tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post2122689589334849910..comments2024-03-27T10:31:14.337-05:00Comments on Lisa's Yarns: Finance Friday: 2020 SpendingLisa from Lisa's Yarnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05335500882510597919noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-3913754225427367282021-12-15T17:28:38.483-06:002021-12-15T17:28:38.483-06:00Obviously coming late to this party but LOVE these...Obviously coming late to this party but LOVE these sorts of posts.<br /><br />We are also in the "you do you" category of paying down our mortgage. We're not quite there yet but should have it all paid off in the next 5 years (more likely 2-3). That means we will have paid off our first home in under 10 years, which is pretty great considering we bootstrapped for a decade to start two small businesses.<br /><br />Our accountant shakes his head (our rate is about 3%, fixed), but I just really like putting lumps on the house instead of other investment vehicles since I feel like it's easy to control and we are going to get a big savings boost in terms of all that interest we don't spend. <br /><br />Our other big "investment" has been purchasing stock options in a particular work channel; this could pay off BIG time, or we could get nothing out of the investment. Other than that, we just do tax-free savings accounts (maximizing their bonus interest options) and the registered retirement savings program here in Canada (which gives a tax break). <br /><br />I don't break things down by percentage of income, but do a monthly budget. We don't allocate a cap on any one category as we honestly just try to keep things as low as possible!Elisabethhttp://elisabeth-frost.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-48922655645478985822021-02-07T19:21:44.438-06:002021-02-07T19:21:44.438-06:00Thanks so much for allowing a glimpse into your fi...Thanks so much for allowing a glimpse into your finances... and congrats on paying off that mortgage. That is huge! <br /><br />I am truly amazed that you have your own spending category for "taxes".... because I don't factor taxes into our spending, since they're taken out of my paycheck before I even see that money. But I guess it makes sense that you count it as spending, if you always do owe when you don't even claim allowances. It sucks. They should be able to figure out what you owe and take it out of your paycheck and not have you pay retroactively. I guess, at least you do feel it's fair as you have 2 high incomes. <br /><br />I am not surprised that you're also spending a lot on your kids - ha. Kids are expensive. I honestly don't know if we would pay for them, if we had any LOL <br /><br />As you probably recall, I've been using YNAB for 5+ years now for budgeting and I love all the insights. I'll be posting my spending report soon, too. Sanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10196296268895103846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-69647931169718577812021-02-06T12:34:19.840-06:002021-02-06T12:34:19.840-06:00Christopher and I are SO impressed that you two pa...Christopher and I are SO impressed that you two paid off your mortgage in 2020!! We love fiscal responsibility, lol, and are trying to pay ours off quickly too. The only debt we have is our mortgage. We spend a huge amount on travel and invest a tonne, but with Covid limiting our travel, we are saving more to put on our mortgage. We love talking about finances and learning about it, and investing our money, and paying off debt. Haha, such #adults. But, we'll see you in our comfy retirements :-) Jolene - EverydayFoodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11490816021651698189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-58930815388811469492021-01-26T10:54:50.424-06:002021-01-26T10:54:50.424-06:00These are always fun posts to read every year and ...These are always fun posts to read every year and I bet fun to look back on! Great job paying off your mortgage, that is such a huge relief to have that huge debt taken care of! <br /><br />I am continuing to use YNAB for all my budgeting and I just love it. It's really helped me prioritize spending. I know I could still do a lot better though. I spent way too much on 'misc' items for myself in 2020 so I'm re categorizing things this year to keep track on a more granular level. So instead of just Amber Misc I now have Amber Books, Amber Clothes, Amber Takeout Food & Coffee etc. in the budget lines. So it will be interesting to see how that money breaks out and where I can cut some corners. We also paid off my car last month so it's nice to go into 2021 with no car payment - though I'm now starting to save as I'd like to pay for my next car with cash! I think I can get a good 8 - 10 years out of my little suv though. I have a smaller SUV, so not as big as Rav4 or CRV, but it's still so much nicer to have an SUV over a car. I love the hatchback trunk - way easier for groceries or to fit the stroller in and the headspace is just a little roomier than a car. Plus it has AWD which is necessary with the amount of snow and ice we get!! Amberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05185652640389232120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-34552254620960977052021-01-25T20:03:49.939-06:002021-01-25T20:03:49.939-06:00Congratulations on having your house paid off! Tha...Congratulations on having your house paid off! That is amazing!!! 100% agree not having the debt of a house payment is a huge lifesaver and relief. That is one of the goals we are working on as well! <br /><br />2020 was the year we shifted most of our "investments" into real estate - as like you said, the interest rates are insanely low. We are getting about 3-3.3% rates on all the houses we have closed on, and our ROI is about 10-15%, which is better than what we would get on any other type of investment account. <br /><br />You deserved a latte every day for the last phase of your pregnancy for sure!!! And since you don't eat out at all due to COVID - it all works out!!<br /><br />I love when you do these posts -I think it is always interesting to see how different people do their finances! We have started doing "Bookkeeping Friday date" on our calendars every other Friday - we try to make it "fun" where I'll have a mocktail and Ryan has a beer, and we get out our laptops and review the last 2 weeks expenses and make sure everything is logged appropriately. We actually use "Every Dollar" for our personal spending and "Stessa" for our business. Abbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06854266979976413979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-17388403662143061892021-01-24T20:26:03.907-06:002021-01-24T20:26:03.907-06:00Im interested what your favorite salad is! Maybe d...Im interested what your favorite salad is! Maybe during your maternity leave, just to make it easier on yourself and treat yourself, you could order in lunch on a day Phil is at the office. Or if there is a local place close to you, walk and do curbside pickup if its decent out!<br /><br />Have you heard of Fashion Fix here in Mpls? She is one of my favorite IG accounts to follow. She goes to Goodwill and finds flattering clothing for women and helps you weed through your closet and keep only essential pieces. Here is her website--I think you would really like her. <br />https://www.fashionfixmn.com/dailycandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10794403026440692616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-17775285037204552712021-01-23T09:22:47.477-06:002021-01-23T09:22:47.477-06:00As you know, I've finally gotten interested in...As you know, I've finally gotten interested in detailing my spending - started with monthly recaps and then did an annual one. It was really fascinating to actually figure out where all my money was going! Like, for me, food is definitely my biggest expense. And I could try to spend less ORRR... just make it a bigger part of my budget (which I've done). It's definitely time-consuming but also so very helpful as I try to become a better manager of my money.Stephanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01664500645286563334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-60689157865139121592021-01-23T08:33:47.979-06:002021-01-23T08:33:47.979-06:00This is really good. I get frustrated -- my CU giv...This is really good. I get frustrated -- my CU gives me a little pie chart but I can't control the parameters (year, week, month) and it doesn't say what that little pie IS (it has categories but not the length of time involved. So, I can search my categories but still have to do the math by hand. I've been thrilled that since my mortgage was paid,I don't have one penny of debt. Not even on the CC, which I pay as soon as it is posted. (I suspect that might change if I had a massive expenditure like a major appliance or car repair. I have saved so much money during Covid, not even counting no house payments (because I reduced my monthly TIAA allocaion by that amount and a little more. This is super.Jeaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17482528482559445943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-72268487410187512342021-01-23T06:34:28.860-06:002021-01-23T06:34:28.860-06:00Wow, this is awesome! It's always so interesti...Wow, this is awesome! It's always so interesting to see how others handle finances. So how exactly do you track all of this? You use mint.com? Or another method? I have a whole spreadsheet system but am always looking for ways to streamline things or improve our system. I think our system is great for looking back on the big picture and reviewing totals and trends, but not the best for "in the moment" tracking. I basically go through each of our credit cards each month (but after the statement has posted and/or bill has been paid in full)and break down the charges into certain categories, etc. But that isn't very helpful for knowing how much I've spent "so far", say, on the 12th of the month. We don't really follow a strict "budget" each month anyway, but I think it would be helpful to be monitoring it better as we go. We have a bazillion credit cards thanks to my husband and his obsession with getting free money through various rewards (eye roll). It's fine, bc we pay them all in full every single month anyway, and this means no single card has THAT many charges on it. But it drives me insane when he is constantly like, "oh, use the Chase Freedom this month for gas" or "use this one at any restaurants this month. Extra 2% back this quarter". LOL. I can never keep it straight!! I do like all the rewards benefits that we end up with though. :) Grateful Kaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07806911561388871220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-52820387464337992042021-01-22T10:23:57.045-06:002021-01-22T10:23:57.045-06:00I'm sure my husband would nerd about this ha. ...I'm sure my husband would nerd about this ha. We paid our mortgage off a couple years ago and it was nice! My husband has enjoyed playing in the market a lot this year and that stressed me out. I'm all of tell me when you make oodles of money and then sell that shit quick! ha. Like he made a ton of money on Monday and I'm like abort abort abort! Ha. My husband also would spend nothing ever. Super frugal. I had a bunch of amazon come this week and he happened to be getting mail and he was like WTF ARE YOU BUYING??? But honestly, it was two birthday presents, a box of hand soap, and a bathing suit. I really needed a bathing suit last year because mine had a hole in it, but since we didn't utilize our local lake sbecuase they are freaking gone, and we only used our pool I didn't replace it since I was nursing/losing weight. But now I am on mission buy me a non holy suit! ha. We definitely saved money on cars this year. We also saved money on drive thru coffees. We have been averaging about one take out meal a week since school started. Our groceries may have gone up since we were all here eating all the food all the time. Thank goodness, my husbands business has been booming in this and there is no worry there. IT is in very high demand when you have to start moving employees home and what not!The Many Thoughts of a Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12261949837343560602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1131924142966006519.post-32781926415178099582021-01-22T06:26:33.953-06:002021-01-22T06:26:33.953-06:00As you know, I do do a deep dive on my spending an...As you know, I do do a deep dive on my spending and I think each year I realize what I should be diving into and it gets more and more detailed (and helpful!) as I get better at doing it. I really enjoyed seeing how my Amazon etc. purchases were broken down, as generally I don't think my pie was super accurate. <br /><br />One thing that you do count which I normally do not is taxes. I just did a quick recalc just for fun (nerd alert) to see what mine would look like with taxes. It really would depend on whether or not I did or did not include savings/investments, but without savings, my taxes are the biggest by a mile (and that does not even include property, which is in "home") and with savings, taxes are still the biggest, but savings is neck and neck with them. Even though I am not married, I get reamed by taxes, and also have started having to pay extra each paycheck so I do not get penalized (but I still have to pay!) That is one thing I would like to get a better handle on financially so that I don't have such a big payment each year. <br /><br />As always, it is so fun to see how other people spend their money and I especially enjoy yours since you are both in the same industry as me and so I can relate to a lot of what you are saying! Kyria @ Travel Spothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05889638304509763419noreply@blogger.com