July Goals: Mission to Financial Freedom

Time for an update. I missed June, but here's where we stand on May's Financial Goals.

May 2018 Financial Goals

Add at least $500 to our emergency fund. - Done
Pay at least $500 extra toward student loans. - Done
Update our budget. - Done, but no budget meeting
Stick to or be under budget for the month.
Start couponing again for diapers and other essentials. Garage sale more? - Nope
Work on starting or improving a revenue stream. Side hustle, woohoo! - Nope

Summer is always a weird time for us financially because I am on a nine month schedule and my hubby's businesses only generate revenue during the academic year as well. I also teach summer classes for extra income, but I don't know from summer to summer how many classes will be open for me to teach. Usually, I teach two classes per summer. This summer, I have three, which means extra income to put toward our goals. This next year, my husband will be opening a CSA (community supported agriculture) business, Song of the South Farm & Market Garden, so we hope to have more consistent summer income from that new venture starting in 2019. **fingers crossed**

July 2018 Financial Goals

1. Add at least $500 to our emergency fund.

We are expecting twins in September, and because it's a high risk pregnancy, we have spent a lot of time at the doctor's office getting ultrasounds to check the boys' progress, which means we are also spending quite a bit of money on those ultrasounds and visits that are not part of the normal pregnancy costs.

I've also read that giving birth to twins is on average 5x more expensive than giving birth to a single baby, and that families have been bankrupted by having complications with twins right after birth. So I definitely want to make sure we have set aside some funds for medical bills when the time comes. We are obviously praying that we make it to the magic 37 week mark and don't have any complications, but many twins arrive much before that and must spend time in the NICU. So far, our insurance has been great, but I'd rather be at least a little prepared, just in case.

2. Pay at least $500 extra toward student loans.

Yep, same goal again as May. We have cut our student loan balance in half in the past few years, but haven't been as diligent in the past year as we should have been. I'm torn between putting more money in our emergency fund for the twins and paying off loans, but at this point, I think we need to balance the two because interest adds up so quickly. Especially on graduate student loans.

Source: Memedroid

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3. Update our budget and have a budget meeting.

Our budget is pretty consistent each month with the biggest variables being costs for electricity and food. We spend less on gas in the summer because my husband doesn't have to commute an hour every day, but our biggest downfall lately is, you guessed it, restaurants. I've been super tired during this pregnancy, and it's so easy to just pick up pizza or go out and have someone else serve us dinner. But, it has to stop. For real. NO MORE EATING OUT!

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4. Stick to or be under budget for the month.

May the odds be ever in our favor.

5. Start couponing again for diapers and other essentials. Garage sale more?

Garage sales are hard work here in South Carolina where roads make no sense and it takes 15-20 minutes just to drive between sales, so garage sales may not be in my future, but I'm going to start monitoring for sales with essentials like kids' clothes.

Couponing may be possible, it just seems to take so much more time. Why? Who knows. Probably because of the three screaming children running circles around me. Ha! At the very least, I'd like to get a diaper stash started for the twins because nobody likes running out in the middle of the night for more diapers.

6. Work on starting or improving a revenue stream. Side hustle?

Does selling used kids' clothes to Once Upon a Child count? I don't think so, but that's the most progress I've made on this one. Maybe this month we can brainstorm better ideas!

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You can read more about our Mission to Financial Freedom HERE.

What are your financial goals for the month of July?

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