April Monthly Update

Build emergency fund to 6 mo expenses - 85.7 (Up 7.5%)
Pay off car - 3.1 (Up 2.3%)
Pay off student loan - 6.7% (Up .6%)

The economic stimulus package is slated to go toward the e-fund. By my calculations the e-fund should be complete by the end of July. Woohoo! Provided no emergencies come up..

FICO score's been pretty steady..

In other good news, my employer did the yearly dump into our retirement accounts. I wasn't sure if I would be eligible but it turns out I was for part of the year. Yay!

Monthly Update

Build emergency fund to 6 mo expenses - 78.2% (Up 21%)
Pay off car - .8% (Down 12.7% due to refinance, started the counter over)
Pay off student loan - 6.1% (Up .2%)

Woohoo, good month! I think my credit score dropped a bit but I'm not sure how much offhand..

Good Week

It was a good week. I got my refunds back, one Wednesday and one Friday so I'm a good bit closer to my goal of building the emergency fund.

Also, the car refinance went through. There was a fee of $20-something to transfer the title but that was it. The extra money is hanging in a savings account while I decide what to do with it. I did get their rate of 3.95%. I was surprised. I usually see the teaser rates and assume that's exactly what they are.. I was impressed with the service also. I made an appointment to sign papers and went to the wrong branch. By the time I got to sit down with someone it was 18 minutes before they closed. But they worked it out anyway and I didn't have to make another trip. I love good service..

Monthly Update

My credit score just went up 11 points (737). No alerts so I would guess dropping balances, etc.

Build emergency fund to 6 mo expenses - 57.2% (Up 2.2%)
Pay off car - 13.5% (Up 3.3%)
Pay off student loan - 5.9% (Up .3%)

I did apply to refinance my car loan. A local credit union is having a "loan sale" this weekend with rates as low as 3.95%. I haven't heard anything yet so we'll see. The minimum amount is 10,000 and my balance is a little over 9,000. That might disqualify me, guess I don't know what "new money" means. My rate is pretty reasonable but I'm early into my loan and if I can drop it 3 points and no fees, I will.. If I've done my calculations correctly that's nearly $1,000 in savings over the term.

Ooh, and I also filed my returns and expect a gift to myself Friday from fed. Don't know when the state will be returning my money.

Credit Score Dropped

14 points due to the new credit card, not as much of a hit as I had expected. In better news, I'm turning 25 this year and my car insurance dropped a good bit.

Score's Up

Yay, up 7 points, no reason in particular according to ScoreWatch. I have been paying the balance on my credit card twice a month instead of once a month in hopes that a lower balance would help.

Monthly Progress

I thought it would be helpful for my own sake to post my progress toward goals so here we go.

Build emergency fund to 6 mo expenses - 55%
Pay off car - 10.2%
Pay off student loan - 5.6%

I haven't determined a dollar amount for retirement and if I had, I wouldn't track the progress, I don't think. It would be depressing, such a big, daunting number..

Once the emergency fund is sufficiently built, I'll send those dollars to the house down payment fund.