Monthly Progress Report (#8)

It’s the last day of July and I haven't blogged since the last day of June when I posted my last monthly progress report.

I know, I know, I'm totally a bad blogger.

It's just A LOT has been going on.

My renovations totally faltered. So back to the drawing board. I'm thinking I won't actually do them until next spring or summer, but who knows? Anything can happen. But I like the idea of saving up a little bit more money. Especially since I know the price is just going to go up.

I know what you're thinking. Like, how does this happen? Well, I'm honestly not sure. Bad luck, maybe? I picked a well respected contractor who has been in business for over 30 years. I researched him. I got referrals. But he can't fulfill his end of the bargain. Who does that happen to?

I'm annoyed and it's been a frustrating month with the whole situation - but it's over and it's time to move on.

Alright, so now that I got that off my chest - how about we check out how things are shaping up for me financially? I may be a bad blogger but I'm not about to forget my monthly progress reports! No matter how bad the month has been.

Let's start with my debt totals:

Mortgage: $148,400 

Car Loan: $7,900

Student Loans: $4,400 (unfortunately in a month or two this number will be going up)

Credit Cards: $2,700 (yay! Back under that $3,000 mark again!)

Alright, so it's an improvement.

So far.

I've debated if I should set a new goal to get to on the renovation side. Obviously, I don't have a set number in mind but I can guesstimate. Don't you love that word? Guesstimate - when an estimate just isn't flimsy enough. 

Renovation fund requirement: $15,000

New Grand Total of Debt: $178,400

I mean, I based the number off of some facts. It's not totally out of the blue but it totally depends on choices I need to make - and since I can't make up my mind to save my life - I just padded it a little bit more.

That number is petrifying by the way. $15,000?! Holy cow! How the heck am I going to make up that difference?!

Yeah, obviously I have no idea. Just another disappointment for me as far as renovations go. You get why I've been in a little bit of a funk now, right?

Alright, moving on..

Let's check out my savings balances:

Savings account: $2,000

P2P Lending account: $250

Investment account: $150

Grand Total of Savings: $2,400

Yeah, still totally unchanged. Which, unfortunately, I anticipate them to stay for quite some time now.

One day I'm going to get my savings in check. One day.

In order to keep piling it on - lets quantify all this bad news. I'm $13,250 more in the red than I was at the end of June. 

Oh dear. 

That's awful news. Especially since I know it's going to get worse before it gets better with my next class staring later this month - meaning another student loan. Thankfully, taking one class at a time means smaller student loan balances.

What a disappointing month July has shaped up to be. Let's hope August brings some good news!

Do you have any nightmare contractor stories? Share them with me. Let's commiserate together. I hope in the end everything worked out for you!