Thursday, December 15, 2011

The one with the plumber

We got a call yesterday from the city that we have a water leak outside of our home. I spent half of yesterday at home waiting for the plumber, and finally got an estimate. It will likely be around $2,000 to do the digging and fix the leak. Merry Christmas to me. I guess that's what the emergency fund is for, right?

In other financial news, we went six days without a Costco run, which is a new record for us. ;-) We really need to keep our spending under control for the rest of the month, so we can replenish our emergency fund.

And, given that December is half over, I thought I would provide a quick goal update. I think I'm doing well on 5/10 goals, so I need to focus on the remaining goals for the rest of the month.


  1. Lose 5 lbs - get weight back to 144 pounds. - I'm around 150. So, down from the first week of December, but definitely not where I'd hoped to be.
  2. Complete 500 minutes of cardio  - I'm at 350 minutes, so 70% of my goal. On track. I need to be ahead of my target for the first few weeks, because I know the last couple of weeks in the month will be challenging with holidays, traveling, & vacation.
  3. Complete 8 strength workouts - I've completed 5 workouts, so at 62% of my goal. I hope to get slightly ahead, for the same reason as above. The last two weeks of the month are going to be crazy town.
  4. Plan spring break trip - We are unable to find reasonably priced airfare to Hawaii for four. We're not willing to take flights that aren't direct (we're in Seattle, not Texas - we should be able to easily find direct flights!) within our price point. More to come on the plan for this.
  5. Plan mid-winter break trip - I think I have a solid plan for this, but need to review with the other players (my sister & husband). :-) Haven't made any progress on this in the last week or so.
  6. Bake Christmas cookies with the kids & take them to look at holiday lights. - We've done both, but the cookies were a disaster. Ended up getting a different gift for the teachers we were planning on giving the cookies to. Yeah for reducing the workload in December! :-) 
  7. Track all spending - On track for this.
  8. Monthly expenditures total less than $15,000, with the exception of using the bonus money to pay off the $35K 401K loan. - Slightly above the pace for this, but I did pay the $2000 on our refinance, which will hopefully be our highest non-mortgage spend of the month.
  9. Keep grocery bill to $600 - Way over - currently at $430. In semi-positive news, we'll be out of town for 1/2 of next week & not going through groceries. I'm hopeful that we can still end the month close to our target.
  10. Get together with two friends - Got together with friends on Sunday, and have plans to meet a second friend for coffee tomorrow. On track.
How are you doing with your December goals?

9 comments:

  1. That stinks about the water leak. Sorry!

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  2. Ouch! That is brutal! :/ Thank God for your EF!! :)

    You're doing well with your goals this month! I ave more sewing to do, been "relaxing" in the evenings watching movies instead of sewing! Oops! lol!

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  3. Sounds like you're making great progress with your December goals!

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  4. Ugh. Sorry to hear about that big expense with the water leak. Thank goodness for EF's. You are doing great with your goals though!

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  5. Sorry about the water leak cost!

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  6. Hi...come on over to my house....I have an award for ya!

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  7. Have you made your Christmas wishes and goals? It's hard to lose weight during the holidays, especially with all the delicious dishes served during Christmas time. I hope the leaks are all good now. :)

    [Bibi Karpel]

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  8. Well, at least, you're sure your emergency fund is well spent. I hope those leaks are fixed by now. Kudos to you for reaching your goals! Good luck on your weight loss journey. :D

    -Darryl Iorio

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  9. Repairing a water leak can be a daunting task. As much as we wanted to avoid that stinking job, we always end up with tools in our hand to repair it or call Mr. Plumber, and spend our emergency fund. Hehe. But that’s alright, as long as you will get rid of the leaking problem, it’ll be worth it. By the way, good luck on your weight loss project!

    Althea Tumlin

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