deedee421's Challenge

[creditcardfree]

Great plan, deedee! Hope it all goes as planned.

[deedee421]

Great plan, deedee! Hope it all goes as planned.

LOL...me too! I increased my Roth IRA contributions and joined my employer stock purchase plan because getting my retirement on track is one of my goals, so I'm definitely pushing myself this year.

[SavingSteve]

The stock purchase plan sounds interesting. Is it a stock you would purchase even if you didn't work there? Do they give you some kind of deal? Im interested in how this works.

My employer gives us stock but it's not something I would want to buy on my own so I generally sell it. They take taxes out of my check when they give me the stock. I'm not that crazy about the whole thing. It's a big company and the stock generally stays the same but lately it's going down. Kind of annoying.

[ginene]

Awww. Ok. I need to see some posts so I can feel like I'm competing. LOL. I have to stay focused.

Hi Ginene,

I am doing the challenge again for 2015, but decided not to post this year because I don't feel I have anything new to add. The funny part is that I made one deposit late already because I had gotten used to making my deposit and then posting my progress here, but I'm back on track and I'm hoping to have another successful year. I increased my highest amount to $75 for 2015 so now my amounts for the 52 weeks are $24 to $75 and I will have $2,574 in deposits if I meet the goal. Thanks so much for checking in, and I'll make sure to follow your progress!

[deedee421]

The stock purchase plan sounds interesting. Is it a stock you would purchase even if you didn't work there? Do they give you some kind of deal? Im interested in how this works.

My employer gives us stock but it's not something I would want to buy on my own so I generally sell it. They take taxes out of my check when they give me the stock. I'm not that crazy about the whole thing. It's a big company and the stock generally stays the same but lately it's going down. Kind of annoying.

I've been at this Company for years and refused to participate, but they started doing a Company match last year so I joined for this reason only. I've never done this before and I don't start receiving the match until I've been in a year, but I'm doing okay so far. This is a learning experience for me so I'm not sure yet if I made a smart money move, but I feel good about it for now.

[deedee421]

Awww. Ok. I need to see some posts so I can feel like I'm competing. LOL. I have to stay focused.

LOL! Here are my deposits to date for 2015:

Week 1: $52
Week 2: $51
Week 3: $40
Week 4: $75
Week 5: $54
Week 6: $74
Week 7: $53
Week 8: $73

My total deposits for 2015 are $472. I'm still doing the same things: Swagbucks, Pinecone surveys, and curbing my spending. The gift cards I received at Christmas came in handy too. I "found" money on a rewards credit card I hadn't used in years, so I redeemed the cash and plan to close the account. All in all, 2015 has started off well (except for the weather - Brrr it's cold)!

[ginene]

LOL! Here are my deposits to date for 2015:

Week 1: $52
Week 2: $51
Week 3: $40
Week 4: $75
Week 5: $54
Week 6: $74
Week 7: $53
Week 8: $73

My total deposits for 2015 are $472. I'm still doing the same things: Swagbucks, Pinecone surveys, and curbing my spending. The gift cards I received at Christmas came in handy too. I "found" money on a rewards credit card I hadn't used in years, so I redeemed the cash and plan to close the account. All in all, 2015 has started off well (except for the weather - Brrr it's cold)!

This is awesome!!! I think I am going to put in a good amount next week since my goal is to do 20 hours of OT. LOL because I know I'll probably get in about 7 hours but at least I'm trying. I did do 5 hours so far between this week and last week. I have until Friday to get 15 hours more in. LOL ok so maybe I can get 5 more in.

[SavingSteve]

Hi deedee your numbers look great! But I don't understand them because on my challenge sheet I printed out the highest number is 52. Are you using a different challenge sheet or did you make your own? your contributions are often bigger than $52

[deedee421]

Ginene if I had an option for overtime I would definitely take it, but I can't remember the last time my Company allowed it. Congrats to you for taking the opportunity to increase your savings!

Steve, I've been increasing my challenge every year. I started with the traditional challenge in 2013 with $52 as the highest amount. I increased it in 2014 with $65 as my highest amount, and for 2015 I increased it with $75 as my highest amount. I created my own spreadsheets in excel. I'm trying to work my way up to the mega challenge posted here on Saving Advice: http://www.savingadvice.com/articles...challenge.html, but I think it's going to take a pay increase to meet that goal LOL.

[ginene]

Ginene if I had an option for overtime I would definitely take it, but I can't remember the last time my Company allowed it. Congrats to you for taking the opportunity to increase your savings!

Steve, I've been increasing my challenge every year. I started with the traditional challenge in 2013 with $52 as the highest amount. I increased it in 2014 with $65 as my highest amount, and for 2015 I increased it with $75 as my highest amount. I created my own spreadsheets in excel. I'm trying to work my way up to the mega challenge posted here on Saving Advice: http://www.savingadvice.com/articles...challenge.html, but I think it's going to take a pay increase to meet that goal LOL.

Wow @ the mega challenge I'm just trying to do the first one all the way through but I can see me doing that after I pay off my car maybe but my car payment is only $270 and that would only come up to $3240 but I want to up mine if I continue on this OT mission. If I do, I can just save my OT.

[deedee421]

2015 Challenge Weeks 9-14

I made the following deposits for Weeks 9 through today, Week 14:

Week 9: $72
Week 10: $71
Week 11: $70
Week 12: $69
Week 13: $68
Week 14: $67

My Swagbucks earnings have slowed down quite a bit. I've been busy and it feels like it takes longer to earn points, but it could be just the time factor. I'm already looking forward to the "extra" paycheck in May because I have a large expense at the end of the month. I'm not complaining though; I've been able to keep on track with my savings and that is a blessing. Good Friday and Happy Easter everyone.

[deedee421]

Time to get back to saving

Well "life" happened and I fell behind with my challenge. I checked my spreadsheet and my last deposit was Week 31 and this coming Friday I should be making a deposit for Week 40. I also had to borrow $250 from my savings and that needs to be repaid. I'm thankful that I had an emergency fund so I was able to take care of the things that came up but whew what a mess.

I received $300 from USAA today from a promotion, so I plan to pay back the $250 to my savings. I'll also have an "extra" paycheck in October so I'm praying I'll now be able to buckle down and get back to the challenge and building up my emergency fund.

[SavingSteve]

Hi Deedee! Congrats on the windfall and nice to see you are sticking with it!

[deedee421]

2015 Challenge Weeks 15-36

I'm still behind on my challenge, so my goal is to get caught up by the end of the year. I've made the following deposits since April:
Week 15: $66
Week 16: $65
Week 17: $64
Week 18: $63
Week 19: $62
Week 20: $61
Week 21: $60
Week 22: $59
Week 23: $58
Week 24: $39
Week 25: $38
Week 26: $33
Week 27: $32
Week 28: $31
Week 29: $30
Week 30: $25
Week 31: $24
Week 32: $57
Week 33: $56
Week 34: $55
Week 35: $50
Week 36: $49

I was on track through Week 31, so I deposited $267 today for Weeks 32-36. The good news is that my highest remaining amount is $48, so if I keep cutting back on my flexible spending like food, gifts, etc. I should be able to keep making extra deposits.

Thanks Steve! It feels good to be able to work on building my emergency fund again.

[SavingSteve]

All right deedee!

Keep it up!