219.51    

New Big Goal Total $78,303.44

Making progress! Quite thankful. 

POP Contributions July

Contributions to our Pot of Possibilities (POP) for July! 

Paycheck 7 /1 $310    
Paycheck 7/15 $310
Total Interest $$97.87
US Bank $4.00
Chase Rewards $28.00
Amex Rewards $67.69
USAA ATM refund $3.00

July Total $820.56

YTD Total $5,413.72
New Big Goal Total $77,497.65

Interest was up slightly. Amex rewards were also up slightly. 

At the rate of $820/month, we will likely add another $4100 to the Pot by the end of the year, bringing our total to around $81,597. I might find some extra cash to round that to $82,000 or throw some other money in that could have been added earlier this year but didn't for various reasons. It's all in the same bank accounts, just a matter of how I am tracking it really. 

Did you find some extra funds to put towards debt or savings this month? 

July Interest Income

Interest rates are dropping, but the funds at NFCU are all in CDs locked in for another 11 months. I moved some cash sitting in a checking account to FNBO in June so that money is earning more interest. 

FNBO $26.06
NFCU $71.76
USAA $0.20
Total $97.87

Interest earned will be added to our Pot of Possibilities!