Friday, September 30, 2011

Monthly Update

I think this is the third month in a row my net worth has gone down. If the stock market would stop it's descent I'd be fine :)

Pay off student loan - 19.2% (Up .5%)
E-fund 2 - 88.2% (Down 2.7%)
Fence - 51.7% (Up 4.8%)

Slow and steady progress on the fence and student loan. Unfortunately I think the fence fund will be re-purposed yet again. The cat was diagnosed with an old-cat condition (hyperthyroidism) that could be cured with an expensive treatment. I'm game. He's only 10, and if he lives another 3-4 years, the "cure" will be cheaper than ongoing medication and frequent blood testing. Plus no pills and no frequent car rides. Win-win-win. :) He is on a medication trial now to see how he does. Sometimes hyperT can mask other problems. If the trial goes okay, I'm hoping for the "cure" in the next few months. And honestly, when I add up what I've spent on the other furry problem child, this is a fraction of it.

My mom is good at asking if the pets are worth it. That's a loaded question, isn't it? If I were eating rice and beans and couldn't enjoy my life or take care of my own needs, then no. But I'm fortunate to have a decent job (love my job, yay) and instead of cable or a gas guzzling SUV or lots of electronic toys or what have you, I have my furry kids. Plus it's not cancer or some other life ending disease. Also if I gave up on these guys, they would soon be replaced. That sounds harsh, but I'm not one to be without pets. Then there's no guarantee that the new ones won't be just as bad..lol. So yes - at this point in my life, with this context, they are worth it to me.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Monthly Update

Pay off student loan - 18.7% (Up .4%)
E-fund 2 - 90.9% (Down 8.1%)
Fence - 46.9% (Up 38.8%)

The fence fund is cruising along great. I was planning to have the fence put in next month but.. The back up emergency fund took a nice digger. It looks like I should have some decent money left over after bills this month. I should really probably have the extra sent to something in efund2. When I think about it now, if I put the fence in this fall, my dog would probably appreciate it for a whole month and a half before the snow flies. Once the snow flies she spends 90% of her outside time on the shoveled areas..lol. So maybe I should just wait until next spring. Plus at that point I can re-evaluate the water situation. The past few years I've had a standing pond in the backyard for several weeks in spring. Sometimes it would reoccur in summer as well. This year I pumped the spring pond out over 3 days. My neighbors altered their grading since then and so far, I've not had anymore standing water over summer (neither have they). If I still get a big puddle in the spring, I think it makes sense to re-grade the yard before putting in the fence... Although I cross my fingers that won't be needed.

Also I'm really starting to drool over new windows. They are needed. I think that will be after the fence and the efund2. It should really be before the fence but you know.. :) I have a few that are cracked, some rotted shut, some that are not at all air tight. In fact, most fail the paper test. I know they don't pay for themselves well in terms of energy savings but it would still be nice to have functioning windows. The energy savings can be a bonus.